The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 238

Verse 37. Next Stage

***

It was mid-January 2008, five months before Sanghyun’s name would grace every newspaper in Korea.

Thanks to the staff who gave up their New Year’s holidays, the grand opening of the first tour of 2008 was held in Long Beach, California.

The tour was named “Curtain Call Tour 2008.”

Produced jointly by EMI Music and Sony Music, this tour, like a ‘curtain call’ (an encore performance at the end of a show), was an extension of the tour that took place in 2007.

In 2007, Sony Music produced “Grand Tour 2007,” and EMI Music produced “Bank Run Tour 2007.”

Both tours were extended by 4 and 6 shows respectively, achieving quite impressive results. It was only natural for the production companies to want to create a series.

Eventually, Sony Music and EMI Music ambitiously planned “Grand Tour 2008” and “Bank Run Tour 2008,” but an unexpected problem arose.

The production of “The X Factor America,” which had been scheduled for 2009, was moved forward to 2008, a year earlier.

“The X Factor” was an audition program that started in the UK in 2004, led by the outspoken Simon Cowell, and its popularity led to its format being exported to numerous countries.

In the United States, FOX secured the prime-time slot even before the official production announcement, and the world’s top 4 record companies competed fiercely to win the production title.

The production companies chosen from the world’s top 4 record companies were Sony Music and EMI Music.

Due to this situation, Sony and EMI faced difficulties in securing tour production personnel, and eventually, to solve the manpower shortage, they planned the “Curtain Call Tour,” combining the two tours.

This was the story behind the in which Sanghyun participated as Plan Paper’s hype man.

Some might say that a hype man is worrying about unnecessary things, but it was a very important background situation for Sanghyun and Hadel Reins.

***

“Hey, San Jose! What song do you think Pipi is going to sing next?”

While Pipi was strolling around the stage, wiping sweat with a towel, Sanghyun began to speak.

Giving the main rapper time to rest in the middle of a performance was the most important role given to the hype man.

It wasn’t just about buying time, but also about keeping the audience from getting bored and preventing the tension created by the previous performance from dropping.

The method varied from hype man to hype man, but Sanghyun chose a short rap.

Big Boy, Big Chain, Big Money, Big Wheel-

Big City, Big Prize, Big Flow, Big Gun-

Big Fame, Big Game, Big Name, Big Pay-

A simple list of words with the modifier ‘Big’.

It didn’t seem like much, but the flow Sanghyun created was colorful, flashy, and attractive.

Sanghyun’s rap began to resonate with the audience.

This was an ad-lib introducing one of Pipi’s hit songs, “Big Thing Shit.”

BIG PLAN-! BIG PAPER-!

Do That Shit! Big Thing Shit!

Most of the audience could notice that the rap being sung by the Asian hype man was similar to the chorus of Pipi’s “Big Thing Shit.”

The BPM [beats per minute] and beat were similar, and the words listed were also the same.

It just seemed that the smooth flow and rhyming were much more sophisticated than the existing hook.

Big Boy, Big Chain, Big Money, Big Wheel-

Big City, Big Prize, Big Flow, Big Gun-

Big Fame, Big Game, Big Name, Big Pay-

As Sanghyun continued with another short rap, the audience began to scream and cheer.

The DJ, noticing the atmosphere, quickly played the chorus AR [all recorded] of “Big Thing Shit.”

As if prepared on purpose, Pipi’s rap in the chorus and Sanghyun’s rap began to match perfectly.

-Wooaaah!

-Big Thing Shit!!

Sanghyun’s rap was about half a beat faster than Pipi’s existing hook.

So, when Sanghyun sang ‘Big Boy, Big Chain-‘, it sounded as if Pipi’s voice was subtly backing him up.

It was as if Sanghyun’s rap was being ‘assisted’ by adding a delay effect to Pipi’s voice.

The audience, mistaking this play by Sanghyun as a new chorus version of “Big Thing Shit,” became excited.

