Riding the wave of buzz from their debut EP MACARONI CHEESE, K-pop girl group YOUNG POSSE (영파씨) is back with XXL, their second EP. XXL promises a fresh new sound while keeping YOUNG POSSE’s signature style – paying homage to the song ‘Come Back Home’ from the legendary trio group SeoTaiji and The Boy.
This versatile EP offers something for everyone, making it a must-listen for fans and newcomers alike.
The title track, ‘XXL,’ perfectly embodies the EP’s spirit. It’s a quirky, hip-hop inspired anthem that follows the group on a hilarious journey of all things becoming, well, XXL-sized. The music video bursts with vibrant colors and outrageous scenarios. From defying gravity to showcasing YOUNG POSSE’s infectious dance moves, ‘XXL’ is a visual treat.
Check out the full music video below!
In a playful twist, the 5 energetic girls from YOUNG POSSE introduced themselves alongside their favorite track from the day during our interview – and all their picks came from the album itself! Leader Sunhye, radiating a bubbly and cool vibe, chose ‘Scars,’ the opening track, as her favorite for the day.
Youngest member Jieun mirrored Sunhye’s pick alongside Yeonjung, known for her unique voice, describing ‘Scars’ as a song that demanded long hours of practice and soul, making it a deeply personal favorite.
Expanding on her pick, Jieun revealed a deeper connection to ‘Scars.’ Written by Sunhye and Jiana, the song evokes a mix of emotions – happiness, sadness and hope – that resonate with her. “It’s a song that ultimately gives you courage,” she explained, “We would love to show you how much better it is when you see it as our performance!”
Jiana, the group’s lead vocalist, and Doeun, the self-proclaimed “giraffe of YOUNG POSSE,” both gravitated towards the track ‘Skyline.’ Jiana described it as a song that washes over her with positivity, saying, “Every time I listen to it I feel like everything will be okay and I get positive feelings.” Doeun, reminiscing about her trainee days, revealed ‘Skyline’ was a song she held dear even back then.
You can check out the girls’ personal favorites from ‘Scars’ to ‘Skyline’ here from their recent XXL EP — listen to it while you read.
XXL boasts another unique track, ‘DND’ featuring BM from KARD, a labelmate under DSP Media. The song is multilingual, incorporating Korean, English, and Spanish lyrics – a special touch for YOUNG POSSE’s international fans, whom they actively engage with on social media.
Doeun: “BM was so supportive of us and we thank him for that! We love playing around on TikTok and we see a lot of comments in Spanish, so we thought it would be fun to include some Spanish in this song. It just (is) one way for us to communicate with fans around the world.”
Unabashedly drawing inspiration from 90s hip-hop icons and aesthetics, YOUNG POSSE carves out their own distinct sound.
Their music bursts with a reverence for the past, while remaining fresh and current. The girls are vocal about their artistic influences, eager to share the artists who have shaped their sound.
The Knockturnal: Your unique styles mesh so well! Ever since ‘MACARONI CHEESE’ you guys have had so many viral moments! What makes YOUNG POSSE so unique – either it be the fact that you can all rap or that your concept tends to have a 90’s vibe?
Sunhye: “We really love and respect hip-hop and the culture. It just became very natural for us to use hip-hop as a tool to express ourselves honestly! Although we know we can never fully represent the real hip-hop culture, we wanna be just playful and creative in a style that is unique to us — unique to YOUNG POSSE. Of course, we’re not going to set any boundaries in terms of what type of music we want to do, we just want to be ourselves — do what we like, enjoy what we do! And be able to show people the genuine side of that.”
Having established their own sound heavily influenced by 90s hip-hop, we were curious to delve deeper into the specific artists YOUNG POSSE admires. Who exactly fuels their creative fire?
The Knockturnal: Are there any artists or people in your lives that each of you look up to when creating new music?
