NCTZENS are a step closer to finally witnessing Mark Lee of the South Korean boy group NCT shine on his own as he prepares for his highly anticipated solo debut.
The 25-year-old rapper collaborated with his fellow NCT member, Haechan, for the song “+82 Pressin’.”
This is notable as NCTzens, or NCT fans, have long been awaiting Mark and Haechan, NCT’s “strongest duo,” to collaborate on a song following their pre-debut cover of “Billionaire.”
The hip-hop track, which became available on all music streaming platforms on Wednesday, will be part of Mark’s first full-length album, “The Firstfruit.”
A black-and-white music video for “+82 Pressin’” was also released on the same day on SM Town’s YouTube channel, featuring the two NCT members portraying top agents hunting around Seoul City with their guns.
According to reports, the four-minute clip honors the 2005 neo-noir crime movie “Sin City,” based on writer-artist Frank Miller’s comic book series of the same name.
Mark, who wrote the lyrics, incorporated South Korea’s country code +82 in the song to express “confidence” as a Seoul-based artist.
“+82 Pressin’” comes after Mark released his 2024 single,” Fraktsiya,” featuring South Korean rapper Lee Young Ji.
13-track album
Mark previously revealed teasers for his forthcoming full-length album which will contain 13 tracks, including “+82 Pressin’,” “Fraktsiya,” and “200.”
The K-pop idol posted photos of a customized t-shirt on Instagram last week, with the front part bearing his album’s title and cartoon versions of himself and his paprika meme.
The back part showed important release dates for the album’s tracks and teasers.
The album is expected to highlight the four cities that held importance to the Canada-born artist: Toronto, New York, Vancouver, and Seoul.
“The Firstfruit,” along with a music video,” will be available on April 7.
About Mark, Haechan
Mark and Haechan debuted as members of NCT in 2016, under the South Korean label SM Entertainment.
The duo is in two NCT sub-units—NCT 127 and NCT Dream—with Haechan serving as the main vocalist and Mark as the main rapper.
Mark is also part of NCT U, another NCT sub-unit, and SuperM, the supergroup formed by SM Entertainment in 2019.
Mark and Haechan are known to their fandom as “MaHae,” a portmanteau of their names.
The two idols last visited the Philippines for NCT Dream’s “The Dream Show 3: Dream()scape” in August 2024 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
