On his solo debut, he allows the spectrum of his emotion to ride shotgun as he re-introduces himself not as NCT’s Mark, but as Mark Lee from Toronto who just loves music

When Mark Lee opens his album, his heart is already on his sleeve over pensive strings of guitar and lo-fi beats.

He lays himself bare on opener ‘Toronto’s Window’. The song, a clear homage to his hometown in Canada, begins his new chapter on a nostalgic note, as he gets to the heart of the matter by speaking about where he is in life and the milestone his solo debut marks for him.

He named the 13-track record ‘The Firstfruit’ which, as he explains on ‘Toronto’s Window,’ is because it is the first fruit he now reaps from the crops he’s been sowing for nine years—Mark began training to become an idol at the age of 13, and has been toiling as a main rapper of SM Entertainment supergroup NCT since 2016 and is an active member in sub-units NCT 127 and NCT Dream, on top of briefly serving as a part of the label’s SuperM project in the time between. Now that he is finally given the chance to debut solo, Mark feels the gravity of this watershed moment and uses this rare opportunity to introduce a fresh version of himself shaped by his own humanity.

‘The Firstfruit’ is divided into four distinct sections, each dedicated to a city he calls home: Toronto, his hometown; New York, the first city he moved to; Vancouver, where he spent his school days; and Seoul, where he realised his dreams to be a musician. Lead track ‘1999’ is a bubbly upbeat pop anthem boasting a fusion of orchestral arrangements and pop funk. Co-written and -produced by Mark himself, the song—which borrows its title from his birth year—is an unabashed celebration of the legacy he’s worked so hard to build. It’s pleasantly theatrical and full of verve, with smooth rap verses typical of Mark’s proven talent. The airy falsettos he employs in the chorus to pair with the accompanying choir are hypnotising, but the song as a whole falls flat and fails to seamlessly bridge its polarising elements.. Mark’s lyricism and knack for riding any beat shines through regardless, albeit not to their fullest potential.

Many use their debut solo effort as the first opportunity to establish an artistic identity, but Mark is more interested in allowing the spectrum of his emotion to ride shotgun. The album feels more like a letter from an old childhood friend, and the thread that runs through Mark’s intimate songwriting is his ability to flip the script on his own image as an elusive K-pop idol. Here, he’s just a regular boy from Toronto who loves music. The B-sides on ‘The Firstfruit’ are where this materialises. Standout tracks like the Crush-assisted ‘Watching TV’, ‘Journey Mercies’, ‘Loser’ and ‘Raincouver’ form the core of this album as odes to the people who have supported him throughout his illustrious career, delineating personal anecdotes while drawing influences from ‘90s R&B, acoustic guitar and the lo-fi genre to recreate evocative vignettes of his own nostalgia.

It’s unapologetic about its hip-hop edginess, but the lyrics have always been the main attraction—Mark is never one to brag, but he’s more than earned his right to. He does a phenomenal job both writing and delivering witty lines of daring (and truthful) claims about his authority as one of K-pop’s most agile artists: “Name somebody who can juggle three teams / Still come up with the best solo album / At the same time, with no rest time with no (Rest time) / Back in my rover / K-pop should all look at me now / God is my power / I'm NCT, cheese.” ‘+82 Pressin’’, another pre-release this time featuring bandmate Haechan, continues his hip-hop streak with more sound structure and melody, painting a beautifully vivid love letter to Seoul. It comes as little surprise to anybody who has been listening to NCT that the duo are two peas in a pod with imitable artistic synergy, but Mark finds new ways to surprise with high notes and a soundscape that feels more hip-hop than the pair’s usual output with NCT.

Meanwhile, ‘200’ was a track Mark dropped almost an entire year ago, when he first announced plans to go solo. As a first taste of his personal musicality, the song lacks a punch despite its attempts at dynamism, especially in comparison to the rest of the album. It is markedly neo in structure and instrumentation and has a unique early-naughts-inspired texture in vocal variation—a reminder of NCT’s own distinct music style—but does little to resonate with an audience beyond his existing fanbase.

As a concept album, ‘The Firstfruit’ is rife with atmospheric entries that immerse you in the rich sounds of Mark’s inner world. Skit tracks like ‘Flight to NYC’ act both as a clear division of the album’s distinct characters and an apt representation of the sheer pace through which he experiences life. The most intimate is ‘Mom’s Interlude’, which features a snippet of a conversation with his mother. Here, he’s a different Mark Lee: not NCT’s Mark Lee, but a product of his mother’s love—again, he shift gears to pay a heart-melting homage to his number one fan, pulling back the curtains on his public persona as a global star to share his heart with the world.

He ends the album on an equally fond note with ‘Too Much’, an earnest vocal-focused track dedicated to his loved ones and fans, who he says “love me too much, too much, always” Emotionally driven, the song oscillates between soft piano chords and hard-hitting rap, and makes for the perfect note to finish his solo effort on. Tying together the record’s themes of reflection and growth, ‘Too Much’ is a beautiful auditory representation of its own message about gratitude and love that feels both overwhelming and grounded.

‘The Firstfruit’ may not be the most varied album in terms of production and sound, but it is one of, if not the most substantial solo albums in K-pop. Mark has no shortage of talent and potential to showcase on his first foray into solo music, but by letting his heart lead and choosing to share the milestone with his people, he turned ‘The Firstfruit’ into something worth reaping. Gently crafted with love and care, Mark has successfully made a solo debut album, a 13-part chronicle of his arduous journey navigating his inner world as an idol, a son and a friend, that belongs to his loved ones just as much as it belongs to him.