Even in South Korea, you’re never truly safe from Rick Ross.
[Video][Website]
[6.38]
Brad Shoup: In my mind, it plays like a flip of “Till the World Ends.” It’s probably the pre-bridge section: Seungri parcels phrases along his falsetto journey, and it ends up like Brit’s pre-chorus. The acoustic strum here creates a sensation of paddling, amplified during that refrain; it’s indebted to Max and Luke for sure. The overarching sensation is of hard fucking work; the disco sting, barely heard, is almost a joke in this context.
[7]
Iain Mew: The one member of Big Bang that I couldn’t remember the name of even after seeing them makes his solo return, and it’s with some remarkably weightless hustling. The video version includes some maximalist banging that’s a decent twist, but I’ll take the version that holds onto its elegant restraint for the full distance, because he’s got the lightness and surety of touch to pull it off.
[7]
Patrick St. Michel: In which a member of Big Bang turns a Rick Ross hook into a plea directed towards a romantic interest. Plenty of other artists have taken the “Hustlin'” chorus and made it their own — remember when LMFAO did it? — so the fact Seungri quoted an American rapper here isn’t particularly interesting. Rather, “Gotta Talk to U” is just a really sleek pop song that hints at an EDM freakout but never actually plummets into it.
[7]
Anthony Easton: This has all the feelings of energy: the chorus of “hustlin’,” the noise of revved up engines and pinprick heartbeats, even the the addition of hand-claps. But the feelings betray something quite lethargic; the tension is more conceptually interesting than the final product ends up.
[4]
Madeleine Lee: Seungri’s always had the second most compelling solo career in Big Bang. His is not the mad genius of G-Dragon, nor the paint-by-numbers style of Taeyang; it’s somewhere in between, with recognizable templates (the Justin, the Usher) plus snappy tweaks in the production. While not as blatantly obvious about its source material, “Gotta Talk to U” still sounds familiar enough to catch but fresh enough to develop that into intrigue. The beat and the sound effects (pianos, whistling) dance around each other with precision, inviting multiple listens to re-experience a moment that doesn’t get repeated. Even the jokes are subtle: “hustlin’, hustlin'” is no accident, but it’s also no accident that it’s been put through the strainer, filtered from a stage wink down to a sly smirk.
[9]
Edward Okulicz: This has a superlative middle eight — handclaps and pianos never get tired. Hard to say the same for the anaemic guitar and the beat which sits between bosh and march in an attempt to enliven it, though. The (all too brief) snatch of disco at the very end suggest that hidden inside this mostly-average song is a terrific early 00s filter house stormer waiting to be remixed into life.
[5]
Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Seungri’s vocals have always seemed to walk that line between having an appealing levity and being straight-up inconsequential. Here, he attacks the track just right, performing with a cool reserve over a mutation of muted Euroambition and cooed Rick Ross lyrics. The song’s thump invites him to enjoy the moment, but he seems more comfortable in being perched over the palaver, analysing the events down below with an eyebrow arched.
[7]
Alfred Soto: Whispering “hustlin’ hustlin'” through his teeth makes for a more imaginative hook than the 2002-vintage acoustic guitar/drum machine combo.
[5]