Review: Rapper Dok2 Proves He's At His Best Without The Rapid-Fire Hi-Hat On 'We Gotta Know' From 'Multillionaire' [AUDIO]

It's no secret that South Korean rapper Dok2 loves the hip-hop sound of the American South.

The rapper has made the machine gun 16th note programmed hi-hat attack of so-called "Dirty South" rap artists like Lil Wayne, Ludacris and Juvenile his trademark, with the majority of his new album "Multillionaire," released on Tuesday, being no exception.

But there's one thing that any astute follower of Dok2 may have noticed. That is the fact he is at his best when he sheds his stutter-step shell in favor of sounds that seem closer to his heart and come across as much more natural.

On the "Multillionaire" track "We Gotta Know," the rapper shows his potential when given a different kind of hip-hop beat, in this case one that is a clear nod to late '90s hip-hop. The beat on "We Gotta Know" recalls some of hip-hop's classic producers like J Dilla, Pete Rock and the RZA.

Dok2 even sheds his often noirish persona to offer some positive words in English.

"No matter what they say, there's always a way," he raps.

But let's go back to the beginning.

"We Gotta Know" opens with the odd choice of 30 seconds of solo piano, typically the kiss of death in Korean pop, meaning you are in for a pretentious sleepy ballad. Though stick around, my friends, and the payoff is more than worth it. Perhaps Dok2 thought he could make this blast of vintage hip-hop more palatable to a wider audience with a piano intro (and outro) so common in the mellower end of K-pop chart-toppers.

Or, maybe he just dug the intro.

The reason is unimportant. What is significant is what happens in between the two piano interludes. That's when one of South Korea's premiere rappers shows what happens when he given the chance to open up on a different kind of beat.

Listen to the Dok2 song "We Gotta Know" from the album "Multillionaire" RIGHT HERE

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