The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 152

< Verse 22. Course Correction (End) – End of Volume 6 >

It might sound a bit presumptuous, but Sanghyun thought that Bae Ga had recently become fascinated by his style.

Sophisticated flow and dazzling wordplay.

Ryming that pursues colloquialism and elastic groove.

Clear message and the hip-hop vibe that wraps it.

However, as seen in the results of the Crouching Writer vote using the same beat, he was still superior in that area. Of course, Bae Ga was incredibly good too.

But what he felt while listening to Bae Ga’s rap now was that Bae Ga had completely deconstructed his rap and created an original style.

‘In just a few weeks.’

He extracted only the necessary parts from his rap to revive his own, and the rap he expected to hear in five years popped out. Although it still seemed a bit rough around the edges.

Now, there will be people who listen to and imitate Bae Ga’s rap, and it will also affect active rappers.

Sanghyun thought that he had advanced the time of the Korean hip-hop scene by about two years. But now it seemed like three years or more.

Because of Hip Hop the Vibe.

‘I’m glad I came out on Hip Hop the Vibe.’

So, the finale had to be decorated with victory.

Just all clock out-!

Don’t taint Rap Class

Just all clock out-!

The people who applied to watch Hip Hop the Vibe were people who came ‘ready to jump’. So, if you set the stage for them to jump like this, there was no way they wouldn’t jump.

The audience started jumping enthusiastically to the hook.

“Just all-!”

Clock out!

“Just all-!”

Clock out!

“Don’t taint Rap Class, just all-!”

Clock out!

Although it’s not a very reliable survey, there was a research result that Koreans have a very outstanding sense of rhythm globally.

In fact, the unique groove of black people was a layback (pushing rhythm) formed because they couldn’t accurately match the beat in terms of the concept of regular beats. In the case of neighboring Japan, they couldn’t properly utilize ‘triple time’ until foreign cultures came in.

Sanghyun dismissed the research results that Koreans have an excellent sense of rhythm as nonsense, but looking at the audience going wild at the concert hall now, it didn’t seem like that was the case.

It was amazing how they responded without even an inch of error.

Just all clock out-!

Don’t taint Rap Class

Just all clock out-!

As soon as Oh Myungjin’s hook ended, Kim Yuhwa started filling the bridge.

The 888 Crew, who had been watching the performance with their arms crossed, thinking it was a competitor’s performance, eventually gave up and started jumping around.

The audience screamed with fan love at the sight. It was so cool to see them genuinely enjoying each other’s music, beyond competition.

The Stars Records members on stage and the 888 Crew under the stage made eye contact. Sanghyun gave a thumbs up to the Stars *hyung*s [older brothers/male friends], who were already covered in sweat even though it was only the first song.

Bae Ga also smiled and gave a thumbs up, and that scene was captured by the camera at a good angle.

PD [Production Director] Heo Taejin thought that the current scene was a still shot that encompassed the deep bond between the musicians and the regret of Episode 1 heading towards the end.

That’s how Stars Records’ performance continued.

***

Among the 600 audience members who came to the final competition of Hip Hop the Vibe today, there was a special group audience.

It was the trainees of Ohkyung Entertainment.

Ohkyung Entertainment was famous for not accepting trainees carelessly, and once they did, they treated them like quasi-singers from other companies.

Therefore, the number of trainees was very small compared to the size of the company. If you only count the musician trainees, there were only 30.

The reason why 30 Ohkyung Entertainment trainees visited the Hip Hop the Vibe concert hall today was to give a new shock to those who had fallen into mannerism due to their long training life, as well as a tour of the broadcasting station.

“Wow, it’s so cool…”

Lee Seulbi and Im Seonhwa, who started their trainee life at the age of 11 and have now been in Ohkyung Entertainment for over two years, muttered at the same time.

However, the targets they were looking at were different.

Im Seonhwa was watching Stars Records singing the last song, and Lee Seulbi was watching the 888 Crew cheering next to the stage.

