BUT FOR NOW LEAVE ME ALONE Requires Everyone’s Full Attention
With his second full-length album, BUT FOR NOW LEAVE ME ALONE, pH-1 continues to refine his unique sound.
By Elise Christopher
Ever since his run on the seventh season of South Korea’s “Show Me The Money”, pH-1 has been a force to be reckoned with. The rapper dropped his first album HALO in 2019 and the mixtape X in 2020, and the quality of music never wavered. His signature combination of catchy melodic lines and varying flows shines through just as much on BUT FOR NOW LEAVE ME ALONE as it always has.
pH-1 was born in South Korea but moved to Long Island at the age of 12, resulting in an undeniable Western influence on his music. The track “TIPSY” honestly reminded me of the “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” theme song at first listen. It has a distinctly West Coast feel. “Juliette!”, featuring neo-soul artist UMI, sounds more like an American hip-hop song, adjacent to songs like “Peaches” and “Hotline Bling”.
His use of both Korean and English is something fresh that he brings to the table—he frequently switches back and forth between the two languages in a single verse, occasionally just dropping an English word. Even so, his flow goes uninterrupted and his rhyme scheme never feels out of place.
In a recent interview pH-1 did with American rapper Aminé, he commented on his musical style; he loves to put lighter lyrics over a more serious beat and vice versa. The first song, “ZOMBIES”, makes it seem like this album might diverge from that. It’s three minutes of fun, with tales of women and partying over bouncy, hyped-up instrumentals. The chorus alone is an earworm, but the track comes together with his energetic flow that matches the overall vibe.
“TGIF”, the second track on the album, is an acronym for “Thank God I’m Famous”. With this song, as much as he looks back to where he came from, he’s also reveling in his VIP lifestyle and lack of money problems. It’s a funky tune, complete with a groovy bass line and chorus to match.
“YUPPIE TING” continues the upbeat trend with a high tempo and animated ad-libs. Blase’s feature falls a bit flat alongside the song’s energy, but not enough to ruin it entirely.
The first four tracks prove to be a trick, for the most part. They sound lighthearted and they are. The same can’t be said for the latter portion of the project: there’s a consistent theme of a broken relationship and struggles of love. However it doesn’t sound dreary or sad. His English lyrics are usually the most obvious indicators of what a given song is about—-there’s a good chance that the true message behind each song might otherwise escape the listener if they don’t know Korean.
pH-1 actually sounds more tense and unhinged at certain points. In “SHRINK TOLD ME”, his verse comes out more like a frantic rant, breathy and gradually getting louder. In “RUN AWAY”, the outro is similar, his words coming out choppy as he repeatedly says, “run away from me”.
His lyrics are brimming with conflicting emotions, taking a turn to heartbreak, self-deprecation, and the occasional mention of death. “DEAD GIRL” acts as a metaphor for a dead relationship, where he fights for attention and affection only to get nothing in return. “FINAL BOUT”, officially titled “마지막 싸움”—a nearly direct translation—is about the last fight before a breakup, total honesty, and even moving forward without wanting to change the past. The album is certainly not without an emotional journey.
BUT FOR NOW LEAVE ME ALONE showcases pH-1’s finesse front and center, but it’s quite the collaborative project. There are plenty of features and production credits from others signed to his label, H1GHR MUSIC, and other artists outside of it, such as Blase and Los. There’s always a nice contrast between his voice and those of the features. The deep voices of Paloalto in “ISSUES” and Woo Wonjae in “MR. BAD” stand clear up against pH-1’s higher tone.
My favorite thing about this album is how pH-1 is constantly playing around with vocals. This isn’t exactly something new that he’s doing, but it’s a lot more prominent here. His choruses are layered with harmonies, and short vocal melodies often pop up in the background as lovely fillers for empty space. The background vocals almost take on a dreamy quality with how soft they sound. How he warps his voice by making it shouty and staticky, lowering the pitch, or adding reverb, always works perfectly with the energy the rest of the song creates.
pH-1 continues to broaden the parameters of hip-hop by incorporating instrumentals that contain bits and pieces of funk, house, lo-fi, and more. BUT FOR NOW LEAVE ME ALONE could easily be an album for anyone to just sit and bop their head along to. It could be an album for anyone to cry to. Its ability to accomplish so much at once is what makes it special.
In the final outro of “BVE”, he sends out a message to his parents, hoping he’s made them proud. I’d like to think he has.