The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 208

< Verse 32. Through to New York >

During the golden era of the 70s and 80s, when hip hop was rising to the mainstream, a saying was considered gospel in America, the birthplace of hip hop.

All hip hop leads to New York.

Considering that ‘old school hip hop’ from the golden era was essentially ‘New York underground hip hop,’ the statement wasn’t surprising.

However, New York hip hop musicians, who had dominated the American hip hop scene, began to lose their grip from the late 1990s.

The seemingly eternal Wu-Tang Clan and Run-DMC lost their momentum with the start of the new millennium. Conversely, Dirty South, the southern hip hop that had been dismissed as cheap club music, began its slow ascent to the mainstream.

At the same time, Eminem from the Midwest, self-proclaimed “White Trash,” burst onto the scene, and regardless of New York’s struggles, West Coast gangster hip hop maintained a strong position in the mainstream.

‘All hip hop leads to New York’ became a relic of the past.

However, no one could deny that New York underground hip hop made a monumental contribution to the birth and popularization of the genre.

Also, although its mainstream presence waned, New York remained the lifeline and umbilical cord of American underground hip hop culture.

America, the birthplace of hip hop.

And within it, New York, the city closest to the culture’s essence.

The city Sanghyun flew 14 hours to reach held such significance.

***

Sanghyun woke up feeling a tickle on his forehead. As he gradually became aware, he realized it wasn’t his bangs, but the headwind buffeting him.

Also, the dazzling sunlight relentlessly beat down on his eyelids.

“Hey, what are you doing? Why is the top down?”

“Say what?”

English came back in response.

Sanghyun belatedly realized he was in New York, Standard was driving, he had spoken in Korean, and Standard hadn’t understood him.

Strangely, he couldn’t sleep well on the plane, but as soon as he arrived at the airport and got into Standard’s car, he seemed to have fallen asleep instantly.

Sanghyun asked, his voice hoarse.

“Why is the car top down?”

“The weather’s great. It’s July in New York. Can’t you see?”

“See what?”

“Things like that?”

Following Standard’s gaze, he turned his head and immediately saw women in scant clothing.

There wasn’t much difference between the July weather in New York and Korea, but there was a big difference in this regard.

“Sigh.”

Sanghyun shook his head as if he found Standard’s behavior pathetic.

The moment Standard grumbled and moved to close the car top at Sanghyun’s look, Sanghyun casually said.

“No, well… I don’t think you have to go that far, do you?”

Standard chuckled.

Standard, who had given off a clumsy English and nerdy vibe when they first connected, now felt like a seasoned veteran.

Perhaps it was only natural.

Sanghyun had experienced growth and change in Korea for a year, and Standard would have experienced the same in LA, several times faster than he would have originally.

“Asians are different in words and actions. It’s such an incomprehensible culture.”

“It’s great, July in New York. Look over there.”

This time, Sanghyun pointed, and Standard followed his gaze.

“Oh, my God.”

A much more breathtaking sight met Standard’s eyes than before.

A daring look with no top on.

The only thing on the body is a pair of short shorts.

It was truly a feast of exposed skin.

“Isn’t it amazing?”

The problem was that the person was a man with bulging muscles.

“Are you gay? Of course, I respect gays, but if you’re gay…”

“Stop talking nonsense and drive properly.”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Things might be a bit conservative in Asia, but here…”

“N-No, I’m not!”

Standard burst into laughter, as if joking at Sanghyun’s intense reaction.

Sanghyun and Standard got along very well. It was the first time they were talking face to face, but they had talked on the phone so often and their personalities meshed so well that there was no awkwardness at all.

The two shared such trivial jokes and sped down the road.

However, at some point, the jokes turned into stories about music. It was a natural progression, since both Standard and Sanghyun were crazy about music.

“What’s the sound that’s popular in LA these days?”

“Except for the pursuit of uniqueness, it’s always in a state of chaos. I think the LA underground is where the throne changes most often.”

“But there must be a sound that’s been trending recently.”

“In the band scene, alternative is back in fashion, but it’s not the old feeling, it’s something worthy of being called post-alternative. In the hip hop scene, using jazzy sampling is popular. Oh, trap music is still strong. I wonder if people know that you are the origin of LA’s trap music.”

The ‘evolved trap’ craze that started with Eight, Eight, Eight [likely referring to a producer or track] was forming a core fanbase, centered around the LA club scene.

At the center of it was Standard, and behind Standard making trap was Sanghyun. Of course, mixing dubstep and trap was purely Standard’s skill.

Then Standard made a serious expression and said to Sanghyun.

“Come to LA. Your music may not work in Brooklyn or Detroit, but it will definitely work in LA.”

“LA…”

“Isn’t Korea small? When I looked it up, it was only a quarter of the size of California?”

“The population is more than 15 million more than California.”

“What? Really? Is that why Koreans are all skinny? And when you come to America, you gain weight?”

Sanghyun burst out laughing at Standard’s sudden exclamation. But still, the word LA was spinning around in his head.

‘I still have things to do in Korea.’

Sanghyun and Standard talked non-stop about this and that.

Sanghyun, who had jumped into the world of producing, had many questions about Standard’s working methods, and Standard also had many questions about Sanghyun’s rap and the position Sanghyun held in Korea.

While they were busy satisfying their curiosity about each other, the car carrying them began to slow down.

