Album Review: Cho PD vs. Verbal Jint - 2 The Hard Way

Cho PD vs Verbal Jint – 2 The Hard Way

01. Map Music feat. ZICO of 블록버스터
02. Super Hero feat.샛별
03. Man Up feat. 박미경 MV
04. 종의 기원 feat. Swings, 블록버스터
05. Map Music (Instrumental)
06. Super Hero (Instrumental)
07. Man Up (Instrumental)
08. 종의 기원 (Instrumental)

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Rap veterans Cho PD and Verbal Jint unite for a collaboration EP (mini-album) entitled ‘2 The Hard Way’ from opposite spectrums of the hip-hop scene. Cho PD, who has long been familiar with mainstream success, decides to “take on” and pair up with underground emcee Verbal Jint from the Overclass crew. On this record, the two rappers exchange flows along with other guests.

The first track is the introductory “Map Music (ft. ZICO)” produced by Assbrass. On this song, Cho PD recites a hip-hop quotable from U.S. rapper Nas and uses it as the chorus: “I was the old king of the streets, that y’all once hated/But now I reinvented myself and y’all all waited/I’m the truest/name a rapper I ain’t influenced/” Other than the borrowed lyrics, the verse from Cho PD is fairly average, while Verbal Jint proves why he is dubbed the “King of Flow” with his presence on the mic.

The second track, “Super Hero” starts off with an energetic beat and charismatic verses from both emcees as well as the beautiful voice of 샛별. Cho PD steps up lyrically and delivers a nice verse and chorus. Overall, this has potential to be a favorite track for many listeners.

“Man Up” is the third track and title song. It features powerful vocals from veteran singer Park Mi Kyung who sounds so soulful on the hook for this track. The song itself is also highly uplifting and encouraging.

The last song of the album before all the instrumental tracks is “종의 기원” which features Swings and the rapping duo of Blockbuster. The song accelerates at a rapid pace and has every rapper flow quickly to keep up with the beat. The theme of the song features boasting from all 5 emcees about being a new breed of rappers. Ironically, Cho PD and VJ don’t have many bars to contribute, while Swings and Blockbuster are given their moment to shine. In the end, the track does leave an unsatisfied taste in the mouth as the closing song of the album.

In conclusion, this unlikely team-up serves up a fairly decent (but short) collaboration. Verbal Jint is still considered the more proficient emcee in comparison to Cho PD, but it is great to see both artists being open to working with each other, especially in a rare collaboration album. Curious fans of the two artists should check this release out.

Rating: 3.5/5

Ratings breakdown:
5/5 – Even if you’re not a fan of this artist/group this album is a must buy.
4/5 – If you’re a fan of this artist/group, you must buy this album.
3/5 – If you’re a fan of this artist/group, you might want to add this one to your collection.
2/5 – I don’t think a fan would even buy this.
1/5 – You might as well just flush your money down the toilet.