TAP

The record

TAP is Taeyong’s second mini album, released on 26 February 2024 with six tracks. The title track shares the record’s name. It follows the first mini album SHALALA of eight months earlier.

The album introduction on Bugs states that he wrote the lyrics of all six tracks alone, led the composing and the producing throughout, and widened his part in the making of the record compared with its predecessor. The same text describes the title track as hip-hop that lays rock- and blues-leaning guitar over groove-led modern drums and an 808 bass, with lyrics that draw, wittily, someone expressing interest while appearing indifferent.

Reviews

Carmen Chin of NME read the record, in her review of 1 March 2024, as the place where Taeyong widened his range. She wrote that on it “he moves away from his quirky approach to hip-hop towards a more varied palette of styles”. Taking the bulk of the album as a showcase for his singing, she wrote that “for most of the ‘Tap’ mini-album, Taeyong turns his attention toward music that highlights his abilities as a singer”, and that “he makes the most of his deep, arresting tone and charming rasp on the record to great results”. She closed: “‘Tap’ is a spirited effort in grasping the complicated spectrum of the human condition and emotions, and a masterclass in never judging a book by its cover.”

Among the tracks

Of the title track ‘TAP’, Chin wrote that he pulls elements from a variety of genres to build it, “formulated to evoke an innate sense of playfulness that is unique to Taeyong”, and that “he doesn’t take himself too seriously on the track, making for an incredibly fun listening experience”. She picked ‘APE’ as the cheeky entry that speaks to his confidence, writing that “while not the most original lyrical material, it sure is witty”.

She read the songs that lean on singing as the centre of the record. Of two of them she wrote: “It’s most apparent on the fantastic piano-driven ‘Moon Tour’ and gloriously pop punk-influenced ‘Run Away’, where he lays bare the rawness of his melancholia.” Of ‘나에게 했던 것과 같이 (Ups & Downs)’ she wrote that it is “perhaps, where we find Taeyong most out of his usual element”, that the jazzy instrumental “fits his vocals like a glove”, and that his storytelling is at its clearest there as he speaks to the volatile reality of romance.

Of the closing track ‘404 Loading’ she wrote that it is “a clear nod to ‘404 File Not Found’, a B-side from his debut mini album ‘SHALALA’”, and that where the earlier song dealt with the uncertainties of young adulthood, this one “offers a more hopeful outlook”. She called it “one of the best songs he’s ever produced in his burgeoning solo career” and wrote that his vocal performance on it “emerges as the best on the album”.

Around it

Idology (아이돌로지) chose the title track’s video in its year-end music-video picks for 2024, published on 28 February 2025. Squeep wrote that the solo releases by NCT members that year brought out how differently each of them reads, and that “Taeyong’s ‘TAP’ music video shows this most clearly in visual terms”. The video went up on the official SMTOWN channel on the day of release.

The first full-length album WYLD followed two years later, in May 2026.