The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 116

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The 888 Crew’s performance, transitioning from the coffee machine segment to the dressing room segment, had passed the 70% mark. Only one song remained.

Sanghyun glanced at the timer, which showed that 7 minutes had elapsed. Since the Eight, Eight, Eight Los Angeles Remix was a 5 minute and 16 second track, time was running short.

“Everyone ready?”

“Always ready.”

Junhyung, who was in charge of the last verse in the dressing room segment, gave the okay sign. Sanghyun then signaled to the sound engineer.

At Sanghyun’s gesture, the beat for the final song began to play.

It had a slightly different feel from the rough or heavy texture of typical hip-hop drums. Sanghyun often described the 808 drum sound [a deep, resonant bass drum sound commonly used in hip-hop] as ‘dandy’.

Stylish but neat.

Fancy yet tidy.

As the beat played, curiosity began to fill the faces of those who hadn’t yet heard the Eight, Eight, Eight remix. This was because the BPM [beats per minute] was too slow compared to typical Korean rap, where boom bap [a style of hip-hop characterized by a heavy kick drum and snare] and hardcore were the mainstream.

‘Can you even have fun rapping to this kind of beat?’

That was the thought of the staff who were just starting to pay attention to the 888 Crew and watching their performance.

Trap music is still relatively unfamiliar in Korean hip-hop. Even in American hip-hop in 2005, it was only popular in southern clubs. It wasn’t yet the time when trap would take the mainstream position across the United States.

However, because of the 888 Crew, producers who were slowly studying the trap sound were emerging in the Korean hip-hop scene. Imitation is the mother of creation, and the music of the 888 Crew had an appeal that made people want to imitate it.

In fact, trap isn’t a difficult beat to make.

If you think about it in a very simplistic way, you could call it a trap beat as soon as you use an 808 drum.

So, the important thing was whether or not you could rap in a way that suited the new sound.

‘But aren’t you guys going too far?’

That was the first thing Stars Records producer Wooyunwoo said to Sanghyun when he called him as soon as he heard the official bootleg.

‘Pardon? What is?’

‘Musicians in Hongdae [a district in Seoul known for its indie music scene] are just starting to study the trap sound, and you guys are mixing it with dubstep?’

‘Hey, does that have anything to do with our capabilities? DJ Standard did that independently, as I mentioned before.’

‘That’s why it’s too much. We’re studying how to rap to the trap sound, and you guys have already adapted.’

‘I don’t really understand what you’re saying. Isn’t mixing dubstep just the producer’s ability?’

‘Sanghyun. Sound evolution appears when the understanding of the past sound is perfect. You guys analyzed the trap genre perfectly and wrote verses, so Standard thought about mixing other sounds into it.’

Sanghyun didn’t have anything to say to Wooyunwoo, so he just laughed it off.

As Wooyunwoo said, Sanghyun was familiar with trap hip-hop, which had drawn a line in hip-hop culture (and would further define it in the future). Therefore, rather than worrying about adding rap to a sound he was encountering for the first time, it was more about reinterpreting an already familiar sound to fit the mold of a musician named Lee Sanghyun. The other 888 Crew members got a feel for it by watching his method.

Sanghyun is sensitive to future copyrights, but this kind of inspiration was something he couldn’t control.

Unless he quit music.

Then, the work Sanghyun had to do boils down to one thing.

He has to do very well. Very, very well.

‘So that the culture that will start through me doesn’t become corrupted in a strange direction.’

That’s why the Eight, Eight, Eight remix performance that will be broadcast through Hip-hop the Vibe is so important.

The beginning of the Eight, Eight, Eight remix, given this goal, was a chorus spat out in harmony by six voices.

We, Eight that Eight that Eight that Crew!

We, Eight that Eight that Eight that Crew!

We Eight!

Even if we chill every day, we’re still above.

If you want to compare to us, your nine is impossible.

The remix version of the group song was faster than the original version due to the characteristics of dubstep. Of course, even so, it was still more than 20 BPM slower than typical hip-hop.

However, as the unique expression of dub music, which creates a sense of space, was added, even those who heard it for the first time could quickly nod their heads.

We, Eight that Eight that Eight that Crew!

“We, Eight that Eight that Eight that Crew!”

‘Hyung [older brother or male friend], Inhyuk, is the dragon you unsealed at Club Homie still alive and well?’

‘Heh heh, that guy hasn’t died.’

‘Then it’s time to unseal him one more time.’

‘Heh heh, it’s a good day for a dragon with a wish-fulfilling orb to wriggle.’

“We Eight! Eight! Eiiiight Eight!”

Inhyuk started shaking his body wildly and shouting. It was like a shaman getting possessed. People’s attention was immediately drawn to Inhyuk’s antics.

As expected, there was no one like Park Inhyuk in this area.

The audience’s faces lit up with smiles at Inhyuk’s gestures, who seemed to live on the opposite side of the planet from the word restraint.

From a broadcasting content perspective, Inhyuk is a treasure among treasures. It was also the key to breaking the public’s perception that hip-hop is the culture of thugs.

We, Eight that Eight that Eight that Crew!

