(Assignment #9) Review: Verbal Jint_Go Easy (Album)

★★★★☆ 9/10

Verbal Jint is a great Korean rapper who established Korean rhymes. He appeared in the Hip hop scene in 1999, and improved the Korean rappers’ rhymes from childish monosyllabic ones to polysyllabic ones. Now he is one of the most famous rappers to the fans of underground Hip hop. His elegant voice and smooth flow is better than anyone else in Korea. His first EP album ‘Modern Rhymes’ and second LP album ‘누명(Disgrace)’ are on the list of the top 100 greatest albums in Korea since 1990. He is obviously the greatest Hip hop artist in Korea. Recently, he put out his fourth LP ‘Go Easy’. The title ‘좋아보여(You Look Good) became popular to the public and ranked very high on K-pop chart. I listened to the album and was impressed, so I decided to write a review about it.    

The album ‘Go Easy’ has three big differences from his previous works.

First, as the title of the album insists, the topics of the songs are ‘easier’. No more swagger, no more attacks to haters. Of the twelve tracks, eight are about love, and the other tracks are also about easy topics such as the delight of living optimistically and trivial troubles in life. The following video is one of his previous songs about attacking haters. 

Second, acoustic beats and melody are dominant in the album. The acoustic sounds make the atmosphere of the songs warm, and let the album become popular to the public. I feel that the sounds of guitar and piano are harmonic to the voices of Verbal Jint. I love all the acoustic songs. The acoustic tracks are 원숭이띠 미혼남(Monkey-year Single Man), 좋아보여(You Look Good), 우아한년 2012(Gorgeous Bitch 2012), 약속해 약속해 2012 (I promise I promise 2012), and 깨알같아 (Tiny as a Grain).

Last, Verbal Jint shows his vocals more than usual. Even though he is a good singer, he only rapped in most of his previous works. However, lots of tracks includes his vocal in the album. Since his voice is so elegant, his vocal is also enjoyable. In the tracks 우아한년 2012(Gorgeous Bitch 2012), 어베일러블(Available), and 깨알같아(Tiny as a Grain), Verbal Jint sings, and does not rap at all.  

Now I will start the review on the specific tracks.

1.      원숭이띠 미혼남 (Monkey-year Single Man) (Feat. Zico of Block B)

Acoustic guitar matches so well on this song. VJ places rhymes in the appropriate places and shows great rapping. The lyrics are entertaining, along with the bouncing flow. Zico’s featuring verse is also great. Although his delivery of lyrics is not perfect, the verse matches well to the atmosphere of the track. Zico’s rapping is always addictive.

2.      좋아보여 (You Look Good) (Feat. 조휴일 of 검정치마)

     As this song is the title, the song is bright and enjoyable. Piano harmonizes well. The story in the lyrics is novel. The lyrics describe a situation where the narrator meets his ex-girlfriend with another man by accident while driving. The thoughts of the narrator are expressed candidly and beautifully. The music video is also great. Usually, I hate raps that cut syllables within a vocabulary. However, when VJ does the same thing in the bridge of the song, the rap is enjoyable and addictive. I also like 조휴일(of 검정치마)’s featuring. The hook keeps wandering in my head.

3.      넌 내게 모욕감을 줬어 (You Gave Me Insult) (Feat. Koonta)   

I actually do not like this track. Koonta’s reggae voice and VJ’s rapping do not seem to harmonize well. Moreover, the beat becomes very strong in the hooks but diminishes suddenly in the verses, so I cannot concentrate on the rapping. Also, the rapping is bland particularly in this track. He seems to talk to himself in some parts and interrupts me to sympathize in the lyrics.

4.      우아한년 2012 (Gorgeous Bitch 2012)(Feat. Okasian & SanE)

Verbal Jint sings only, and Okasian and SanE raps. Okasian’s rap is too banal, while SanE’s rap is too bouncy. I think SanE’s verse can harmonize more in the track if SanE does not focus on brilliant rap skills but places rhymes only in appropriate places. He shouts “San-E, i-yeop!” when VJ is calmly singing, and the shouting does not fit in my ears, either. However, I really like the melody, especially when violin sound appears sporadically. The guitar sound in the background of the hook is also great. VJ’s sweet vocal is enjoyable, too. He uses his elegant voice in his best. In a nutshell, I like the melody and vocal, but the raps are a little disappointing.

5.      긍정의 힘 (Power of Optimism)

     This track is comfortable and warm. I like the lyrics that described the trivial joys of life. The song seems to be a typical warm song of Overclass(Verbal Jint’s crew). The hook is impressive. “Positivity~~”

     I really love all the following five tracks. They are all awesome love songs.

6.      Want you back (Feat. Nodo)

Nodo produced the track and participated in the hook. Nodo’s beat is fascinating, especially the humming of a woman in the background. Nodo’s calm voice matches quite well in the track. As a whole, the track has a dreamy and peaceful atmosphere.

7.      Luv Songz (Feat. 태완)

     The lyrics consist of the famous love songs in K-pop, so the lyrics are quite entertaining, even though the topic is not different from the typical love songs. VJ raps splendidly on this track. Even though the rap is calm and soft, it gives me a strong impression. 태완’s vocal is great, too. I like the part where VJ raps, “So sick of luv songz ~ them songs to my ears.”

8.      약속해 약속해 2012 (I promise I promise 2012) (Feat. 조현아)

     VJ’s voice above the guitar melody in this track makes my heart melt! The track is a sweet love song that promises genuine love. The acoustic guitar melody, atmosphere, lyrics, 조현아’s vocal, and VJ’s rap symphonize so nicely.

9.      어베일러블 (Available) (Feat. Lady Jane)

Even though the song is a little monotonous, the song keeps wandering in my head, obviously because it is a great song. The song conveys the thoughts and feelings of a man of one-way love in a beautiful way. When he shouts out “I’m available!” in the hook, his voice definitely stabs my mind.

10.  깨알같아 (Tiny as a Grain)

     This track seems to be a climax of the whole album. I really love this track. VJ’s falsetto is so beautiful in this song, maybe because he has such a gorgeous voice. Acoustic melody fulfills its role once again. It is a calm but powerful song. His vocal is best in this track. The music video seems to be abstruse but marvelous, too.

11.  My Audi (Feat. The Quiett)

     This track is the worst in the album. The atmosphere of the album crashes down when the track appears right after the climax ‘깨알같아’. Beat is banal. Hook is lacked. Verbal Jint only rhymes with ‘My Audi’ in his rap, making the verse boring. The Quiett wasn’t good either. If this track was replaced to other songs, the album would have been much better. Even though the topic ‘car pride’ is novel, the track disappoints me a lot.

12.  우리 존재 화이팅 (Hooray to our Existences)

     The song is a sprightly and amusing track, appropriate to place the last in the album. It encourages the listeners to live more vividly. I particularly like the part where VJ shouts out in the last of verse 2. The hook is so cute.

On the whole, the album is great. After the album was released, I played the album almost 5 times every day, but I have not fed up. Verbal Jint’s elegant flow did not change. Since he puts rhymes only in appropriate places, he makes me feel that he is really good at rap without any elaborate rap skills. In addition, the hooks are very addictive. I was humming the hooks all day long after I listened to the songs. Even though some tracks disappoint me a little, generally I am very satisfied to the album. He goes easy, but never loose.