GIGGLES IS OFFICIALLY
COMING TO YOU LIVE
By: Alicia Zamora
DABIN IS BACK!
The long wait is finally over. Hong Dabin made his debut as a solo artist with his album “Giggles”. This album consists of thirteen tracks and is beyond outstanding. This album was a wave of emotions. You can feel and sense everything he tried to say in this album. You can see that this album he had more freedom. He had a lot on his shoulders so he opened up about something that was killing him inside.
After the pre-release of one of his songs “Till I Live” everyone knew that Giggles was going to be a wave of emotions. One thing for sure is that he did not disappoint. Not only did he put his emotions into his lyrics but he did something amazing with it. He made thirteen tracks of raw pureness.
DPR FOR LIFE
Dreamers do not doubt that he will do great things. Dabin is extraordinary no matter the name, as DPR Live or Dabin he will thrive. The passion he has for music is like no other and DPR is not just a team but a family, so knowing that everyone still supports him and is rooting for him made this album a lot more special. The dedication he gives his team in the track “Kiss The Ring” shows that it's much more than business and fame.
Giggles is a piece of art something that Dabin and his team created. You can see that this album was done with not just delicacy but time, passion, and strong emotions. This was nothing new or surprising because Dabin as an artist always exceeds in his work. You can see that he put his all into it. With that being said let's start with track one of his off-the-chart album Giggles.
TRACK 1: KISS THE RING
Starting with track one “Kiss The Ring” Dabin started the album strong. The beat, the introduction, the way he simply just came for everyone's careers with this drop. It's an upbeat song but a song that feels like you can play for any occasion. Like one of those songs you can put on and vibe to even on a bad day. His melodies, the words flowing smoothly, and the rhyming it's like what cant Dabin do? He quite literally showed the world that he is made of so much and that he has so much in him. Dreamers knew that this drop was going to be outstanding and it truly was. I expected nothing less from Dabin. This drop was highly anticipated and he served us with such a great album.
The way you can easily put this song and automatically just go with the flow of it. The rhyming in this track was impeccable. When he hit us with the “Hold up cream do you see she's a bad bitch” jaws were dropped to the floor. This track in particular stood out the most. It was more of a song to show people that they need to respect him because he earned it.
TRACK 2: GHOST KID
Track two is “Ghost Kid” which is one of my personal favorites. This track felt more deep. Like if it was a hidden message. It felt as if he was telling a story of how he felt lonely but let everyone believe he was fine. The vibe is upbeat and you can instantly catch the vibe but it feels like he's conveying a message about feeling invisible. Hence the title of the track Ghost Kid. “I'm a ghost. Where nobody knows. What I'm feeling most. Yeah, and maybe so.I'm a ghost”. In the middle of the song, the beat drops to a slower pace and his voice gets into a slower tone. It seems like he's running out of breath, conveying someone running from everything.
TRACK 3: REC
Track three “REC” seems like more of a song that he dedicated to those who stood by him. It starts with him mentioning how he's thankful for his fans. This song in particular felt special. He starts it off slow and with a shift in his tone. It sounds like he's looking back at everything and letting it all out. Hearing the background of conversation and his songs as DPR Live feels like this is a song of letting go for a little. A song that says “I can finally breathe”, something that feels like it's an opening to a new start.
TRACK 4: TILL I LIVE
Track Four “Till I Live”. The song itself was so beautifully written and well composed. You can tell that he put his all into it because you can instantly tell that you’re about to get a song full of raw emotions. With the melody, you can feel the type of emptiness that he perfectly portrays in this song. Putting in the lyrics “In the end, you are a disappointment” and ending that part with “Your existence is a disappointment.” You can hear it in his voice how it came straight from his soul. Towards the end of the song, you can feel the big shift in energy where it gets a lot gloomier. He ends the song with a phone call from his dad.
TRACK 5: GIGGLES 2023:SNTTF
Track five “Giggles 2023:SNTTF” felt like such a trip. This song felt like you were in another dimension as if you were diving into a black hole. The repeating of “Do you know how much I do for you” and leading to the next track was genius. Since the next track talks about someone who fucked him over and did him dirty. Dabin is quite literally a lyrical genius.
TRACK 6: WMP FREESTYLE
Track six “WMP freestyle” all that can be said about this track is wow. He truly did that and this freestyle was something that everyone needed to hear. This track was a big fuck you to the person who screwed him over. It was later revealed that it was for former member Scott Kim who was known as DPR Rem. Dabin goes “Where’s my money at?” letting everyone know that he got money stolen from him. Hence Scott being in charge of all profits let everyone know that he got fucked over by someone who swore was family and a “brother” to them.
TRACK 7: UNCONSCIOUS INTERLUDE
Track seven “unconscious interlude” the opening for this song had so much to it. It started off sounding like he was having a conversation in a echoey place then it moved slowly into the introduction of him singing. As the singing slowly fades away the beat gets more powerful. This track in particular felt a lot more calm and collected compared to the previous tracks. It felt like one of those tracks you can play when you're overwhelmed and it helps you get back on track.
TRACK 8: ANECHOIC PERIOD
Track eight “Anechoic Period” this track feels like a sign of relief. You can hear in the beginning how he lets out a sigh and from there, it's silent for a little and then he lets out a final sigh. It's one of those tracks that leads you to another story. With that, he moves onto the track Tic Tac which tells a bigger story. This track is meant to immerse the listeners into what's about to go down so that they can follow the story.
TRACK 9: TIC TAC?
Track nine “Tic Tac?” with the start of this song makes you feel like you're in space. It's one of those songs that can get you to listen and feel the vibe of the song. It lets you understand the story. In particular, this song feels like he was trapped for a while. The song itself is very well done the beat is more of a calm yet upbeat beat.
TRACK 10: R E L A X
Track ten “ R E L A X” this track was more like an interlude to the track after it which is “Shower Song”. With this track, you hear a lot of beats that feel like waves. You can hear a bit of everything. It feels like it's taking you on a trip to another dimension.
TRACK 11: SHOWER SONG
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
TRACK 12: COMING TO YOU LIVE
Track twelve “Coming To You Live” the beginning of this sounded muffled but it’s one of those tracks that leads you into a whole different experience. As an interlude to introduce the last and final song. He uses his famous phrase in the interlude “coming to you live” as a symbol that it’s still his and he’s going to continue to be Dabin. Last year he announced that he would be taking a break from DPR Live and expanding as a solo artist under his given name Dabin. He then went on to create his company Coming To You Live and I feel like this interlude was to let us know that everything that happened before him doing solo work will always be with him.
TRACK 13: GREEN JUICE
Track thirteen “Green Juice” which is the last song off this album is impeccable. The vibes, the beat, the melodies. Truly everything in this song is just amazing. Once again everyone expected this from Dabin. It's not surprising that he can play around with his music and explore different genres. This song in particular reminded me of one of his old songs Yellow Cab. It gave me the same vibe and reminded me of that era.
Overall, “Giggles” was one of the many projects that Dabin will be releasing. As a solo artist, he has done so much with this album. He was able to open up and with that, he also released a documentary. Please go give it a listen!
MORE OF DABIN
ARTICLE CREDITS
Edited by: McCayla McClard
Formatted by: Estefania Rosario