If you knew the original chorus of “Big Thing Shit,” it was a change that you could follow right away, but the important thing was that it was much better than the original hook.

BIG PLAN-! BIG PAPER-!

Do That Shit! Big Thing Shit!

The chorus was repeated three times, and Sanghyun nodded as if satisfied.

Then, he finally signaled the start of the song and shouted loudly.

“Shout-Out San Jose! Big Plan! Big Paper!”

The moment Sanghyun’s voice, with its tremendous volume and clear pronunciation, echoed, the drums began to pound on the speakers.

The inside of the San Jose Arena, built in the mid-1980s, was filled with a drum sound like a bomb,

“BIG THING SHIT-!”

Pipi stepped forward to the front of the stage, receiving Sanghyun’s long shout.

Finally, “Big Thing Shit” began.

Marchin’ all these fuckin’ drums on me

like a drill team

내가 나타나면 북소리가 울려

무슨 군부대처럼 [When I appear, the sound of drums echoes, like a military unit]

Sanghyun, who had bought time for the main rapper to rest and perfectly elicited the audience’s response, had already moved to the back and began to perform backup rap.

The flawless backup made Pipi’s sound richer.

As much as you know, as much as you see, those who had performed as hype men among the musicians were quite impressed by Sanghyun’s appearance.

“I’ve felt it since last time, but that friend is quite outstanding.”

“Huh? Who? Are you talking about Pipi?”

“No, I’m talking about Pipi’s hype man. All the hype men are thinking the same thing as me right now, right?”

“Really? I wish Pipi’s performance would fail, but it’s a pity that the hype man is doing well.”

“I feel the same way, but with that level of backup, it’s not easy to fail.”

“Is it that good? Is the hype man that important?”

“It’s important. Without a good hype man, the rapper can’t give a proper performance.”

The Curtain Call Tour was not a hip-hop tour, so there were many singers who were not rappers.

Singers didn’t know the importance of the hype man because they were backed up by their recorded voices. The musician who was questioning it now was also a singer.

That’s how “Big Thing Shit” continued.

The audience’s enthusiastic response.

Speakers exploding.

Ceaselessly spewing psychedelic lights.

The stage with many elements gathered was finally heading towards the highlight, the chorus.

At that moment, a very surprising thing happened.

Big Boy, Big Chain, Big Money, Big Wheel-

Big City, Big Prize, Big Flow, Big Gun-

Big Fame, Big Game, Big Name, Big Pay-

The audience’s sing-along had begun.

Of course, a sing-along was not a surprising thing. The important thing was that the chorus the audience was singing along to was not Pipi’s but Sanghyun’s.

To be exact, more than half of the people were singing Pipi’s version, and less than half were singing Sanghyun’s version.

However, at some point, there were far more people singing Sanghyun’s version.

Since there was no problem even if the two sounds overlapped, the audience was freely singing along to the chorus they wanted.

“Big Thing Shit” was a song that had topped the charts in California for 3 weeks. It meant that it was a very familiar song to the audience who came to the concert hall today.

However, when they heard a very intense and fresh chorus during the opening, people wanted to follow along. There were also people who unconsciously followed the rhythm they heard during the opening because it was so intense.

Plan Paper’s face hardened at the suddenly changed chorus.

But there was nothing they could do. There were too many eyes on them.

Pipi put on a bright smile and approached Five, putting his arm around his shoulder. Then, he cheerfully shrugged his shoulders as if telling him to sing the new chorus quickly.

-Kyaaaa!

-Pipi!!

The female audience screamed at the sight.

However, anger was rising in Pipi’s heart.

Just in time, L.A. Reid, who was watching Pipi’s “Big Thing Shit” stage, called a passing staff member.

“Hey. What’s that friend’s name?”

The staff member, who was caught in the middle of a busy schedule, frowned, but then recognized L.A. Reid and looked surprised.

