The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 292

< Verse 45. Golden Nu-Era >

***

-H&R = Hadel`s Revenge

This was the headline on the front page of the New York Times.

In fact, Hadel had never been associated with the Grammy Awards.

The LA metal (hair metal) he created swept across the United States with immense popularity, but it was always shunned by the Grammys because it was considered too commercial.

Because of this, some critics speculated that Hadel Raines’ actions were influenced by the past.

In reality, this was not the case at all, but people thought the critics’ words were plausible.

While major media outlets only explained the situation itself and tried to remain neutral, magazines that formed a rivalry with the Grammy Awards, such as Billboard and Rolling Stone, subtly showed support for H&R INC’s actions.

In fact, Billboard was bound to feel upset that its authority would be diminished the moment the Grammys said ‘NO,’ even after they had diligently ranked the artists and awarded them at the Billboard Awards.

Because of this, Billboard said to Sanghyun:

-I hope FiveSix wasn’t too disappointed. We still want to listen to his music, and there is still a place for his name on Billboard.

Rolling Stone showed it with actions rather than words.

-FiveSix, the first Asian to be selected as the main cover model for Rolling Stone. ‘He is worth it.’

Like this, H&R INC’s boycott of the Grammy Awards generated numerous subtexts and was on the lips of many people.

The situation of the Grammy boycott itself was interesting, but it was mixed with the topic of FiveSix’s suspension of activities in the United States, which peaked with , and interest in the Golden Nu-Era Tour.

Also, the story of Michael Jackson, who is now deceased but still loved, was indispensable.

To be precise, comparisons between the paths of FiveSix and Michael Jackson were constant.

-Wacko Jacko had a nickname, but as everyone knows, Michael Jackson was an introverted and shy person. So, naturally, he couldn’t do what he had to do. FiveSix is doing that job now.

-Do you think the attack on the Grammys is justified?

-Of course. The Grammys are too conservative, authoritarian, and political. The musicians who cling to the Grammys created these tendencies. So, only musicians can solve it.

-I think so too. In fact, there are many musicians who feel unfairly treated. It’s just that it’s ambiguous to argue that ‘this was an award that anyone could see’ because they didn’t set unbelievable records like FiveSix. Deep down, everyone agrees, right?

-I saw in an article that Bon Jovi also supported FiveSix.

-Bon Jovi also has reason to feel unfairly treated. He must have felt strange when he received an award after releasing a country album after not receiving any for 20 years.

-It would have been great if Michael Jackson were alive and participated in FiveSix’s actions.

-R.I.P Michael Jackson.

-But didn’t Michael Jackson receive some awards at the Grammys?

-He did receive them. He should have received 100, but he received 10.

-When Jackson released the Thriller album, he received quite a few awards, so there is a perception that he received awards, but that is absolutely not the case. Bad, the album after Thriller, had five Billboard #1 singles and easily achieved diamond status, but it didn’t receive a single award.

-In fact, FiveSix swept the Rap Field with , but Michael Jackson often had really unfair cases.

-But now the times have changed a bit, so the Grammys are at least communicating. If it were the 80s, FiveSix would have been completely ignored.

-But the diamond status of MJ’s time and the diamond status of today are a bit different. Back then, the album industry was booming, so if you had a hit, you could easily reach platinum or double platinum, but now it’s amazing to even reach platinum.

-I saw an article by a critic that 10 million copies in the 80s and 90s is equivalent to about 3 million copies now.

-FiveSix achieved diamond status in that situation? With a rap album too.

-Then is FiveSix greater than MJ?

-Don’t say stupid things, they’re both great.

Michael Jackson was the person who was deprived of the most awards due to the unfair judging of the Grammy Awards.

His first solo album, ‘Off The Wall,’ recorded double diamond sales (20 million copies), and was the album with the most Billboard Top 10 singles (4) in American pop music history.

However, received only one award at the Grammys, and that was not a main award.

Like this, although the times are different and the situations are different, Sanghyun’s album and Michael Jackson’s album had many similarities. That’s why their stories were constantly talked about by netizens [internet users].

