After yesterday’s unit track from members Changbin and I.N, Han and Felix are next on the docket with a music video for their entry from Stray Kids’ new mixtape. We’re moving from rock intensity to a hard-hitting blend of EDM and hip-hop.
After a moody, ornate opening, Truman‘s beat pushes us into an off-kilter sonic landscape. Thick waves of synth battle it out with heavy trap beats. On a purely technical level, I can appreciate what this production is doing. It certainly paints a vibe, at once prickly and suffocating. But on a personal level, this is not a sound I enjoy at all. It’s almost designed to repel me, from the way the tempo drags with a heavy lurch to the shout-rap style of the performance. It’s all very serious and I just don’t have the buy-in necessary to embrace the conceit.
With that said, I can imagine how Truman will resonate with its target audience. Felix and Han are both skilled and charismatic, even when the song itself isn’t giving them much to work with. And even though most of the track sends my finger racing toward the “off” button, its commanding synth backbone offers compelling texture.
| Hooks | 6 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 6 |
| RATING | 6.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
as you said, it’s definitely a personal taste type of song. for me, this is IMMEDIATELY going on my playlist. it just matches my vibe so well. but i get what you’re saying, and based on your previous ratings of stray kids’ songs, i knew this wouldn’t be your cup of tea. hopefully you like the other two unit songs coming!!
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I’m sure the other two songs aren’t groundbreaking either. But maybe the red light duo’s song will be scored better. Personally, the last unit is the most boring and I give it 5 points right away. I can’t stand its relaxing turtle tempo, and it doesn’t have any memorable melody. When I first saw the list, I had high expectations because I thought Seungmin would do an dynamic pop band song inspired by some of the most dramatic tracks by Day 6, not such a forgettable song.
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I agree. I absolutely love this new style.
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The way the flow and delivery of the rap just immediately improves when they switch from English to Korean…
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It is my personal favorite among the unit tracks— at least it’s doing something interesting. My guess is that “escape” will probably be the highest rated here.
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Same, I don’t even follow skz that closely but I really like this song. In the beginning I thought I wouldn’t go back but then I found myself listening to it many times. And I hadn’t even watched the MV so I find it extremely annoying when people say that this song is getting clout only because of (Felix’s) visuals. NO. Some of us just genuinely vibe with the sound. Would I give it a 9? No, but I consider it an good song nonetheless.
I also like escape though, I guess I just love Bang Chan’s voice too much.
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I feel the EXACT SAME WAY about the Felix visuals comment… I haven’t watched the MV either I just like the song! I would NEVER praise a Felix song just for his visuals and you can trust me on that because I’m very open about “unfair” being the worst song I’ve ever heard in my life. I feel awful for Felix that even when people genuinely like a song of his, there has to be this narrative of how it’s just his visuals and the song isn’t that great. Wow. It’s not easy being pretty LOL
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aye my life is unfair
The one and only woman I love left me unprepared
It is truly unfair how they let him release this tbh, I guess they thought it’s not enough to be the prettiest man alive and that he somehow needs to create music. And now that he creates sth good people think that good music is not enough and the clout is just because he’s the prettiest man alive. That’s what’s unfair. Can I relate to his problems? No. But I sympathize 😭
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Exactlyyyy I vibe with u so much. I made a tumblr post at the time more or less making this exact point. Like oh it’s not enough to be the world’s most beautiful bitch now everybody has to be a songwriter. And Felix is a simple boy. He saw the beauty and the beast and he said “I want to write a song about the beauty and the beast” and then he wrote down a summary of what happens in the movie basically. And I get that it’s hard to tell him no because he’s an angel. But I love him to death and I think I’d have given him a few pointers
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Btw, I like this random selection of level headed skz fans in my mentions, so if you want to connect I’m @hyumjim on tumblr 🙂
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okayy I have Tumblr too, I’ll follow for more skz correct opinions 🫶
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I’m that lesbian jungkook pfp btw 😭 (but my Tumblr is non kpop related)
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my life is so unfair everyone sees me as if i’m the beast out there #alpha #lonewolf 👹👹👺🐺🐺🐺💯✈️🏢🏢💥💥💥
I dropped a brief comment on my opinions on the solos in the comments section of the walkin on water review on this site, and yeah, I agree fully… unfair is truly the worst song on hop. it’s ridiculous and ironic how the most popular/local’s favourite member in skz is also the most underutilised, it’s like they just make a random, boring song just to fit his “deep voice” and call it a day
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Didn’t you rate ” So Good” lower than “Unfair?”
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that’s more due to that song’s instrumental feeling like a personal offence than anything; I’m more likely to skip Unfair than So Good solely because of how unforgivably boring and annoying it is. What is your ranking of the songs? :DDD
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My personal ranking:
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The 9/11 emojis 😭😭😭 you’re fucking foullll
I so agree re: Felix’s voice… hop album as a whole was a disappointment to me (I hated the title track too) but it’s just crazy that they’re not putting more effort into something like a solo release for Felix, I think they truly just expect his visuals and #deep voice to carry whatever weak ass track… ugh. If they just wrote a good song for him he could be incredibly successful on his own. Maybe in a few years when military enlistments start, idk.
Btw I also hated “So Good” (and hyunlix are my biases!) so I said the same thing about Hyunjin, but then he dropped “quill pen” like immediately after and it’s crazy how good that song is and how good his VOICE sounds on that song. He actually has incredible potential so maybe the issue is with A&R or whoever is involved in the song selection process idk. It’s CRAZY that so good was the promoted Hyunjin track and quill pen just sits on YouTube.
