The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 270

The 51st Grammy Awards commenced with a dazzling performance of U2’s ‘Get on Your Boots,’ a band revered by rock musicians globally.

At least, that’s how it appeared to the audience watching CBS in the United States or the satellite broadcast that began at 10 AM in Korea.

In reality, the preliminary awards ceremony for approximately 90 categories had already concluded before the red carpet event.

Given the Grammy Awards’ structure, which distributes over 100 awards, it was impossible to showcase every single one on television. The broadcast only highlighted about 15 awards, including the four main categories.

After navigating the photo zone, the Golden New Era members learned from Hadel that had been awarded to ‘Jay-Z & T.I.’

“What? I totally saw that coming.”

J. Cole grumbled, disappointed by their loss in the category where they felt they had the strongest chance.

“We got robbed by the guy who almost became our boss.”

“I know, right?”

Now, the only remaining categories for Golden New Era were the rap field awards and the main awards. Sanghyun also had nominated.

However, it was evident that winning in any of these categories would be a challenge.

Adele was a formidable contender in the Best New Artist category, and Lil Wayne dominated the rap field.

“Let’s just focus on the performance.”

“Yeah, performing at the Grammys is a huge deal.”

“Cole, did you see that girl? She’s stunning.”

“Who?”

Having largely conceded their chances of winning, Sanghyun, Kendrick, and J. Cole shifted their attention to the eye candy that the Grammy Awards were known for, or rather, the captivating performances.

-The musician who won Album of the Year is…

-The musician who won Best Pop Vocal Album is…

-The musician who won Best R&B Album is…

The Grammy Awards, which opened with a performance by U2 and an award presentation by Whitney Houston, proceeded seamlessly.

Although the ceremony had been underway for over an hour, Sanghyun didn’t feel bored. The performances were spectacular, and unlike Korean award shows, they didn’t dwell excessively on the awards or acceptance speeches.

If 15 minutes were allocated for a performance, the time spent on the award, including the acceptance speech, seemed to be less than 2 minutes.

Moreover, the main awards, which would have been saved for last in Korea, were announced swiftly and efficiently.

The first main award presented was ‘Album of the Year,’ which went to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss for .

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss also won ‘Record of the Year’ for , which was included in the same album, securing two major award wins.

Considering that one more award had been presented in advance, they had won a total of three categories by the time the ceremony was about halfway through.

Unfortunately, Sanghyun recognized Robert Plant, the vocalist of Led Zeppelin, but he was unfamiliar with Alison Krauss. Furthermore, he didn’t recognize even half of the songs performed during the celebratory performances.

‘I really don’t know anything outside of hip-hop.’

As Sanghyun pondered this, Hadel tapped him on the shoulder.

The time to prepare for their performance was approaching.

“Weren’t those guys who just went out the ones who made MTB [Mix Them Black]?”

Alison Krauss asked, her eyes widening at Robert Plant’s question.

“Plant, do you listen to rap albums?”

“Of course. Up until about 10 years ago, I thought rap was just music filled with noisy slang, but not anymore. Rap has solid roots.”

“Roots?”

“Krauss, do you know exactly how your country music started? Who created it first, and what historical context it was born from?”

“Well, I know some things and don’t know others. But if you ask me if I know exactly, I’d have to say no.”

“Right? But hip-hop knows that. DJ Kool Herc, who created hip-hop, is still alive, and all rappers know the historical context in which hip-hop was born. Rappers talk too much, after all.”

Alison Krauss had never considered it from Robert Plant’s perspective, so she found it quite interesting.

Come to think of it, most modern music has been vaguely passed down from unclear origins, but rap was different.

“So, what’s your point?”

“Take a look around. Have there ever been this many black musicians at the Grammys before?”

As Robert Plant pointed out, the 51st Grammy Awards featured the most black musicians nominated and included in the celebratory performances that year.

Even the musician with the most nominations (8) was a black musician, Lil Wayne.

This shift in the notoriously conservative Grammy Awards was quite significant.

The public speculated that the ‘Grammy old-timers,’ who had been consistently criticized for fairness issues in selecting winners and discrimination against black music and electronic music, were acknowledging the criticism.

However, Robert Plant’s thoughts differed.

If the Grammy establishment were going to respond to public criticism, they would have done so during the Michael Jackson era, which was the loudest.

So, this change stemmed not from conscious awareness but from the unconscious.

“I think a lot of changes will happen starting this year. To borrow a phrase from black people, a Golden New Era is happening.”

“Isn’t Golden New Era the name of the team that made MTB?”

“That’s precisely what’s significant. If my ears haven’t failed me yet, that is.”

While Alison Krauss was surprised by Robert Plant’s profound assessment, a legend among living legends, the host MC on stage finished introducing the next performers.

-Kendrick Lamar, J.Cole, FiveSix! In GOLDEN NU ERA!

***

The performance began abruptly.

There was no time for opening remarks, nor were they necessary.

The stage had already been sufficiently warmed up by musicians who dominated the United States, and the audience was primed to cheer.

