Mirani and Mingi Are Calling: Why You Need to Hit Them Up with Their Latest Track

martinamarier

On her latest single “Hit Me Up,” South Korean hip-hop artist, MIRANI, partners with ATEEZ rapper, Mingi, to take a bubbly approach at explaining the back-and-forth dynamic of a relationship where mixed messages are the primary language. Lyrics in the pre-chorus like “Do you want me? Or is it just me wanting you?” summarize the overall meaning pretty simply. You like this person, and you’re pretty sure they like you too, but neither of you can seem to breach that divide and just admit how you feel.

I’ll be the first to admit that I tuned into this release for the Mingi feature, but I came out of it with a new favorite artist. After Hongjoong, ATEEZ’s leader and other rapper, collaborated with Chungha earlier this year, I was wondering what a Mingi collaboration would look like. His rap style usually stays in more in-your-face territory to pair with ATEEZ’s signature sound, but I love when he leans more into the softer side of his voice in their slower songs. He’s almost singing throughout his entire verse, easing into it and picking up the tempo towards the end.

MIRANI and Mingi’s voices pair incredibly well together. After listening to her releases prior to “Hit Me Up,” I found myself adding most of her last EP to my playlists. MIRANI’s deeper register is usually present in her more hard-hitting style, so I was surprised by how light and poppy this song was. Their voices overlap perfectly as they harmonize over the chorus’ bouncy instrumentals, and I would love to hear each of them explore this style more often. I’d also love to hear another collaboration where they tackle that hip-hop style I heard in most of MIRANI’s music.

My only complaint, one that’s becoming too common recently, is that it’s too short. It has all the ingredients for a perfect, fun summer song, but it falls flat without a bridge or an extended outro to break up the repetitive choruses. Coming in at just over two minutes, I can’t help but think about how much stronger it could’ve been with an extra 30 seconds of a MIRANI rap verse or a clean bridge. By the time it ended, I was already wanting more. That might just be enough to keep me coming back.