Reviewing KINGDOM 'NO LIMIT' 물감놀이 Stage
Without further ado, I'll jump right into the review!
Right off the bat, the highlight of this performance is the undoubtedly the unrivalled chemistry between the members of the Mayfly rap unit. With unit songs, it's difficult for there to be cohesion, especially since differing idol groups have certain styles or quirks that only work with their group. However, with the Mayfly unit, it's remarkably easy to see that is an incredible chemistry between the members; with the way all members groove at the start together, the way they share confident glances and the way that their voices compliment, never overbearing.
The song begins with a clear message delivered by introductinary hook - 'paint with music', and 'spray' it everywhere. 물감놀이 translates to 'playing with colours' and with that title, it's easy to understand the vibe the unit is going for - it's meant to be playful, but impactful and it is exactly that as the song transitions from the chanting chorus to the first verse. Changbin's aggressive flow carries with wave of the hook's energy and he begins by stating that he has 'no limits, coloured like a rainbow'. This not only alludes to the message of the track with themes regarding anti-discrimination against minorities and the collaboration between members of different groups - different colours in the metaphor - but also refers to being versatile, never sticking to one sound but mixing them all together to get a final impactful final result.
Changbin also uses a paintbrush to playfully paint alongside a painting of a rainbow, showing that he isn't afraid the break the order of things because mixing everything together can only be more fun and enjoyable. His lyrics make multiple references to artists and poets. The first is a reference to Picasso whom he refers to as 'a god of art' which is significant due to Picasso's art style which was ground-breaking for it's highly unusual colour combinations and interesting shapes and therefore, in the context of the track, Changbin implies that being like Picasso, putting out a mix of colour and shape, is something that is truly to be aimed for. As we've established, the entire track uses the metaphor of painting and colour to refer to diversity and it's celebration and support for it.
After Changbin, Hongjoong starts his own verse mentioning that 'there's not a bad colour in this world' and that people should 'close their mouths', if they believe otherwise - a clear message towards people who discriminate. Furthermore, Hongjoong extends the metaphor stating that we should 'mix all the colours together', and that people shouldn't 'leave any out' because the overall 'painting' - which refers to society as a whole in the context of the song - is still 'refined' even when 'mixed carelessly'. In the last lines of his verse Hongjoong makes another clear statement: 'Who's still trying to make colours match? It's lame, bring me more colours!' , which shows the Mayfly teams' inclusion towards all people and rejects the idea that people should be put into boxes and matched with certain people and not others.
After another Hook ends with both Changbin and Hongjoong chanting their mantra, Han's rap begins. When rapping, he's surrounding by a group of artist who seem to be painting pictures of the members of the unit, but with the colours changed and inverted to become a wild mix. In his rap, Han says that he's 'got to be a great artist' but if he's going to be an artist, he's going to be like 'Vincent Van Gogh' who most 'importantly' is an 'expressionist'. This is some really creative word play as he not only refers to the expressionist art movement, directed towards presenting art from a subjective standpoint, evoking emotions and moods through usage of various colour and stroke, but also literally translates to 'being cautious of what you express', again implying that as they 'paint with music' it is important to be cautious of the message you spread with it, as being an influencer, being an 'artist', comes with that responsibility.
When Han's verse ends, it's Bang Chan's verse and without a doubt, it's probably his verse that really solidifies with message of the track. He begins his rap surrounded by people wearing white masks. By now, it's important to understand the significance of the colour white in the performance. Here, I'd like to commend Hongjoong for the stage design (as far as I'm aware, he was responsible for the large majority of the ideas for the stage design). because the colour choices for this stage are incredibly thoughtful. White is the basis for all colours, with colours all splitting from white light. It represents unity between all colours and in this performance, like established before, unity between people.
Chan's verse begins with him stating that it's 'Renaissance 2021'. This again refers to an art movement following the Middle Age Crisis and the transition between the middle ages and modernity which accounted towards a large social change, much like the many references to 'social' topics in the track. Chan goes onto to say that it 'doesn't matter, black, brown, pink, yellow or white, all the colours of the world, all united, we ignite'. This lyric refers to the entire concept of the song, mixing everything together makes a powerful statement which in the wider ramifications of the song represents that diversity and being united with diversity is powerful.
The hook is then sung by all members of the team, excluding Minhyuk who comes with the final verse right after.
In his verse, perhaps the most impactful lyric wise, Minhyuk starts off by establishing his experience in the industry 'a zombie...painting for ten years straight' and then proceeds to state that the manner he's survived so long in it is due to his 'skills and not blaming tools'. Here, Minhyuk suggests that he uses his full potential and doesn't limit himself with tools, again, referring to the topic of this round 'no limit'. Minhyuk proceeds to state that '[the members of the group] are all dyed as [they] play' on their track, reinforcing that even though they are all diverse, are all from different groups, they blend together like paint, and create something impactful, together.
Then he makes a very clear statement, saying that the group will 'track down and chew out', people who 'divide by colour', again alluding to the tracks' anti-discrimination message. He goes onto say that they make 'art, no matter how [they] spray [their colours]' and that they'll continue 'playing on [their] canvas', this refers to them all making music, no matter what the songs sound like and that they'll continue being diverse with their music and spreading to others (paint referring to their music and canvas, to their audience).
Finally, Minhyuk finishes his verse, stating that everyone 'bleeds the same colour'. There is not a clearer message in the track - everyone, no matter their
differences, is of the same importance, value and beauty.
With those final words, the hook plays once more and this time, the members dance in a cloud of colour, embracing diversity.
Overall, I can say with certainty, no matter what others may claim, this performance was something completely unique, skilful and impactful. I can say that it is no wonder they won this round with a message this strikingly beautiful.
Once again, kudos to all the members for their involvement; this performance would not be the same without anyone's absence. And with that, this review is concluded!
If there's any typos, I'm so sorry, I wrote the large majority of this at night lol.
