Tag: Mark (NCT)

SM Entertainment has been teasing MARK’s solo debut album since what felt like forever. The album was announced in May 2024, with the intentions to release the album in February 2025. But it was later announced that the album would be delayed to April 2025 to “ensure a better quality”. Since the announcement last year, MARK released three singles – 200, Fraktsiya ft. LEE YOUNG JI and +82 Pressin’ ft. HAECHAN. All these singles are included on MARK’s debut studio album, The Firstfruit, which is led by the single 1999.

MARK’s 1999 (and the rest of the album) has been out since Monday. But don’t take the time it has taken me to write this review as an indicator towards my thoughts on 1999. I have been really enjoying 1999 since my first listen. The fantastic blend of grand orchestra, funky guitar, brass sounds and whistling with the modern soft beats drew my attention from the get-go. It sounds like there is a lot going on in the background, but they all came together to create such a cool and unique instrumental backing. MARK impresses with his vocals in 1999. The melodies that come through during the chorus helps make 1999 smooth and velvety, overall. This gives 1999 a very unique style and I just love that. The chorus ends up being such a strong drawing point of the song, for me, thanks to the catchy repetition hook ‘99 yeah 99‘. I would gladly replay the song to just listen to the chorus. His rapping in 1999 is great, though it isn’t as memorable as compared to the vocal work. Even his rap-speak motif was more memorable than his actual rapping sequences. The end of 1999 is also a rather weak moment of the song. I do like how it attempts to give 1999 its last hurrah and close out the song in an a dynamic and energetic manner, but I felt the rapping here and instrumentation was a little muddled. Had 1999 closed out with a stronger, bolder and satisfying end and MARK’s raps were memorable throughout the song to the same level as his vocals were, 1999 would have been the near-perfect song.

My best guess of what is going on in the music video involves MARK traveling back in time to 1999 when it all started for him (i.e., his birth year). I am assuming he goes back to show the world what they are currently have to offer. And he brings all of his music (including his own debut studio album) to help him make his mark. I like the different MARKs we see in the video, from the time traveling MARK who is the main show, 1999 VJ MARK who helps spreads the news, and Fraktisya MARK who is flying the UFO/hockey puck. I also like the little inclusion of Canada MARK and New York MARK, which speaks to his birth country and childhood.

The blend of different instruments lends well to an interesting performance piece. I like the start of the routine, with the dancers emerging from behind MARK in a contemporary fashion. The chorus routine looked very cool. I liked how clean the execution was, and I am digging the “99 yeah 99” move (especially when it involves moving around the stage, as it just depicts the smoothness so well). I am also impressed with the footwork involved, particularly during the final sequence of 1999.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 9.2/10

MARK was originally due to make his solo comeback with his first album this month. But the long-awaited solo return of MARK was unfortunately delayed to April instead. To keep those waiting in anticipation for his solo release, MARK released the single titled Fraktsiya. It features LEE YOUNG JI, who had a successful run this year. This single release follows MARK’s other solo singles, which include Child, Golden Hour and 200.

MARK is well known for his rapping skills, which he has displayed through the abundance of songs he raps in. His rapping in SuperM’s Jopping springs straight to mind. But we have yet to come across a solo song from MARK that really showcases his rapping skills to the same degree. That is until Fraktsiya. It is a rap-based hip-hop track featuring a fast-paced and pulsing instrumental that exudes a dynamic yet lowkey energy. The details in the instrumental give off a prickly feeling, heightening the song’s excitement. MARK and LEE YOUNG JI were super punchy with their delivery through Fraktsiya, which I thought should be commended. Further, MARK’s flow throughout Fraktsiya does not let up and has me vibing along to the song. The same can be said about LEE YOUNG JI. But her style and rapping also bring a brighter-like tone element to Fraktsiya. But the song’s best part is when the pair rounds out with the shoutier “I’m so curious“. That was a great peak to accumulate towards and to end Fraktsiya with. Overall, this track excites me for what will come from MARK in April.

According to Google’s AI, Fraktsiya is the romanisation of the Korean word 쁘락지 (meaning ‘spy’). MARK and LEE YOUNG JI essentially rap about being spies in their respective ‘worlds’ – MARK being KPOP and LEE YOUNG JI being K-Hip-Hop. The video takes on a darker concept than usual for MARK. We see him as a spy in the first part. We then see him in the KPOP world, out of place and calm in the chaos as the staff prepares for a photoshoot. When LEE YOUNG JI appears, she appears out-of-place, as well. She wears a jacket with a touch of green on a green carpet, while everyone else is dressed in black suits on the white background. It was a cool video overall.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10

NCT LAB is a series of solo songs by the members of NCT that don’t necessarily fall under of the works of their entire group or units. The series began in 2022 under SM Station, but was confirmed earlier this year to run as its own project. The first single, Child, was by MARK. But I have not gone back to review another NCT LAB song since then. Today, I am picking up the NCT LAB releases once again, beginning with song reviews for the 2023 releases and then returning to the 2022 releases at a later date. And it all begins back with MARK and his solo track, Golden Hour.

