The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 201

< Verse 31. Jealous, Forgiveness, Truth, Romance >

Verse 31. Jealous, Forgiveness, Truth, Romance

888 Crew’s first official album, JFTR, achieved undeniable success.

This success couldn’t even be compared to their earlier mixtape, the *Official Bootleg*.

Of course, the *Official Bootleg* wasn’t unsuccessful. It was, in its own right, a success.

Without any promotion, experienced producers, or professional recording equipment, these rookies, who hadn’t even been together for a year, sold 30,000 copies.

However, if you remove the qualifiers like ‘rookie’ and ‘underground hip hop,’ some viewed the *Official Bootleg*’s sales as a decent performance rather than a true breakthrough.

According to the ‘Hanteo Chart’ [a major Korean record sales tracking site], SG Wannabe sold 480,000 copies of their album in 2005, the same year the *Official Bootleg* was released. TVXQ sold 260,000 copies, and Buzz sold 230,000 copies.

Even within hip hop, if you remove the ‘underground’ label, Epik High’s 3rd album exceeded 120,000 copies, while Dynamic Duo and Leessang both surpassed 70,000 copies.

These album sales benefited from agency promotion and capital, but the resulting figures showed that these albums sold several times more than the *Official Bootleg*.

So, some considered the *Official Bootleg* a relative success or simply a decent performance.

However, JFTR was different.

JFTR was a success, even without considering modifiers like ‘rookie,’ ‘hip hop,’ and ‘underground.’

Figures tallied on June 31, 2006:

888 Crew 1st album JFTR (Just For The Record):

Cumulative sales of 111,381 copies.

The sales of JFTR, which had surged since their hot debut stage on *Popular Music* [a popular Korean music show], eventually exceeded 110,000 copies before June even ended.

“Hehe, you haven’t forgotten our promise, have you?” Park Hye-yeon called to congratulate them, with a strange ‘hehe’ laugh, seemingly forgetting her image as a sophisticated actress.

“Why isn’t Kwang-soo performing?” Han Kwang-soo of the Gwangju Tigers [a professional baseball team] also called to congratulate them.

Like this, 888 Crew and their acquaintances celebrated their success every day.

But where there is light, there is darkness.

Unlike 888 Crew, some people were spending their days with gloomy faces.

These were the album planning teams at various agencies.

As JFTR’s sales continued to climb, major agencies constantly pushed back the debut dates of their artists who were scheduled to debut in 2006, fearing being overshadowed.

“When will this damn JFTR craze end?”

“Well, the buzz is really strong… I think it will last until mid-August.”

“Two months is too long…”

This was a common topic of conversation whenever the A&R [Artists and Repertoire] team members of each agency met: how long the JFTR buzz, which had dominated the charts for half a month and graced the main pages of portal sites every day, would last.

“Still, we have to find a way to survive. It’s risky to release ballads or solo vocals right now, but if we ride the trend well, I think we can launch one or two hip hop teams, right?”

“You have to time it right. If we release it now, we’ll be compared to 888 Crew. Wouldn’t the end of July be appropriate?”

“We’re looking at mid-July. It’ll die down a bit in a month.”

“I wish SG Wannabe’s 3rd album and 888’s 1st album had fought fiercely… Both of them will exceed 200,000 copies, right?”

“Easily. But that also means there won’t be any other teams with sales starting with a 2.”

“200,000 copies with an album that’s just about them… Times have changed. Maybe it’s better to target a niche market.”

“Well, maybe. There are still many music fans who reject hip hop.”

SG Wannabe released their 3rd album in April 2006, building on the success of their 2nd album in 2005.

Originally, this album was expected to sell 280,000 copies by December, making it the best-selling album of 2006 and the only one to exceed 200,000 copies.

However, the emergence of 888 Crew changed everything, and industry insiders were strongly predicting that JFTR’s sales would also start with a 2.

From the agencies’ perspective, they had weathered the storm of SG Wannabe’s 3rd album in April, only to be hit by the wave of 888’s 1st album in June.

