Stray Kids is a nine member idol group from South Korea. They’re under JYP Entertainment and debuted after a survival program that sometimes broke my heart. Just Google ‘Stray Kids Felix Crying’ and prepare to feel your tear ducts leaking. Bang Chan, the leader of the group handpicked the other members out. He really wanted to start with the nine of them together.
These boys released their first single in 2017 but they’re already winning awards left and right. They’ve already released six EP’s which is a huge feat considering that they self-produce most of their music alongside JYP producers. The rapline is part of a subunit called 3racha who do most of the group’s songwriting. They have three mixtapes as well. Do yourself a favour and listen to ‘Matryoshka’. Prepare to be shook.
The members are Bang Chan, Han, Changbin, Felix, Woojin, Lee Know, Hyunjin, I.N. and Seungmin. Bang Chang is the leader and is incredibly talented. He’s part of 3racha together with Changbin and Han. Everyone in the group was born between 1997 and 2001. Can you imagine being that young and writing songs that are total bops yet somehow all have great messages? The genius popped out.
The songs tend to go hard. Once you listen to a couple of them, you can immediately recognize their style. It’s very EDM heavy with a lot of hip hop influences. When you hear Felix’s deep voice you wonder if you just heard the voice of God. Coincidentally you’ll wonder if Changbin’s rap skills are gifted by the devil because they are fire.
Despite what you might expect from the hard hitting beats, their lyrics are about finding yourself, going your own pace without the influence of others. They’re about dealing with the voices in your head and most importantly about not giving up. Their trilogy ‘I Am’ was all about finding yourself, firstly discovering that you don’t really like the person you are, then asking questions about who you are before finding yourself. Although that might be a temporary thing because they are still young and likely to change while they grow up.
The fandom name is STAY and according to the group’s tagline, ‘You Make Stray Kids Stay.’ If that isn’t adorable, I don’t know what is.
I have been listening to their music since they debuted and everytime I’m amazed by the new songs they release. Remember, sleep in your beds, not on Stray Kids.
If you’re intrigued, go check out these:
Their latest title track: Side Effects
Wanna discover their silly side? Try this one: Get Cool
They have their softer songs as well: Mixtape #3
The struggles of growing up: 19
