What does romance mean to you? For some, romance is the heart-flutters and butterflies with that friend who isn’t really a friend. For others, it’s the comforting and soothing dynamic when the world is quiet and it’s just you and your partner.
H1GHR MUSIC’s BIG Naughty poses his own take on the concept of romance in his newest 10-track album, NANGMAN. Handcrafted to tell the story of a romance from its start to its end, the 19-year-old Show Me The Money alum tells Bandwagon that “[r]omance is… what is waiting for you when you reach the end of the tunnel of love”.
We caught up with the eccentric rapper to talk about the inspiration for NANGMAN, the appearance of his big-name features on the EP, and many more.
Hi BIG Naughty, congratulations on NANGMAN! What is one thing you’ve been most excited about recently?
Thank you. I am very thankful that the song was well-received and listened to by my fans. And it is one of my most exciting and impressive episodes in my life because it sits in the music charts alongside some of my favorite artists such as BIG BANG.
DREAMS COME TRUE 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/mXIRuwwsyH
— bignaughtyboi (@bignaughtyman) April 28, 2022
Walk us through how the album was pieced together and why each song made its way onto this particular drop.
At some point, I realized romance doesn’t just come around, but instead it has to be searched for. People seem to live their lives so focused on competitions that they are “romantically-malnourished“. I wanted to remind and deliver romance to those people and that’s how this album came about. Let's not lose and forget romance!
MAY R&B ALBUM
— bignaughtyboi (@bignaughtyman) February 23, 2022
SEPTEMBER POP AMBUM
Your album revolves around romance as a theme, to you, what is the meaning of romance and how does your recent release embody this?
Romance to me is what is waiting for you when you reach the end of the tunnel of love. And through this album, I wanted to show my development and versatility as an artist who can do R&B music and use music as a medium to express even the deepest of emotions.
+ BUT THE MAY R&B ALBUM IS MY FAVORITE
— bignaughtyboi (@bignaughtyman) February 23, 2022
NANGMAN features many big names who have their own style and sound. Share with us some memorable anecdotes that you had while collaborating with these artists!
CHANGMO’s verse for the title track, “Romance Symphony '' is a memorable episode for me. He delivered his part the day before he enlisted in the military so I was anxious and worried that I wouldn’t be able to receive it. But I’m thankful he was able to deliver and complete the song.
Another anecdote is with the talented voice actor, Kim Kihyun who did the narration for the intro track. His voice sounded as if it was recorded on a microphone worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. His million dollar voice really made me feel like NANGMAN was being completed.
View this post on Instagram
If you had to choose one song on the album to encompass the record’s message, which would it be and why?
I want to choose the first track, "I called it NANGMAN (Narr. Kim Kihyun)." It's the song that I'm most attached to, and Kim Kihyun, the voice actor, read the poem that I wrote myself. I wrote it very carefully and meticulously, line by line, and it contains the narrative of this entire album in one piece of writing.
View this post on Instagram
To round things off, where do you see yourself in 10 years, both as a musician and as a 29-year-old?
I can’t give an answer to that question. It’s not because I don’t know what I want to do but because the artist and person I hope to become is something beyond my current imagination. But what I can say is that I will strive to be different and better every year.
View this post on Instagram
Like what you read? Show our writer some love!
-