Monsta X’s I.M Changkyun Will get Non-public on ‘Off the Beat’ Solo Reduce

I.M isn’t weighty on introductions. The Korean singer-songwriter-rapper, and Monsta X crew member, desires to let his song do the speaking.

“There’s a reason that I don’t write lots of introduction when I introduce my songs, because I don’t want [listeners] to get affected by what I wrote,” I.M says over Zoom in overdue March, one year sooner than the let go of his unused EP “Off the Beat.” His tune titles are minimalist, continuously only one assurance, and the paradox creates area for listeners to attract their very own conclusions. “I just want them to feel what they want. So I hope you feel free when you listen to my music.”

I.M speaks intentionally year answering questions, and is maximum effusive when the subject is firmly rooted in song. Which isn’t to mention that I.M isn’t keen to get private. With the let go of “Off the Beat,” his 3rd challenge as a solo artist, I.M is appearing fanatics but every other facet of himself by way of his songwriting.

A couple of days sooner than the six-track let go, I.M is feeling “calm, but really excited,” he says.

It’s a vibe that fits his headspace year making the copy. “I was feeling comfortable,” he provides. “At the time when I was making my album, I was quite chill, free — but I had a little pressure on me to make music. It’s always like this,” he provides. “But it’s a good stress.”

The EP is his 2d let go with Sony Track Korea, which signed him as a solo artist in overdue 2022. “They’re really nice to me. I really feel their effort, and I’m happy to work with them,” he says of the still-fresh courting — including that he was once additionally satisfied beneath his earlier label Starship, which silent manages Monsta X. “The new environment gives me new inspiration,” he provides.

“Off the Beat” follows the let go of “Overdrive” endmost summer season. His sophomore challenge was once sultry and easy; the through-line was once a way of longing. “Off the Beat” is sonically extra upbeat — and continuously, because the identify suggests, offbeat — incorporating influences from hip-hop, soul, R&B and Latin song. The challenge started as a global that “popped” into his head. “I just wrote it down and mined that thought,” he says, including that model was once an early property, and he drew inspiration from movie. “Lure,” the manage music, is a seductive narrative that attracts listeners into the copy, and a teaser for the song video previews a graceful seeing aesthetic.

I.M, who became 28 in January, made his debut with Monsta X in 2015. Even supposing now not formally on hiatus, nearly all of the crowd is lately enjoyable their necessary army carrier, having enlisted overdue endmost generation. The residue between his two skilled identities — as a member of Monsta X, and because the solo artist I.M — is specified by the song’s writing credit. Indexed because the manage essayist on many Monsta X songs, his accentuation is one of the. With “Off the Beat,” I.M is in a position to proceed writing his personal tales. The penultimate music at the EP is the confessional “MMI” — “Me, Myself and I.” 

“My identity as a team, as Monsta X, I only think about the team, because the team is very important to me. And all the members are really like a family to me, so it’s always fun and it’s always precious when I’m working with them,” he says. “And when I’m working and it’s just me — it’s just me. So I don’t try to show myself as a cool guy,” he provides. “I’m happy when I’m just making music.” 

Singer, rapper, manufacturer, essayist — every identification provides as much as I.M. “All of them are me,” he says. “In the past, I was kind of confused about what’s ‘real me,’” he says. “But right now, everything, every moment, came out for me. So it’s only me.”

His move to I.M started in highschool, when he was once simply Im Chang-kyun. “I really didn’t think about being a singer or an artist,” he says. “When I was in high school, music leaned into me very deeply. And I was thinking, what would my own music be like? What am I like on the stage? If they are listening to my music, how would they react to it?”

Following the ones questions, some solutions have since emerged — and the response has been certain, each from fanatics and types. Like many usual Korean stars, I.M has been tapped through model manufacturers together with Polo Ralph Lauren, Swarovski and Versace. In overdue March, he attended the reopening birthday party for the Brioni boutique in Seoul.

However again to the song. Following the let go of “Off the Beat,” I.M is making plans for a efficiency in Might, and is uncertain to reveal his plans past that. “I’m happy to make music, and I am happy about my six tracks right now,” he says. “And there’s lots of fans who love me — so if you’re happy, that’s it to me.”