Just like NewJeans before them, CORTIS have spawned their own K-pop progeny. This irreverent, “we don’t give a f*ck,” vocal effects heavy alt-hip-hop has become a popular touchstone and I don’t expect it to slow down any time soon. The most obvious competitor at this moment is WAYF Boys, who do a very similar thing with a stronger R&B flair.
Look, I don’t want to be mean about this music. It’s clearly pitched at a much younger audience than me and my frustration is probably the exact reaction it’s meant to elicit. And really, I get it. The pop music landscape has always had its counter-programming — work that’s meant to come across as more “authentic” and rebellious. Often, this music feels bigger in the moment than its legacy ends up being in the long run. And when it comes to WAYF Boys’ horny new single A4M, we’re really just dealing with the latest in the Baby Got Back/Tootsie Roll/Rump Shaker lineage of silly butt songs.
Really, my main issue here is the incessant vocal warping. This kind of brainless party song can be fun and A4M has a lively beat reminiscent of its early-90s forebearers. When the track pauses for a vocal-focused pre-chorus, I can hear the appeal. However, so much of the production is smothered in the ugliest sounding effects you could imagine. It’s not an enjoyable sound. Add to that an endless supply of obnoxious exclamations and you’ve got a piece of music seemingly intent on sabotaging itself at every turn. It seems to cast its audience very narrow: teenage boys and those who might want to recapture the joy (?) of being one.
| Hooks | 6 |
| Production | 6 |
| Longevity | 6 |
| Bias | 6 |
| RATING | 6 |
Grade: D-
I kind of appreciate its silly energy. It reminds me of how “crunkcore” was the shit back in the late 2000s pioneered by groups like Brokencyde who made hedonism, shaking ass, dropping panties and the like their thing with some godawful screamo vocals and autotuned vocals and it all was just hilariously bad.
In that sense, this song kind of reminds me of your typical Brokencyde song: ugly ass autotune, some horny ass lyrics that sounds like something 15-16 year olds would write in high school, just so bad, it’s hilarious. And ofc, without the screamo and some gem lyrics like “you make my peepee hard…”
7.25 (7, 8, 6, 8) for ne
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Not a genre I’ve ever felt pulled to, but yeah I understand the appeal.
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Tbh, I didn’t know crunkcore was even a thing until a couple months back, and while even I don’t vibe much with it, I still listen to it just for an occasional good chuckle but yeah, both the genre and this song are in the “hilariously bad” category for me 😭
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I was about to give a 8 on production (like the pure instrumental part) until the last 20 seconds come in. WTF is the bad synth dropping and waving around.
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it’s not the greatest song in the world or even particularly good but i do like silly horny ass anthems especially ones pulling from 80s/early 90s rap (sir mixalot is severely underrated and i will stand on the hill and i do have a soft spot for even skeevier artists like 2 live crew even if they have far worse production) and in the future if wayf boys actually want to shake off the ‘copying cortis/lngshot’ allegations and forge their own path they’d do well to stay in this lane as those two groups are sexless for the time being and can’t really be goofy like this.
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