Anderson .Paak has turn out to be a go-to international collaborator for Ok-pop acts. Lately, he’s paired with G-Dragon and BTS’s RM. Now, he’s joined forces with NCT’s Taeyong, who makes his return from army hiatus with new solo single Rock Strong. On condition that 2026 is NCT’s tenth anniversary, I count on we’ll see many extra particular tracks like this launched all year long. (The under-fed melody-lover in me requests a With out You redux, please!)

Unsuprisingly, Rock Strong is not any With out You. It’s a very totally different type of music, bringing in frequent producer Dem Jointz for a hip-hop banger. Within the spirit of honesty, this observe was at all times going to be an uphill battle for me. I don’t notably love Taeyong’s fashion of rapping and I discover Dem Jointz’s manufacturing to be very hit and miss (largely “miss,” these days). With this set-up, I attempt to verify my biases much more than regular and pay attention for what a music is attempting to do reasonably than what it’s attempting to do for me.

Rock Strong makes ample use of .Paak’s abilities as a drummer, throwing down a unfastened groove that underpins the observe with a cool indie rock vibe. Vocals make up a big portion of the percussion as effectively, with a closely repeated loop of “rock strong!” operating by way of your entire observe. It’s a neat little affectation, I suppose, however rapidly grows stale. And that description suits the music as a complete. There are some cool issues taking place on a micro stage, however the macro’s monotonous repetition steals consideration from the gratifying interaction thriving inside its lockstep framework. Total, Rock Strong appears like a playful lark or jam session, not meant to be taken too critically. With that in thoughts, I in all probability received’t give it some thought a lot after penning this assessment.

Grade: C