It has been over a decade since T.O.P last released solo music. In a recent interview with GQ, he explained that during the last 10 years, “I devoted myself entirely to creation.” The effort T.O.P put into his music has paid off in his first solo album Another Dimension. It is a complete, accomplished album: varied in sound, yet flowing from beginning to end, taking listeners on a journey as T.O.P grapples with his past and establishes his identity as a solo artist.
Sonically, the production is rich and immersive, giving the album a cinematic feel. Most of the songs lack a melodic hook one expects from a pop song, but it is clear that T.O.P seeks to operate outside the Kpop framework. For this album, he chose a small group of collaborators, including composer Jackpot and sound designer Irko, whose engineering creates complex soundscapes to surround T.O.P’s deep voice and unique rap flow.
Another Dimension also carries emotional weight and conveys an unflinching personal story. T.O.P opens the album by confronting the darkest moments of his past, in a raw and open manner. “Self-Crucifixion” boldly incorporates clips from news segments, commenting on events from his marijuana scandal to his failed moon mission to his appearance on Squid Game 2. Harrowingly, the outro montage even includes reports of his 2017 overdose and his mother’s comments to the press during his hospitalization, “he’s doing much better.” T.O.P exposes how his private struggles have become public spectacle.
For T.O.P, moving on from the past invariably means grappling with the consequences of fame, as well as his time with Big Bang. Several songs contain overt or implicit references to the group. “The Giant” recreates his verse from “Loser,” mimicking the flow of the original but changing the lyrics about his mistakes with women to his “repeated fuck-ups” about his creation. Through his confidently delivered vocals and booming percussion, T.O.P portrays himself as “the giant” who overcame adversity by himself.
“The Giant” ends with a rewind sound effect, transitioning into the retro-sounding, synthwave title track “Studio 54.” With a title referring to the 1970s New York nightclub known for its decadence, “Studio 54” seems to allude to the Burning Sun club scandal in its refrain in the outro, “Dirty sun, they just ruined my soul.” However, he attributes the “dirty sun” as the reason for his “great new moon inspiration.” T.O.P reframes the challenges and controversies he has endured as the reasons for personal transformation.
His most direct reckoning with his years with Big Bang comes with “A Small, Filthy Show Window.” Addressing his fans, T.O.P reflects in the chorus:
It’s beautiful when we go our separate ways
All these feelings got me stuck
Was glamorous but game ovaya
I was in a small, filthy show window
In the song’s lyrics, T.O.P captures his complex feelings about his twenties in Big Bang. He loved his “beautiful past” with them, but also compares the intense scrutiny as an idol as feeling trapped in a “show window.” The song has “Ovaya” as its alternative title, which suggests that T.O.P might feel “over” the negative experiences he had as an idol. The Korean phrase 오바야 also translates to “It’s too much.” Though he acknowledges that fans may want him to return to Big Bang, he unequivocally states that he has “graduated” from the group and emphasizes the beauty of pursuing his own path. For listeners as well as T.O.P, this track offers closure and catharsis.
And so T.O.P moves on to show us the results of his “great new moon inspiration.” T.O.P peppers references to the moon throughout Another Dimension, but the album shifts to a more futuristic direction after “A Small, Filthy Show Window.” T.O.P experiments with electronic production on “Zero-Coke” and “Another Dimension Holy Dude!!!!!!!!”, with the long instrumental intro for the former track conveying the feeling of ascending into outer space. “Zero-Coke” shifts a few more times, combining piano and strings in the instrumentals before bringing in heavier beats and reverb-laden vocals.
In the avant garde “Another Dimension Holy Dude!!!!!!!!” T.O.P layers sound effects, synths, deep bass, and autotune to showcase his creativity. Like “Zero-Coke,” “Another Dimension Holy Dude!!!!!!!!” fuses different sections, interspersing his swaggering rap verses with ambient vocal distortion.
However, the last third of the album does not focus solely on unconventional, spacey soundscapes or unusual song structures. Lead single “Desperado” contains relatively sparse instrumentation, driven by a snare and twangy bass guitar. The song demonstrates a smoother, more sensual side of T.O.P’s music. Meanwhile, “For Fans” is inflected with a disco groove. Lyrically, the last few songs of the album focus more on the desire for connection, and fittingly the composition and production feels warmer and less experimental.
The closing track “Be Solid” ends the album on a hopeful note, declaring his intentions to be a more grounded, “solid” person for himself and others. Its 3/4 time signature resembles the beats of a waltz, a dance that takes a reliable pattern and requires balance and control. Choices like these underscore how intentional T.O.P is with his composition, even if it does not feel overtly innovative.
Another Dimension is an impressive, affecting album with a clear and uncompromising vision from beginning to end. T.O.P channeled a decade’s worth of musical ambition into this album, but also mustered the courage to be vulnerable and share his personal journey. The result is a genuinely moving project that honestly confronts the past and approaches the future with hope and aspiration.
(YouTube. GQ Hong Kong. Lyrics via Genius [1][2][3]. Images via Topspot Pictures).