Golden Hour sees MARK bring together hip-hop, grungy rock guitar, familiar drumming that reminds me of Diplomacy’s Silver Lake Queen, a hint of elevator music and Gordan Ramsay references? The first three goes hand-in-hand with another, and all five elements comes together to create an eventful track. Golden Hour starts off with the three elements (hip-hop via MARK’s rapping, which I will touch on later, grungy rock guitar and drumming). But mid-way, the track transforms briefly into punkish rock, before the bridge adds in elevator-esque piano riffs to the background, following which Golden Hour returns to the three elements it began with to complete the circle. This all made it a dynamic listen. MARK himself is super expressive throughout Golden Hour, delivering a range of styles – rapping, singing, a combination of both and speaking throughout the track to match the different moments in the instrumentation and show some range. His flow was very good throughout Golden Hour and the hooks were catchy. As mentioned earlier, Golden Hour also includes lyrics that appear to diss Gordan Ramsay. But prior to the song’s release, MARK himself confirmed that he only mentioned GR and that Golden Hour was not a diss track (though GR himself did respond to MARK in the most GR way possible). Rather, MARK drew upon the interaction between a fan of his and GR, who apparently told MARK’s fan to break up with her boyfriend for cooking eggs terribly. The funny twist is that the image GR reacted to was actually MARK’s cooking from a TV show. Apart from those moments, the lyrics also bring out a much more mature version and the adult in MARK. I will let you work out what that means. But overall, there is fair bit happening in Golden Hour and it amounted to something worthwhile.

Per the song’s influence being around MARK cooking eggs, the music video also revolves around eggs and cooking, as well. We see flashes of the cooking references, but a lot of egg imagery and smashes throughout the video. In addition to eggs, there is a real edgy vibe that MARK does a good job of showing in the music video. He shows it in a loose and freestyle manner, but still makes sure it fits the grungy style that the song aims for. The stylists did a really good job on their part as well, keeping the brown jacket constant throughout the video. The continuous presence of the brown jackets allows the viewers to keep a constant an image of MARK in their mind, even after the video has ended.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

I will continue my focus on lesser known acts on Sunday (I was unfortunately ill last night and had to take the night off from the blog). As for today and tomorrow, I will be focusing on a number of solo acts, as I feel they have been neglected over the last few months, as well. There are a few in mind that I really want to cover. But tonight’s review is actually a new release from none other than Mark from NCT. Mark has been a busy artist from the day he debuted as an NCT member, boasting the most extensive resume out of the all the members of his group (i.e. one of the two most recurring members in the various NCT units, had debuted more times than other artists – just to name a few). So it comes with little surprise that he is the first NCT artist to release a single under the new NCT Lab, a new SM Station series that focuses on solo tracks from the NCT members. Mark’s single is titled Child and it officially dropped today.

Child takes on the hip-hop genre, which comes as no surprise, as Mark is a rapper in his group activities. What did come as a surprise was how much I enjoyed the track upon the first listen. I know I sound like a broken record when I say that the hip-hop genre isn’t something that I enjoy. But there are a few elements within Child that really stands out for me. The deepness of Child stood out for me. Even before considering the lyrics, you could feel the heaviness of the song. When you read through the lyrics, you can get a sense of the deep thoughts that were put into Child. And from these lyrics you can feel his struggles as an artist and being lost as a person. Aside from the emotional side of the song. I really enjoyed the instrumental for Child. The song starts off with electric guitar riffs, before completely changing up the dynamic for the chorus with a heavy thumping beat and trap-like synths. This continues into the second verse, before opting for a much more energetic and upbeat tempo for the second half of the verse. Mark then takes Child back to the thumping chorus and the same electric guitar at the start for the bridge. When you think the song had wrapped up, Mark brings back the thumping chorus to close out the song on a more dynamic note (which works well with the conclusive endpoint in the lyrics). Mark himself was quite impressive with his delivery. His rapping was very captivating, while his vocals touches to the song were melodic and soothing. Overall, Child is a solid launching pad into this new NCT Lab series. But it also serves as an insightful view into Mark, his thoughts and experiences thus far as an artist.

Like the song, the music video has a lot of meaning behind it as well. Mark spends a lot of this video running away from hooded figures. My guess is that these people represent the hardships that Mark is experiencing in his life currently (i.e. the people putting pressure on him to be a certain way), as expressed in his lyrics. Honestly, this can be a range of people, including his company, managers, members, family, fans etc. Mark just wants to find himself and express himself freely. And him running away means makes a stand for himself, as he mentions at the end of his song. The ending where he is running in the darkness might suggest that he doesn’t see himself escaping these pressures anytime soon, but he is still making an effort to stand up for himself. Other than my proposed meaning behind the video, I liked the urban look of this video, which matches up with the hip-hop influences behind the song.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9/10