After years of waiting since their stint on 2021’s competition show LOUD, KickFlip unveiled their frustratingly repetitive pre-release Umm Great earlier this month. And with the release of their mini album today, they become 2025’s first major debut act. As I stated back in Umm Great‘s review, I had hoped this group would balk current JYP Entertainment trends and deliver a more idiosyncratic sound driven by their youthful appeal.
Mama Said gets us closer to this aim than Umm Great, yet also takes two steps back. It still feels like the agency is giving all its boy bands the same material. For the life of me, I can’t distinguish what makes a KickFlip different than a NEXZ. Their sound is heavy on sing talk, opting for melodies that feel more like taunts than fully-developed, interconnected parts of a story. This fragmented approach — constantly pinballing between singing, chanting and rapping — has been done to death and results in music that feels more like branding. I often feel like I’m listening to a commercial for JYP’s next boy band rather than their actual song.
Looking back through the agency’s lineage, Mama Said‘s sing-song chorus seems to be cut from similar cloth as 2015’s excellent GOT7 single Just Right. However, this hand-me-down comes along with plenty of new-gen tropes, including grating percussion and a lack of melodic imagination. On the plus side, other parts of the track offer peeks at more engaging choices. I love the guitar that sprouts up during the pre-chorus and the finale offers some interesting vocal interplay that should have been highlighted throughout the song. Sadly, Mama Said‘s bratty energy overshadows all of this and just doesn’t work for me.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
this song features an interesting climax in the pre-chorus, but soon dissipates, suggesting a search for something beyond the typical clichés associated with male groups. Although it demonstrates competence in musical structuring and construction, it fails to convey a powerful message or innovation. However, the transition to the break, the bridge and the final section provide a smoothness that alleviates the limitations. So… meh
7.5 (7, 8, 8, 7)
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To quote Annie, “JYP Loud was dungeoned 3 years for this?”
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Ironically, after I said this, Umm Great happened to grow a little on me lol, though mostly cause the production is good, but I still hate that chorus.
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Though idk how this one will age tbh, I can’t find a standout factor here, given neither the hooks nor production stands out to me 🫠
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Bright, poppy. Its all about the vocal treatment isn’t, the crafted melodyne chords throughout, most notably heard on the “Mama said” lines. I think it is a good start, a ground hit single or double that gets on base. It doesn’t score any runs but gets them into play.
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The chorus’s melody kinda reminds me of Nct 127’s Simon Says(Which is already big no-no).But compared to other kpop groups,I can actually appreciate this song because they actually sing in the chorus,even if they do chant a bit,you can’t really avoid that these days can you?
The production is quite nice,offering a bit of a bounce during the dance break.
Other than that,there’ nothing too special going on.It’s a solid debut.
Hopefully JYP promotes this group properly after leaving them in the dark for 3 years.
8/10(7;9;8;8)
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Garbage.
Absolute garbage.
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chill
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Sheesh
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amazing
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could you pls review the whole album.
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Yes pls review the whole album 🙏
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Well it’s better than O.O lol
Fun quirky song with relatable lyrics. Basically the route I envisioned for them. This won’t be a super memorable debut in the long run and they aren’t offering anything particularly new but it’s a decent start.
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It’s no Dalla Dalla, but I’d pick this over other JYPE boy group debuts like Girls Girls Girls or 10 out of 10. The song keeps it moving and the production (the bass especially) is fun. A good start for KickFlip.
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It’s playful and quirky with a cute mv. Pair it with BoyNextDoor’s Dangerous. I’m feeling so old, because I’m the parent in this youth vs parent conflict now.
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BoyNextDoor’s edgier brother, but lacks the oomph that makes BND’s songs work well (maybe it’s the edgy sound ig). Idk, I find this forgettable, so idk how to feel about this one.
Rating’s the same ig.
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Agree. BND’s music absolutely fits in and elevates the character they are trying to push. That is not the case here.
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BND happens to sound brighter which makes their concept (idk their exact concept since I’m not a stan nor listen to them much, but I feel like they give off “teenagers/young adults having fun or doing their thing”) work better. This one happens to be on the edgier side, so idk, maybe they’re trying to pass off as a “cooler, edgier” BND, which probs won’t work tbh (unless they choose to be a “cool teen” version of SKZ)
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I have always thought BND’s concept as funky, carefree, a more natural young adult kind.
Also, a cool teen version of SKZ actually sounds good.
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Whenever I hear “mama said” in a song, I cannot help but think about Panic at the Disco’s High Hopes, wait for the song to finish to go back and listen to it for the nth time.
Anyways, better than umm great for me, I really liked the rap verses, gives me hope for their future releases.
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I feel like these guys may be more about song lyrics than anything else. The lyrics say that it’s ok to be yourself, to do things in your own time and in your own way. And that’s alright. Today’s youth needs to hear that message.
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After waiting so long for the boys to finally debut this feels a bit underwhelming.
Not sure what I expected and cannot stop myself from comparing it to TNX debut. They came out with a BANG.
I really wanted to like this, those boys have been training and waiting forever but unfortunatly it did not grab me
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All these boygroups sound the exact same
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