For a while now, hip hop has been the resource that K-pop most easily dips into. As hip hop became one of the most influential genres in pop music worldwide, K-pop was quick to absorb the style, and in the process, it became a key form of expression for some idols. Trendy 808s, basslines that sit low in the mix, hard-hitting rap, and shooting back at critics with achievements under the belt and pure talent—put those together and you’ve got a pretty convincing hip hop image.

But there’s always been a subtle distinction here. Simply borrowing rap and hip hop beats is one thing, but adopting the whole approach—taking what you need from existing music and placing it in a new context, then turning your own experiences into songs—is something else entirely. The former is just using the elements of hip hop for musical ends. The latter is more of a creative process of reinterpreting what’s already out there and turning your backstory into music.

And this is where CORTIS is in a unique position, since they’re right on the boundary. Hip hop makes up a huge part of CORTIS’ music, but it seems less the group’s defining genre and more like a creative approach, or way of picking, choosing, and mixing different musical material. With their debut EP, “COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES,” for example, “GO!” takes trap and absolutely runs with it, while “What You Want” pairs a boom bap beat with psychedelic rock guitar, edging into rap rock territory. “FaSHioN,” meanwhile, gives them a platform to rap about their lifestyle and personal taste while drawing on trap and other Southern hip hop sounds.

Mixing genres in itself is common enough in K-pop today. It isn’t hard to find examples where there’s multiple genres in a single song. The same goes for members of a group writing their own material. At this point, the “self-producing” label doesn’t really capture what kind of music they’re making or what they’re trying to say.

That’s another part of what makes CORTIS worth a closer look. Rather than putting hip hop as a genre front and center, their music revolves around everyday life, relationships, and personal preferences and concerns. To put it another way, the confluence of boom bap with distinctly CORTIS aspects of the group in the song “What You Want” matters more than just the fact that the song has a boom bap sound. Here, boom bap isn’t an era-specific style to be recreated but one more building block for putting together a new song.

This is exactly where CORTIS diverges from the K-pop hip hop “concept” of old. Where K-pop has traditionally used the sheen of hip hop as a tool to prop up an idol’s image, CORTIS, while still working within the same industry, takes a somewhat different approach. They go a step beyond adopting hip hop as an image and step directly into the creative process of making what they actually want to make.

One of the songs that demonstrates CORTIS’ relationship with hip hop most clearly is “MOTION” (feat. Juicy J). The most eye-catching thing about this track is, unsurprisingly, Juicy J’s name. A collaboration between a K-pop group and Juicy J—a key member of Three 6 Mafia, one of the groups that defined Southern hip hop, and a major figure in the Memphis hip hop scene—is newsworthy enough on its own, but what’s even more interesting is that his roots go right to the origins of Southern hip hop, not just the current trend.

From the early 1990s, Juicy J was a core part of Three 6 Mafia, helping build the dark, repetitive style unique to Memphis rap. That sound would go on to shape the broader trends of Southern hip hop, including trap, in no small way. In that sense, his involvement holds more meaning than simply a collab with a famous rapper from overseas—it represents CORTIS tracing their own influences back to the source and making music directly with someone on the ground floor.

What’s more, CORTIS and Juicy J’s connection extends back further than just “MOTION.” The two artists were already making musical connections together before CORTIS even debuted, working together and building a relationship rooted in a deep appreciation of each other’s music. In other words, “MOTION” isn’t about slapping on a famous rapper’s name for credibility. Instead, it’s the result of forming a true relationship with a musician they admire and were influenced by, then turning that back into music.

It’s also interesting how CORTIS doesn’t try to directly imitate Memphis rap when working with Juicy J. The boys aren’t about resurrecting the legacy of an older sound. Instead, they take that material and put it to new use with an updated sound. What makes “MOTION” so fun to listen to has less to do with Juicy J’s involvement itself and more with watching what happens when a music legend interacts with CORTIS’ modern take.

CORTIS’ recently released tracks “PACK IT UP” and “MONEYMONEYMONEY” are an even more explicit look at their creative approach. Both grew out of personal experience and views, not an in-depth plan. “PACK IT UP,” in particular, started as a freestyle the group traded back and forth like a joke while packing for a trip abroad, where one of them would toss out a spontaneous idea and another would add a beat, melody, or lyrics. What started as goofing around grew into a full song.

A creative spark doesn’t always start in the studio or a session scheduled in advance. Even something trivial happening right before the eyes can become material for a song. Something as ordinary as packing for a trip can turn into proper music with the right amount of impromptu play. It’s anything but a new approach in the hip hop world. Sounds heard on the street, conversations with friends, scenes out of everyday life, and lines that pop into someone’s head have all long been starting points for music. It’s less about searching for something extraordinary and more about spotting what’s around you that could become music, then developing it according to your own personal style.

“MONEYMONEYMONEY,” meanwhile, shows a slightly different side of the group. The song isn’t exactly breaking new ground—being direct about money, success, and wanting more has all been part and parcel of hip hop for ages. CORTIS doesn’t try to steer clear of this familiar territory, either. If anything, when there’s something they’ve set their minds on conveying, they pull from the same kind of subject matter that hip hop’s covered plenty of times before without hesitation.

They add specific details drawn from their own experiences, like their time in France (“Paris Fashion Week / Brought home a designer bag / Got taxed at airport customs / I was so so caught off guard”) for the perfect mix of classic hip hop fodder and CORTIS today. In that sense, “MONEYMONEYMONEY” shows how they use even hip hop’s most familiar subject matter in their music without hesitation, and that kind of honesty really matters. Not every song has to add great meaning or be proof of absolute originality. Some songs can just be fun, and others can be about age-old desires as they’ve always been—and that, too, is a decision left up to the group. Those choices do more to exemplify CORTIS’ musical freedom than any sweeping statement piece.

CORTIS was also born out of the massive K-pop machine, so it’s unlikely their creative process is completely untouched by industry practices. Still, the fact that they’ve made their creative involvement a core part of the group’s identity within that same system is certainly noteworthy. Of course, since it hasn’t been that long since their debut, it remains to be seen whether their current approach toward authorship will hold up indefinitely. Whether the group’s active involvement translates into sustained musical achievements is also something we’ll only be able to know by keeping up with their work going forward.

But at least one thing about the direction they’re headed seems clear from what they’ve done so far. CORTIS doesn’t treat hip hop as just trendy music that sounds cool. For them, hip hop is a sound, but it’s also something closer to a creative reference point—a way to grab what they need from existing music, combine it in their unique way, and translate their personal experiences and views into music. That’s why asking just how hip hop the music really is might not even be the right question when it comes to the YOUNGCREATORCREW. A more important question might be how much of their own spin they’re putting on everything they’ve listened to and experienced.

There’s been no shortage of K-pop groups who’ve tried hip hop on for size, but it’s rare to find a group that truly translates hip hop’s influence into music that’s genuinely their own. That’s exactly why CORTIS is worth paying attention to right now. In the end, what matters isn’t what you draw from, but what you turn it into. No doubt it’ll be fascinating to watch how CORTIS uniquely answers that question with their music going forward.