Music Spotlight: Zion.T
As you guys know, I’m a huge Kpop nerd. And I’ve come to embrace the embarrassment that comes with that. Normally, I would try to stay away from that genre as far as blog content, but I can’t help it this time. You have to listen to Zion.T.
Zion.T is a south korean musician and producer who debuted in 2011 and has been blessing the world of Kpop with quality R&B sounds ever since. I had originally only known his work with Infinite H (the two-member rap only subgroup of Infinite) in their song “Without You”, but his new work has gotten my attention.
“Eat”
Zion.T’s most recent music video for his song titled “Eat” caught me off guard today. I first heard the song earlier this week and found it to have a nice, somber melody, but didn’t look any further into it. But upon seeing the music video today, I found that there was a lot more to the song than what meets the ear, so to speak. I turned on the subtitles and behold–the first verse brought me to tears. I finally understood what Zion.T’s words meant, and that made all the difference. The tone, the flow, the video–they all made sense in a way that I don’t see too often in Kpop videos. It was refreshing, and the message was exactly what I needed to hear at the time. Watch “Eat” here–I encourage watching the video with no subtitles first, then again with them. I don’t want to give anything away and take away from the experience by telling you the plot. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
“Zero Gravity”
Zion.T’s earlier release, “Zero Gravity”, reveals an even more laid back, jazzy feel than “Eat” did. The song is vaguely reminiscent of lazy summer days when you want nothing more but to stay in your bed and feel the warmth seep in through the window. He captures in his lyrics a feeling of joy when with a loved one, as well as the pain felt when that loved one hides their true emotions–hiding things like depression or regret. I recommend watching the video without and then with subtitles again, as previously advised. Watch “Zero Gravity” here.
OTHER WORK BY ZION.T
“Yanghwa BRDG”–Zion.T recalls a lonely childhood and memories surrounding the bridge that crosses the Han River in Seoul, South Korea.
“No Makeup” by GAEKO (feat. Zion.T and HA:TFELT)–GAEKO and Zion.T lament a broken ending to a past relationship and attempt to re-connect with their lost loved one.
“Two Melodies” (feat. Crush)–Zion.T wonders if his love song is too average or too obvious, but reveals that every love story has a second, sadder melody.
“Babay” (feat. GAEKO)–one of Zion.T’s lighter, more upbeat releases; in which he expresses his desire to be publicly known as his loved one’s significant other and to finally be able to claim their relationship.
That’s all! I hope you like Zion.T as much as I do and I encourage you to look into his work. It’s some of the most well thought out stuff I’ve seen come out of South Korea’s music industry in a while.
Big summer projects are in the works as you read this, so stay tuned. Thanks for your patience.
SOCIAL MEDIA
www.facebook.com/projectmaganda
Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, 8Tracks, SoundCloud: @ProjectMaganda
SnapChat: @ErinKaelie
Much love,
Erin