"Niliria" is a song by K-pop musician G-Dragon, featuring American recording artist Missy Elliott from G-Dragon's second studio album, Coup d'Etat (2013). To date, it remains as one of the six songs from the album to enter the top ten on South Korea's Gaon Singles Chart.[1] On 2 December 2013, the song ranked number 32 on Complex's The 50 Best Songs of 2013.[2]

Background

Vocals for the song were recorded in 2011 via e-mail and telephone.[3][4] On 23 January 2013, Missy Elliott revealed via Twitter that she had worked with G-Dragon on the track alongside another titled "Chugalug," which was never released.[5] Both songs were chiefly produced by Teddy Park.[5] In June 2013, G-Dragon's label YG Entertainment released a statement discussing the making of the song and went in-depth of Elliott's involvement.[6] The label stated that the song "[broke] away from the convention with a hint of Korean taste," and added that "the tinge of a voice sample from [the] Korean traditional folk song 'Nilliliya' [made] it a one-of-a-kind, classy hip-hop track."[6] G-Dragon at first did not think about including Elliott during the early recording process because of the motive of using a traditional Korean folk song.[4] However, he felt a strong desire to feature "more of a past" female artist, and enlisted Elliott in the midst of it all because he was a fan of her work.[4]

Composition

"Niliria' is inspired by and samples a traditional Korean folk song of the same name, turning its beat into "a piece of booming club music," with "a few electro and 808 flourishes thrown in the mix."[2] The composition also includes "sirens and clattering hand percussion" and the vocals were described as "chopped-up".[7] The song's production was noted for being ethnic and surrealist, which drew comparisons to the work of Timbaland.[2]

Live performances

The song was performed with Missy Elliott in Los Angeles, California at the KCON 2013 venue, M! Countdown: What's Up LA.[8] G-Dragon stated that performing with Elliott "was such an honor," and that he "learned a lot."[4] The Hollywood Reporter praised the performance, saying the rappers "with their combined corps of backup dancers, looked utterly comfortable onstage together."[9] Spin hailed the performance a "thrilling cross-continental pop moment."[7]

Charts

Weekly charts

References