The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 143

< Verse 20. Battle Rhyme (End) >

There were two reasons why Crouching Writer, originally 150 bars long, had 50 bars cut.

The first reason was very simple.

It was to complete the symbolism of the seemingly perfect number of 100 bars. Plus, 150 bars seemed like it would make the play time too long.

The second reason was the vibe he wanted to convey.

The vibe of Crouching Writer was a sophistication achieved by intricately weaving together extreme wordplay, or perhaps a sense of playfulness.

The 50 bars he removed were parts with a strong sense of confidence, typical of swagger verses, rather than focusing on wordplay.

But this is a battle space.

A space to prove oneself with Battle Rhyme and disarm each other.

Sanghyun, holding the mic, started rapping, swaying his body like Inhyuk.

This is me – yeah five six

That girl – fixing her makeup

You can hold my hand, you can touch me as you please

Instead, promise me one thing, will you scream a little?

-Kyaaaa!

-Oppa!

When Sanghyun made a gesture of holding out his pinky finger and said, ‘Will you scream a little?’, about half of the female audience started to swoon. In particular, the cheers from the few middle and high school girls were tremendous.

Did you see me at the last performance? Sorry, I’m seeing you for the first time.

If you want to play with me, give me a thousand won right now

The oppa next to you, actually an 888 groupie

To hardcore fans, Korea’s 2Pac or Hova [Jay-Z’s nickname]

Baega nodded at Sanghyun’s bouncy rap, but with a slightly ambiguous expression.

Sanghyun’s rap, delivered smoothly as if speaking, had a great charm. Of course, the lyrics were fun and the quality was high.

Kim Yu-hwa, who usually adored Sanghyun, was constantly shouting ‘Sanghyun oppa!’ as if she was confused whether she was a musician or an audience member. Even though there was a six-year age difference.

However, Baega was a little disappointed. It was because the answer he wanted to hear through Still I’m King was of a different kind.

‘But well, it can’t be helped. It’s not like Sanghyun could have known.’

The hidden track was an interesting idea, but the problem was that he couldn’t know the rap the other person had prepared at all. If he had given Sanghyun a hint about Still I’m King in advance, Sanghyun could have brought a track optimized for it.

Thinking that, Baega shook off his disappointment and focused on Sanghyun’s rap.

Delivery that is abnormally good no matter when you listen to it.

Especially since his mic control isn’t that great, and it’s not a diction style for delivering lyrics.

Sorry, I’m a bit high-dimensional

Rap is so easy, have you been waiting long?

Oppa or younger brother? I’m more than that

The number one topic of talk in cafes or bars

Baega was still impressed by Sanghyun’s witty lyrics.

More than an oppa or younger brother.

Baega was so immersed in Sanghyun’s lyrics that he didn’t even notice that something was gradually being added to the beat.

The first person to notice it was Woo Yeonwoo.

‘Huh?’

Woo Yeonwoo realized that something was subtly laid in the background sound at some point. He could faintly hear brass sounds, as well as bass and twin guitar sounds.

‘As expected.’

Woo Yeonwoo had layered hardcore drum sources on Baega’s Still I’m King.

The nonchalant drums and piano of Crouching Writer were interesting ideas, but when it came to doing it live, the beat felt too empty.

So, just by adding hardcore drums, the feel of the beat completely changed…….

‘Huh? Feel?’

The background sound started to get louder. In response, the drums and piano also subtly increased in volume.

However, the feeling conveyed by the beat did not change. Even though trumpet sources were added.

At that moment, Woo Yeonwoo was able to realize the ‘true identity’ of Crouching Writer. He couldn’t help but sigh.

“Ah……!”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Ah, I see. I thought it was strange.”

“What is?”

At Yeom Hyunpil’s question, Woo Yeonwoo briefly explained.

Woo Yeonwoo had actually thought it was a bit strange when he first heard Crouching Writer. Of course, the rap was unbelievably good, but perhaps because he was a producer, he felt that the drum and piano sources were a waste.

