"You just pass by me, no just swiftly pass by me. I still do not know what our relationship is." The lyrics of the song “Can I Love?” by Cosmic Boy deliver the emotions of void and loneliness one can feel even in a relationship. Although love may be romantic and wonderful, it is not a feeling that always cascades a rosy hue. Such different sides of love is what the album Can I Love? (2019) of Cosmic Boy conveys. With meticulously thought-out lyrics and deep, futuristic tones of music, the album consists of songs that reflect the diverse dimensions of private and deep-rooted inner thoughts.

Having debuted in 2018, Cosmic Boy is a producer and artist based in South Korea. He initially started his career as a producer for hip-hop artists, such as Giriboy, a well-known rapper in Korea. After gaining popularity for his productions, he released his first extended play (EP) album titled Can I Cosmic in April 2018. His debut album was an opportunity for him to introduce to the audience his style of music topped off with his own signature sound at the beginning of his songs. Expanding his musical style with more songs, he released his mini album Can I Love? in February.

The album Can I Love? includes nine tracks in total, all lightly based on the genre of hip-hop. Two title tracks were selected for the album, which are “Can I Love?” and “Teaching by Rote.” Cosmic Boy mainly sings about love throughout his songs, with some depicting the plaintive features of love one may feel. An interesting aspect of the album, which caught the attention of listeners, is that the tracks all feature notable young artists including George, Kid Milli, and Car the Garden.

The album opens up with the track “Love,” which is a song filled with only instrumentals. The song starts with rich, echoing piano sounds that make it seem as if it is being played in a large concert hall. The song is soon added with futuristic sounds that move up and down through different notes. In an interview with Korea Joongang Daily, Cosmic Boy stated that he likes the song “Love” the most from his album. This is because he believes that it encompasses “a power that moves people” even without any lyrics. Indeed, the song serves as a good starting point, intriguing listeners further into the rest of the album.

“Can I Love?,” one of the title songs, is considered the one that represents the album the best, as it is well-reflected in the album’s identical title. The song features dreamy vocals and rap of Youra and Meego, who are rising artists in Korea. In addition, the catchy beats add a rhythmic flow to the song. In his lyrics, Cosmic Boy speaks about the difficulties people can face in relationships in an honest tone, which makes the lyrics seem like an entry from his journal.

All in all, the album Can I Love? highlights Cosmic Boy’s talent for incorporating sentimental words to the genre of hip-hop and pop music. This creates a unique ambience that can only be found in his music, which is perhaps one of the reasons why he is now starting to gain booming popularity from listeners. Indeed, these aspects of Cosmic Boy are what led him to hold great potential to embrace listeners of different genres and become a one-of-a-kind artist in the South Korean music industry.