“MONEY” by LISA (BLACKPINK)

Yes dear readers, it would appear that now K-poppers have also entered the realm of straight-up money-based rap braggadocio. For here we have Lisa, of Blackpink fame, celebrating, most simply put, being the beneficiary of a sizable income. 

And whereas she doesn’t go as far as to namedrop high-end brands as much as her American counterparts, the vocalist does let it be similarly be known that these funds are primarily for her own chillin’ purposes. Or rather, we can say that this song breaks down to two thesis sentiments. And that would be that Lisa not only likes getting paid, but she also enjoys spending her earnings liberally.

That noted, one particularly interesting part of this song is the chorus, wherein Lisa refers to “twerking” and ‘dollars [getting] dropped on her a-s’. And even though those may be standard expressions as far as Western raps go, in Lisa’s case it comes off as extremely striking. The primary reason is because this appears to be the first time we’ve come across a song from South Korea dealing with such topics, i.e. the vocalist stripping. 

That is not to say that this is the first time a K-popper has alluded to such. But it is the first that we can remember one of the really big K-pop acts, who musically tend to be a lot more conservative than American musicians, doing so. 

And on top of the vocalist apparently touting her own ability to bring home the bacon using her derriere, the chorus also makes the song feel like one of those feminist-inspired financial empowerment songs.

So all of that noted, this track is sort of like a SFW version of an American female rap. And as such tunes tend to go, the emphasis, more than anything, is on dollars.

LISA and “MONEY”

Lisa is a musician, primarily a rapper, who made a name for herself as a member of Blackpink. Blackpink is a name you’ve probably heard of even if you’re not familiar with their work, since as of the writing of this post they are considered to be “the biggest pop band in the world”.

Blackpink is a quartet. And this track is one of two songs found on Lisa’s debut solo EP Lalisa, which came out on 10 September 2021. The other is a song titled “LALISA“.

Thus far, the only other member of the crew to come out with her own album has been Rosé via R, which was released earlier in 2021. However, to note another bandmate, Jennie, released her own single in 2018 which is amply entitled Solo.

MONEY was put out by YG Entertainment, i.e. the same Seoul-based record label that Blackpink belongs to. However to note, Lisa isn’t from South Korea but rather Thailand. In fact concerning this project overall, she has expressed a desire to “capture that Thai vibe as well”.

This song was produced by Teddy Park and written by fellow South Koreans Vince, R.Tee and 24 as well as American musician Bekuh Boom.

Interesting to note is that at the same time of this track’s release, contrastingly in nearby China the government is actually cracking down on who they consider to be overpaid celebrities, as well as perhaps K-pop in general.