In 2023, Bad Hop went out with a bang after almost a decade in the Japanese Hip Hop game. The eight-man group was well-respected, but it was time for a change. Just because the group was done, don’t expect all eight members to retire from the Rap game. One member, Bark, just released his first album, South Side Story, as well as a Performance of ‘Pay and Party’ featuring 3Li¥en.

South Side Story is 15 tracks deep, and it feels like he’s been needing to release this album since way back. Songs like the title track hit close to home, while ‘Sleepless night’ shows off his lyrical prowess with a sweet soulful chipmunk sample. ‘Sorry for Mama’ shows Bark at his most introspective, while the final track, ‘The Story of My Mind,’ feels like it needed to be said. Overall, switching from a popular group to a solo artist is not an easy task, but Bark lives up to the bite.

On ‘Pay and Party,’ a 03-Performance video with 3Li¥en, Bark gets the party moving. The time for soul-searching is over, and it’s time to get down. Bark shows off his skills on the [hanging] mic first and then 3Li¥en throws down and claims her crown as the baddest blasian in Japan.

Check out ‘Pay and Party’ as well as South Side Story below.