K-pop boy band Stray Kids dropped their fourth full-length album on Friday (Aug. 22), KARMA, the 11-track follow-up to December’s Hop mixtape. The collection produced entirely by the group’s production team 3RACHA, opens with the yearning, hard-hitting rap-popper “Bleep” followed by the bouncy hip-pop single “Ceremony.”
The accompanying high-gloss video finds members Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin and I.N kitting up for a variety of extreme sports challenges in a futuristic landscape. From Changbin dropping hard-hitting rhymes in the middle of an MMA octagon — “We’re moving forward with maximum power/ And we’re gonna dominate, pop it/ Making headlines, big news topic/ My experience points are my countless trophies” — to a Mario Kart-esque race to grab an elusive black ball in a raucous arena and American football players trying to tackle Han as he casually dribbles a soccer ball between them, the visual is full of extreme sports action.
Add in some physically impossible break dancing moves, a gravity defying baseball bat swing and other feats of sports superiority and you have… well, a surprise twist at the end that you didn’t see coming.
According to a release announcing the LP, the collection tells a story about destiny from a unique Stray Kids perspective. “Destiny is shaped by a tangled web of choices and consequences,” it explains. “KARMA begins with this very idea — an attempt to interpret Stray Kids’ fate. Despite countless external judgments and inner conflicts, they have continued to forge their own path with unwavering resolve. Through their music, Stray Kids represent a story of growth.”
Other tracks on the album include the skittery trap R&B banger “Creed,” tear-stained ballad “Mess,” old school, whistle-enhanced baile funk bouncer “Half Time,” EDM jam “Phoenix” and two additional versions of “Ceremony,” a live-sounding “Festival” version and an English version.
The group recently completed its largest-ever world tour, Stray Kids World Tour
Watch the “Ceremony” video and listen to KARMA below.