Se7en - Just Listen

After four long years of training, Se7en finally debuts with his first album Just Listen. The success was phenomenal as he won almost all of the "Best New Artist" awards that year, proving himself to be a promising star. As of today, it would be hard to imagine the Asian music industry without him.

The intro track is catchy and upbeat. It instantly grips the listener into the album and leads way to a slow tempo track called I Just Wanna. One notable thing in this song is Se7en's excellent English pronunciation with little to no slurring. Most of the album continues in this slower hip-hop sound, though there is virtually no drop in quality, each track being as catchy and interesting as the last.

Wajweo is a beautiful, powerful ballad song that comes up right after. This song is by far one of his more popular ones. Se7en really shows off his singing talent, hitting a whole range of notes flawlessly and passionately, leaving a kind of sentimental feeling that other artists rarely do.

The next track, Hanbeon Dan Hanbeon, is another slow hip-hop song similar in style to I Just Wanna, then to another similar song called One To Ten. Despite the consistency amongst all three of these songs, each one of them is interesting and unique in their own way, certainly showing off the music style Se7en has.

Aswiun Ibyeol comes up next as a sad and beautiful tune with a very nice appearance from Wheesung, followed by a cheeky interlude named SEVEN. Oyeonhi Neol Bwado comes up next as a very slow ballad, winding it down so that the next track can pump the listener right back up.

One of Se7en's most popular songs in his entire career, Luz Control, hits it off with a rap. Obviously, he shows off his rapping the more in this song than in any other on the album. Wheesung and Lexy, two other popular YG artists, show off their talents here alongside him. The tune and lyrics have a definite edge of attitude compared to most of the other tracks.

Baby I Like You Like That keeps the upbeat feel from Luz Control and then slows down with another very nice ballad, Kkoteul Deulgoseo. Deo Meolli Tteonayo is another slow tune that helps calm down the album more, and then once more with Neoigil Barae as the finishing track. These last three songs are probably the least memorable, but they serve their purpose of giving Just Listen a finished feel.

It's not much of a wonder why Se7en is so popular. He really puts everything he has into his music and this debut album really shows it. Even for listeners that don't enjoy R&B and hip-hop that much, there are still tracks on this album worth listening to for any music fan.