Lee Youngji’s “Small girl (feat. D.O.)” : Come for the Song, Stay for the Video
Rapper Lee Youngji (이영지) secures a noteworthy collaboration: it’s none other than EXO's D.O. (Do Kyungsoo, 도경수) to harmonize voices with her in the song “Small girl,” the title track of Lee Youngji’s debut EP 16 Fantasy.
“Small girl” was officially released along with the mini album on June 21, but fans of Lee Youngji and D.O. were able to get a taste of the song some days in advance on each artist’s social media, as both of them published a snippet of the song and of the video already a few days before, adding to the hype of the wait.
The song “Small girl”
Already, the first few notes of “Small girl” heard on social media a week ahead of the publication anticipated a catchy melody, and upon the full release, the song kept its promise. Lee Youngji penned the song herself and produced it with PEEJAY (a hip-hop producer who recently worked with Zion T., Wonstein, and LOCO, to name but a few). The song showcases the young artist's hip-hop skills and her warm and earthy voice, perfectly blending with D.O. 's melodic vocals, and the memorable, infectious melody sticks with you long after it ends. As she wonders if her lover would still like her if she was petite, he slides into the second verse, reassuring her that all he needs: “If I cared about/ All those things that you care/ Then I'm not yours/ Yes, you're wasting all your time/ On some stupid things/ Baby, I'm alrеady yours.”
The music video, directed by HANBAGO (Lee Hangyeol), depicts Lee Youngji working in a supermarket and having a sweet romance with a man who works at the gas station right outside, portrayed by D.O. The two send each other secret signals while at work and then get to spend moments together as if they’re the only two people in the world. Then jealousy and insecurity about her body type creep into the girl’s heart, crushing the fairytale atmosphere of her life and turning it into a nightmare. Curious to know how it ends? Check out the video above and find it out!
Lee Youngji
Lee Youngji is a talented South Korean rapper born on September 10, 2002. She caught the audience and the industry's attention with her victories on both High School Rapper 3 (Mnet, 2019) and Show Me the Money 11 (Mnet, 2022). She also created the popular web talk show No Prepare, which she hosted until June 2022, when she was dropped by the program's YouTube channel. Don’t worry, though: she immediately called her fans to action, securing great viewership on her own YouTube channel! The concept of the show sees her inviting celebrity guests to her house and entertaining them while preparing a meal, even though she didn’t prepare much in advance.
In her music career, she also got recognized for her collaboration with SEVENTEEN's sub-unit BSS on the hit track “Fighting,” but her debut record 16 Fantasy is the one that contains “Small girl.” The whole tracklist is as follows:
“16 (Intro)”
“My cat”
“Small girl (ft. D.O.)”
“ADHD (ft. Jambino)”
“Unknown guy (모르는 아저씨)”
“TELL ME !”
D.O.
The man needs no introduction. A member of the super K-Pop band EXO, he’s also an accomplished actor and has had great success with his solo musical releases. Recently, he topped the charts with his third EP, BLOSSOM, featuring the totally delightful “Popcorn,” which we really can’t get enough of.
Although he has recorded and performed with many artists throughout his whole career, even earlier this year (we’re thinking of IU and ZICO), “Small girl” marks the first time in many years since he appeared as the “feat.” in someone else’s song. If we’re not wrong, the last time it happened was on f(x)’s “Goodbye Summer” in 2013 - but feel free to correct us if you know better!
Tezo Don Lee
Let us shine a light on the artist who realized the beautiful animated clip within the “Small girl” music video: Tezo Don Lee. He is a filmmaker, visual artist, and painter who works and lives in London.
In his extensive body of work, we find several collaborations with IU, SHINee, TWICE, AKMU, NCT 127, JANNABI, Jay Park, and many, many other stars of the K-Musical scene. He even won the “Staff Picks” award on VIMEO in 2020 for the beautiful animated video he directed for the song “Aliens” by Fromm (with Kim Feel).
Have you already added “Small girl” to your summer playlist?
Edited by Rachael Lovette