The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 137

< Verse 20. Battle Rhyme >

***

Right before the competition.

On stage, PD [Production Director] Heo Tae-jin spent quite a while explaining the format for the day. He seemed concerned that the audience might get confused since the competition wasn’t based on entire songs but rather sections within them.

‘With the track info popping up on the screen anyway, isn’t he explaining this for too long?’

Just as Sang-hyun thought the audience was starting to get bored, PD Heo Tae-jin finally wrapped up his explanation.

“Sorry for the long wait, everyone!”

In response to PD Heo Tae-jin’s announcement, the audience, sensing the imminent start of the performance, began to get excited. The murmurs of conversation grew louder.

At that moment, an unannounced shout echoed through the venue.

“Korean underground hip-hop! The veteran at the forefront-!”

Amidst PD Heo Tae-jin’s energetic voice, Starz Record’s group song, ‘Milky Way,’ began to play.

Simultaneously, dazzling fireworks erupted on stage.

“Starz Record-!”

-Kyaaaaaa!

-Starz Record!

The audience erupted in thunderous cheers as Starz Record walked onto the stage from PD Heo Tae-jin’s left.

Since today’s competition was a battle within songs, the musicians were dressed in attire that clearly represented their respective labels.

Starz Record was wearing dark red baseball jackets with the word ‘STARZ’ emblazoned on the back.

Bae Sang-wook, Yeom Hyun-pil, Woo Yeon-woo, Oh Myung-jin, Kim Yu-hwa.

Starz Record, who had been at the forefront of Korean hip-hop since ’99, finally appeared on stage.

The five veterans, adorned in red, made a strong impression on the audience, raising high expectations.

-Kyaaaaaa!

-Waaaaaaa!

The cheers showed no signs of dying down.

PD Heo Tae-jin, looking slightly embarrassed, set off the fireworks once more. As the fireworks burst onto the stage with a ‘cheeeek’ sound, the audience’s cheers subsided slightly.

“Next-!”

Even before PD Heo Tae-jin could finish his sentence, a familiar 808 drumbeat began to play.

The intro that made the hearts of 888 Crew fans race.

A scream-like cheer.

“The shocking rookie who appeared like a comet! 888 Crew-!”

Eight, Eight, Eight Remix began to fill the venue. Against the backdrop of cheers and song, the eight members of 888 Crew revealed themselves.

Jun-hyung at the front. In-hyuk at the rear.

Jun-hyung’s confident stride and In-hyuk’s shoulder-shaking, beat-riding demeanor created a striking contrast.

-Kyaaaaaaaaa!

-888 Crew!

-Lee Sang-hyun!

A scream that seemed impossible to get any louder erupted. Even though only those who had applied for audience tickets were gathered, their popularity was truly amazing.

At that moment, 888 Crew, having reached the stage, unfolded the towels they had been holding in their right hands with both hands.

The white towels revealed a black logo.

A simple phrase that caught the audience’s eyes.

888 X 888

It was the moment when the already deafening cheers grew even louder.

“Hey, that’s cheating!”

Sang-hyun grinned at Bae Ga’s voice coming from the opposite side of the stage. There was an even bigger cheat left.

At that moment, the audience could see Sang-hyun throwing a towel with a dynamic gesture. The audience at the front stretched out their hands to catch the towels. At the same time, the remaining seven towels decorated the sky.

The staff, taken aback by the unannounced action, turned their gaze to the audience. Fortunately, no safety incidents occurred, and smiles bloomed on the faces of the audience members who caught the towels.

Today, 888 Crew was wearing black hoodies. The hoodies, of course, had symbols that represented them.

062 X 888

888 Crew represents Gwangju.

When it was first created, it was a phrase filled with wishes and ambitions, but now it has almost become a reality.

Following Starz Record and 888 Crew, Bounce Rhyme ascended onto the stage. Bounce Rhyme, greeted with cheers, was wearing white jerseys.

At that moment, Sang-hyun and Dolphin’s eyes met. A faint smile passed between them, but their eyes held a different story.

Thus, the 16 musicians, who expressed themselves in black, white, and red, completed their appearance.

Sang-hyun enjoyed the ear-splitting cheers as he surveyed the musicians on stage.

The red-clad Starz Record was, as always, wearing expressions full of pride.

‘Those guys deserve it.’

888 Crew had never beaten Starz Record before. They had tasted bitter defeat during the 1st round competition and the guerrilla concert.

But not today. Today would be the day 888 Crew would be victorious, and he was confident they would win.

The white-clad Bounce Rhyme wore slightly stiff expressions.

However, Dolphin’s expression was terrifying. He was usually a musician who didn’t show much competitiveness or motivation, but today seemed to be an exception.

That was because there was no room for the company’s marketing to intervene in the ‘explicit battle rap’ format. Battle raps that directly attack specific opponents have significantly less value in the absence of those opponents.

So they can’t force them to sing songs from their next album, or force them to sing songs that will be released as singles soon. There was only one thing the agency would have asked of Bounce Rhyme.

‘Just win! Advance to the 4th round!’

And this request was probably what Dolphin had been desperately wanting all along. He didn’t know if Shin-gak or Edition felt the same way.

PD Heo Tae-jin, who was in charge of the opening remarks, didn’t need to say anything further. There was no need to liven up the atmosphere or focus attention.

