Album Review: Miryo - MIRYO aka JOHONEY (1st Mini-Album)

Buy Miryo - "MIRYO aka JOHONEY" [EP] - HERE

Lead rapper of one of K-Pop's biggest girl groups Brown Eyed Girls Miryo released her debut solo mini-album "MIRYO aka JOHONEY" on February 1st. She is the third member from the group to release a solo mini-album. Ga-In and Narsha's solo albums did extremely will, so the pressure to make sure it was a success was there. She's not my favorite member of the group but I do enjoy her raps like the one in "Sixth Sense". I was interested in seeing what direction or concept, that this album was going to go in.

The mini album contains five tracks, four that features several guests. "Party Rock"  featuring Leessang's Gary & THE KOXX, the lead single "Dirty", the mellow emotional track "I Love You, I Love You" featuring SNSD's Sunny and two more other tracks. Check out my review, after the jump.

Vocal Delivery: (4/5)

Lyrical Content: (4/5)

Production: (4/5)

Party Rock (Feat. Gary of Leessang & THE KOXX)

The first track is "Party Rock" features Korean hip-hop group Leessang and Korean indie band THE KOXX. If this was sung in English, it could mesh right into whats being played on American and European radio. It is catchy and just like the title of the song, its about party rocking. (4.5/5)

DIRTY

The title track "DIRTY" is the only song without any features. It incorporates a of mix of Hip-Hop and rock. This her very first solo offering and she sound sounds and looks (in the video) confident without her band members beside her. (5/5)

사랑해 사랑해 (I Love You I Love You) 

"I Love You, I Love You" features Sunny from Girls' Generation. I never thought that Miryo and Sunny would team up to do a song. They compliment each other perfectly on the pop/r&b ballad. One thing I noticed from that Sunny was singing at a lower range, compared to songs she does with SNSD. (4.5/5)

Revenger (Feat. Rude Paper)

"Revenger" features male duo Rude Paper. I have mixed feelings about this one. The lyrics I have no problem with. The beat itself is what bothers me, their is just way too much going. Having the electronic effects, dub-step and whatever else was playing all at the same time made my ears want explode. This track is probably the closes you'll get to hip-hip. (3.5/5)

Leggo (Feat. Narsha)

"Leggo" is the last track featuring her BEG bandmate Narsha. This was a simple, but yet enjoyable song. Sometimes when you hear fast paced rapping, it sounds a mess. Miryo's was great, you understood what she was saying. The tone of Narsha's voice fits just right on this song, it blended well with the background music. (4/5)

Verdict

I like this mini album and I've listened to it a couple of times since its release in February of this year. I had a bit higher expectations because she's is a bad ass rapper. Seeing those teaser images, made me think she was going come with a hard hip-hop influenced sound. Instead 

Overall I'm happy with what she's giving. My favorites are "I Love You, I Love You", "DIRTY", and "Leggo".

Overall Rating: (4/5)