Back in September 2007, something very interesting happened in the hip hop scene in the United States: Kanye West and 50 Cent, two heavyweights in the world of hip hop, both put out a new album on the same day, starting a battle. Naturally, everyone was talking about it. Rolling Stone and tons of other media outlets fanned the flames by doing cover stories on the fight. It was the most entertaining event in hip hop that year.

Fast forward to July this year, and a similar showdown was taking place in Korea’s hip hop scene. Once again, two rap stars—Beenzino and E SENS—each put out a new album, this time roughly a week apart. The two stars have a number of things in common: They’re both in the top tier of rappers, have solid back catalogs, and rose to stardom as a result. Above all else, they’re both rappers’ rappers. When two big names like this drop new albums at almost exactly the same time, chaos is bound to ensue. NOWITZKI is Beenzino’s first release in seven years, following 12. E SENS went four years between albums, with his latest, Jeogeumtong, following THE STRANGER. The two new albums have drastically different moods and head off in different directions, but they’re both instant classics.

Beenzino was always Korea’s greatest hip hop hipster. He’s always had the attitude of an artist who can’t be put in a box of any one genre, freely moving between hip hop and other sounds. And he always proved his worth through his output. But it’s not easy to maintain a stature so high. Once a figurehead of youthful energy and ambition in his 20s, Beenzino is now in his mid-30s and has gone through many major life events, including military service and marriage. The time between his album releases has also grown longer. While as famous as ever, he felt a growing distance from the hip hop scene’s bubbling center. And yet he didn’t seem to have any regrets about it. And it makes sense—he’s been busy with other artistic endeavors outside the realm of music. For their part, Beenzino’s fans appeared to respect the artist’s choices. They wanted a new album, but they didn’t grill the man about it. It seemed like Beenzino’s legacy was almost frozen in time—and that’s when NOWITZKI appeared.

NOWITZKI is an exquisite mix of daring experimentation and tried-and-true hip hop. Every track off the album is at the golden ratio between something esoteric yet irresistible, and something that will move fans of the genre deeply. It’s a rare sight in Korean hip hop these days. Three of the songs are particular highlights: Beenzino’s rap and the backing drum track compete for the listener’s attention in “Monet,” while the song’s synths dominate up front and then reverberate throughout the background to the end of the song; “Coca Cola Red” is a work of black magic, with heavily processed vocal samples resonating throughout (and don’t miss oygli’s rap!); and “Crime” brings jazz, hip hop, and alternative pop together in one fantastic jam session.

Then there’s tracks like “Travel Again” and “Trippy,” respectively featuring American R&B singer-songwriter Cautious Clay and TDE rapper Lance Skiiwalker that bring out a distinctive hip hop flavor without falling into the trap of either trend or tradition. For those who may have heard the single version of “Trippy” released earlier, the album version is a bit different: lower in pitch and split in half, with the second part rearranged to stretch the song out. Another interesting track is “Sanso (Interlude),” which samples the 1973 classic “Haenim,” written by Shin Jung-hyeon and sung by Kim Jung Mi. Throughout this album filled with colorful, refreshing beats, Beenzino sings about life as a creative, reflects on his time in the military and other memories, and relives times past and present with his wife, Stefanie Michova. A closer look reveals the lyrics are at once incredibly clever, with the kind of weight that has you taking a second, closer listen. The unskippable tracks “Monet” and “Sandman” are incredibly fun and recall Beenzino’s classic songs “Dali, Van, Picasso” and “Aqua Man.” Like the shape-shifting Mystique from the X-Men series, Beenzino has a superpower for transforming his flow seamlessly around any beat. NOWITZKI comes at a time when the rapper is going under major changes in his life, and it shows . It is, no question needed, the best work he’s ever produced. His status has been renewed and his presence is as strong as ever.

E SENS’ new album, Jeogeumtong, makes good on everything there is to love about rap. No—that’s underselling it. This album pushes the emotive power of rap to its very limits. E SENS has always been an incredibly skilled rapper. His rapping ability has kept him at the top of the hip hop pyramid ever since he debuted in 2003, even with the rapid rate of change in the scene.

E SENS had a shockingly amazing flow even in the early days of hip hop in Korea back at the start of the 2000s, when plenty of rappers still found themselves stuck in an awkward, rigid style of rapping. The way he rhymed and his way of tackling different subjects, too, was on an entirely different level. E SENS has been a paragon of rap ever since, with release after jaw-dropping release. There’s no denying the technical skill and lyrical prowess that he brings to the Korean hip hop scene.

And it’s obvious right from the start when listening to Jeogeumtong. The density of the rapping on this record is nearly overwhelming. His almost effortless rap in the opener, “No Boss,” sticks hard to the boom bap beep and just won’t let go. The variety of drum textures in the title track creates a massive sense of space that makes you feel like you’re actually there in the studio, and E SENS’ rap is the cherry on top. “A Yo” is exciting just by virtue of the E SENS and Beenzino dream team. There’s also “What The Hell” with its bobbing beat that’s so easygoing and intuitive  that it calls the Method Man to mind.

E SENS’ new album was produced by Hukky Shibaseki, providing solid and unique beats to prop up E SENS’ raps. Thanks to Shibaseki’s wide-ranging musical talent, E SENS’ rapping seems to come exploding out at you from all sides. Take “How To Love” and “Vanilla Sky,” for example. Here, Shibaseki throws in experimental instrumentals, breaking away from the traditional view that hip hop beats are only there to be rapped over—though E SENS definitely comes in with some solid rhymes. The core and unquestionable highlight of Jeogeumtong is E SENS’ unparalleled rapping, leaving no topic unturned. His deeply inspiring raps redeem even those tracks whose beats leave a little something to be desired. From now on, if anyone ever asks me for just one album that captures absolute perfection from a Korean rapper, it’ll be Jeogeumtong—hands down.

Scenes led by just a handful of big names are precarious, because the whole thing is liable to fall apart once the popularity of the said few wanes. It also doesn’t do anything to help diversity. The world of a given genre can only truly flourish when it’s full of skilled artists, all receiving recognition as they work together and, at times, compete to see who can do it best. But there are times when that superstar push is necessary, and that’s where Korean hip hop is at right now. For more than a decade, aspiring rappers have looked to the rap reality/survival show Show Me the Money on Mnet as the rope they can grab hold of to hoist themselves up. But that rope finally snapped. The fate of the next season of the series remains uncertain. People say Korea’s hip hop scene is in crisis and it’s hard to simply brush it away as some wild conspiracy theory. There’s no question that Show Me the Money helped rappers make ends meet as they climbed the charts and played various festivals and gigs. For the time being, at least, a good portion of the rap community will be living with awfully light piggy banks.

Beenzino’s and E SENS’ albums injected a massive shot of life and motivation into the Korean hip hop scene during an otherwise gloomy year for the community. Notably, both rappers first found their audiences thanks to their top-tier skills, outstanding albums, and became rap stars without the help of Show Me the Money. And then, almost simultaneously, each of them put out what might be their greatest works. Even people who felt stubbornly critical toward Korean hip hop or alienated by it for whatever reason are now turning to the genre and its culture again, or in some cases, for the first time. NOWITZKI and Jeogeumtong will help July 2023 be remembered as one of the fiercest, most exciting moments in Korean hip hop history.