Mark 'The Firstfruit' Album
Added 2025-04-11 14:46:40 +0000 UTCGirrrrl - do NOT watch this reaction if you want to explain, defend or add any context. If you do that, you will be blocked and lose your money. You'll either happily hear why I didn't enjoy it and keep it pushing or ignore the reaction altogether if you're not comfortable hearing what i have to say.
I THINK going forward, if someone that raps releases an album I'll just do the title track and dance practice if they're a dancer and leave the album unheard because naturally it's not going to be for me - although I did find Taeyong's second album impressive so who knows lol. I was happy with hearing the title tracks and the amazing 100 seconds but I didn't need to hear the rest.
Overall, as I say in the video, I'm pretty sure I didn't enjoy this more because I had a few people hounding me to check out 82 pressin on youtube AND here and I really don't fully understand why? It's not awful at all but what made you listen to that and think Micah needs to hear this immediately? Loool, it just set up my expectations even more and I was expecting a lot of melody throughout but it didn't really happen.
On the PLUS side I think his love for his Canadian identity was very clear and there's potential for him releasing something really artistically experimental in the future especially if he has more time because as he SAID he made this album without a lot of free time and I'm afraid it shows.
I'd love to see him go the Chanyeol route with more songs in vain of Toronto's Window, Journey Mercies and 1999 for the upbeat songs.
Overall I actually didn't give this a bad rating, but don't set up your faves like this.
Enjoy!
Comments
Yess I agree on the lyricism and delivery!!
Koko3op
2025-05-06 08:33:14 +0000 UTCSuper late to this but I'm so glad you get it. I love Mark's dancing and NCT 127 and NCT Dream but his solo works have just not been my favorite? I liked 1999 and +82 pressin was okay but none of the b-sides really stood out to me. There's not a single song that I've gone back to or added to a playlist. Of course this also partially comes down to my music taste. I read another comment talking about how the mix on a lot of his songs is just super empty and I just can't get with it. I'm also going to be honest, I think Mark needs to improve as a lyricist. Tbh his fans and others are babying him in that aspect and the man needs to go to the songwriting bootcamp because he has the ideas but it just doesn't feel like they're being portrayed musically or lyrically in the best way possible. Anyway I'll keep watching you dance Mark and fight with the dreamies :) I hope in his future projects, he does get more time to work on his album as I'm sure that also plays a part. I think its better to wait than put out a rushed project like this but SM sucks sooooooo......
pr37
2025-05-06 04:00:47 +0000 UTCKYMMMMM!! Welcome back! Yeah it's crazy. Have you heard Jennie's album tho? She did amazingly
Koko3op
2025-04-22 22:36:30 +0000 UTCI haven't listened to kpop in months but came back for Mark. I loved the mellow songs on the album, not so much the more experimental sounding rap cuts. Overall solid for my taste. This is not one I would have expected you to fully enjoy so not sure why folks put the pressure on you to dive into it. Anyway, I appreciate your perspective as always.
Kym
2025-04-22 21:39:53 +0000 UTCHahaha I love long comments with paragraphs so thank you!! I appreciate everything you said and yes I’m glad he’s aware it’s not where it could be sonically but I can’t wait for his growth!
Koko3op
2025-04-16 23:45:10 +0000 UTCOMG! I've been wondering what +82 pressin' reminds me of, thank you! Thanks for the reaction also, I truly cannot understand why is it so hard for (some) kpop fans to acknowledge and accept that people have different preferences… My preferences are actually quite far from yours (well in dance we seem to share 99% of our opinions) but I still enjoy your reactions a lot! You put into words many things that I was thinking about this album! I'm still not sure if I love the album or not but what finally made me enjoy the album was when I heard Mark say something about this album not being perfect sonically or musically but it's important to him because of the story it tells. Listening through the whole album in the order that he planned and hearing about the backgrounds made it a bit easier for me to understand what happened with this album, even though many of the songs didn't really klick for me :') and lol happy to hear that I was not the only one freking out and giggling about the 100s especially Jopping! sorry for the long comment and my tired English 😭
mona
2025-04-16 16:03:53 +0000 UTCYessssss!! It's really odd!
Koko3op
2025-04-14 18:55:16 +0000 UTCK-Pop fans are wild lol. I'll never understand HAVING to like absolutely every single product from an artist just because you like the artist with no criticism allowed. Many artists don't even like all of their own songs, so people need to relax. I liked Pressin and 1999 but K-Pop "rap" is still a bit too wannabe for me, I enjoy the songs that have a hip-hop vibe to them but I'm in it for choreo and a melody. I want rap verses to be blended in with strong vocals, I'm with you on this album.
Marina
2025-04-14 15:36:31 +0000 UTCYesssssss
Koko3op
2025-04-14 12:22:02 +0000 UTCOmg I just thought of this - I would love a Dem Jointz x Mark song
life of nicole
2025-04-14 02:18:30 +0000 UTClooooool fr
Koko3op
2025-04-12 18:13:21 +0000 UTCthought it was common knowledge that micah’s not a rap girlie like you’ve made that pretty obvious many times 😭😭 not everyone is gonna like the same things idk what they were thinking but hey at least the title track is nice
sam
2025-04-12 18:09:21 +0000 UTCYesss all of this!!
Koko3op
2025-04-12 13:06:57 +0000 UTCEver since Mark started releasing solo singles on SM Station, he’s been working closely with the same producer—dress. It works on a couple of songs, but I think dress has a pretty predictable style of production; a really empty-sounding mix and a couple of loud percussion parts or odd dissonant sounds / loops that ground the track. I felt this with Golden Hour, 200, Fraktsiya, and Righteous—I don’t think it gels well with Mark’s voice, which is kind of nasally and thin, and has odd inflections and a more staccato flow. I think his voice needs a more rich and lush production to pair with it, in the vein of early Chance the Rapper projects. Which is why 1999 worked so well with the horns and strings, and why the rest of the album feels deeply underbaked to me. Hope he finds a stronger set of collaborators who can pair with his vision!
edamammy
2025-04-12 09:44:02 +0000 UTCYess!!
Koko3op
2025-04-12 05:32:57 +0000 UTCYeah I love Mark to death, i love him in NCT and what he brings to a group, but i've never really connected to any of his solo work, and thats okay!! I'll always enjoy a dance practice from him so that's mainly what I look forward to when he releases solo stuff 🤷🏼♀️😂
life of nicole
2025-04-12 05:08:29 +0000 UTC