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I loooove quill pen so much and i discovered it by chance, why isn’t it on spotify 😭
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Btw, I like this random selection of level headed skz fans in my mentions, so if you want to connect I’m @hyumjim on tumblr 🙂
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Your taste in music is honestly questionable 😮💨, this is a 10/10 for me! I have been listening to it non stop since it came out lmaooo
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I always feel that way when I open his posts. The songs I love he rates terribly and the songs I thought were boring he rates better. We just have very different taste
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i literally became a fan of Xikers because of how poorly he rated “Koong” lol. I know when he hates a song I’ll probably like it
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Every time I see that you’ve reviewed a Stray Kids song, I’m almost certain that it won’t be to your liking, and that’s completely your choice. But your tagline really says it all — definitely “Bias.” As a Stay and Multistan, I appreciate the nuances in their music. It’s surprising that you don’t mention the complexity of this song and how they cleverly utilize “off beats” to maintain being “on beat.” This is a skill that not everyone can master in rap!
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What really sells the song to me is the production (their rap and flow is fire, though). I just think there’s a lot of value in them probably enjoying and maybe researching current hip-hop (Playboi Carti, Future, Metro Boomin) and they just take the most exciting and sharp production elements to create a song that fits their style. I’m super happy with this, been a while since I fanboy hard over a Stray Kids release but they deserve their flowers for this one.
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There is heavy and then there is HEAVY. Good heavy (for me) clears my angst and woe. Metallica “Battery”. Bad HEAVY just piles on the angst and woe. There is a physical reaction I have, like my heart is crunching in on itself with all the noise going on here. I just can’t.
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Han and Felix make a great duo.
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I’m afraid I like this more than I thought I would. Han’s rap is actually fire
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It’s interesting that when a song gets a low rating by this blog, I’ll rush to listen because I know I’ll like it. It’s exactly the opposite with high ratings for songs I find bland and cookie cutter kpop. To each his own as they say. Truman will go on my playlist.
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THIS SONG IS STRAIGHT UP FIRE! I’ve always been a Stray Kids supporter and I love it when they lean into hip-hop for real. While I understand the group has mostly stuck with dropping songs that are “targeted” to their main audience, I really do think when they get into hip-hop for real, they can really thrive in that sonic enviroment.
Personally, this song reminds me a little bit of Playboi Carti in terms of production. I can also hear some of Metro Boomin’s hip-hop production elements that he mixes with EDM. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were used as a reference.
All in all, just a good solid track. The lyrics are a little corny but I guess that’s a little bit of their writing style coming through. I didn’t come into this mixtape thinking I would love it, especially because their previous Japanese releases are songs that I found ok and never returned to, but this is gooood for real.
9/10
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I was talking to my friend about this song and we both agreed that the production choices and rap style really reminded us of “The Bottom 2”, a SpongeBob parody rap song that is honestly pretty fire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL9o_BwSN-o&pp=ygUNc3BvbmdlYm9iIHJhcA%3D%3D
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We have to stop paying attention to your ratings considering your taste in music is so ughhh… this is every inch 9.
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Well, the good thing is no one’s forcing you to!
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As a Stray Kids fan, but also a hip-hop fan, I was thoroughly disappointed by the delivery of the English lines on this track. As a Stay since Miroh, but also a hip hop fan since childhood, I was thoroughly disappointed by the delivery of the English lines on this track.
Personally, I thought the hard-hitting production was gorgeous, and Han’s Korean rap verses continue to be force to be reckoned with in the industry. However, this is overshadowed for me by Felix’s egregious delivery of his verses. The song opens with him chasing the beat from the get-go, followed by grade-school level lyricism and an overall awkward flow which takes me out from the otherwise immersive production. This song was released with the intention of being a “flex” track, yet we are hardly confronted with elementary lines such as
“Woke up 5AM, tryna catch a plane, we don’t waste time
Since I was a kid, young ambitions got me out of school.”
The verse echoes the flow of hip-hop powerhouse Travis Scott, particularly in his career-defining track, Sicko Mode. Truman, however, lacks the same depth, understandably, as Stray Kids did not have the same exposure to the hip hop scene and Houston sound as Scott, resulting in what lyrically feels like a cheap rip-off. The delivery is painfully awkward. The flow could have easily felt more natural with minor tweaks to the lyrics, for example,
“Woke up 5AM, tryna catch a plane, no time to waste
Since I was a kid, young ambitions got me out of place.”
The track hardly feels braggadocious as the production might lead you to believe, with lyrics such as,
“No more following orders, now I make my own rules
Still got that fire, bright and shining like a jewel
This is our crew
We’ll show what’s new”
Without altering the meaning much, minor tweaks would have resulted in a more impactful delivery,
“No more following orders, now I make up my own rules
Still got that fire, burning flames, I’m shining like a jewel
We with the crew
Check the news.”
“Got LV shoes” doesn’t nearly have as much impact as you would expect from a rapper with a Louis Vuitton ambassadorship under his belt.
I appreciate that our boys made personal references in the tracks, and contemporary hip hop is no stranger to nods to video games. However, the delivery in Truman is once again awkward and jarring, with the Rengar and Pac-Man shoutouts feeling more like an afterthought than a thoughtful inclusion lyrically.
Personally, I’m a huge fan of the production—it’s hard-hitting, intricately arranged, and boasts confidence. Unfortunately this all is painfully contrasted by the English verses which encompass the majority song. I honestly expected more from a group that largely incorporates hip hop and rap into their discography. I’m hoping in future we see a little more effort and editing go into their English lyricism, as the boys have a major international following and continue to be at the forefront of experimental music in Kpop.
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They should hire you honestly
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