Why did he make it so simple? Of course, there was fun in maximizing the rap while being rough, but wouldn’t it have been better to just lay down a bass and subtly create drum ghost notes? No, of course it would be better, right?

Besides, Sanghyun might lack in engineering aspects, but in terms of creativity, he was more sensitive to sound than anyone he had ever seen.

So why Sanghyun?

But now he could understand. The moment he anticipated the ensemble that the background sound would create in a few seconds, he got the feeling.

Crouching Writer was not a beat made only with drum and piano sounds. It was a beat that had extracted only the drum and piano sources from a complete beat.

In other words, Crouching Writer was a beat that had left only the piano and drum sounds from the completed beat and muted the rest.

The moment the mute was released, the original beat would reveal itself.

“It’s coming.”

The background sound began to reveal its presence.

Now, not only Woo Yeonwoo, but most people were beginning to notice that the beat was changing. Because the feeling given by the sound itself did not change, people were slow to recognize it.

Crouching Writer.

A crouching lyricist.

And now that crouch was transforming into a stretch, fully extending its body.

Straight Writer.

The crouching lyricist confidently straightened his shoulders and came onto the stage.

As Woo Yeonwoo thought, Crouching Writer was the first part of Straight Writer, which would be included in the next album, a prelude, and a starting point.

Sanghyun’s rap poured over the rich sound.

Baega got goosebumps.

It was clearly the same feeling of beat, but the feeling conveyed by Sanghyun’s rap had completely changed.

A prepared magazine full of potential

The stage raises me, a huge insole

I bowed my head as much as the raised eye level

Eat my rap and die, the Last Supper

No matter how high the stage gets, I will look at my feet.

So, I had no choice but to bow my head as much as the stage was raised.

Maybe this crazy winning life is pulling me

Music is a hobby mostly, But I’m not a King crab

My Battery is full, obviously Energizer

Working Rap assembly line But I’m a supervisor

Baega unknowingly smiled broadly. Yes, this was the figure he wanted from Lee Sanghyun.

The previous raps were gently flowing streams. They had beautiful scenery and sentiment.

But now the rap was water jet cutting that split diamonds. A force that sharply shot and cut even the hardest thing in the world.

Interpretation: I’m a president-level workforce

Always running on the field, wearing Jordans, active duty

Betting most of my energy on Better Than

The smell of a veteran is ingrained, Benefit From Melody

The vowels of ㅔ and ㅐ were endlessly superimposed, creating a unique sense of rhythm. The female audience who had been screaming closed their mouths. A strange tension filled the stage.

The image of Lee Sanghyun, who had been like a kind boyfriend until just now, was nowhere to be found, and a sharpness that seemed like it would cut if touched was in its place.

Push me hard, but there’s no such thing as giving up

Stepping, getting up, with that, will I lose

I’ll ask back, Fuck I’m Eminem and

A beaker mixing Jay-z

Now you know who I am

Scorched rice stuck to the bottom of Gwangju’s underground

Big money is good, but it’s not the destination

Money is just Haeundae’s [A famous beach in Busan, South Korea] by-product on the way

Sanghyun spat out extremely compressed sharpness.

Even though the rap ended, it was as if someone was still stimulating his ears.

Sanghyun panted and looked for Baega.

‘How was it, hyung?’

‘You crazy bastard. You do it all yourself.’

‘We have to do it together.’

In a short moment, the two musicians formed a deep bond.

Sanghyun was grateful that there was a wall he wanted to overcome called Baega, and Baega was grateful that a new shock called Sanghyun had appeared.

The moment the beat disappeared after exactly 2 minutes, the audience woke up as if from hypnosis. And then they sent generous applause and cheers.

It was the second applause at a hip-hop performance since Get That Money Welcome To School.

Seeing that, PD Heo Taejin was once again convinced that there was something indescribable in Lee Sanghyun’s music.

It was impossible to divide the superiority of Baega’s rap and Lee Sanghyun’s rap in terms of skill. Just like the match between Park Inhyuk and Yeom Hyunpil, the vote would come down to a matter of taste.

