MONSTA X’s I.M. continues his ambitious solo artist journey with a new E.P., ‘Off The Beat.’ With six new songs, each embodying a unique story, the extended playlist incorporates hip-hop and tracks while incorporating ‘atypical’ musical elements from various genres such as soul, R&B, and bossa/Latin music. The new extended play is available via Sony Music Entertainment on all music streaming platforms.
From his former releases ‘Duality’ and ‘Overdrive,’ fans around the globe have been immersed in I.M.’s unlimited and non-stereotypical musical worldview. ‘Off The Beat’ will be a fresh addition to his portfolio that portrays this distinguished artist’s unique self-storytelling as well as the motif of ‘not following the regular’ and being ‘unconventional’ by utilizing empathy to talk about the ambivalence in life that isn’t often mentioned through music.
The focus track, ‘LURE,’ is the first to stand out as a unique musical endeavour, showcasing I.M.’s musical expansiveness between his vocals and rap skills.
With a punchy beat and Latin-influenced guitar sound, the tune becomes tangible in the listener’s mind. The opening starts with soft guitar strumming that lures us into upbeat hip-hop and trap sounds, carrying into smooth vocals.
Ending with a serenading tone and the lyrics “Want ’em to know for sure, can’t keep it on the low, babe can you love me out loud,” I.M. aims to hold onto the theme of ‘temptation’ and lure his listeners into the lyrics.
Each song on the tracklist unveils I.M.’s current identity and different aspects of his daily life. ‘Bust it’ conveys his self-confidence over a strong trap sound; ‘X0’ is a smooth sound that draws someone in late at night.
‘Skyline’ with its rhythmic beat and tempting lyrics. ‘MMI’ contains self-confessional lyrics in an uptempo exotic melody. ‘nbdy’ is where one is faced with the emptiness of someone’s absence. (Add more later)
Despite the challenges and opportunities he may face as a soloist, the superstar has been showing great success because he has shown a unique side of himself and connected with his fans through his previous bodies of work. The rapper is a solo artist under Sony Music Entertainment Korea for his subsequent solo music ventures.
As an active member of his group, MONSTA X, I.M is their rapper and maknae. MONSTA X is a top-tier global K-pop group that has expanded its fandom domestically and internationally over the past seven years.
The group was formed in 2015 from a survival program called No. Mercy by Starship Entertainment and Mnet. Since their debut, they have shown many different musical elements of hip-hop, EDM, and pop. The supergroup has achieved international success with nine studio albums released.
In 2019, MONSTA X signed to Epic Records for their English-language recordings and worldwide distribution. With the first U.S. release of their full-length album “All About Luv” in 2020, MONSTA X ranked number five on the U.S. Billboard 200 Chart.
The second release of their English-language full-length album “The Dreaming” in 2021 (under BMG) debuted at number 21 on the Billboard 200. The group’s latest released music as a whole group was in January 2023 with the mini album “Reason.”
The boy group has gained popularity throughout its years of active participation. It has even won Next Generation Asian Artist in 2015 at the MAMA Awards, Artist of the Year in 2018 at the Asia Artist Awards, Global Artist in 2022 at the Melon Music Awards, and was even nominated for the Choice International Artist in 2017 at the Teen Choice Awards. Fellow members also release music within units and solo albums.
ABOUT I.M.
I.M. (Im Chang-Kyun) is a member and the lead rapper of the Korean boy group MONSTA X, which debuted in 2015. Even as the youngest member of the group, I.M. has shown his talent and potential as a soloist through numerous mixtapes and solo E.P.s, where he contributed to the composing, arranging, and writing the lyrics.
His solo debut E.P. “DUALITY,” released in February 2021, has gained massive success with five tracks ranking in Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales Chart, reaching 8.5 million views on YouTube for his lead track, “God Damn,” music video and holds over 15.9 million streams on Spotify.
While remaining a part of MONSTA X, I.M. focuses more on his solo career. With the second E.P., “OVERDRIVE,” released under Sony Music Entertainment Korea in June 2023, he showed a more comprehensive range of skills with a style change in his music compared to his work with MONSTA X.
This E.P. ranked first in 14 countries on the iTunes Global Chart and achieved over 1 million streams within 24 hours of its release, which led to this extended playlist being placed in the Melon Hall of Fame. The album carefully sets out the musical worldview pursued by I.M. as a soloist through deep, sophisticated sounds and delicate melodies.
I.M. has been showing great success and growth as he continues to reveal a unique side of himself and connect with his fans through his latest albums and singles, such as his debut E.P. “Duality,” his last album “Overdrive,” and his latest single “Slowly.” All five songs in the “Duality” album charted on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales Chart and have about 45 million all-time global streams.
