Jessi, one of the most popular female hip-hop artists in South Korea’s music scene, served up the breezy track “Down” — her first single of 2018 — to beat the heat on Friday (July 6).
As charismatic as ever, Jessi’s distinctly husky tone is front-and-center over the tropical beats and scratchy synths, with her saucy bilingual verses and sing-song chants revolving around the earworm of a chorus. “No, I won’t let you down,” she declares on repeat.
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The music video for “Down” is similarly seasonally inspired, and the focus is fully on how Jessi takes ownership of her sexuality and her body in a way that is atypical for South Korean music videos. “Breaking Korea’s societal norms,” Jessi wrote on Instagram. “Your girl had to do it! Thank you ALL for your patience and support.”
The video was produced by August Frogs and was filmed primarily on a beach as Jessi and her crew of dancers show off their assets in athleisure looks; interspersed are scenes of the artist in beachy looks and bikinis as she gets with the object of her affection.
The New York City native moved to South Korea as a teenager, and she rose to prominence in the mid-00s as part of the hip-hop trio Lucky J and her appearance on the Korean hip-hop competition show Unpretty Rapstar. Prior to “Down,” she most recently released Un2verse last July, fronted by the single “Gucci.” That EP went to No. 4 on the World Albums chart.