As usual, it’s been a real wait for new material from global K-pop sensation BLACKPINK, with two years having passed since their debut album. However, that wait is finally up. They’ve announced their sophomore LP, Born Pink, due out September 16th via YG entertainment, and today, have shared the album’s first single.
“Pink Venom” is, well, pure BLACKPINK, punchy raps blended with earworm singing and a sturdy hook. Elaborating on their songwriting in a recent interview with Rolling Stone’s Haeryun Kang, Jisoo shared, “We don’t just receive a completed song. We are involved from the beginning, building the blocks, adding this or that feeling, exchanging feedback—and this process of creating makes me feel proud of our music. If we just received pre-made songs, it would feel mechanical. I feel more love for the process, because we say, ‘How about adding this in the lyrics? How about adding this move in the choreography?’”
Jennie also dismissed any comparisons with Western hip hop and rappers, explaining, “We, four girls in their twenties from different backgrounds, are using -Korean and English to weave pop music with a hip-hop base. Maybe if the really cool rappers in America, who do ‘real hip-hop,’ look at us, it can seem a little like kids doing things. Our hip-hop isn’t the rebellious kind, but we are doing something very cool. What hip-hop is this? I don’t know! It’s just cool!”
Cool, indeed. Check out “Pink Venom” and it’s ace video out below.
