The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 100

The Rap Star – Episode 100 (100/309)

Sanghyun chuckled.

He and the crew were increasingly feeling the urge to do ‘Hip Hop the Vibe.’ If they wanted to do it, they would.

But there were things to clarify beforehand.

“PD-nim.”

“Yes?”

“If we sign a contract, can we adjust the terms through a lawyer?”

“It’s possible, but is it really necessary? Just tell me what you want, and we’ll actively accommodate it.”

“You know we had a messy experience with Show Business during an interview, right?”

“Ah, of course. After listening to ‘Fuck the Show Biz,’ I imagined what 888 Crew would be like in a rap battle.”

As he said, PD [Production Director] Heo Taejin decided to cast 888 Crew after hearing ‘Fuck the Show Biz.’

The lyrics of 888 Crew don’t have unnecessarily difficult expressions or rarely used words. That’s why their disses are so immersive.

The girl crying was my own sister
You really pissed me off, Hwang Joochul, you son of a bitch. You’re fucked.

Heo Taejin was impressed by the rhyme scheme that matched the everyday word ‘sister’ with the vulgar curse ‘you’re fucked.’

“Then we can skip the small talk. After being burned once, I’ve become sensitive to these things. Video can be easily manipulated with editing, right?”

“Well, how about adding a clause similar to what major agencies and broadcasters have? We’ll provide the original files after each recording. If the edited video is deemed disadvantageous to 888 Crew, we can release the original file after prior notification.”

“Prior notification means unilateral notification? Not a mutual agreement?”

“That’s right. But you must give us prior notice that ‘we will release the original.'”

“Is the term ‘prior notification’ used in contracts?”

“Of course. You can have it notarized by a lawyer.”

“I understand.”

Lee Sanghyun nodded.

‘Meticulous.’

He was smart and meticulous, hard to believe he was only 18 years old.

Of course, PD Heo Taejin had no intention of unfair editing from the start. He learned during the filming of ‘Hip Hop the Vibe 1.’ Rappers are different from singers. If you mess with them, you’re in big trouble.

‘Too many crazy ones.’

During Season 1, there were two instances where he edited things too sensationally.

It was during Playline’s interview, and after the edited version aired, Heo Taejin was boycotted by domestic rappers for a month. Their connections were so fast that not a single team responded to his casting calls.

He didn’t know if the domestic hip-hop scene was small or if Playline was that influential, but it was like a union.

Moreover, the teams leading ‘Hip Hop the Vibe 2’ were not to be trifled with. Code Name was under the massive agency Ohkyung ENT, and Bae Ga, the leader of Stars Records, had an incredible family background. According to what he found out, Park Inhyuk from 888 Crew also had parents who were well-known in the legal field.

With that kind of backing, doing anything unnecessary could easily lead to unemployment.

‘If the four teams get properly entangled, just showing them as they are will be entertaining enough.’

Heo Taejin sincerely thought so and opened his mouth.

“Judging by what you’re saying, it seems like you’ve made up your mind… Can I assume that 888 Crew will appear?”

“I can’t give you a definite answer yet, but we’ll consider it positively.”

“I’d appreciate it if you could give me an answer as soon as possible. If possible, by the end of this week. Is there anything else you’re curious about?”

At that moment, Sangmi, who had been quietly listening, raised her hand and asked.

“How much is the appearance fee?”

“Ah, I forgot to mention something important. The appearance fee is 250,000 won [approximately $200 USD] per episode. After deducting the 3.3% withholding tax, the actual amount received will be around 242,000 won [approximately $194 USD].”

“That’s all you give for appearing on TV?”

“Since there are eight of you, that’s 2 million won [approximately $1600 USD] per episode, right?”

“Oh? When you put it that way, it seems like a lot.”

Heo Taejin smiled at Sangmi’s words.

In truth, he didn’t want to cast Lee Sangmi, Woo Minho, or Kim Hwan, who lacked buzz. But he had no choice. Lee Sanghyun had said from the first phone call that he wouldn’t appear unless it was the complete 888 Crew.

‘Isn’t this too much of a clingy picture?’

Heo Taejin suddenly felt pathetic.

If Season 1 had been successful, wouldn’t 888 Crew be desperate, and he would be acting cocky? Of course, 888 Crew wasn’t acting cocky now.

But there was nothing he could do. Currently, there was no team in the hip-hop scene that could replace 888 Crew.

***

The Gwangju Tigers finished the 2005 KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] season in 3rd place.

They won the semi-playoffs against Incheon Sky, but narrowly lost the playoffs against Busan Shakers 3 to 2.

But it wasn’t without its gains.

Two rookie pitchers straight out of high school played their roles perfectly, and Han Gwangsoo, who was recruited to become a franchise star, performed satisfactorily. Han Gwangsoo naturally blended into the team without discord or slump, thanks to his unique sociability.

Gwangju Tigers fans enthusiastically supported the new cleanup hitter Han Gwangsoo, and uniform sales were also booming. It couldn’t be denied that the cheer song ‘Gwangsoo Up’ played a part in this smooth flow.

One interesting thing was that the Gwangsoo Up cheer song was gradually changing. And Han Gwangsoo didn’t really like the direction his cheer song was changing.

“Gwangsoo Up is my cheer song…”

What Han Gwangsoo was complaining about was that Tigers fans were singing ‘Gwangju Up’ all the time instead of Gwangsoo Up.

This was a change that started after the opening game of the semi-playoffs.

-Gwangju Up! Gwangju Up!

-Light Gwang! Town Ju! Gwangju Up!

