I’m currently working on the third entry to the “More Than…” series and I just need to put in some finishing touches before I get it released (because within the next week, I’ll be working on ToyCon content) but it would be nice to put something out for the time being.
Girl Gang is the newly released single from Manila Idol Matsuri survivors R RULES under their new management, Universal Music. I’ll come out and say this right away, I think I’ll remember Girl Gan more than DNY because, at the very beginning of the song, it hits you with the following lines: “Girl gang, hindi kami same thang” (Girl gang, we are not the same thang) and with a line like that, trust me, this song is already in your brain.
Another thing to take note of why, in my opinion, Girl Gang is more memorable than DNY is that the beat and the visuals mesh with each other very well. The film noir-esque, Trese-inspired setting (of their music video) complements the sukeban uniforms.
For the music itself, as I’ve mentioned earlier, even though the message is as simple as “girl boss yass kween slay” they were able to hook me with the distinct beat and how they delivered the lyrics from the robotic “konnichiwa R RULES desu” to the chorus to the verses that say “R RULES owns the world now biatch”.
No offense to fans of DNY but I think that compared to it, Girl Gang’s aesthetic is more unique to the senses than DNY. It really separates them from other PPop groups. It’s not that much inspired by Kpop (or whatever their concept of Jpop is in the case of MNL48) and at the same time, not that bubblegum pop laced like late 2000s Jpop-inspired acts like FESTA or LoveSo.
Girl Gang is the right mix of American, Filipino, and Japanese music into one neat package.
Now back to the music video, it almost reminds me of that Rawstarr meme music video a few years back with how the lighting and the shots inside the R-gumi office and at the same time it reminds me of Christopher Nolan Batman mixed with some Budjette Tan.
I’d say this is something I’d expect more from R RULES, girl boss gangsta rap with unique elements and superb cinematography. The lyrics may be too simple for some but don’t let it fool you. The beat will get you listening to it on repeat in no time.
Rayas-WEB 