Def Jam Recordings’ chairman L.A. Reid was that much of a big shot.

In fact, Reid would not have bothered to visit the Curtain Call Tour if he had not been in San Jose on vacation. He happened to be in San Jose, and it was a tour where a rookie he had personally planned was making his debut, so he decided to stop by.

“Plan Paper?”

“No, the friend who’s singing the chorus.”

“Ah, Five. His stage name is Five, but I’ve never heard his real name. Uh… I heard he’s Korean and joined Pipi’s hype man from this tour?”

“He wasn’t a featuring artist, but a hype man? Then he must be affiliated with Sony Music.”

L.A. Reid hated Sony Music very much. When Michael Jackson signed with Sony Music, he publicly criticized, ‘The Japs bought MJ with money’ [a derogatory and offensive statement].

So, if that friend was a Sony Music artist, there was no need to hear any more stories.

However, the staff member shook his head.

“No. I heard he’s not with Sony Music. It seems like he’s just hired to be Pipi’s hype man.”

“Really?”

“It’s not certain, but looking at Pipi’s manager Yoshich’s actions, it seems like that’s the case. It’s probably right.”

L.A. Reid, having heard the story he wanted, thanked the staff member and shook hands.

After the staff member left, L.A. Reid watched Pipi’s stage a little longer. “Big Thing Shit” ended and “Creep Melody” followed.

“He’s Asian…”

At that time, someone’s voice was heard from behind Reid, who was thinking about something.

“Are you thinking of targeting the Asian market? Reid?”

Reid, who hadn’t sensed anyone approaching, was startled and turned around. He was surprised once again when he identified the owner of the voice.

“…Are my eyes deceiving me?”

“You’re at the age where your eyes are getting blurry. Both you and I.”

Standing before L.A. Reid was Hadel Reins, the CEO of a competing label, a close friend, and someone who had disappeared at some point.

“Why are you here? Don’t tell me you’ve been living in San Jose?”

“No, I followed that friend. I’m that friend’s manager. It’s not something I can show off yet, so I’m following him as an audience member.”

“Manager? A field manager?”

“Well, for now.”

At Hadel’s words, L.A. Reid thought about something and pointed to the audience.

“Then that show must be your work. No wonder the chorus changed so easily.”

“Why? Is Five’s chorus not good?”

“That’s not it. It’s just too easy. Am I right?”

If 10 people instigate, about 100 people around them can be easily moved. If you put a few teams of 10 instigators in the right places, it might not be impossible to create the flow of the concert hall.

‘Of course, it was possible because the chorus was good.’

Reid looked at Reins with a ‘Am I right?’ expression. However, Reins did not answer Reid’s question and said something out of the blue.

“You’re still the same. It’s been almost ten years since I’ve seen you, and you’re still asking about that.”

“You’re still the same. Do you still say that promotion is magic and the secret shouldn’t be revealed?”

“Promotion is magic, but I realized that the magician is not the planner. The magician was the musician. Isn’t that right?”

The two shared their stories in their own way.

Hadel Reins of H&R INC.

L.A. Reid of Def Jam Recordings.

Ten years ago, Hadel Reins was much more successful, but now the situation was reversed. However, Reid felt that Hadel’s eyes were still alive.

“Hadel, did you come to find me?”

“I was planning to visit you soon, but I didn’t know I would meet you here today. I guess you came on vacation?”

“That’s right. A promising artist from the label is participating in this tour, so I stopped by.”

After saying that, Reid put on a more serious expression and opened his mouth.

“So, why were you going to come find me?”

“You’re a judge on “The X Factor”, right? With Simon Cowell. The other two haven’t been decided yet.”

“You’re still alive. It’s confidential?”

Hadel Reins smiled, wrinkling his nose as a habit.

“I have a favor to ask. Can we talk for a moment?”

If Sanghyun was doing his best on stage, Hadel was doing his best behind the scenes.

***

< Verse 37. Next Stage > End

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