And this comparison became an opportunity to raise Sanghyun’s status even higher.

Because the person he is being compared to is a legend who will live forever in the history of modern popular music.

The public sent messages of support to Sanghyun and compared him to Michael Jackson.

Finally, they predicted the future course of action of the Grammys.

-But even if you refuse a nomination, if the Grammys select you, your name will be on the nomination list, and if you win, it will be recorded. In the past, a female rocker refused to accept a Grammy Award, but the Grammys gave her the award and her name was recorded as the winner. In this respect, isn’t H&R INC’s refusal meaningless?

-Wouldn’t the nomination itself not be possible now?

-There’s no way. After that interview.

-No. NARAS [National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences] is a group of music-related technicians, and there are many young and open-minded people in it. Don’t you think that black music has been frequently nominated for Grammys since some point? This is proof that NARAS is undergoing a generational change. So, nominations will continue.

-Is voting really meaningful? But why are the award results like that?

-There are many opinions on this part, but the Grammy Winner selection method is not disclosed, so we cannot know exactly. It is speculated that there are several votes. In other words, there is a vote by the entire NARAS membership, and there is also a separate vote by the elders.

-If the vote of the entire membership is half and half, then the result will depend on the vote of the elders?

-That’s right.

-Are those elders the so-called Grammy family?

-That’s right.

-These fucking sons of bitches. Motherfuckers.

-In fact, if FiveSix really wanted to win a Grammy, he could have strongly protested against the results of this vote and then played the media by saying, ‘Nevertheless, I respect the Grammys and definitely want to win an award.’ All NARAS members are human, so they are influenced by public opinion and the media. Michael Jackson’s was also a similar case.

-Then why didn’t FiveSix do that? Hadel Raines would have fully considered such a method.

-Wouldn’t it be pride? Or confidence that my music is above the Grammys.

-Ultimately, the fight between the two groups is a battle of endurance. How long will H&R INC musicians be nominated for the Grammy Awards? And the longer that period lasts, the more the Grammys will lose their authority.

-Then isn’t it too disadvantageous for the musicians?

-That’s right. Even the public who are supporting H&R INC now will mock them if all their albums fail. They have chosen a difficult path.

The reactions of American netizens were very serious.

Americans are usually sensitive to the fairness of authoritative organizations, and the topic of FiveSix’s suspension of activities in the United States was at stake.

However, the reactions of Korean netizens were very simple.

-Is Lee Sanghyun good at fighting?

-Why?

-Because when a kid who is good at fighting makes a move, the kids in the class do it together.

-······That makes sense?

The topic of H&R INC’s Grammy boycott, which had generated so many stories, subsided after an even bigger topic broke out.

That was , which started in LA on June 22, 2011.

***

The Golden Nu-Era Tour had similarities to the Curtain Call Tour, which was Sanghyun’s first tour.

It was especially similar in that it invited famous singers from each city.

However, the Golden Nu-Era Tour was only similar to the Curtain Call Tour in terms of method; it was a tour that could not be compared in scale, because the people invited to the tour were not famous singers from each ‘city’ but famous singers from each ‘country.’

In Singapore, Singapore’s national singer, Lorraine Tan, was scheduled to open, and in France, Black M, who had a relationship with Sanghyun through ‘The Way We Live,’ was scheduled to open.

Even though it had not yet been disclosed to the media because they were still in contact, Hadel was trying to recruit Amy Winehouse for the performance at Wembley Stadium in the UK.

In this situation, the best-selling singers in the United States were naturally recruited for the main performances in the United States, such as LA and New York.

The guests invited to the LA performance, which marked the beginning of the Golden Nu-Era Tour, were Snoop Dogg and The Game, the godfathers of the West Coast, who have been continuing their close relationship by participating in Kendrick’s albums in succession.

Of course, as there is respect for living legends, they were not asked to open.

The opening of the LA stage was the responsibility of Westrun and Mel, the flagship duo of Cycadelic Records, who recently joined H&R INC.

Westrun and Mel were now treated as complete rap stars, at least in LA.

