Queen CL, The Baddest Female™, is back at last, and she’s brought a few friends (and a few sharp objects) along with her.
The 28-year-old 2NE1 girl group member-turned-solo star teamed up with Japanese hip-hop collective PKCZ – that’s Exile‘s Makidai, M-flo‘s Verbal and DJ Daruma – as well as “Take Over Control” Dutch EDM maestro Afrojack for a cross-cultural collaboration called “Cut It Up” – and yes, there will be some slicing and dicing.
CL and company are fully living their samurai film-slash-Kill Bill-slash-The Matrix fantasy, busting out their blades to make quick work of the masked men falling down at their feet. (I mean, kind of sounds like a typical Friday night for me.)
The “MTBD” baddie showcases her bilingual rapping skills throughout, although there’s one English line in particular during her Korean verse at the end that really seals the deal: “Don’t give a fuck, ain’t nobody safe.” Shaking.
The immediately catchy, mile-a-minute tune kind of recalls DJ Snake‘s own superstar-filled bop, “Taki Taki” – which is not a bad comparison to make. I’m also getting shades of Namie Amuro‘s “Put ‘Em Up,” which, obviously, is right up my street. Cut it up! Put ’em up!
At a time when K-pop is busting down all sorts of barriers across the world, it’s been somewhat annoying to watch a most deserving superstar like CL sitting it out on the sidelines while a newer generation makes waves. It’s about time she steps back into the spotlight to claim the throne once again – and the fact that she’s doing it with this Korean-Japanese-Dutch cross-cultural collaboration makes it even cooler.
CL. PKCZ. Let’s go…
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“Cut It Up” was released on June 4. (Apple Music)