“We, Eight that Eight that Eight that Crew!”

As soon as the chorus ended, the lead hitter Junhyung’s rap started.

I’m chillin’, or ballin’,

Or all-in on hip-hop,

Looking far, or Benz Mercy-

Rolex or Rolls Royce and

A low tone as if carved out.

The bombardment of flow compared to a machine gun.

The rap that Korean hip-hop fans pick as musician Shin Junhyung’s best verse began.

Although I have nothing to do with it

Eminem or Dr. Dre or
Hova-Biggie or Tupac-Nas or

TI, Pharrell Williams and

The rappers who influenced Junhyung. Junhyung was making a declaration to God that he would do the same things as them.

I Do That, All That, SHIT!

I fuckin′ swear to god

Instead of money with snot on it

Either look up to me

Junhyung’s rap began to ring loudly through the venue, carried by Shure’s SM58 microphone, a brand loved by rappers.

No, not the venue, but the filming set.

No, not the filming set, but the venue from some point on.

“Wow… no joke.”

Bounce Rhyme’s Edition exclaimed in surprise.

Shin Junhyung and Lee Sanghyun are a bit tall, but their faces are youthful and their hair is short, so they look like high school students to anyone. But strangely, they don’t look young at all when they grab the microphone.

Suddenly, they were exuding the aura of seasoned musicians.

We plant flags in a space we’ll never reach in our lives, there on the moon’s surface

Now I’m spouting conspiracy theories, I’m the universe but I say I’m the sea

Being able to deliver perfectly while using a proper low tone. Junhyung’s strengths were on full display in front of the camera.

Filling the lyrics that others would digest in 12 bars into 8 bars, it felt like he was shooting rap at the listeners like dudududu.

We, Eight that Eight that Eight that Crew!

We, Eight that Eight that Eight that Crew!

We Eight!

Even if we chill every day, we’re still above.

If you want to compare to us, your nine is impossible.

Trap Music.

A genre created by rappers in the South, characterized by the use of ‘solid but sliced, finely chopped 808 drums’ that contrast with the cluttered drum sounds of West Coast hip-hop.

Dub Step Sound.

Dub refers to a sound with powerful bass and drums at very low frequencies, and a dull and slow tempo. Two-step, which splits two beats to create a 4/4 beat.

An electronic genre that combines these rhythms.

We, Eight that Eight that Eight that Crew!

We, Eight that Eight that Eight that Crew!

We Eight!

Even if we chill every day, we’re still above.

If you want to compare to us, your nine is impossible.

Standard’s Eight, Eight, Eight remix was a genre that could be called ‘Dubstep Trap’ or ‘Trap Dubstep’.

The first song in the Korean music scene to feature dubstep was 4Minute Hyuna’s Bubble Pop, which came out in 2011. This was an indication of how far ahead of its time the 888 Crew of 2005 was.

However, Bubble Pop was a typical wobble bass heavy sound completed by Skrillex in 2010, called US Dubstep, and Eight, Eight, Eight Remix had the difference of borrowing a British sound called UK Dubstep.

Since US Dubstep hadn’t appeared yet, it was a natural difference.

“Manuel!”

As Junhyung finished the chorus, Minji jumped forward.

In the original version, Inhyuk was next after Junhyung, but the order was a bit different in the Standard remix.

I’m Triple Eight, or Beautiful Lady

A female fli-plap beating the male players

I assemble raps until dawn in my room

My role is Free Play, smashing oppression like Legos

As Minji started rapping, the eyes of female musicians Kim Yu-hwa and Edition lit up. Kim Yu-hwa was a vocalist, so she had less of a rivalry, but Edition was paying a lot of attention to Hayeon and Minji.

‘It’s okay to lose to male rappers, but it’s clear that I’ll be compared to the girls.’

However, Edition didn’t understand the difference between herself, Minji, and Hayeon. That Minji and Hayeon were not aware that they were female rappers. Just that they were rappers.

Immerse myself, broaden my way of thinking

Even if I stay up all night, my mind is always clear

Decision, On & On, Climax, I get it in my hands
The notebook I wrote until the pen broke is the Bible

Oh Minji’s rap had progressed since the Mudeung Stadium performance. In Sanghyun’s view, what was added to Minji’s rap was honesty.

Minji was a case who was fascinated by Immanuel Kant’s worldview and went on to study philosophy. Therefore, the ‘rational thinking’ that is an academic element of philosophy was hindering the deep immersion of rap. It was because she had too many thoughts.

However, after rapping like a possessed person at the Mudeung Stadium performance, the excessive thoughts disappeared.

From then on, Minji’s rap began to bloom.

Minji’s 8-bar rap passed by like an arrow. Minji made a unique expression as soon as her rap was over. It was an expression that seemed to say, ‘Oh my, is my rap already over?’

We, Eight that Eight that Eight that Crew!

We, Eight that Eight that Eight that Crew!

The performance continued. Finally, the Stars Records members, unable to contain their excitement, began to sing along to the rap.

Bae Ga felt that the Eight, Eight, Eight he sang at Club Homie and the Eight, Eight, Eight remix he was singing now were worlds apart.

End

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