featured photo courtesy of Joph

Coming out of his hiatus with a full-length album, Silence of the REM, Hash Swan (Deokwang Han) is looking to turn heads with a brand new sound.

The rapper from the label Ambition Musik, headed by rap veteran The Quiett, has found himself in somewhat of a musical slump in the past year. With fellow peers who started their careers the same way, Hash Swan has inescapably been isolated by the public and labeled as a “Show Me The Money” rapper after his appearances on the show in 2016 and 2017. The small window of time to embed your name into the public’s eye before you are forgotten plagues many rappers to this day in South Korea. Like many others, their career and name usually plateau in relevance as being liberated from the show’s portrayal is just as difficult as staying atop changing trends.

The style of rap that Hash Swan delivers on this project is melancholic and soft in volume and character. Not only does that adhere to most of South Korea’s youth taste, he also demonstrates the ability to evolve and adapt to current trends, which was his problem in the past.

Being mainly associated with excessively tight lyrics that are incapable of being performed live, Hash Swan approaches the writing in this album knowing the extent of his rapping ability. Straying further from his usual complex verbiage in his lyrics, the conscious decision to embrace the simple but soulful vocals and catchy hooks allows for versatile features from R&B, indie and pop vocalists. Pop singer Jamie and indie band SURL are some of the unique voices that can be a start to bridge future genre collaborations with Korean hip-hop rappers.    

From Teenage in Closet to Olive is Better, the album speaks upon cohesiveness as its strongest point as all the tracks are overflowing with future bass and synthesizer instruments. The genre of the album leans towards a hip hop and electronic dance music mix with hints of R&B, something Hash Swan is no stranger to. He has dabbled in this sound before through features and his latest EP, Peridot. However, its reach was not enough to sway public opinion and prove to the Korean hip-hop culture that he is capable as a rapper. Thus, following his last EP, Silence of the REM seems to be the definitive sequel and reply to the public that change is possible.

written by Ryan Xu