The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 115

< Verse 16. Ripple Effect >

‘That’s a real relief.’

Sanghyun breathed a sigh of relief as he sang along to Park Inhyuk’s chorus.

Originally, ‘Locker Room’ from Triple Eight was a song for both Inhyuk and Sanghyun. However, during the recording of that intro, Sanghyun had to step away due to a phone call, and Inhyuk, bored of waiting, recorded it with Junhyung.

Somehow, Junhyung’s low tone and weighty voice seemed to add to the fun, so it ended up being included on the album.

‘What if that phone call hadn’t come?’ Sanghyun wondered. ‘I probably would have been doing that masterful acting myself right now.’ Thinking about it, Miju, who had called him at just the right time, felt like a lifesaver.

This place is a locker room, locker room, locker room, locker room

This place is a locker room, locker room, locker room, locker room

This place is a locker room, locker room, locker room, locker room

This – is – a – locker room (locker room)

Watching Park Inhyuk, Dread seriously considered retracting his longing for hip-hop.

‘What was God thinking, giving talent to that crazy bastard?’ he mused.

And even the Stars Records members couldn’t help but think the same.

Whether he knew about the other teams’ astonishment or not, Inhyuk’s rap began.

Every place I go is a locker room, I don’t discriminate between men and women

Everyone strips down to their underwear, we’re all strangers anyway

My spectrum is wide, I soak your crotch

Then you can change your clothes there, can’t help it, you gotta strip

The ‘locker room’ that Inhyuk intended, as you can tell from the intro, had the theme of this space turning into a locker room the moment he rapped.

It was hip-hop’s swagger culture transformed into Inhyuk’s unique playful and witty expressions.

Look at your pants getting darker and darker.

You must feel so uncomfortable, why don’t you change?

Ah, right, you only have one pair of underwear, one limit.

What do you even know about our performance?

Even though all the audience members were shocked, only one person was watching the stage with a glint in his eye, and that was PD [Production Director] Heo Taejin.

Heo Taejin had thought the song ‘Locker Room’ was quite interesting even when he listened to Official Bootleg, but the feeling of it live was something else entirely.

‘If this airs,’ he thought, ‘it could gain a lot of attention along with Lee Sanghyun’s ‘Crouching Writer,’ which they would be filming tomorrow.’

Maybe the title ‘Locker Room Rapper Park Inhyuk’ would be born.

Is it full of intentionality? How could our performance be boring?

That can’t be, look around you

The pants of the people around you are all like that.

While Inhyuk was rapping, he pointed at Junhyung’s pants. Junhyung, who was doing the doubling [repeating the last words or phrases of the lead rapper], was startled and stepped back. The audience burst into laughter at the sight.

Originally, Inhyuk even wanted to spray water on Junhyung’s pants. However, the 888 Crew members, including Junhyung, strongly opposed it, so the plan ultimately fell through.

‘I must spray water on Junhyung’s pants during Hommie Vol.3, which is scheduled for the end of the year!’ Inhyuk thought mischievously.

‘Ah, will it be just the two of us then, with Sanghyun? Then on Sanghyun’s pants!’

Unaware of what Inhyuk was thinking, Sanghyun was diligently doing the doubling.

Inhyuk’s verse was nearing its end.

Before you know it, this whole place is a locker room,

Everyone who’s leaving, shout out

Now everyone knows,

What is this place?

This place is a locker room, locker room, locker room, locker room

This place is a locker room, locker room, locker room, locker room

As the easy chorus repeated, one of the staff members unconsciously hummed ‘locker room, locker room, locker room, locker room.’

This was why composer Chae Daehan said that the 888 Crew might not be the best at ‘rapping’ in Korea, but they might be the best at ‘rap music.’

The 888 Crew somehow made music that captivated people.

When it came to popularity among staff who weren’t hip-hop fans, Stars Records’ songs or Bounce Rhyme’s songs, who was a celebrity, were more famous. Moreover, Official Bootleg had only been released for less than a month.

However, while no one sang along when Stars Records or Bounce Rhyme performed, there was a certain something about 888 Crew’s performances that made you want to sing along.

