The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 217

Verse 33. Hit Song

While Ha-yeon targeted the mainstream, Jun-hyung and Min-ho aimed for the underground hip-hop scene. They formed a unit called JIM and released an underground album using a 1PD 1MC [one producer, one master of ceremonies] system.

In the meantime, the beats used by the 888 Crew had to inspire all members.

As a result, even if one member exclaimed, ‘This beat is amazing!’ they often wouldn’t start working on it if the others weren’t feeling it. Of course, they considered making it a solo song, but they were busy and would start working on other songs first, often forgetting the initial inspiration.

Jun-hyung, in particular, was often like that. Perhaps because he was the only member with a low vocal register in the team, he often got hooked on beats that the others were ambivalent about.

Remembering Jun-hyung’s preferences, Min-ho collected beats that he thought Jun-hyung would like, and those beats soon became Jun-hyung’s first mixtape.

Jun-hyung’s first mixtape, ‘Roaw,’ consisting of 10 tracks, was a true underground hip-hop album.

The album conveyed a raw feeling in a low tone, fitting the name that blended ‘Row’ and ‘Raw.’ It had a sharply edgy vibe.

Since it was a free mixtape, not sold commercially, there were no specific sales figures, but Jun-hyung’s ‘Roaw’ received great support from underground hip-hop fans.

Until then, the 888 Crew’s style was generally categorized as ‘In-hyuk’s rap style / Sang-hyun’s influenced rap style,’ but after ‘Roaw,’ Jun-hyung’s rap style also began to be recognized as unique.

Lastly, Oh Min-ji and Kim Hwan attempted collaborations with bands. Min-ji released several singles with ‘Band L&S,’ and Kim Hwan with ‘Band Doodoo Doom.’

While Min-ji added lyrical rap to L&S’s sophisticated and mellow sound after Miju joined, Kim Hwan added rough rap to Doodoo Doom’s unique electronic band sound.

Neither achieved significant commercial success, but they cultivated a fan base that appreciated their music and were seen as expanding the spectrum of ‘band + rap.’

Sang-mi focused on webtoons as usual. However, she uniquely attempted to insert background music (BGM) into her webtoons.

Finally, Sang-hyun made the music he wanted to make without a specific direction.

He created original soundtracks (OSTs) for films and various tracks with the thought, ‘I’ll use these someday.’ He also collaborated with musicians he met online from New York.

However, Sang-hyun was most deeply immersed in something else.

It was studying English, specifically, learning how to rap in English.

Ideally, rap should be created in the native language from the start, but Sang-hyun had ambition.

He had expectations and a desire to see if his rap would resonate in the United States.

So, he devoted himself to English rap, and the results seemed to be slowly emerging.

The public perceived that Sang-hyun hadn’t been very active besides the OSTs, but in reality, Sang-hyun produced the most tracks in the 888 Crew.

Like this, the 888 Crew members focused on individual activities and produced their own works, but they didn’t neglect performing.

They performed at various events and festivals.

Including a celebratory performance for the Gwangju Tigers [a professional baseball team].

And the Hip-hop The Vibe King of Kings performance.

As well as Club Homie performances and several small stages in Hongdae [a district in Seoul known for its indie music scene and clubs].

The 888 Crew members weren’t seeking stages for money; they were seeking stages for their music. That’s why they appeared in smaller venues like Club Homie, which could no longer afford the 888 Crew’s usual fee.

‘Wow, I feel like the Homie stage is small now.’

Club Homie, which once seemed so huge, where the leading figures of Korean underground hip-hop, which started in 1997, gathered, now seemed small. That was how much the 888 Crew had changed.

In the meantime, Big Bang debuted earlier than in the original timeline, and Caliph released his second album.

It was a much better album than Sang-hyun remembered. There were no overlapping songs, making it a completely new album except for the title.

Caliph’s second album was released around the same time as Jun-hyung’s ‘Roaw’ and became a hot topic among underground fans.

Like this, the changes that occurred due to the emergence of the 888 Crew were too numerous to list.

That’s how summer passed and autumn arrived.

***

Sang-hyun had been eagerly waiting for October 3rd.

Not because it was his birthday, but because ‘The way we live’ was finally going to be featured on the YouTube main page on October 3rd. To be exact, it was October 2nd, but it would be around 2 am on October 3rd in Korean time.

KRS-One’s album release date was confirmed for October 28th, and ‘The way we live’ was scheduled to be pre-released for three weeks on YouTube.

‘It’s up!’

Sang-mi ran into the living room of the studio, which was still messy from birthday celebrations. They had been having a birthday party at midnight, and the L&S members and 888 Crew members were still talking.

‘Oppa [term used by a female to address an older brother or male friend], it’s up!’

Everyone knew what Sang-mi was talking about. They all gathered around the computer in the studio.

As Sang-mi said, there was a video with the title “The way we live” on the YouTube main page.

‘Click it! Click it quickly!’

‘I already clicked it, but it’s loading.’

The playback speed wasn’t that fast, perhaps because YouTube hadn’t been acquired by Google yet. But it wasn’t slow either, befitting the IT powerhouse that was Korea.