He just had to say one thing.

“Hip Hop The Vibe Round 3 Battle! Starting now!”

No sooner had PD Heo Tae-jin finished speaking than DJ Killdrik, who was in charge of today’s competition as the Host DJ, began to play Hip Hop The Vibe’s theme song.

Once Killdrik’s two-minute set was over, one of the ‘One-on-One Battle’ songs would be played at random.

There was no prior notice. The musicians had to rush out and grab the microphone as soon as they heard the intro if it was their song to perform.

“Make some noise-!”

Therefore, unlike Killdrik and the audience, who were in high spirits, the 16 musicians remained on stage, maintaining their tension.

The scene on stage was not as orderly as in previous competitions.

It was like watching b-boys [breakdancers] battling.

To the left of the audience was the red Starz Record, and to the right was the black 888 Crew. And facing them head-on was the white Bounce Rhyme.

The musicians, divided into three groups, were ready to cheer for their allies’ raps and boo their enemies’ raps.

Hip, Hip, Hip, Hip Hop The Vibe!

With the exciting sound, the DJ set came to an end.

At that moment, DJ Killdrik’s hand appeared on the screen, and the hand, on which 151 people’s attention was focused, began to manipulate the turntable. He was randomly adjusting the playback order.

Then, Killdrik teased the audience, pretending to press the play button.

As the audience booed playfully, Killdrik grabbed the microphone.

“Do you want it?”

“Yes!”

“Are you ready?”

The moment the audience’s voices of “Yes!” were heard, Killdrik’s thunderous voice was spewed out as if to tear the speaker.

“Let`s go get`em-!”

Let’s go get them!

The heavy beat of East Side, which would become the first battlefield, began to echo through the venue.

* One and One Battle

Stars Record VS Bounce Rhyme

Kim Yu-hwa VS Shin-gak

The first one-on-one battle was between ‘Starz Record’ and ‘Bounce Rhyme.’

Kim Yu-hwa of Starz Record.

Shin-gak of Bounce Rhyme.

A rare battle with a vocalist versus a rapper.

In fact, in terms of the stimulation that can be conveyed through lyrics, Kim Yu-hwa, as a vocalist, could not beat Shin-gak, as a rapper. Songs that need to bring out the melody inevitably lack the directness of rap.

However, Sang-hyun predicted that the moment Shin-gak became complacent, believing in this advantage, he would be devoured by Kim Yu-hwa. The vocals of Kim Yu-hwa that Sang-hyun had experienced so far were well-suited to the title of Korea’s Amy Winehouse.

Amy Winehouse was a genius musician who freely played with hip-hop beats as a vocalist.

If you listen to Nas’s Made you look and then listen to Amy Winehouse’s In my bed, you can’t help but be shocked that the two songs have the same beat.

The same was true when encountering Amy Winehouse’s You know I`m no good and then encountering E-Sens’s I`m no good.

As Sang-hyun thought, the battle unfolded in a one-sided atmosphere. Shin-gak seemed to be intimidated from the start by Kim Yu-hwa’s vocals, which were clearly different from when they practiced.

Kim Yu-hwa’s 8 bars, Shin-gak’s 8 bars.

Again, Kim Yu-hwa’s 8 bars, Shin-gak’s 8 bars.

Amidst the total of four back-and-forth attacks, the team members’ sharp reactions continued. Starz Record deliberately booed whenever Shin-gak made a subtle mistake.

Shin-gak’s mistake was originally a mistake that ordinary audience members would have had difficulty noticing. However, as the musicians’ jeers continued and Shin-gak became flustered, the audience was also able to notice the mistake.

The moment Shin-gak missed the intro beat of the last 8 bars, the balance of the game seemed to have completely tilted.

‘As expected, Yu-hwa is like a joker.’

Sang-hyun thought that 888 Crew should also be careful of Kim Yu-hwa.

As Shin-gak’s rap ended, the first battle came to an end.

The battle was over, but the beat continued for about 10 more seconds. It was the voting time given to those who had not yet voted.

During those 10 seconds, the beat slowly began to change.

The texture of the dull drum changed lightly, the melody disappeared, and it returned to a very basic looping beat. Finally, the string sound disappeared.

At the same time, the battle information appeared on the screen.

* One and One Battle

Bounce Rhyme VS 888 Crew

Edition VS Oh Min-ji

Min-ji ran to the center of the stage as soon as she heard the beat.

The 888 Crew members shouted as they sent Min-ji off.

“Tear them up!”

“Don’t be nervous!”

Min-ji nodded and grabbed the microphone. Edition, who arrived next, also grabbed the microphone.

At the same time, the cheers of the female audience grew louder. This was because they expected this battle to be a fierce battle fought with the pride of female rappers at stake.

In fact, Edition and Oh Min-ji had never matched their raps during practice. Min-ji had suggested matching them a couple of times, but Edition had refused.

With each other’s raps completely unknown, Edition’s preemptive strike began.

Ranked 8th in skill level in Eight, Eight, Eight

Uhm Min-ho’s rap is much more Shining than you

The stage is Paris, my rap is Fashion Week

The despair you feel when you see me, Passion Break

Oh Min-ji’s expression changed ambiguously as she listened carefully to Edition’s rap. It was far worse than the raps she had heard from Edition before.

< Verse 20. Battle Rhyme > End

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