Cookin’ up a new sound: Stray Kids and the mala taste genre
Co-written by Rinn Knight and Amanda Lopez
While one of many Korean idol groups inspired by hip hop and electronic dance music, Stray Kids have managed to make their mark on the music industry by creating their own color: the mala taste genre.
Stray Kids are an eight member group within JYP Entertainment that were formed in 2017 through a survival competition program. Their debut itself was rather unusual, given that leader Bang Chan picked the members himself, a quite rare instance in the kpop world: this way, members Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin and I.N were chosen to be part of the final lineup.
Thanks to their already existing human and artistic bond, Stray Kids were able to immediately start building their own sound: both their pre-debut release Mixtape and their debut album trilogy I Am Not, I Am Who and I Am You are full of extremely daring songs that made the group’s style recognizable from the very beginning, earning them the attention of the K-Pop world — especially for being a self-produced ensemble.
Experimenting as they continue to refine their sound, they have gained both the attention of the public and the media, garnering the title of pioneer for the genre known as ‘mala taste.’ The term was first used by Korean media to describe the group’s distinctive combination of genre and sound in the title track “God’s Menu.”
Mala taste originates from the word malatang, which is used to describe a popular Chinese spicy, numbing hot soup. In contrast to Stray Kids’ sound, idol music is typically described as sweet or sour which ties into the typical cute or powerful concepts commonly seen from idol groups. Musically, mala taste now refers to a unique sound created through genre blending that is addictive to the listener — hence, hot and popular. And “God’s Menu” was serving just that.
Even more unique is the way the track was developed. Within Stray Kids is the unit 3RACHA which consists of Bang Chan (CB97), Changbin (SPEARB), and Han (J.ONE). The name 3RACHA itself is derived from sriracha, the hot sauce, and the Spanish word racha which means gust of wind or streak as in losing or winning streak. Together the trio have written and produced the vast majority of Stray Kids’ discography. This hands-on approach has allowed the unit to take their personal goals for the Stray Kids sound and develop it over time as opposed to being at the mercy of outside producers’ opinions, as many groups are in the idol industry. With the direct involvement of the members in producing, the mala taste genre was born.
In an interview with EUPHORIA Magazine, leader Bang Chan elaborates on how the mala taste genre is tied into both sound and a cooking concept:
“For me, I’ve always thought that the concept of making music is very similar to cooking. Making new cuisines/songs for everyone and entertaining their taste buds/eardrums is something I’ve thought of as very important.”
Stray Kids perfectly captured this analogy with “God’s Menu.” The song is off of their first full album released in 2020, GO LIVE. Hard-hitting and in-your-face from the very beginning, despite the first line of song being “Welcome, sir and ma’am”, it sets in stone the main traits of the mala taste genre: an eccentric sound that shocks the listener yet leaves them wanting more.
Everything about it is unusual yet draws people in, from the main structure of the track to the purest musical details. Worth mentioning is the use of the tritone, or Devil’s interval, which is an interval of three whole tones that revolutionizes the secular rules of the tonal system, therefore challenging it and boldly going against tradition — just like Stray Kids’ general approach to music. With 3RACHA as main producers, “God’s Menu” flaunts a layered instrumental with synths, sirens and heavy beats, as well as melodic breaks characterized by a much softer music box type of sonority. It’s a true musical rollercoaster, always keeping the listener on the edge of their seat.
The meaning and main message of “God’s Menu,” however, go far beyond the simple will to make the track the anthem of a new genre. The song proudly embraces all the criticism that was directed to Stray Kids in the past, therefore giving life to monikers such as “construction music” and “pots and pans,” especially in its music video. But it isn’t merely a retaliation for the disapproval they received throughout the years: with its own genre it aims to bring a new variety of sounds to the already lavish table that is the K-Pop industry, like its Korean title better explains — “神메뉴”, literally “new menu”.
The mala taste genre began with “God’s Menu,” and it remains present in most of Stray Kids’ recent releases too. Not long after GO LIVE came their repackage album IN LIFE, with “Back Door” as the title track: immediately catching the attention of music critics all over the world for its daring production that, like its predecessor, brought together various elements for a distinctive sound. This even earned the track a feature in TIME magazine’s list of best 2020 songs, where it was perfectly described as “an artful Frankenstein that’s as catchy as it is complex”, therefore mirroring the main characteristics of the mala taste genre — uniqueness and addictiveness.
Stray Kids received an opportunity to further showcase their own sound through their participation in Kingdom: Legendary War, a reality show that saw them metaphorically fighting against five other boy groups (BtoB, iKON, SF9, The Boyz and ATEEZ) through flamboyant live performances and new song arrangements. During the reality show, they displayed various aspects of their artistry in all rounds, but the most memorable one was definitely their performance for the “No Limit”-themed fourth round. They set up a magnificent mash-up of their track “God’s Menu” and of BLACKPINK’s smash hit “DDU-DU DDU-DU,” and brought the two songs to life through a Deadpool-themed stage. The YouTube clip of their performance ended up going viral and gaining more than 20 million views as of July 2021, and it was also noticed by Deadpool’s actor Ryan Reynolds himself. Through a wholesome exchange of tweets, Reynolds proclaimed himself as a new Stay — Stray Kids’ official fandom name — and named leader Bang Chan as his new favorite Aussie, exchanging goods with him as well.
For the final round of the show, in which they were crowned the winners, they released and later performed the track “WOLFGANG.” The title is a play on the name of Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as well as referencing the wolf pack concept that was presented throughout their whole Kingdom journey. Honoring Mozart’s daringly creative genius, this song isn’t able to fit in any conventional genre, being an incredibly tight-knit mélange of different ones: it brings together wolf howls and organ chords, rock riffs and choir vocalizations, trap sonorities and growly barks, completely detaching itself from any musical label and pushing K-Pop’s boundaries confidently. A true example of musical savagery, it doesn’t fit in any genre other than Stray Kids’ very own.
In addition to the power of pioneering the mala taste genre, Stray Kids had already begun to carve out a path in idol music. In 2019, the group debuted “Side Effects,” which used elements of the psytrance genre and was the first example of an idol group doing so. It consequently made way for a more widespread use of this niche genre, that otherwise would have probably been left unknown.
This in itself is an interesting indicator of how unique the mala taste genre is to Stray Kids. While many songs featuring psytrance quickly followed “Side Effects,” there is yet to be another group to tackle the same approach as “God’s Menu”. The general category Stray Kids fall into is what is described as “noisy” K-Pop because of the use of EDM, hip-hop, and sound effects, which is a common theme among most fourth generation boy groups. The mala taste genre is so distinct to Stray Kids because other groups have not yet pulled off the seamless, unique mix of genres and concepts that 3RACHA has been able to masterly craft.
Being a self-produced group, Stray Kids have already experimented with countless different sonorities in the span of three years and made an impact with their previous releases. They were able to introduce their own personal genre without needing any kind of outside force. The birth of the mala taste genre happened as a direct consequence of their unique attitude towards music, which constantly breaks new grounds and allows them to play with it without losing their own trademark. It’s therefore safe to say that the K-Pop world can expect more mala taste from Stray Kids, especially now — with their comeback not too far away.