Sanghyun and the 888 Crew members didn’t know why. But what was certain was that this was an advantage that the 888 Crew could maintain as long as they continued to enjoy music.

This place is a locker room, locker room, locker room, locker room

This – is – a – locker room (locker room)

As soon as the chorus ended, Sanghyun grabbed the microphone and came forward. He didn’t make big gestures like shrugging his shoulders like Inhyuk, but everyone on set knew.

That Lee Sanghyun was the designer who designed the musicality of the 888 Crew.

And that such people were called aces.

Sanghyun smiled once more at the attention he was receiving.

While making ‘Locker Room,’ Sanghyun felt grateful to Inhyuk. He had only written ‘witty’ lyrics, but he had never written humorous lyrics before.

And thanks to Inhyuk, he was able to try something new.

It didn’t even rain but I got wet, I threw away a pair of underwear

Home is far, so you changed your clothes here,

In-hulk and FiveSix wetting your panties tonight

Urologist rapper, no residual urine at all

Shingak, Edition, and Codename members, who hadn’t encountered ‘Locker Room’ through Official Bootleg, were immersed in the lyrics they were hearing for the first time.

They even chuckled slightly at ‘Urologist rapper, no residual urine at all.’

Hey lady, there’s no other way,

I’ll lend you mine if you want

It’s not dirty, I washed it yesterday,

It’s Calvin Klein, no less.

Bae Ga burst out laughing at the part where the five people on stage, except for Sanghyun, and the two people off stage all grabbed their crotches and shouted, ‘It’s Calvin Klein, no less!’

“Ah, these crazy bastards,” Bae Ga said, still laughing.

However, PD Heo Taejin was saddened by the thought that this funny scene would have to be edited out because he couldn’t directly mention the brand name ‘Calvin Klein.’

Bring it next time you come to a performance

Sorry, I should have written it on the poster in advance

But I was so busy

Forgot, don’t worry, everyone is

Changing, Park Inhyuk Lee Sanghyun displaying changing skills

Audiences are all panicking

Inhyuk hyung [older brother/male friend], where are you looking? You’ll get handcuffed.

Now everyone knows, right? What is this place?

This place is a locker room, locker room, locker room, locker room!

This place is a locker room, locker room, locker room, locker room!

The 888 Crew’s chorus, filled with laughter, continued. Sanghyun excitedly sang the chorus and then spontaneously shouted, ‘We’ll show you for 5 minutes!’ but there was no reaction.

Thinking about it, it was a phrase that no one could know yet.

Sanghyun felt a little awkward for a moment, but he thought it was nothing when he looked at Junhyung. ‘Yeah, today’s Locker Room performance concept was embarrassment,’ he thought.

Unlike usual, Sanghyun made big gestures and imitated Inhyuk’s movements. Inhyuk was so excited that he was doing a strange dance and shouting the chorus.

This place is a locker room!

“Locker room!”

Locker room!

“Locker room!”

The Stars Records members followed along with the chorus. Of course, the Stars Records members knew all of 888 Crew’s songs, including ‘Locker Room.’ Of course, the 888 Crew also knew most of Stars Records’ songs.

After the chorus ended, Junhyung, the last batter, popped out.

Since there was no verse from Junhyung on the album, the Stars Records members’ curious gazes were focused on him.

‘Did Junhyung write funny lyrics too?’

At that moment, Junhyung’s weighty first sentence echoed through the speakers.

I’m not stripping, you guys strip.

As it turned out, Junhyung had written the lyrics from the perspective of an audience member watching Inhyuk and Sanghyun’s performance.

And so, the pleasant Locker Room performance continued.

***

“All the musicians, thank you so much for your hard work. It seems like the first filming of Hip Hop The Vibe 2 is almost finished.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Now, we will select the winning team of today’s performance, and the winning team will draw the matchups and themes for the next round, and then the filming will be over.”

PD Heo Taejin said on stage.

“While you take a short break, the votes from our 15 staff members and 5 people working in the music industry have been tallied. The staff members each have 1 vote, and the industry professionals each have 2 votes, for a total of 25 votes.”

