K-Pop Beyond The Charts is a weekly review column highlighting Korea's modern day musical innovators who have yet to find mainstream success.
The celestial void may be the theme of "Outer Planet" featuring Chatterbox, the new single released Wednesday by Olltii along with the A-side "Zero Gravity," but the earthy R&B sound keeps the South Korean rappers deeply rooted on soulfully solid ground.
And while the concept of rhyming over 1970s jazz fusion sounds is as old as rap itself, Olltti is able to bring a new musical interpretation of the acts of the era from Herbie Hancock to Steely Dan that iconic hip-hop acts like De La Soul, Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar have sampled or emulated so heavily. Using what appear to be all live musicians (another nod to the legacy of West Coast hip-hop), Olltti creates a musical backdrop that easily could have been the foundation for a brooding R&B track.
Instead Olltti and Chatterbox go in the complete opposite direction, foregoing a hook entirely and saving the lyricism for their musical and original rhyming.
It is this more raw reading of jazz-drenched hip-hop that makes "Outer Planet" the more innovative side of the "Outer Planet" single, despite the A-side's more obvious commercial potential. Though now more than ever, major rap artists like Kendrick, Kanye West or Run The Jewels seem to be rewarded with more critical and even commercial success the more far out they get, perhaps because of the listener fatigue that kicks in once any genre reaches its maximum global influence.
If these are the two sides of Olltti, let's hope he's able to sense which way the solar wind is blowing and opt to make more adventurous hip-hop like "Outer Planet," rather than playing it safe like he does on "Zero Gravity."
Listen to "Outer Planet" featuring Chatterbox, the B-side of the "Zero Gravity" single from South Korean rap artist Olltti RIGHT HERE