Yeonjung: “I usually get inspiration from people around me, but there are tons of artists that give me inspiration, especially from my trainee days. It was Doja Cat, Lil Uzi Vert, Ice Spice…”
YOUNG POSSE isn’t straying from their sound, but Yeonjung has her sights set on video editing for future releases. She already edits content for their channels, and hopes to bring her skills to their TELEPOSSE fandom.
Speaking of fans, the group shared the heartwarming meaning behind their fandom name. As Doeun explained, TELEPOSSE signifies the deep connection and love between YOUNG POSSE and their fans. They even debuted a new pose – the “TELEPOSSE Peace” – a rock-on hand behind the head.
As we transitioned to individual questions for each member, YOUNG POSSE delved into their journeys. From their early beginnings to the inspiration behind their lyrics, offering insightful and personal answers.
The Knockturnal: Doeun, your line in ‘MACARONI CHEESE’ absolutely exploded online! What was your initial reaction when you realized how viral it went?
Doeun: “When I have free time I see a lot of, ‘O.. Icy’ — this part showing on my feed! It was so amazing, I would keep seeing videos pop out. I just want to thank everyone for loving my part!”
The Knockturnal: Jieun, your verses and lines are already so powerful – but if you could swap any line with another member from this comeback – which would you choose?
Jieun: “For this comeback I was a bit jealous of Jiana and Yeonjung’s part when they were whispering “XXL,” because their expressions looked so killing when they were doing that whisper.”
The Knockturnal: Sunhye, your talent is strong! From your impressive rap in “XXL” to composing your group’s debut – Can you walk us through your creative process when it comes to writing lyrics?
Sunhye: “I think when it comes to writing our lyrics we always want to write from our own experience and tell our own story. Even for our debut song, ‘MACARONI CHEESE,’ we wrote that when we were still trainees. We came across this poster, a macaroni cheese burger, outside of a restaurant, basically we wrote that lyric thinking about how much we would love to have it.”
The Knockturnal: Yeonjung, your heel dancing is seriously mind-blowing! We even saw that passion in your verse on ‘ROTY.’ Can you tell us a bit about how your dance journey first began?
Yeonjung: “When I was young, I was a very shy girl, and my parents wanted to try and change that. My mom — ‘Oh dance class! Dance class!’ — (she was like) ‘Oh no! Oh no!’— I went to dance class but overtime I started to enjoy dancing after school and always came home and danced to music on TV — just memorized the whole choreography. It was just one of those feelings that I really enjoyed dancing too.”
The Knockturnal: Jiana, a bit of a throwback – but in ‘POSSE UP!‘ your verse about being new to rap but mastering it quickly was so inspiring! Can you tell us more about your rap journey? How did you get started rapping, and what was it like to pick it up so fast?
Jiana: “I have been learning rap class 3 times before I joined this company… I was so bad at it, so I just wanted to give up and just sing and dance. But once I joined this entertainment, I got proper training and was also encouraged to write lyrics while learning how to rap. Two months into learning rap I wrote this verse on the song ‘POSSE UP!’ I still have much more to improve so please stay tuned and hope I can show you my progression!”
Shifting gears to their playful food concept, we wrapped up the interview with some fun questions. Their love for food truly shines, evident from their concept, to their enthusiastic response when we asked about their dream food to rap about next.
Jiana, inspired by variety, declared bread as her next muse. “There’s so many types of bread!” she exclaimed, as the other members erupted in cheers. The mutual appreciation was palpable in the room.
Staying on theme with their recent comeback, XXL, we playfully inquired about their ideal “XXL” food. Sunhye, ever the cheese enthusiast, beamed and declared, “Cheese! I love greasy food, and it goes well with everything. Plus, gotta shout out ‘CHEESE’ – it ties back to our debut song!”
Jieun brought the interview to a close with a warm thank you and a reminder for their upcoming New York performance on May 11th at Head In The Cloud Festival. Don’t miss your chance to see them live – grab your tickets here: https://ny.hitcfestival.com/.
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