WATCH: CL RIDES A CLOUD IN 'LIFTED' MV; RAPS IN ENGLISH

At last, CL’s has a new U.S. song with ‘Lifted’. Been a few months of waiting but I'm not entirely impressed. The song’s good but not great. The dance… well let’s just say, from the minimal amount of it that can be seen, it is definitely NSFW by Korean standards. The video, filmed by Dave Meyers, a director who has had tons of experience with other American artists, has done a clean job with the pleasant visuals.

On the outside, the song's good. Lifted has got all the components of a decent hip-hop-pop combination. It’s got a catchy tune made better with the unique vocals of CL. But like, that’s it. There’s nothing outstanding, impressive or anything that lets listeners go wow. This has to be the safest song I’ve heard from YG in a while.

For a Korean that wants to break into the American rap scene, CL's raps are, to say the least, ordinary. Lifted is catchy, standard U.S. pop gold. But doesn't look or sound like the CL we've come to know and love. 

I can tell that I’ve been into Korean music for a substantial amount of time. The grinding definitely shocked me. I know that it’s normal in the western dance scene or whatever, but if anything sexual occurs in kpop, it’s usually an idol dancing alone with a provocative look on their face. There’s no bodily contact with others. But hey, there’s no doubt that CL has a nice body and can definitely pull off those moves.

We get it, you vape. And the abundance of African Americans has somehow caused a bit of controversy in the comments. But besides that, a nice piece of cinematography, except for the awkward floating clouds… You’d think green screen work would be less dodgy nowadays.

Hopefully CL comes out with better stuff. Shout out to Yang Hyun-suk (YG CEO) for taking your friggen time. I did not wait this long to be this disappointed.