Sexy Nukim ft. RM: A Sexy Review (Not Really)

Chapter Two is off to a roaring start for the members of BTS; kicked off by j-hope with the release of his first solo album Jack In The Box, which in itself is a cultural reset. After the vocal line’s collaboration with Benny Blanco and Snoop Dogg, RM is the latest member to join the Chapter Two shenanigans. In late August, ARMY Twitter was a buzz with the news of RM’s recent collaboration with the self-proclaimed alternative K-pop group Balming Tiger, a musical collective of musicians, writers, producers, and visual artists, that cross both cultural and gender barriers. The excitement grew as talk of the new joint featuring RM spread like wildfire across all platforms but came to a near fever pitch when the name of the track was revealed as Sexy Nukim. Which, for many ARMYs, autocorrected to “Sexy Namjoon” in their mind (it's okay, you can admit it).

SEXY NUKIM (섹시느낌)

The moment the first bar drops on the hip-hop track, you immediately understand that it's aptly named, as the song is reminiscent of how a lava lamp looks: smooth, groovy, and sensual. When asked about the message of the song in an interview with DIY, the members of Balming Tiger stated, "It's literally a 'Sexy Nukim (‘Feeling’ in Korean). Two very simple-looking words met, and a strange title was born. This word also touches the artistic ideal that we think. We think that every new creation appears when you twist something familiar. I think our art is also the aesthetics of twisting, just as the two words we thought were familiar meet and give a strange feeling. The song makes the concept of 'sexy' appear as it appears or has a different meaning. It could be external sexiness. It could be internal confidence. The lyrics say what 'sexiness' is."

The song is accompanied by a bendy-twisty-mind-trippy-indie-film-esque music video that perfectly fits its aesthetics. The rappers of Balming Tiger are kids brought to a doctor to be “fixed” by their parents. They are then hooked up to a machine that takes away their individuality, aka “their sexy,” and traps them in a room that looks like a sauna. That is until RM swoops in on his bicycle (looking like the prince he is) and knocks over a toy Ferrari to rescue them. The silky smooth rap reminds listeners that sexiness is not a matter of money or material wealth, nor can it be defined by what others think. Instead, it is a state of being that is unique to oneself.

SEXY COLLAB

In their interview with DIY, the members of Balming Tiger expressed their belief that RM was the only person who could bring what they were looking for in this track. "We had a belief that RM could express it better than anyone else in this song, and the results were very satisfactory to each other. RM's part in this song could never be replaced by anyone else." The members of Balming Tiger continue to say, "Just as we work internally with BT (BalmingTiger) members, the work with him proceeded naturally. Also, his performance was great. We ended up using the lyrics and rap style that he sent us for the first time. He understood the music 120% and drew his own style within the flow of the track, and because he's a man of such a humble, charming personality, we've been able to have fun throughout our work with him."

LYRICAL GENIUS

RM's verse in Sexy Nukim is masterful. Not only does he use wordplay to compliment the song's opening verses, like a seamstress carefully knitting his parts in perfect harmony, he also employs a technique called bending words. "In which a rapper ‘bends’ a word (pronounces it in an odd way) to create a shared vowel sound between two words that, when pronounced normally, have similar — but slightly different — vowel sounds,” as defined by Don't Sweat The Beat Music Blog. This technique is seen when RM says, "doom boy," which creates a rhyme with the earlier line from Balming Tiger of "what you doin' boy?" RM brings a style and a flare to the song that is uniquely his own yet fits flawlessly with the overall theme and feel of Sexy Nukim—again, proving that he is truly a lyrical, musical genius.

SUMMING UP

Sexy Nukim is fun, flirty, and funky, but at its core, it carries a profound message everyone needs to hear. Your worth is not determined by what you have or your status. Sexiness is a state of mind that takes many forms and means different things to different people. So, if someone tries to steal your sexy from you, RM has provided you with the perfect comeback for that. Just turn around and say, "I have no time to feel lonely, 24 hours. Man, you just gotta be sorry. Yo shit is sour."

If you haven’t listened to this sexy song yet, do it now! Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Written by: Lisa

Edited by: Cassie

Designed by: ThornToHisRose

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