JMIN Is Coming Thru with His New Album Sorry I’m Late
By. Alicia Zamora
Korean-American rapper JMIN first started independently in 2018. With his solo journey, he started gaining the recognition of many. He then got signed to H1ghr Music in 2021, making his official debut under H1ghr Music with the release of his first ep “Homecoming” which dropped in August of 2021.
This was such an anticipated drop since he has been teasing an album release for a while now. The release of his new album “Sorry I’m Late” consists of seven tracks with features from fellow artists Junny, Gemini, Sik-K, Moon Sujin, and Jimmy Brown.
Track 1: So Bad
Starting with track one “So Bad (feat. Junny)” With the start of this track, the beat starts strong. This feels more like a pop song with a mix of R&B. The beginning of this song feels like a love song. It feels like he's telling a story of how badly he wants someone hence the title. When Junny starts singing it becomes more low mellow and turns into something sweeter. It feels like a song that explains yin and yang. Jmin starts with an aggressive tone and Junny has a lower tone. In the ending of the song Jmin’s voice gets lower and it feels a lot calmer. It sounds like he's ending the story and that's when the next track comes in.
Track 2:
Track two “Confession (feat. Gemini)” is the perfect love song. It's a song that you can play when you're thinking about someone you want to express everything to. This is the type of song that you can put on and think about someone you want to dedicate it to. The mix of his vocals with Gemini’s is just the perfect mix. The way the melody and the beat flow so smoothly and the blend of both their voices ties it all together. This track overall has to be one of my favorites. It immerses you into this concept of understanding what a confession truly is. The way he expresses himself in the beginning and the way the beat just flows with his words is what makes everyone have this song on repeat.
Track 3:
Track three “Distant” This track embodies the phrase lovesick. In this song, he captures how lonely it is without his significant other. This song expresses a lot of complex emotions and when hearing the whole album you see that all these tracks have the same storylines and that's love, lust, and loneliness. He’s talking about all of his complex emotions while in a relationship. The title track Distant already gives us a sneak peak of what the song's storyline will be about. In this song, he perfectly symbolizes what distance feels like between two people.
Track 4:
Track four “Body (feat. Sik-K)” this song reminds me more of when Jmin first started. The beat and the autotune in his voice reminded me of his first song when he was independent under the name “Spaceship”. As Jmin grows as an artist, so does his music. You can see how in every song he has different viewpoints on it. Each track tells a different story but they all connect. This song in particular has more of a seductive vibe to it. It feels like one of those songs that you hear at the club and can easily start dancing to. The feature with Sik-k ties this track all together both of their voices go smoothly with the background of the beat.
Track 5:
Track five “Make U Mine (feat. Moon Sujin) which is a personal favorite has such a different vibe to it. Moon Sujin’s vocals on this track take you into a new dimension. Her voice fits so perfectly with this track. At the beginning of the song, the beat starts with an easing vibe. He starts off with “Tell me all the time, shawty, what's on your mind? Tell me, what's the plan, shawty? Let me ease your mind”. With this song, he shows more of his singing side. This song especially catches everyone's ears because of how well Jmin’s and Sujin’s vocals go with each other. It gives off such a calming yet superficial vibe.
Track 6:
Track six “Come Thru (feat. Jimmy Brown)” this track instantly reminds me of jazz mixed with R&B. This is such a great track. The way the beat and melodies instantly suck you in. In this song, you get to hear more of Jmin singing. Jimmy Brown's parts tie this whole track together. His vocals make the song sound majestic. This song is also more on the seductive side compared to the previous tracks. But this track has something so sweet to it. When Jmin goes in with “You ain't gotta say too much, nah. All you gotta do is come through (Come through).Just tell me, what's the move, my girl?”. The mix of both their voices on this track is impeccable. The vocals come through for this one. You have the mix of Jimmy’s high vocals and Jmin’s lower tone. The background of the melody being the “ooo” blends in perfectly.
Track 7:
Track seven “Can We Talk” feels more on the letting go side. This song feels like it's the final goodbye in the relationship. He starts with “People change, things change. Times change, I thought you’d stay the same (Stay the same). I always kept it real with you”. It’s as if he’s still holding on knowing that it’s pretty much over. When hearing this you can hear how in his perspective he keeps trying and trying but it feels pointless. People change and outgrow each other. This song reminds me of wanting to start a new journey but still having someone holding you down because of how much you still think of them.
Overall, “Sorry I’m Late” is one of the many hit albums Jmin will be dropping. Till the next album we will be waiting for his new work and maybe we can expect a tour coming soon…