Kumi Koda releases her Summer ode to Harriet Tubman, "To Be Free"

The third and final of Kumi Koda's Summer singles "To Be Free" is here y'all. And it's nice. Kumi has given us this type of song and video ("Walk ~To the Future~", "In the Air") before. But it's a nice palate cleanser after the mess that was "Doo-Bee-Doo-Bop".

I don't know why I keep embedding these videos when Avex stays blocking them. But once again, you'll need to head on over to YouTube to watch the music video.

"To Be Free" is nice, but it did feel like it was missing some things. It could've done with a really nice bridge section, more instrumentation, some strings and a whole lot less auto-tune. It's random, but I strongly feel that this song should have featured a ukulele. Don't ask why. I just do.

"We'll Be Okay" and "To Be Free" would have made for a cute double A-side single. Both are nice songs and have pleasant music videos. "Doo-Bee-Doo-Bop" is what drags the entire Summer of '21 release down, because Kumi cannot for the life of her let that whole 'ghetto onna' persona go. Had Kumi softened "Doo-Bee-Doo-Bop" and gone the "Megumi no Hito" route with the sound and the look, it would have come off far better and also better complimented the other songs.

Kumi Koda needs to do away with 'ghetto onna'. Not only is it problematic, but she just looks a whole mess. And the sound isn't good either. Kumi giving us hood bangers was fun early on because of the sheer ridiculousness of it, that we actually got good songs sometimes, and the things Kumi was doing in the music videos. But it's tired now. And now that ero kawaii has been replaced with appropriating and giving us 'ghetto onna', Kumi comes off like a caricature. Nobody is wanting any of this from her.

But if she hasn't stopped by now, 20 years into her career, then she won't.

Kumi needs to learn the lesson of less is more. Her extra-ness and excess was a large part of her success, but she hit the point of no longer having to do it YEARS ago, and it's been a problem ever since. Whenever Kumi does something good, she dilutes the impact of it with something bad. "Doo-Bee-Doo-Bop" is the loudest song of the Summer of '21 offerings, and it has the video that most will probably feel is the most fun, because it has the boldest looks and a dance routine. But it's the worst song by far and it's the lasting impression I have of Summer of '21, which wouldn't have been the case if Kumi just dragged "Doo-Bee-Doo-Bop" to the desktop recycle bin and left it there. The less is more approach should also be applied to her style. She looks SO good in the music video for "To Be Free". Her looks were not even doing the most, but she still looked far better than she did in the video for "Doo-Bee-Doo-Bop".

HENNYWAY.

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Kumi Koda releases her Summer ode to Harriet Tubman, "To Be Free"

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