“Oh my god, they’re so handsome!”

Lee Seulbi and Im Seonhwa chattered like elementary school girls. Next to them, a man was watching the stage with his arms crossed.

The man was tilting his head as if trying to avoid the stage. He wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn’t because the head of the trainee management team was next to him.

The man was angry at the gazes of the many people heading towards the stage and the cheers. He had thrown away his conscience and even stole music, believing that it would ‘change his life’, but not much had changed.

Rather, Lee Sanghyun, who had his music stolen, was thriving. Now, the scale at which Lee Sanghyun was playing was on a different level.

Lee Sanghyun was appearing on a program where the main article on the portal site appeared within 30 minutes of being broadcast, and it was not difficult to put his name on the real-time search terms.

The single track of the indie kid who featured him maintained the top spot for 2 weeks, and is currently fluctuating between 2nd and 5th place on each site, although there are differences.

The album released without any promotion was sold out for the third time, recording 15,000 copies sold, and he was collaborating with a famous producer in LA [Los Angeles].

Lee Sanghyun was overcoming many of the things he wanted to achieve as a musician so easily.

‘Damn it!’

The man, Cha Inhyun, clenched the voting button in his hand tightly. The plastic voting button made a creaking sound.

Cha Inhyun was even more angry at his own stupidity.

He thought that his ‘One’ would be announced as the title song of Joo Yohan’s next album soon. However, the album release system of large agencies was not so easy.

Ohkyung Entertainment’s A&R [Artists and Repertoire] team reviewed the optimal release timing and promotion method to release Joo Yohan’s already completed album. And the conclusion was that now was not the time to release the album.

Joo Yohan’s album, which mixed traditional emotional ballads with rock ballad songs to be promoted, was a bit disappointing to release in a time when hip-hop was attracting attention like these days. In the meantime, Joo Yohan won the lead role in a drama written by a famous writer, and the album release was indefinitely postponed until after the drama filming was over.

Yes, in fact, it didn’t matter up to that point.

It was a shame, but One wasn’t ‘disappearing’, and it would be released someday.

What really made Cha Inhyun angry was that he realized he was a ‘trainee’ after receiving the contract fee and depositing it all for his father’s hospital bills.

‘Didn’t we sign a contract with a clause that an album would be released within 2 years?’

‘As you can see in the contract, the album release is 2 years after signing an exclusive musician contract. The contract that Cha Inhyun and our Ohkyung Entertainment have signed now is a trainee contract on the premise of an exclusive musician.’

‘Doesn’t that premise mean it can be infinitely long?’

‘No. That’s not the case. According to the contract, if there is no special break from the trainee manager, you will unconditionally become an exclusive musician after 3 years of training. Of course, you may be called up sooner if you show potential.’

‘But I have the title song of Joo Yohan’s album…!’

‘Cha Inhyun, everything Cha Inhyun agreed with the casting team leader is written in this contract. Our legal team can only read the contract and tell you what the contents of this contract are. You signed it yourself, right?’

When Cha Inhyun provided One and signed the contract, he thought he had become an exclusive musician like Ohkyung Entertainment’s famous composer Chae Daehan.

He should have examined the contract more carefully. Of course, even if he had read it well, there was no guarantee that he would have grasped the subtle trap clauses.

‘Damn it! Damn it!’

That’s why Cha Inhyun was angry.

He had abandoned L&S, who were preparing for a leap forward, and came up to Seoul, but now he was too embarrassed to answer the phone when L&S members called. He wanted L&S to do well, but he couldn’t help but feel upset when he saw L&S thriving.

L&S was doing very well in the Jeonnam and Gwangju areas, based on the performance at the Mudeung Stadium that was broadcast on cable, although not as much as the 888 Crew. They were making soft music with Miju as the vocalist.

Cha Inhyun unknowingly glared at Lee Sanghyun, who was cheering under the stage.

In fact, he knew that Lee Sanghyun hadn’t done anything wrong. Rather, he was the one who was at fault. He still had that much reason.