The only silver lining was that 888 Crew hadn’t registered all of their songs as digital downloads and that all tracks on JFTR except for ‘Living by the River’ were primarily hip hop.

Even after hip hop succeeded in becoming mainstream in 2014, many people still felt uncomfortable with ‘authentic hip hop.’

They didn’t dislike the rap format itself; they enjoyed emotional raps about love and breakups. However, they often criticized songs that embraced the essence of native hip hop.

‘Why do rappers only brag so much?’

‘Is bragging even hip hop?’

Most of Dok2’s songs were swagger tracks that boasted about overcoming his past hardships with exploitative contracts and succeeding solely through music.

In other words, Dok2 wasn’t bragging about money or cars themselves.

He was boasting about the music that allowed him to escape living in a container box and eating ramen soaked in cold water because he couldn’t afford a gas burner. He was boasting about his music that allowed him to earn over 1 billion won a year despite being a middle school dropout and of mixed race.

However, without understanding Dok2’s backstory and hip hop culture, these tracks could easily be perceived as strange ‘bragging.’

This wasn’t the fault of the public or the rappers. It was an inherent weakness of hip hop culture itself.

Even after hip hop became mainstream, this weakness persisted, let alone in 2006.

-Why are these guys national representatives? Did they learn to rap at Taereung [the national training center for athletes]?

-Why do they like songs that brag about themselves so much? Am I the only one who doesn’t understand?

So, many agency employees believed that a niche market definitely existed, even though JFTR was shaking up the Korean music scene.

JFTR was too hip hop.

The niche market definitely existed. And someone appeared, aiming to capture it.

“…This crazy bastard.”

“Is he trying to do everything himself? If that’s the case, he should have included it in the 1st album!”

“Looking for a lost sense of partnership…”

The sounds of agency employees groaning began to spread throughout the country.

Because the person who appeared, aiming for the niche market, was the one who had created the niche market in the first place.

July 1, 2006

Lee Sang-hyun (56) Mini Album

56 JFTR (Jealous, Forgiveness, Truth, Romance)

Ohkyung Media

***

-He’s so smart, really.

-Really. He’s damn smart. I have nothing else to say.

-I feel a bit bad? It’s like Lee Sang-hyun is playing with us. It feels like, ‘No matter what you guys do, I’m in control!’

-So, you’re not going to listen to it?

-No… Actually, I ordered it as soon as I saw it…

-But damn, why is a mini album more expensive than a regular album? JFTR with 14 tracks was 9,500 won, but 56 JFTR with 6 tracks is 11,500 won.

-It can’t be helped. It’s from Ohkyung Media.

-Why is that?

-888 Crew is all cozy and makes their own beats, records, mixes, and masters, but Ohkyung Media has all of that divided up. It’s only natural that money has to be distributed to those who are divided up. First of all, a lot of money will be distributed to the composer and arranger, right? Actually, JFTR is cheap, and 56 JFTR isn’t expensive. You have to understand.

-You seem very rational.

-I’m originally very rational.

-But Lee Sang-hyun is the composer and arranger for 56 JFTR. Not jointly, but solely.

-Really? These damn Ohkyung Media bastards.

-But is this an album that Lee Sang-hyun wanted to release, or is it an album that Ohkyung Media requested?

-Didn’t you see the contract clause that was revealed last time? Lee Sang-hyun has the right to choose his music.

-Do you believe that as it is? It was an announcement from a large agency?

-You idiot. If that was a lie, would Lee Sang-hyun have stayed still? He went up against show business even when he had nothing, so there’s no way he’d hold back from Ohkyung Media in his current state. The sound of “Ojum Media” [a play on words, replacing “Oh” with “Ojum,” meaning urine] has already come out in Lee Sang-hyun’s lyrics.

-Ojum Media, lol.

-And the album title is 56 JFTR. The meaning of the word JFTR is different, but since the notation is the same, it means that there is a connection between the two albums.

-Wow, but as I’ve said several times, Lee Sang-hyun is really smart. If 56 JFTR had come out first, it would have been torn to shreds.