The number of cars on the road gradually increased, the density of buildings increased, and the number of people walking around the streets became noticeably larger.

It began to feel like they were entering the city center from the outskirts.

“But where are we going now?”

“Harlem.”

“Is KRS-One’s [influential rapper and producer] studio in Harlem?”

“No. The studio is in the East Village. I guess the house prices are cheaper there.”

“But why Harlem?”

“Sightseeing, sightseeing. A rapper came to New York, so shouldn’t he breathe the Harlem air? And Parker isn’t in New York right now. He said he’d be back early this morning.”

Standard made a deflated expression as Sanghyun nodded.

“You’re not surprised that it’s Harlem? I was worried about wearing a bulletproof vest before I went to Harlem for the first time.”

“That’s old news. You Danish bumpkin.”

Sanghyun had been to New York for business in the past, and he was quite familiar with Manhattan because he had been there more than once or twice.

Thanks to that, he knew well how Harlem had changed.

Usually, Harlem is a word that evokes images of slums, but originally it was the name of a densely populated district located in the north of Manhattan, New York.

It used to be notorious for heinous crimes such as drugs, violence, murder, and robbery, but it has long been transformed into a kind of cultural tourism area by the famous former New York Mayor Giuliani.

The risk level wasn’t zero, but it wasn’t a particularly dangerous neighborhood during the day.

“So, are we going to sightsee and play today?”

“You said you were thinking of staying for up to ten days. You can’t just stay in the studio from the first day, can you? I’ll give you a free Hush Hip Hop Tour.”

“What’s a Hush Hip Hop Tour?”

“Oh, you Korean hick.”

Standard made a triumphant expression, as if he had gotten revenge.

Hush Hip Hop Tours is a tour program guided by hip hop musicians themselves, and is a type of New York tourist experience that allows you to learn about New York’s art, history, and hip hop culture while walking through Harlem.

That’s how Standard and Sanghyun’s Harlem exploration began.

***

“Hey.”

Cha Inhyun turned around at the voice that seemed to be calling him.

Sure enough, the person looking at him was a figure who was second to none in fame at Ohkyung Media.

“What was your name again? Cha… what was it? You’re a trainee, right?”

“Cha Inhyun.”

“Oh, right. Are you busy now?”

“No. Is there anything you want me to do…?”

“It’s nothing much, can you do me a favor?”

“Yes.”

Cha Inhyun nodded obediently, because he couldn’t refuse someone he didn’t want to, even if he didn’t want to.

The person talking to him was Chae Daehan, who wielded considerable power within Ohkyung Media.

In fact, Ohkyung Media’s trainees feared Chae Daehan more than the training managers or A&R team staff.

It wasn’t because he was a hopeless madman who drank energy drinks and did whatever he wanted, but because he held the power of life and death over the trainees.

What if the training manager or A&R team members gave a trainee a negative evaluation?

A record unfavorable to the evaluation would remain, but nothing else would happen. Because Ohkyung Media doesn’t accept trainees carelessly, there was no such thing as being deprived of being a trainee due to one or two negative evaluations.

However, if Chae Daehan gave a trainee the evaluation, ‘He’s hopeless,’ that was often the end of it, unless it was a show window product whose appearance was so outstanding that musicality was not necessary at all.

Because if Chae Daehan said no, it usually didn’t work out.

Cha Inhyun followed Chae Daehan to the room with the nameplate ‘Master Chae’ located on the 7th floor of Ohkyung Media.

The 7th floor of Ohkyung Media was infamous as the only place with an emergency exit where CCTV was not installed. Of course, all CCTV was removed because of the eccentric Chae Daehan’s antics.

A musician who proved that becoming a master in one field can put you on an equal footing with huge capital. That was Chae Daehan.

‘Thanks to that, it has become a meeting place for trainee couples, though.’

Cha Inhyun gave a twisted smile.

He had dreamed of becoming someone like Chae Daehan, but he was pathetic for still being stuck as a trainee. Rather, it was Lee Sanghyun who was reaping the rewards next to Chae Daehan.

The only consolation was that Jooyohan would be making a comeback in two months, and his One [likely referring to a song] would finally see the light of day.

“Wait a minute.”

Chae Daehan, who had entered the studio leaving Cha Inhyun outside the door, came out with a computer hard disk.

“Take this to the front desk on the first floor. If you tell the female employee it’s Lee Sanghyun’s computer, she’ll know. Just take it there.”

“The first floor? Not the third floor?”

Chae Daehan frowned at Cha Inhyun’s question.

“Don’t trust the technicians here. They’re just salarymen, so they have no sense of responsibility.”

There was a separate place on the 3rd floor of Ohkyung Media to repair internal machinery and equipment, but Chae Daehan didn’t seem to trust the employees there.

Cha Inhyun, who received the hard drive, suddenly asked Chae Daehan.

“What’s broken?”

“It’s not a big breakdown, but that’s how the computers of guys who compose are. Anyway, just leave it at the desk. Oh, and tell them that the company will pick it up tomorrow afternoon.”

“Okay.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Chae Daehan patted Cha Inhyun on the shoulder and went into the studio.

Cha Inhyun stood in the hallway for a moment with the hard disk in his hand.

‘Hard disk for composing.’

The thought that this might not be okay briefly lingered, but the hesitation was short.

In the end, Cha Inhyun’s steps headed for the emergency exit.

***

< Verse 32. Through to New York > End

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