The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 119

This was the reason the 888 Crew declined interview requests from other media outlets.

PD [Production Director] Heo Tae-jin was genuinely curious. Was Lee Sang-hyun’s insistence on exclusive interviews truly out of gratitude? Or was it an example of the first rule of survival in show business: ‘Give as much as you receive?’

After breaking their ‘immutable rule’ with HiphopLE, the 888 Crew offered exclusive interviews as a form of equivalent exchange.

‘Am I overthinking this? They’re just high school students, after all?’

Perhaps it really was just gratitude.

From the outside, the 888 Crew seemed to be driven entirely by Lee Sang-hyun.

If Lee Sang-hyun’s actions were based on instinct, he might be better suited as a businessman or planner than a musician.

Following the Triple Eight issue, the second major talking point generated by Hip Hop the Vibe was the conflict between the 888 Crew and Code Name.

The story of the two teams fighting at Mudeung Stadium was now known nationwide. However, this wasn’t simply a case of, ‘Code Name and the 888 Crew don’t get along. Let’s watch them fight.’

There was a complex web of cause and effect behind it.

The starting point of this complex relationship was the incident that made the 888 Crew famous: the ‘Fuck the Show Business’ affair.

The show business magazine company that the 888 Crew dissed [publicly criticized] had been incorporated into Ohkyung Entertainment two years prior. While they didn’t receive direct orders, it was still a subsidiary of Ohkyung Entertainment. Furthermore, Code Name, who had clashed with the 888 Crew, was an artist under Ohkyung Entertainment.

-The 888 Crew doesn’t have a good relationship with Ohkyung Entertainment.

Looking at the situation, it was clear that the 888 Crew and Ohkyung Entertainment were negatively entangled. Strictly speaking, the 888 Crew was the one who disliked Ohkyung Entertainment.

However, the problem was that Baseball Story was heavily promoting the 888 Crew. OMB [Oh My Broadcasting] created the stage at Mudeung Stadium and promoted the 888 Crew’s performance video to the entire nation.

Baseball Story was a program on OMB Broadcasting, and the higher-ups at OMB were connected to Ohkyung Entertainment.

-OMB supported the 888 Crew. And OMB is a subsidiary of Ohkyung Entertainment.

Of course, the 888 Crew’s performance video highlighted Baseball Story’s slogan. But if Ohkyung Entertainment truly disliked the 888 Crew, OMB wouldn’t have supported them.

The final piece of the puzzle was the reason Ohkyung Entertainment recruited Code Name.

Ohkyung Entertainment was showing great interest in hip-hop culture. Rumor had it they were promoting hip-hop to gain an advantage over the LOC Group, which had deeply infiltrated the existing entertainment industry—a somewhat exaggerated claim.

The reason Ohkyung Entertainment paid Code Name’s penalty fees and recruited them was clearly an investment in hip-hop culture. And it was well-known that Ohkyung Entertainment had recently been eyeing the 888 Crew.

-Ohkyung Entertainment has a strong interest in hip-hop culture and is willing to invest. Therefore, Ohkyung Entertainment wants to scout the 888 Crew.

Within the industry, the prevailing opinion was that despite the 888 Crew’s resistance, they would eventually end up with Ohkyung Entertainment.

If that were the case, the 888 Crew and Code Name would soon be sharing the same table, and according to the laws of show business, they would be divided into the strong and the weak.

The strong, backed by Ohkyung Entertainment, would become the vanguard and cornerstone of hip-hop culture, while the weak would become losers and disappear.

-Soon, the 888 Crew and Code Name will be sharing the same table.

According to these issues, Hip Hop the Vibe wasn’t just a competition program for rappers. It was a fierce battle for dominance between the 888 Crew and Code Name, all to gain the backing of ‘giant capital’ in the form of Ohkyung Entertainment.

It was unknown how this story spread to the public. However, it was soon accepted as the prevailing theory, creating a massive buzz.

Perhaps Ohkyung Entertainment was deliberately fueling the fire.

‘Well… will the 888 Crew really join Ohkyung Entertainment?’

Rumors had spread as if it were a foregone conclusion, but PD Heo Tae-jin, who had seen the 888 Crew firsthand, was skeptical.

However, he couldn’t completely ignore the rumors because he knew the power large entertainment companies wielded in the Korean music industry.

Like PD Heo Tae-jin, underground hip-hop fans were also half-doubting the rumors.

There were conflicting claims: that the B The Underground’s 888 Crew would never join Ohkyung Entertainment, and that the 888 Crew would be entirely incorporated into Ohkyung Entertainment while maintaining their musicality.

‘I personally like the 888 Crew, but I don’t need to worry about their agency.’

What PD Heo Tae-jin needed to worry about was Hip Hop the Vibe.

He was planning to ‘artificially’ create the next issue after the Triple Eight issue and the Code Name-888 Crew issue.

The last issue he had in mind was Crouching Writer’s Guinness challenge.

Compared to the previous two, this one seemed weaker, but it was better in terms of quickly generating buzz. The Guinness challenge was a matter of succeeding or failing, a clear dichotomy.

Frankly, there was no way that 100 bars of rap would be recognized by the Korean Guinness World Records. However, if he greased the palms of the Korean Records Institute executives, creating an issue would be a piece of cake.

‘I’m pleased to be judging this great challenge. Regardless of whether it’s registered with Guinness, it’s a record of global value. Wouldn’t that be enough? If possible, let’s get it on the news too.’

This was PD Heo Tae-jin’s thought process.

However, a few days later, PD Heo Tae-jin realized he didn’t need to artificially create a third issue.

Because an equally significant issue had emerged.

-Indie Kid’s 5th album, ‘Indikident,’ surpasses 13,000 copies in its first week of sales!

-The 3rd track from ‘Indikident,’ ‘After Today (Feat. 56 of 888 Crew),’ tops the single charts!

-888 Crew and Indie Kid show the power of well-made underground music. Will they be the key to overcoming the recession in the music industry?

***

Four days ago, Sang-hyun and Jun-hyung finished the additional filming for Crouching Writer and arrived in Gwangju after 6 PM on Sunday. The 888 Crew members were gathered in the studio to greet them.