The genesis of HARD 2 EARN was organic. During the beginning of the 2020 pandemic, Torae and Bonsu first began going live on Instagram to recap the popular Verzuz battles. After seeing the anticipation and reception for their conversations, the two music and entertainment vets decided to fill a void within today’s music media space.

At the top of 2021, Vevo recognized the show’s singularity and reached out with an invite to partner. “Vevo stepping up to curate these fun conversations makes for great content and a great partnership,” says Torae, a recording artist, entrepreneur, professor and acclaimed radio/TV host for SiriusXM, BET, Revolt TV and MTV.

“This is perfect for Hard 2 Earn in its infancy,” says Thompson, an award-winning writer and producer whose held media titles such as Editor-In- Chief of The Source, and Music Editor for XXL Magazine. “Now with Vevo, we get the opportunity to give more music lovers quality and engaging music analysis.”

Torae cites the initial success of HARD 2 EARN to the fact that he and Bonsu have been trusted voices within and beyond the hip-hop culture for over two decades. “People know that when they see either of our names,” he says. “They can expect knowledge and authenticity; they can expect the real.”

Tommy West of Gotham West Studios shares in the excitement. “Gotham West is thrilled to be part of the journey to help bring more audiences to [Hard 2 Earn] and share Bonsu and Torae’s vision with the world.”

Prior to the partnership, H2E reviewed over a dozen albums including Nas’ King’s Disease, the Fugees’ The Score for its 25th anniversary, Jazmine Sullivan’s Heaux Tales, and Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy for its 10 year anniversary. Future H2E episodes will be recorded bi-weekly live on Instagram and published by Vevo a week late.