However, the performance that started abruptly was not flashy.

The scene that captured the audience’s attention the moment a very basic drum loop was heard was three musicians sitting on round chairs without backrests.

It was a scene that could have been mistaken for a country musician’s performance if they were only holding acoustic guitars or harmonicas.

At that moment, Kendrick Lamar began to spit out his solo track ‘Compton 2 Flow’ from MTB.

I’m like Al Pacino in The Godfather, I wrote sins
Our Father, who art in Heaven, Kendrick is free
I came into this game with a plan to overcome disadvantages
Look what I’ve accomplished, broken promises

From the moment Kendrick’s raw rap began, people let out quiet exclamations. And the sound of those exclamations was even louder from the rappers.

Kendrick had a rough, low-pitched voice, but he had the characteristic of sharp metallic sounds popping out whenever he tried to put strength into his voice to express certain sentences.

This was why Kendrick was able to deliver so powerfully.

By arming the words he was trying to express with a different tone from the bass vocal tone, it was impossible not to hear them.

Crashing into the market and prejudice-filled labels, look at my picture
Black supremacy, pessimists will die counting my money
I’ll infinitely inspire thousands of MCs to do better
I predicted my future, this is the future
Mastermind. Until I release my next album and give you more power

Even if you didn’t like rap, Kendrick Lamar’s rap was so compelling that you couldn’t help but acknowledge his talent.

However, the three musicians still didn’t move much. Some thought that these three ambitious and talented rookies had created a stage to compete solely with rap.

The change happened the moment Kendrick Lamar’s 16-bar rap ended.

Like the sound of wind shaking windows on a stormy day, sudden brass and electronic instrument sounds began to pound the speakers with terrifying force.

At that moment, most of the producers who participated in the Grammy Awards twitched their eyebrows.

It’s easy to make noise, but it’s hard to make music that sounds like noise. Noise is usually irregular sound, but music has rhythm.

‘Who produced this?’

At the same time as the producers were thinking this, the lights on the stage went out, and it became completely dark.

And in the darkness, three voices were heard.

The chorus they were singing was the chorus of Mix Them: Black, the fourth track of MTB and the track with the same name as the album.

Watch us mix them all!
Of course, we mix rum with whiskey!
No, we mix drum with twisting!
Watch us mix them all!
Does my rhyme sound similar now?
Yellow ears, black ears, ambiguously black ears
Yellow lips, black lips, ambiguously black lips
Watch us mix them all!

The moment the chorus, which sounded like shouting in a storm, burst out, the audience screamed for the first time.

It was partly because the chorus was more familiar than the verse, but it was also because it felt like they were releasing the tension they had been holding in while listening to Kendrick Lamar’s rap.

Watch us mix them all!
Of course, we mix rum with whiskey!
No, we mix drum with twisting!
Watch us mix them all!

The atmosphere heated up after the chorus was repeated twice.

The three voices heard in the darkness, where nothing could be seen, created a strange harmony that excited people.

At that moment, the stage returned to its starting point.

The lights came on after the chorus, and the beat returned to the original basic drum loop.

However, it was not a complete return to the starting point.

Kendrick Lamar had disappeared somewhere, and only one empty chair remained on the stage.

At that moment, J. Cole, who was sitting on the far right, started rapping.

The lyrics that J. Cole calmly spat out were his solo track ‘Flow-Er’ from MTB.

You don’t know how many
truths you can hide in flows
Like a country bumpkin who came up to New York
Rapping in Cali.

J. Cole’s rap was different from Kendrick’s.

J. Cole’s rap, which always pursues the ‘best-sounding sound,’ was more pleasing to the ears than Kendrick’s sharp rap.

It felt somewhat sweet, and it seemed more rhythmic than Kendrick Lamar’s.

At that moment, the public belatedly realized something.

That Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole were rapping on the ‘same beat.’

‘Wait? Was it the same beat? Or a different beat?’

As far as they could remember, it was the same beat, but the feeling was completely different.

It was unbelievable that Kendrick’s sharp rapping, which seemed to spit out pieces of metal, and J. Cole’s sweet rapping were intertwined on the same beat.

At that moment, J. Cole’s 16-bar rap ended, and the lights went out again.

Watch us mix them all!
Of course, we mix rum with whiskey!
No, we mix drum with twisting!
Watch us mix them all!

The voices of J. Cole and FiveSix heard in the darkness.

If the sound was rich when there were three of them, it had a catchy taste when there were two.

After the chorus was repeated twice, the lights came on.

On the stage with the lights on, there were FiveSix and two empty chairs left.

The basic drum loop returned again.

At that moment, those who had listened to MTB deeply or those who were quick-witted could know what track FiveSix would sing.

Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole sang their solo songs from MTB.

Then what song will FiveSix sing…?

-Wow!

-Waaaaah!

FiveSix’s solo song from MTB was No Color, which became a hot topic after the X Factor broadcast and recorded a high score of 11th place on the Billboard Hot 100.

End

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