With new EP, rookie group Young Posse hopes to grow 'extra, extra large'

Young Posse hopes to grow into larger stages and a wider audience with its latest EP, 'XXL.'

Girl group Young Posse performs ″XXL,″ title track from its second EP, during a press showcase held Wednesday at the Shinhan Card Sol Pay Square in Mapo District, western Seoul [CHO YONG-JUN]

Rookie girl group Young Posse currently sees itself as a “size-free” band — but hopes one day to be “extra, extra large.”

“We were happy to achieve our dreams after our debut, but soon realized that we had a lot to desire. The song therefore sings our hope to be bigger — to perform on larger stages with more of our fans,” Sunhye said during a press showcase Wednesday afternoon at the Shinhan Card Sol Pay Square in Mapo District, western Seoul, ahead of the release of its second EP “XXL” the same day.

Young Posse's name derives from the Latin word “posse,” meaning both “possible” and “to be able,” implying that the group is of young people with a purpose.

“I think Young Posse still is a size-free group, like a T-shirt that you have to wear to know the true size; we didn’t yet have much opportunity to showcase ourselves to the public,” Doeun said. “But as we release more albums and improve ourselves, I hope one day to be an XXL-sized group.”

“XXL” comes five months after the release of the group's debut EP, “Macaroni Cheese.” Like that EP, the title track has a hip-hop theme.

“Hip-hop is the genre that Young Posse can pull off the best,” Yeonjung said.

The beats of the title track, “XXL,” inspired by the sounds of 90s hip-hop, were inspired by Seotaeji and the Boys’ hit song “Come Back Home” (1996). “Scars” is based on the rage genre, “DND (feat. BM of KARD)” on afrobeats, “ROTY” on the boom bap genre and “Skyline” on the “drum and bass” style of EDM.

“We paid homage to Seotaeji and the Boys to show our dedication to the hip-hop genre. I hope to be a group that they can be proud of,” Yeonjung said.

Girl group Young Posse poses for the camera during a press showcase held Wednesday at the Shinhan Card Sol Pay Square in Mapo District, western Seoul, ahead of the release of its second EP, ″XXL.″ [CHO YONG-JUN]

All five members of Young Posse, — Yeonjung, Jiana, Sunhye, Jieun and Doeun — were born after the era of 90s hip-hop. The oldest members, Yeonjung and Sunhye, were born in 2004 while the youngest, Jieun, was born in 2009.

“We wanted to interpret it in our own style,” Sunhye, the leader of the group, said. “Our album features a different, mischievous and rebellious side of us.”

But Young Posse’s unique styles are represented best in the B-side tracks “Scars,” with lyrics written by Sunhye, Yeonjung and Jiana, and “ROTY,” that all five members of the band took part in writing.

“’Scars’ is a song filled with feelings, feelings I had since my trainee days,” Yeonjung said. “It talks about the times when even I didn’t know about my own feelings.”

“ROTY” on the other hand, touches on the members' individual stories and the reasons they chose to become performers.

“We tried to blend each of our unique characteristics,” Doeun said, noting that she included 'giraffe,' her nickname in her portions while Jieun's lyrics touch on her braces.

“We are past our debut days, and we have no excuses anymore,” Sunhye said. “We tried our best during our debut. Now we have to do well.”

To find out more about YOUNG POSSE, visit Celeb Confirmed!

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]