Even when the game started, Gwangju Up, even when they won the game, Gwangju Up, even when they hit a hit, Gwangju Up, if it looked like they were going to lose, Gwangju Up to cheer them on.

Eventually, ‘Gwangju Up’ was sung much more than ‘Namhaeng Train,’ which was the Gwangju Tigers’ cheer song with a long history. One reason was that the lyrics of Gwangju Up coincided with the Gwangju Tigers’ team name, but more than that, it was because the impression of 888 Crew’s congratulatory performance was too strong.

As a result, Han Gwangsoo often grumbled that his cheer song felt like a fake. He even mentioned this in an interview in the 4th game against Incheon Sky, where they secured their spot in the playoffs.

“Gwangsoo Up is a song I received as a gift from 888 Crew, but I’m upset that the fans keep changing it. 888 Crew gifted Gwangsoo Up, but they didn’t gift Gwangju Up, so shouldn’t they pay for it?”

Han Gwangsoo’s interview, half joking and half serious, quickly became a hot topic, and the photo he took wearing an 888 X 888 T-shirt also became a hot topic. It was only natural that sales of Triple Eight’s T-shirts skyrocketed.

Also, Gwangju Tigers fans gave Han Gwangsoo the nickname ‘Mr. Han, a baseball player who is a die-hard fan of 888 Crew.’

Now, 888 Crew and the band L&S had become very familiar musicians to Gwangju Tigers fans. Since they were talked about so much, even fans who couldn’t watch the games live and watched the broadcasts on public channels instead of Baseball Story started looking up 888 Crew’s performances.

This was also thanks to OMB uploading the semi-playoff congratulatory performance video to online communities to promote the ‘Baseball Story’ program. 888 Crew’s performance was a perfect fit for Baseball Story’s slogan, ‘From congratulatory performances to behind-the-scenes stories.’

Around that time, a rumor started to circulate.

Fix your makeup before coming on stage
Lip-syncing like that? Code Name: Shut up
Why come? Why for? Prehistoric music?
You look like you’re struggling to breathe, go far away.

The rumor was that Park Inhyuk’s verse in ‘Why Coming,’ the first song performed at the semi-playoffs, was a diss towards Code Name.

888 Crew and Code Name had argued in the waiting room. Because of this, the Gwangju Tigers’ team staff knew about their fight. The rumor spread from the team staff to their acquaintances, and from the acquaintances to the internet.

In 2005, Nate On’s bulletin board was what played the role of SNS [Social Networking Service] instead of Facebook or Twitter. The entertainment section of Nate On’s bulletin board was full of all sorts of gossip, and some of them contained the truth.

The story of 888 Crew and Code Name was one of them. The post on Nate On was so accurate in its circumstances that Sanghyun asked Sangmi, ‘Did you write this?’

The story about the beef (tension or argument) between 888 Crew and Code Name spread rapidly. Several articles were even posted on internet news sites.

Then, Heo Taejin, the PD [Production Director] of KM Net, was thrilled. Not only was he thrilled, but he was also pouring oil on the fire to spread the rumors.

‘What a windfall!’

Heo Taejin moved up the production presentation of Hip Hop the Vibe 2 much earlier than planned. Strike while the iron is hot, now was the time.

-Integration of KM (KM) and M-NET (M-NET). Music & Entertainment Channel KM.NET.

-The leader of KM Net is Hip Hop the Vibe 2!

-Rappers’ music competition. Hip Hop the Vibe 2!

-Hip Hop the Vibe 2 cast finalized with 888 Crew, Code Name, Bounce Rhyme, and Stars Records.

-Will the subtle tension between Code Name and 888 Crew continue within the program?

A huge number of articles poured out, and reporters’ requests for interviews also poured in for the 888 Crew members.

The phones of leader Junhyung and Sanghyun, whose phone numbers were released to the outside world, and Kim Hwan, who was in charge of performance bookings, started to ring off the hook.

But 888 Crew didn’t care much.

It was a little strange and a little cumbersome, but it wasn’t something that would make a big change in their daily lives. After all, they had decided not to participate in the production presentation.

Their interest was focused on their second mixtape, which would be released next Monday.

888 Crew Official Bootleg – Triple Eight

To be exact, this mixtape was closer to an album than a mixtape. The beats were all original beats, and there were no sample clearance issues. Moreover, they were preparing to sell it.

The mixtape was scheduled to start selling next week on the sales website of the domestic brand Triple Eight.

Nevertheless, the reason why 888 Crew didn’t put the label ‘1st Regular Album’ on the official bootleg was because there was one regret.

It wasn’t that the musicality was lacking. However, they regretted that there was no ‘theme that runs through the album,’ which is an essential element of a regular album.

“Sanghyun, how many do you think we’ll sell?”

“Um… the price is cheap, and we’re providing limited edition T-shirts on a first-come, first-served basis, so won’t the first edition sell out? But no one knows how long it will take to sell out. At least a month, right?”

“A month? Isn’t that too optimistic? I heard that Playline’s album, which was released earlier this year, sold 1,000 copies in six months.”

Kim Hwan, who was sending a text message, replied to Park Inhyuk’s words.

“But that was too expensive. The price was 13,000 won [approximately $10 USD], but half of it was tracks that had already been released.”

“Is that so?”

The album sales of underground hip-hop musicians were so different that it was ambiguous to define a standard. In the case of failure, there were frequent cases where less than 100 copies were sold.

Usually, selling more than 1,000 copies was said to be a success, and if it exceeded 3,000 copies, they were congratulated for being more than a success. Among the albums that were really a hit, only one or two exceeded 10,000 sales.

End

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