The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 118

< Verse 17. After Today >

Verse 17. Hip Hop the Vibe

Finally, sales of Official Bootleg Triple Eight surpassed 10,000 copies.

It had only been a month since its release, and there were no special promotions. This was a significant achievement made solely through the strength of their music.

In line with the increasing album sales, the sales of their domestic brand merchandise also remained steady. Although the merchandise didn’t see the same explosive reaction as the album, they consistently sold 60-80 items per week.

Sanghyun predicted that merchandise sales would more than double once the *Hip Hop the Vibe* broadcast started.

‘Once I’m legally an adult, I should turn the crew into a label. Should Junhyung and I split the capital investment 50/50? Would that make us co-CEOs?’

Sanghyun started thinking about this after contacting Hong Kyungsoo of Oh Kyung ENT. In just over a year, ‘888 Crew’ would be transformed into ‘888 Label.’

The difference between a crew and a label is usually defined by whether or not they actively pursue capital [funding and investment]. To put it simply, a crew is more like a club, while a label is more like a company.

Of course, the current 888 Crew had more destructive power in the demand market than most labels.

Because of this, Sanghyun had to listen to the part-timer’s grumbling for the past few days, as they were in charge of orders, returns, shipments, and deliveries for Official Bootleg and domestic brand merchandise.

In the midst of all that, something the part-timer said struck Sanghyun.

‘But what’s really amazing is that there are almost no returns. For clothes or hats, there are occasional refunds or returns due to size issues, but for albums, there are surprisingly few returns.’

‘Is that unusual?’

‘Yes. Usually, you only see that in luxury shops. Luxury brands that value brand image more than the value of the product itself.’

According to the part-timer, less than 70 out of 10,000 albums were returned—a return rate of less than 0.7%.

Just like PD [Production Director] Heo Taejin predicted, 888 Crew was building strong brand recognition.

“Lee Sanghyun! Shin Junhyung!”

“Yes?”

“You guys look great on TV, you know?”

Sanghyun and Junhyung smiled awkwardly at their homeroom teacher’s words during the morning assembly. Friends who had been nodding off, half-asleep, woke up and started chatting.

“Ah, I saw that too.”

“Hey, isn’t Edition pretty?”

“She is pretty, but she looks a bit fierce.”

“Isn’t that because she’s wearing makeup to look tougher? Junhyung, what did she look like in person?”

“Um, I don’t know about her face, but her body is amazing. Celebrities are different.”

“But did you guys really fight with Codename and throw punches?”

“How much is the appearance fee?”

The fact that they were bringing up stories that had already been discussed several times at school probably stemmed from the vague fascination that Korean humanities high school students have with the entertainment industry.

The first broadcast of *Hip Hop the Vibe 2* was on Friday, November 18th. And today is November 8th.

With only ten days left until the broadcast, KMnet finally began large-scale advertising, promotion, and marketing.

The first of these was the trailer.

A one-minute long trailer, edited from pre-interviews and the first filming, began to air on the KMnet channel frequently.

-Rappers’ endless competition, *Hip Hop the Vibe 2*!

The trailer began by showing performance videos of each team.

Stars Records had their solo concert video under the brand ‘Hongdae Stars’ [referring to a popular indie music scene in Seoul], while Codename and Bounce Rhyme had videos from the year-end music awards. 888 Crew had a mix of performances from the Mudeung Stadium concert and Club Homie.

Interspersed between the performance videos were the aspirations of the cast members participating in *Hip Hop the Vibe 2*.

-We know that Bounce Rhyme has not satisfied hip hop fans since the members were replaced. We are well aware of the criticism that we are not rappers, but just singers who rap.

Through this *Hip Hop the Vibe*, we want to show the affection and passion that Bounce Rhyme has for the culture of hip hop.

-As viewers know, Codename has no members who were rappers from the beginning. However, after studying and researching hip hop for nearly three years, we are now confident that we are more deeply immersed in hip hop than any other rappers.

If underground teams are not careful, they may be devoured by us, Codename, whom they have ignored until now.

-There is a phrase that hip hop fans always use when describing us: ‘A veteran who has endured at the forefront of Korean underground hip hop.’ We will show you that veterans are not veterans for nothing.

The finale of the cast’s aspirations, following Bounce Rhyme, Codename, and Stars Records, was presented by Junhyung, the leader of 888 Crew.

-I appeared because it seemed fun. But it wouldn’t be fun if we lost, right?

Followed by Lonely Road from Mudeung Stadium.

12,000 people cheering.

Eight people rapping like crazy.

The trailer then transitioned to highlights of each team’s performance video from the first filming. Interviews revealing the competitive spirit between the teams were added in between.

-I think 888 Crew is a team with potential, but it seems like it will take some time for that potential to explode. They have a fresh sound, but I think their overall polish and the harmony of the members within the track are a bit lacking because they haven’t been in the industry for very long.

Starting with Edition’s interview, interviews from each team followed.

The grand finale was Sanghyun’s interview, which had explosive impact.

-Boxers cannot compete with gymnasts. Except for the broad category of sports, boxing and gymnastics are completely different worlds. We are boxers, and Codename is gymnasts. There is no chance we will compete with Codename.

A screen zooming in on Codename’s uncomfortable expression.

After that, the appearance of the cast members showing friendly 모습 [Korean word for ‘image’ or ‘appearance’] was highlighted.

888 Crew chatting amicably with Stars Records. Shin Gak of Bounce Rhyme joking with Codename.

The video clearly showed the contrast between ‘underground teams’ and ‘overground teams’ to anyone who watched it.