After a moment, the music video for ‘The way we live’ began to play.

KRS-One, Skepta, Black M, Hime, 56.

The five musicians skillfully told the story of the rap scene in which they had grown up, each in their own language.

The main subtitles were in English, but you could change the subtitle language by clicking the Setting button (the cogwheel icon). Korean was also available.

‘Oh, it’s good.’

‘Was that Hime? She’s good.’

‘But isn’t Hime a word like princess or goddess?’

Sang-hyun’s verse was the second. After Hime’s first verse ended, Sang-hyun’s intro finally began.

Represent Korea! Seoul City! Shiny Town, Bitgoeul [Gwangju’s nickname]!

Shout-out My crew! Eight, Eight, Eight!

We Call Palpalpal.

I never came out of my team!

but I’m far-outer!

As the shout of ‘Far-outer’ ended, a drum exploded, and Sang-hyun in the video started shaking his body intensely and hitting the beat fiercely.

At that moment, Sang-mi stopped the video.

‘What does this mean? You said you’d do it in Korean?’

‘Huh? No, you have to do at least the shout-out in English to get their attention, dongsaeng [term used to address a younger sibling or friend].’

‘So what does it mean?’

Since starting a webtoon that expresses music in pictures, Sang-mi considered the ‘meaning’ of the lyrics more important than anyone else. This was because she couldn’t express it well in pictures if she didn’t understand the lyrics.

Sang-hyun, guessing Sang-mi’s admirable passion, smiled and began to explain. Although it was a very short intro, this part was as important as the verse.

This was because the first impression had to be good to grab their attention, and only when they were focused would the language barrier be lowered.

Shout-out My crew! Eight, Eight, Eight!

(Respect for our team, 888)

We call Palpalpal.

(We call it Palpalpal)

I never came out of my team!

(I have no intention of leaving my team at all)

but I’m far-outer!

(But I’m a far-outer)

The term ‘far-outer’ here meant ‘a person who is not bound by convention, an excellent person, an unconventional person.’

So, I have no intention of leaving 888, but I created a punchline using ‘Far,’ which sounds similar to ‘Pal’ [the number 8 in Korean], calling myself a ‘Far-outer.’

‘Oh, that’s great?’

‘This guy writes punchlines in English too. Play it quickly, Sang-mi.’

At Jun-hyung’s urging, Sang-mi rewound the video slightly and started playing it again.

Soon, Sang-hyun’s rap filled the studio through the speakers.

A rap with dryness and groove that permeated between the exploding drum snares and stringed instruments simultaneously.

The L&S and 888 Crew members were impressed by Sang-hyun’s rap. The unique groove of rap, as well as the 된 sound [referring to the intensified consonants in Korean] unique to Korean mixed with the flow created by calculating each rhyme, felt very attractive.

Usually, calculated raps tend to feel artificial even if they are flashy, but Sang-hyun’s rap had no artificial feeling at all.

The innate inspiration itself felt flashy and colorful.

At the same time, he didn’t sacrifice his delivery.

The lyrics also consistently focused the listener.

‘Wow, it’s amazing, amazing.’

‘Murderer [meaning extremely skilled].’

‘Sang-hyun, how long did it take you to write the lyrics? This is too much effort. Like a full sports store [meaning he put everything he had into it]?’

‘What is this guy saying?’

The members made a fuss and focused on the video.

Sang-hyun rapped in various locations in the video and showed off quite a cool demeanor.

If the best thing about Sang-hyun joining Ohkyung Media was learning composition from Chae Dae-han, the second best thing was learning to dance.

Hip-hop is a street culture and cannot be separated from street gestures. It didn’t mean that you had to be good at dancing, but expressing your feelings with gestures was attractive.

The gestures of expressing the raw feeling must have played an important role in why Wu-Tang Clan was so loved by so many fans.

Sang-hyun wasn’t dancing the dance he had learned but expressing the feelings he felt at the time with his own gestures.

When Sang-hyun’s 16-bar rap ended, the video transitioned to French black rapper Black M.

It wasn’t just Sang-hyun’s rap that showcased his skills. Perhaps because of the pressure of representing each country, all the participants’ verses were full of energy.

However, the lineup of ‘The way we live’ were musicians with the skill to turn the pressure into abundance, not excess.

Sang-hyun, who had been making music for less than two years, was a special case, but the rest of the musicians had been devoted to music for at least five years.

In particular, KRS-One, who was responsible for the last verse, properly showed why he was called the teacher.

‘Wow, this is going to be a hot topic in Korea?’

That was the common thought of those who watched the entire video.

Sang-hyun and KRS-One’s collaboration had received a lot of attention for quite a while since it was revealed at the showcase. And finally, the result came out.

There was no way not to be interested.

And their guess was right.

In a few days, ‘The way we live’ became the center of a huge buzz.

However, what they didn’t expect was that the scope of the buzz wasn’t limited to Korea. And the level of interest in Korea was far beyond what they had anticipated.

Verse 33. Hit Song End

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