The fact that Cycadelic Records joined H&R INC as a sub-label was not just because of their friendship with Sanghyun. Hadel Raines was not such a soft person when it came to business.

The rappers of Cycadelic Records had enough talent, were growing, and were already achieving remarkable results.

‘It’s all thanks to FiveSix.’

‘At first, I wanted to help a discriminated Asian kid, but looking back now, meeting that kid was the best luck of my life.’

These were the words that Westrun and Mel always had on their lips.

They were the ones who searched for Bell Force, who had terrorized Sanghyun (but ultimately targeted Standard), for days and nights, and finally found them.

That’s because, even when they met Sanghyun, they were rookies whose names were only known in the hip-hop scene around Compton or among heavy listeners in LA.

What started their true leap forward was the mixtape released around the time Sanghyun appeared on The X Factor.

A friend who helped with most of the producing, directing, and mastering when Cycadelic Records didn’t have a main producer, and filled the verses with amazing features.

A friend who appeared on The X Factor and started to gain fame, but still rapped with them in Compton clubs and personally promoted the mixtape.

This is why Westrun and Mel thought of Sanghyun as more than a friend, but as a benefactor.

“Fuck! This is a place I only saw on TV. But I’m here. I grew up in the LA scene and came all the way here!”

“Who said that FiveSix can’t represent LA? But I came all the way here with that bastard!”

Westrun and Mel shouted in excited voices as soon as they appeared and poured out two songs like a storm.

Then, ‘Fuck Bell Force!’ and ‘Fuck Grammy!’ were mixed together from the audience.

The reason for cursing Bell Force was because they were the ones who said that FiveSix couldn’t represent LA.

The reason for cursing the Grammys was because the place where the Golden Nu-Era LA tour was taking place was the Staples Center, where the Grammy Awards are held every year.

“From now on, we’re going to kill this shitty stage. Next year’s Grammys will start on top of the corpse we killed.”

“Say! Fuck Grammy!”

-Fuck Grammy!

-Fuck Grammy!

Westrun and Mel kicked the stage with their feet and shouted, and the excited audience shouted.

That’s how their passionate performance began.

No, it was about to begin.

But it was interrupted by someone’s intrusion.

“You made it together, but you’re enjoying it alone?”

-Kyaaaaaaak!

-It’s FiveSix!

The rapper who appeared on the completely unexpected opening stage was Sanghyun.

Sanghyun was the main rapper of this Golden Nu-Era Tour, no matter what anyone said. Therefore, no one expected him to appear on the opening stage.

The reason why Sanghyun appeared on the opening stage was because his verses were heavily positioned in the hit song medley that Westrun and Mel were singing.

Of course, in this case, the performance is usually performed with the verses of the later lineup missing.

However, Sanghyun didn’t want to do that.

These two, who had misunderstood him as ‘sb’ [somebody] and came to find him, were the friends who stood by his side when Standard left for Denmark and no one was on his side.

Thanks to them, he was able to make his name known on stage, and Hoodman was able to appear more dramatically.

Just as the Cycadelic friends had gratitude for Sanghyun, Sanghyun also had gratitude for them.

And Sanghyun also had a sense of guilt that was proportional to his gratitude.

It was true that the time he spent with his Cycadelic friends had decreased from the moment when unbelievable beings called J. Cole and Kendrick appeared.

So Sanghyun decorated Westrun and Mel’s opening stage together.

He wanted to give them a gift.

“Wow, there was a song like this too.”

“I know. I listened to all of FiveSix’s albums, but I haven’t heard the features he did in the LA underground days.”

“The song is great?”

“What’s the name of that duo?”

“Don’t you know Westrun and Mel? FiveSix produced all of their mixtapes. The sound is also attractive, and it’s amazing.”

And Sanghyun’s gift was working.

The audience who came to see Golden Nu-Era, Black Hippy, or Snoop Dogg and The Game began to take an interest in Westrun and Mel.

In that way, the LA stage, which was the first start of the Golden Nu-Era Tour, was having a successful start.

< Verse 45. Golden Nu-Era > End

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