Stray Kids’ Changbin Bares His Scars To The World in ‘Cypher’

Just yesterday, Stray Kids arrived with the first installment of their upcoming Japanese mini-album: a buzzing new track titled, ‘ALL IN,’ accompanied by its very own music video. And today, the band continues to create waves as their lead rapper, Changbin, claimed the spotlight with a sleek new rap piece, ‘Cypher’. 

Composed by Changbin and 3RACHA member Bang Chan, the track opens with an intriguing instrumental piece. What’s brilliant about ‘Cypher,’ is the fact that we see Changbin experiment with different rap styles. He alternates between slower verses, with more enunciation against a backdrop of powerful electric guitar riffs. He then switches things up with quick paced, fiery rhymes in line with a rush of continuous beats. 

‘Cypher’: The Fight To The Top

Penned down by Changbin himself, the lyrics see the young rap star break free from his shackles. He bares his scars for the world to see, gaining the strength to break out of his mould and show people that after all he’s been through, nothing can knock him down anymore. The first verse itself is proof of Changbin’s brilliant songwriting ability, take a look:

Soles of my shoes cracked, a stretched out tee
A bandaid on my torn up knee would be a luxury
My vocal chords tear in front of the pop filter.
These are all my wounds, my scars, they’re my tattoo
I won’t cover them, I’ll show all I’ve got, I won’t hide them, it’s fine if they all show

The pains and failures that make you want to give it all up are just an excuse

I’ll take it all, I’ll ruin myself, when I ruin myself more

With Stray Kids being formed from an array of such incredibly talented members, does it really come as a surprise that they’ve come this far?

By: Nina Karun