The Baddest Female is back in the game. After (finally) leaving YG Entertainment, 2NE1’s former leader and rapper CL is set to release a mini-album this Dec. 4.

Her project album “In the Name of Love” was announced on her social media. Through her feed, she posted a video accompanied by a snippet of her new track. Her new album will feature six songs. After her album’s release, she’ll drop two songs online over the course of three weeks.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5bvsuBJfnt/

It doesn’t take an OG K-pop stan to know CL’s influence. During her years with 2NE1 and as a solo artist, she kept pushing boundaries in her industry and pop culture. She peaked on Billboard’s Hot 100 with “Lifted,” remaining to be the first female K-pop soloist to do so.

So why did it take so long for CL to release new tracks?

In Fader’s exposé, she struggled to make it bigger in America. It all goes back to her dual management with Scooter Braun (yes, Taylor Swift’s Scooter Braun) and YG Entertainment. Two years ago, she dropped a teaser for her unreleased track “All In.” It was considered a leak and was taken down afterward.

There’s no statement yet from CL and her management. But during the wake of the leak, she liked all of her fan’s comments criticizing YG Entertainment. One fan wrote, “I’m sure [the leak] is because of @fromyg [YG’s president, Yang Hyun-suk]. I don’t understand why she signed with @scooterbraun if she won’t be allowed to release any song[s].”

Its director Dave Myers, who directed Kendrick Lamar’s “HUMBLE.,” and Missy Elliot’s “Get Ur Freak On,” was equally confused about the delay. “It was nice to see her leak it, but it’s actually a good time for me to call her and ask what’s going on. Like, ‘What the hell? You’re so fucking talented,” said Myers to Fader.

This viral piece from Fader brings me back to yearning for CL’s new stuff. The last four years might not be CL’s big break. But with her new album on the way and her emancipation from toxic music industry folk, maybe 2020 is the year where we will see the baddest female shine.

Still from CL’s “Lifted”