A meme can be a beautiful thing. What those with a PhD in K-Pop lore (and thus a lack of social media usage restraint) might have immediately recognised about the cartoon motif of MARK’s first full album design is that it was inspired by a tweet of yesteryear. A cross section of a little yellow bell pepper sparks pareidolia in all who encounter it: its remaining seeds sticking out like awkwardly premature adult teeth, as it grins impishly without a care in the world, as one would imagine vegetables do. A netizen (or nctzen, if we’re being fancy) points out that the pepper looks like a laughing Mark Lee, and history is made.
MARK, a K-Pop giant in his own right, already released singles “200“, “Frakstiya“, and “+82 Pressin’“ prior to the album’s release, whipping up hype with the collaborations with rapper Lee Young Ji and close NCT bandmate Haechan. The earliest of the three catches you off guard as it morphs from a safe acoustic tune to gritty drum ‘n’ bass, but it works much better that way. “Frakstiya” then starts like the sound of a haunted ballroom, before the word-dance begins and Mark justifies every piece of ego imbued in the lyrics.
Lee Young Ji hops on, countering Mark’s twang with her deep timbre. If Lee Young Ji is the Korean Megan Thee Stallion, that makes Haechan Ariana Grande. Mark and Haechan are simply the perfect duo in “+82 Pressin’”. Euphoric little wub-wub synths in the prechorus juxtaposes with the blunt, headstrong chorus. Even Mark hits some surprising high notes for a rapper that’s never dabbled too much in singing. The bassline encircles the melody, and it’s hard not to click replay after it’s over.
The freshest promo song to come with the release of The Firstfruit is “1999”, which – you guessed it – is Mark’s birth year. This little nugget is one of countless personal nods in an album so unfiltered the rapper managed to squeeze in a cheeky line about his own entertainment company in “Frakstiya”: ‘SM got to wait (SM listen)’. “1999” features a headvoice-sung chorus, instrument-light, that then unravels into swing by the end. The music video is a snug zip-loc of Mark’s confidence, time-travelling shenanigans, and a UFO that turns into a hockey puck. The choreography is a lot of fun too.
The entire album is absolutely rooted in Mark’s Canadian upbringing and devotion to his faith, which he doesn’t shy away from referencing, even in tunes like 1999: ‘Got a call / From my Maker / Told me wake up, I said okay’. There’s also a lot of throaty sprechgesang with his distinct Canadian twang in this album as he muses about his faith amongst other things: ‘My dad taught me how to fight devils’.
“Righteous” feels like he’s patronising his opposers, drilling in the repeated ‘Right?’, and it’s just two tracks away from “Raincouver”, which is as cutesy as you might imagine, framing Mark’s hearty verses with a classroom piano beat. There’s a subtle portion of Justin Bieber influences in the more acoustic tunes in The Firstfruit, which might just be because of the star’s mark on pop that still crops up to this day. Or it could be a fellow Canadian thing. The bedroom-chill, major-key melodies speak for themselves.
In a very transparent reflection, Mark achieves a level of both vulnerability and security many artists wouldn’t dare to attempt. The idol gained his prestige for being a down-to-earth talent that exhibited a plethora of talents from a very young age, and The Firstfruit is a celebration of that: it is his first magnum opus, and he doesn’t plan on stopping at one.
The Firstfruit is out now. MARK can be found on Instagram here and on all streaming platforms.
