Ruby

my immediate reaction: this has been the best solo debut from the blackpink members. i hate making the comparison cuz it probably gets annoying for them, but i was underwhelmed with rose and lisa debuts, this was just very refreshing. this is a solid debut and i see a lot of room for more innovation and growth. she blends pop with hip hop, rnb, rap and acoustic. sometimes it did feel like the project went too many different directions, to the point where it lacked cohesiveness. the chorus melody in 'start a war' reminded me of demi lovato's 'melon cake'. 'with the ie (way up)' was very old school hip hop, heavily influenced by 'jenny from the block'. the production in 'mantra' was fantastic. what in the kali uchis is going on in 'love hangover'; i would've loved to hear a solo version cuz dominic doesn't add much; her vocals were very good in that track. imagine me finding out she has a kali uchis feature later on. jennie's voice is soothing and versatile, she really can jump into any genre and sound good or decent. the heavy industrial production in 'zen' was stellar, and clearly made for playing live. i was surprisingly satisfied with this album, waiting to see where she goes next.

fav tracks: like jennie, with the ie, mantra, extraL