As the trailer was coming to an end, the screen suddenly darkened, and a narrow stage appeared—a small-scale live cafe stage that can be commonly seen in Sinchon or Misari [districts in Seoul known for their live music venues].

And on that stage, there was only one grand piano, one drum set, and one bass.

The bass player who came onto the stage started playing right away. Soon, the drummer and pianist also started playing.

A sound familiar to 888 Crew fans.

It was a live performance of Crouching Writer with the bass added.

The camera, which had been illuminating the stage, suddenly flipped and zoomed in on two men sitting in chairs watching the stage. However, their faces were not clearly visible because the lighting was dim.

Finally, the two men grabbed the microphone and started rapping.

I stepped onto the ring, lyricist octagon

I’m still an otaku [Japanese term for ‘obsessive fan’] crazy about lyrics

Like a mother, I only think about lyrics

The things I have to do are the same every day

The lighting gradually brightened. Those watching the video could see that the two people rapping were Lee Sanghyun and Shin Junhyung of 888 Crew.

At that moment, the screen faded out, and subtitles with dynamic fonts appeared.

-November 18th at 10 PM! *Hip Hop the Vibe 2* first broadcast!

The subtitles shook, and the long trailer came to an end.

In this *Hip Hop the Vibe* trailer, 888 Crew was the main focus for anyone who watched it. The amount of performance video footage was similar for all four teams, but the difference in the amount of Crouching Writer being placed at the end and the amount of interview footage was significant.

This was the result of PD Heo Taejin’s shrewdness or broadcasting producing ability.

Codename and Bounce Rhyme, who have high recognition but cannot be said to have a positive image.

PD Heo Taejin was trying to evoke sympathy from viewers by placing these two teams in a relatively weak position.

On the other hand, Stars Records, which has a strong fanbase and a considerable amount of public recognition, was not deeply featured in order to be saved for the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

As a result, 888 Crew had no choice but to become the main character.

888 Crew, who is the main topic in the music industry but has stronger support from fans than public recognition, is placed at the forefront, forming a rivalry with Codename and showcasing their skills.

This was what PD Heo Taejin intended, and his intention was hitting the mark. Of course, behind that, there was the show business politics of the KMnet director who was pushing *Hip Hop the Vibe 2*.

As PD Heo Taejin intended, internet articles about *Hip Hop the Vibe* were on the main page of news portals every day, and the number of comments on the internet articles was also at a satisfactory level.

-Where did these hooligans from 888 Crew come from to criticize Codename who was just minding their own business? As expected, most of the guys who do hip hop are hooligans.

-Are your *oppas* [Korean term used by females to refer to older brothers or male friends] from Codename doing hip hop too?

-The story that Codename was minding their own business is the first time I’ve heard that in 6 years of being a hip hop listener. Should I list all the things Codename has done wrong?

-What kind of program are you making with these hip hop losers like Codename and 888? Isn’t Korean hip hop just imitating America anyway?

-If you copy it properly, you’re a pro. But most of them can’t even do that properly.

The conflict structure of the comments was divided into two categories:

The conflict between 888 Crew fans and Codename fans, and the conflict between supporters of hip hop culture and haters of hip hop culture.

There is a story that has been passed down among stock market workers: if fund manager suicide news appears on TV 3 times, it means that the stock market has hit a bottomless bear market. It’s a cruel story, but there are those who laugh and predict a stock market rebound when fund manager suicide news appears 3 times.

In a similar sense, there was a story passed down among PDs who plan new programs: if the cast members of a program are at the center of an issue more than 3 times, the advertisements will be sold out.

*Hip Hop the Vibe* has succeeded in creating two issues so far.

The first is 888 Crew’s Official Bootleg, which broke out at a good time.

-Self-made album Triple Eight, created without an agency, surpasses 10,000 sales.

-No. 1 in album sales in October and November. 888 Crew’s Official Bootleg.

-How did underground musician 888 Crew bring their music out of the underground?

7,000 copies and 10,000 copies have different roles as meaningful indicators. 7,000 copies is the amount that can be consumed in the ‘underground’ market. However, 10,000 copies is the amount that can be consumed only if ‘other than underground’ is included.

Currently, entertainment reporters were making dozens of interview requests to 888 Crew. However, 888 Crew never accepted the interview.

And the reason for that was a reason that made people laugh in disbelief.

‘Are they being kind, or are they being shrewd?’

Heo Taejin, who wanted an interview with 888 Crew, once asked Sanghyun why they were refusing the interview.

-We were selected as the Musician of the Month for Hip Hop LE in November. So we won’t do any other interviews.

-Yes? Did Hip Hop LE request an exclusive interview?

-No. It’s not an exclusive interview.

-Then why?

-Because we were selected as the Musician of the Month for November? How can we do an interview with another place?

Apparently, a Hip Hop LE interview had great significance for underground musicians. ‘The Korean underground hip hop scene’ and ‘Hip Hop LE members’ were almost considered synonymous.

And Hip Hop LE never re-selected a musician who was selected as the Musician of the Month within 6 months. This was a rule and belief they had established to highlight various musicians.

888 Crew had been selected as the Musician of the Month in September for their performance at Club Homie.

However, two mixtapes were released in October:

Bootleg 0.5

Official Bootleg – Triple Eight.

So, Hip Hop LE broke the immutable rule that the site had been following for 5 years because of 888 Crew.

< Verse 17. After Today > End

ⓒ