As one of YG entertainments most talented and best known rappers, Bobby has been a household name for a while now. As a member of iKON he’s shown just how potent an idol rapper can be when utilised properly and his own solo work has showcased his immense skills is many unique and unexpected ways. 2017’s I Love You remains one of my favourite YG solo songs and the entirety of the ‘Love and Fall’ album was an absolute triumph. So does U Mad live up to the hype?
Unfortunately, U Mad is all noise and nothing else. Just endless bluster without any semblance of a melody. Its opening instrumental loop is instantly disorientating, singling the kind of musical assault we’re about to get. It isn’t the least bit inspiring but given that Bobby was the artist at the helm, I still remained optimistic. And for the first verse at least, that optimism remained. Bobby absolutely devours this opening verse, attacking the listener from the start with a provocative tone that feels suited to the aggressive supporting instrumental. I really enjoy it when rappers try to go hard and much of this opening verse achieves that. The beat becomes more industrial sounding, accented by the underlying trap beats that I’ve just come to accept are a pretty much a guarantee in most modern day songs.
But as we headed into the pre-chorus, my hope in U Mad began to fade. The shouted hook was incredibly grating and only got worse once it took over during the chorus, which is another absolutely awful centrepiece.The combination of that distorted siren loop, pummelling edm beat and Bobby’s “WHY YOU MAD SON” are an absolutely horrid combination and rid much of U Mad with any sense of goodwill. The following verses attempt to recreate the tracks wavering path with an especially exhilarating section where the instrumental filters out to let Bobby spit bars over silence. An especially effective production choice. But that isn’t enough to save a track that gets more and more unbearable as it goes on. And while Bobby’s performance is easily the highlight, I detest his yelling which reminds me heavily of 6ix9ine’s work. Something I don’t want to ever hear ever again.
Verses: 7
Chorus: 5
Production: 6
Performance: 7
Final Rating: 6.25 / 10
KBopped 