-I don’t think it would have been torn to shreds because the song is so good? Have you heard ‘I Just See’? It’s sooooo good.

-I’m going to listen to the whole album when it comes. Don’t spoil it.

-I’m good at spoiling. I’m a general.

What is the most ardent wish of Korean hip hop fans?

The answer was simple: the popularization of hip hop.

For Korea’s hip hop culture to become a mainstream culture like in the United States. This was the eternal wish of hip hop fans.

That’s why underground hip hop fans always supported underground rappers who were trying to break into the mainstream.

They wanted them to gain popularity with the public, and for that popularity to contribute to the popularization of hip hop.

When Supreme Team entered Amoeba Culture, headed by Dynamic Duo, and started aiming for the overground.

When San E won the Popular Music Award with Rap Genius and joined the JYP division.

This was why Korean hip hop fans gave them so much anticipation and support.

However, it’s important to note that not all underground rappers who go mainstream receive support.

In fact, many more face fierce criticism, ridicule, and mockery from hip hop fans.

This may sound strange.

Rappers who are ‘trying to advance’ to the overground receive support, while rappers who have ‘advanced’ to the overground receive criticism.

The reason for this strange phenomenon was simple.

It was because underground rappers who went mainstream often changed the subject of their music under the premise of ‘popularity.’

The subject of rap always has to be ‘me.’ As mentioned earlier, this was a weakness of hip hop, but it was also a strength that made it impossible to escape once you were attracted to hip hop.

However, rappers who went mainstream approached the market with love stories and breakup stories that lacked the speaker ‘I’ due to the obsession of having to satisfy the public.

The common denominator of the public. Obvious lyrics and obvious rhymes.

Hip hop fans didn’t hate love songs. They didn’t immediately criticize rappers for making popular love songs either.

However, too many rappers who started gaining popularity with such songs eventually began to self-plagiarize.

Of course, this behavior couldn’t be criticized outright. It was about selling one’s talent in a capitalist market to make money.

Underground hip hop fans who criticized also knew that they were meddling.

However, this meddling contained regret that the true image of the rapper they had sincerely loved and supported had disappeared, and that they were now making music with an image created to meet the needs of the public.

Conversely, this was also why 888 Crew, who conquered the overground while telling their own stories, received such dedicated support from hip hop fans.

And then came Lee Sang-hyun’s solo mini album, 56 JFTR.

If 56 JFTR had come out before 888 Crew’s JFTR, the reaction of hip hop fans would have been sharp.

He went to Ohkyung Media and is trying to make money; the underground was just a stepping stone to success, etc.

However, Sang-hyun clearly showed the essence of real hip hop in 888 Crew’s JFTR. So, no one could criticize ’56 JFTR.’ This was why hip hop fans attached the modifier ‘smart’ to Sang-hyun.

That’s right. Sang-hyun’s 56 JFTR was an album that sang about the emotions of the public. The JFTR of 56 JFTR was not an abbreviation for Just For The Record.

Jealous, Forgiveness, Truth, Romance.

An album that unravels the various emotions that can occur between men and women with Sang-hyun’s unique songwriting and rap style.

If 888 Crew’s ‘JFTR’ was an album that seduced people who liked hip hop or were neutral, Sang-hyun’s ’56 JFTR’ was an album that could seduce even people who hated hip hop.

–

56 JFTR (Jealous, Forgiveness, Truth, Romance)

1. I Just See

2. I Need Time

3. U-Turn

4. Hey, Girl

5. High-Heel

6. I Like It

–

The mini album 56 JFTR, consisting of a total of 6 tracks, inherited the buzz of 888 Crew’s JFTR and began to receive tremendous attention.

And an unbelievable happening occurred in the Korean music industry.

888 Crew’s JFTR and Sang-hyun’s 56 JFTR were both nominated for 1st place on CBC Broadcasting’s *Popular Music* in the second week of July, setting up a head-to-head clash.

< Verse 31. Jealous, Forgiveness, Truth, Romance > End

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