Yaeji – ddr
Yaeji returns today with a new single and music video, “ddr,” a euphoric club track that transforms the dancefloor into a vision of collective care, liberation, and possibility.
Inspired by Chicago footwork and created alongside close collaborators Enayet and K Wata, two longtime fixtures of New York City’s underground community, “ddr” finds Yaeji channeling the energy of nightlife spaces where queer people of color gather, connect, and build community on their own terms.
To celebrate the release, Yaeji announced last Wednesday via IG that she’ll be hosting a DDR party at Paragon in Brooklyn from 10pm to 4am. The event will kick off with a DDR play-off pre-party before closing out the night with DJ sets from Yaeji, DJ Swisha, OSSX, Lil C and DJ Noir. Fans can sign up HERE to receive a ticket-purchase link, with tickets on sale now here.
Short for “Dance Dance Revolution,” the track’s frenetic pulse and invitation to “dance it all away” are not a call to escapism, but an affirmation of movement as healing. For Yaeji, the dancefloor offers a model for a more compassionate world; a space where people look after one another, create room for self-expression, and find release through shared experience. Accompanied by a new music video directed by Giseong Jun, “ddr” showcases Yaeji’s gift for finding unexpected connections, pairing the intricate rhythms of Chicago footwork with the movement and visual language of Dance Dance Revolution. The result is a joyful collision of arcade and club culture that reflects her long-standing interests in community, play, and spaces where music and movement meet.
Since the release of “booboo2,” Yaeji has continued to evolve her world through a steady stream of singles, collaborations, and live experimentation. Beginning with the stand-alone single “Pondeggi,” accompanied by a video directed by Andrew Thomas Huang, she has since appeared on BAMBII’s Infinity Club II, joined Girl Talk and T-Pain on “Believe in Yaea,” remixed South Korean boy band ATEEZ’s “In Your Fantasy,” and released a collaborative double single with Balming Tiger.
This past Summer Yaeji spent the summer touring North America and Europe on her All Aboard tour, using her DJ sets as a testing ground for new material, offering fans an early glimpse into the sounds informing her next chapter. She also made a guest appearance on goyo.club, where she teased “ddr,” and appeared alongside underscores, at her U-Haul pop-up set in Chicago.
Beyond music, Yaeji’s creative output spans fashion, design, technology, and food, most recently collaborating with Timberland, Acne Studios, Samsung, and Oatly. Across each of these projects, she brings the same singular perspective that has made her one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary culture.
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