Codename and Bounce Rhyme had given up on winning after seeing the performances of Stars Records and 888 Crew. They just hoped that they would get enough votes to not be embarrassed.

‘Ah, it seems like we’re coming off too weak in today’s filming,’ Shingak thought with a frown. He knew that Stars Records was good, but he had no idea that the up-and-coming 888 Crew was this good.

In particular, the last song, ‘Eight, Eight, Eight,’ was a sound that Shingak had never heard before in his life.

‘If I tell the company, maybe we can get a beat like that too?’

While Shingak was thinking that, PD Heo Taejin opened his mouth.

“The winning team is Stars Records, with a total of 12 votes. Second place is 888 Crew with 11 votes, and the remaining 2 teams are tied for third place with one vote each.”

Bae Ga, who had been holding his breath while watching PD Heo Taejin’s mouth, finally let out a sigh of relief and shook Junhyung wildly when the announcement was made.

“Yes! I thought we were going to lose, my heart was pounding.”

“Ah! Only one vote difference.”

“How many years have we been doing this? If we lost from the first round, the hyungs [older brothers/male friends] would cry, cry. Think of it as us conceding the first round.”

Junhyung made a disappointed sound at Bae Ga’s words.

In fact, Bae Ga knew why the voting results had turned out this way. Probably 3 or 4 of the agency representatives who had gathered to see 888 Crew today had voted for them.

They probably came to scout 888 Crew, but there was no need to give them a free ride.

“Stars Records, who will be representing you to draw the matchups?”

“I will.”

Bae Ga strode forward. In fact, he had already planned everything out for when they won first place, ever since he saw 888 Crew’s performance.

Bae Ga placed the names of each team on the board with the matchups drawn on it.

– Hip Hop The Vibe 2 –

* Second Round.

1. 888 Crew VS Code Name

2. Stars Record VS Bounce Rhyme

Dread, who was looking at the matchups, thought that 2 out of the 3 elements that Chae Daehan had requested had come true. Stars Records had taken first place in the first round, and the matchups were also the best-case scenario.

‘What about the theme? How is the theme given?’

Dread’s gaze turned to Bae Ga, who was listening to the rules for selecting the theme.

The theme selection involved Bae Ga, the representative of the winning team, randomly drawing from a box containing a total of 20 themes. However, since there were no special privileges for the winning team with this method, Bae Ga was allowed to designate prohibited themes for each team.

In other words, he could exclude themes that a team wouldn’t handle well, or exclude themes that would be unfavorable to his own team.

Bae Ga pondered for a moment, then excluded the theme of ‘love’ for Stars Records and the theme of ‘swagger’ for 888 Crew. Bounce Rhyme and Codename simply excluded themes that came to mind.

“Shall I draw?”

“Yes. Please attach the themes you draw next to each team’s name on the matchup chart.”

“Yes.”

Bae Ga didn’t bother drawing slowly or creating tension for the sake of the broadcast. That was the editor’s job. He immediately drew 4 themes.

“Oh……!”

PD Heo Taejin looked at the themes placed on each team with a satisfied expression.

Stars Record – Time

Code Name – Free Theme

Bounce Rhyme – Synergy

888 Crew – Money

Dread read the theme again with a surprised look. Sure enough, the theme ‘Money’ was placed next to 888 Crew.

The situation was unfolding so well that it felt strange, with the three elements that Chae Daehan had requested falling into place perfectly.

‘But…….’

However, after seeing 888 Crew’s performance today, Dread didn’t think they could win at all. When he wasn’t interested in hip-hop, he just felt that they were ‘good.’ But after writing lyrics himself and studying by listening to the foreign albums that Chae Daehan recommended, he could truly understand how amazing 888 Crew’s music and performances were.

He didn’t feel confident that they could win, even just looking at today’s performance songs, ‘Coffee Machine’ and ‘Locker Room.’

But the highlight was the group song ‘Eight, Eight, Eight LA Remix.’

A new genre created by DJ Standard, mixing trap and dubstep.

Dread recalled 888 Crew’s last performance.

***

< Verse 16. Ripple Effect > End

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