To the people watching the performance now through TV.

But on the scene, there is an aura that only the audience on the scene can feel. As Walter Benjamin said, there is an aura that cannot be conveyed no matter how much the medium of transmission develops.

And that aura seemed to be raising Sanghyun’s hand.

‘Of course, we’ll have to wait and see the results.’

PD Heo Taejin woke up from the afterglow of the performance at the urgent voice of the assistant director and went up on the stage. But it would have been okay to be a little later.

Because the audience was still enjoying the afterglow of the performance.

“The hidden track competition has ended. It was a really, really great performance.”

The answer, ‘That’s right,’ was heard from here and there.

“Hip Hop The Vibe Two. The last hidden track battle with the 1st place of Round 3 and the right to feature in Round 4. Now the result of the battle will be decided by the 151 audience members.”

The audience began to buzz at the word voting, which they had completely forgotten. They were sharing their opinions with each other.

“Has everyone made up their minds?”

PD Heo Taejin asked, but no one answered coolly with a ‘Yes.’

“Should I give you more time?”

“Yes!”

“Then let’s have an interview time for a while.”

Heo Taejin gestured to the writer who was waiting. The camera stuck to Shin Hyeyeon, a famous actress from Chungmuro [The ‘Hollywood’ of South Korea], who readily accepted the interview request.

“How do you feel about seeing today’s performance?”

“Ah…… I’ve never seen anything like this before. I saw it on TV and it was so fun, so I came…….”

Shin Hyeyeon, who is famous for being easygoing, stuttered. The writer smiled and asked again.

“Is there anything you want to say?”

“Lee Sanghyun is 18 years old this year, right? Turning 19 now?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Sanghyun, come marry me when you turn twenty. You just have to rap!”

At Shin Hyeyeon’s words, the audience cheered with laughter and applause. Sanghyun, who was on the stage, smiled and greeted Shin Hyeyeon.

After a few more words were exchanged, the interview was over, and finally the time for voting arrived.

The deliberation was long, but the time spent on voting was very short.

PD Heo Taejin checked the voting results first and thought it was unexpected. But soon he thought it could be.

“Hip Hop The Vibe Two! The results of the Round 3 vote are……!”

The voting results appeared on the screen.

The audience sent generous applause to the two musicians and three teams who had worked hard.

***

Filming on November 27, 2005

Hip Hop The Vibe 2 / Heo Taejin

Round 3 Battle Rap

1st place 888 Crew (Hidden Track Result: 118 votes)

2nd place Stars Records (Hidden Track Result: 33 votes)

3rd place Bounce Rhyme

Final eliminated team. Bounce Rhyme

In the United States, the home of hip hop, rap is sometimes called rap, but more often it is called rhyme or game.

The reason it’s called rhyme is because the only rule of rap is rhyme.

The reason it’s called a game is because rap is a battle where victory or defeat is determined. In the United States, quite a lot of money is exchanged in speculative rap battles, and for some, it becomes a means of livelihood.

Just like Eminem participated in rap battles to earn money for his daughter, Hailey’s formula.

But battles don’t necessarily have only winners and losers.

Bounce Rhyme’s Dolphin lost, but left the set with something much more valuable than a short-term victory.

Stars Records’ Baega lost, but it wasn’t a loss. Mario doesn’t clear just because he beat Koopa once.

Baega made a brave choice for a leap forward, and that choice could never be tarnished by the result of defeat.

Sanghyun and 888 Crew won, but there was something more valuable than victory.

“Ah, hyung! We have to go to school tomorrow! Tomorrow is Monday!”

“You can take the 4:30 AM bus! I told you to play and go! You guys won, so treat us!”

“Well, I don’t care because I finished the college entrance exam…… as long as I don’t skip class.”

“Wow, Shin Hayeon is really bad.”

They were the people who would celebrate the victory together.

< Verse 20. Battle Rhyme (End) > End

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