However, it was also true that he had recently developed bad feelings towards Lee Sanghyun.

If he hadn’t seduced him by singing on the hospital rooftop, and if he hadn’t appeared in front of L&S, and if he hadn’t changed the flow of popular music by appearing on Hip Hop the Vibe.

‘No, let’s not think of ridiculous things. I can end my trainee life if I work hard.’

Cha Inhyun forcibly turned his thoughts around. He hadn’t collapsed to that extent yet.

Cha Inhyun’s gaze, catching his breath, turned to the 888 Crew members going on stage, especially Lee Sanghyun.

***

Stars Records’ performance ended.

The cheers of the audience poured out like a galaxy over the stage where the lingering feeling of ‘We are Stars’ had not yet faded.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

The Stars Records members bowed repeatedly to the audience, and the cheers of the audience soon turned into applause.

Sanghyun was amazed that he could show such a full performance with only 4 songs in 20 minutes.

“You guys really worked hard.”

“*Hyung*s, it’s really over now. Please finish well.”

The 888 Crew going up on stage and the Stars Records going down the stage naturally bumped hands. It was like passing the baton.

This was beyond the format of competition, it was a sense of solidarity between colleagues who were still pioneering the barren Korean hip-hop scene together.

Sanghyun went on stage and scanned the audience from the left as a habit. Perhaps because the concert hall was bright, there seemed to be a lot of people.

In fact, it felt like the Korean hip-hop scene had grown tremendously just by doing performances related to Hip Hop the Vibe recently, but that wasn’t necessarily the case.

It was certain that it had instilled a positive element of ‘Hip-hop is a good culture?’ to teenagers and 20s who had taken a neutral stance on hip-hop. However, the stance of those who had a negative attitude towards hip-hop culture did not change, and hip-hop still felt distant to the cultural enjoyment class over 30s.

There was no dramatic way to solve this. There was only time. And the 888 Crew had no choice but to make music steadily and coolly within that time.

The 888 Crew will sing a total of 4 songs today.

1. Daydream – Lee Sanghyun, Shin Hayeon

2. Why Commin` – Oh Minji, Park Inhyuk, Kim Hwan

3. Background – Park Inhyuk, Kim Hwan, Shin Junhyung

4. Collaboration Song – Lee Sanghyun Feat. Featuring

The 888 Crew actively accepted Sangmi’s words while preparing for this performance.

‘I thought PD [Production Director] Heo Taejin was giving an award from the moment I heard the 4th round theme. An award given to the two teams who fought fiercely and won in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rounds. Honestly, if it’s a hip-hop theme, it doesn’t matter what song you sing, right? It means do the song you want to do.’

Daydream, which is number 1 on the set list, was a song that had never been performed live. It was too soft to do at an event, and the theme didn’t fit to do at Hip Hop the Vibe.

So, Sanghyun chose Daydream as the intro song, feeling like he was receiving an award.

Number 2, Why Commin`, was a song that Oh Minji really wanted to do. It seemed like she wanted to feel the thrill of Why Commin` that she felt at the Mudeung Stadium again. In fact, it was also true that Oh Minji didn’t properly feel the lingering feeling because she was rapping out of her mind.

Number 3, Background, was a song that Junhyung especially liked. And Woo Minho’s amazing support was prepared for the song.

The last 4th track was a song with a very deep meaning. It was the same for the featuring members as well as for the musician Lee Sanghyun personally.

The theme of the 4th song is ‘Course Correction’.

It was a song that comprehensively summarized the true meaning of today’s performance.

“Are you ready?”

“I’ve been ready since watching the Stars *hyung*s’ performance.”

“Cough, that guy inside me is wriggling.”

The eyes of the 888 Crew members on stage gathered in one place. They shouted simultaneously without anyone saying it first.

We Eight that Eight that Eight that Crew-!

That’s how the stage that decorates the finale of Hip Hop the Vibe began.

< Verse 22. Course Correction (End) – End of Volume 6 > End

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