The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 135

< Verse 20. Battle Rhyme >

Verse 20. Battle Rhyme

The guerrilla concert came to an end.

Despite the endless encore requests, the 888 Crew performed with unwavering energy, and the audience responded with well-deserved cheers for their passion. In the end, the 888 Crew’s performance ran thirty minutes over, concluding at 9:30 PM.

“That was so much fun!”

“Do you think the other teams were as fun?”

“My friend who went to Stars Records said they were great too, but I still think the 888 Crew was the best, right?”

Exiting the venue, audience members, their faces flushed with excitement, chatted in small groups, their expressions animated.

In fact, unless you were an underground fan deeply immersed in Hongdae [a district in Seoul known for its indie music and arts scene] culture, opportunities to see live hip-hop performances were rare in 2005.

Sanghyun hoped that both Stars Records and Bounce Rhyme had delivered strong performances, so that the 1,300 or more people who attended today’s show would become dedicated supporters of Korean hip-hop.

“Ugh, I’m dead tired.”

“Are we going to eat now? The other teams already ate.”

“Ugh, I just want to go home.”

The 888 Crew members, piled into the van heading back to the broadcasting station, chatted briefly before succumbing to sleep one by one.

They were performing in their dreams.

Sanghyun, briefly roused from his slumber, smiled faintly at the strange noises his bandmates were making.

‘I hope this feeling lasts forever.’

Shout-Out 888 Crew.

Stars Records gained an advantage in the upcoming 3rd round battle, based on the results of the guerrilla concert mission.

Of course, taking first place didn’t guarantee they could cherry-pick all the beats they wanted. It simply meant they had priority in the selection process.

However, if they strategically used their priority on key songs, they would indeed have a considerable advantage.

“How was the 888 Crew’s performance?”

PD [Production Director] Heo Taejin asked writer Seon Mina, glancing at the 888 Crew sprawled out in the studio after their meal.

Seon Mina gave a double thumbs-up without a word.

“Was it good? Are you sure?”

“Yumin, who was holding the ENG [Electronic News Gathering] camera, got scolded for shaking the camera because she was getting into the rhythm.”

“That stone statue? Then it must have been good. Were there any interesting moments during the mission promotion?”

“If you focus on the positive aspects of the 888 Crew rather than just the promotion itself, there were plenty. It wasn’t just repetitive promotion. Oh, and there’s a really funny scene too.”

Seon Mina described the bromance(?) [a close, non-sexual relationship between men] between Kim Hyukgu and Sanghyun.

Heo Taejin didn’t fully grasp it from the explanation alone, but he had high expectations given Seon Mina’s enthusiastic reaction.

“PD, have you eaten?”

“Do you think I would have?”

PD Heo Taejin sighed deeply and disappeared busily once more.

What awaited the 888 Crew, exhausted from their performance, wasn’t a sweet rest. More intense challenges lay ahead.

Namely, beat selection and practice.

Moreover, beat selection and practice had to be done alongside the other teams. This led to subtle psychological warfare and careful observation all around.

“So, you’re saying that the group battle between 888 Crew and Stars Records will be ‘Forecast’?”

“Yes. But we’re going to remove the chorus and add four bars to fit the purpose of the battle rap.”

“So, each of the six members will do twelve bars?”

“That’s right. The total playtime will probably be a little over three minutes and forty seconds.”

“What about Stars Records and Bounce Rhyme?”

“We haven’t decided on the title and beat yet, but the members have been finalized.”

The 888 Crew, Stars Records, and Bounce Rhyme coordinated the details of the songs as much as possible.

The conversation proceeded in a generally smooth atmosphere, but there were frequent moments when voices were raised. These occurred when the musicians stubbornly refused to compromise on certain aspects.

In the end, it took more than three hours just to coordinate opinions and run through the songs once, and it was well past midnight when the final matchups were decided.

——————

* 888 Crew VS Stars Records

1 – One-on-one battle: Park Inhyuk VS Yeom Hyunpil

2 – Two-on-two battle: Kim Hwan, Shin Hayeon VS Kim Yuwha, Oh Myungjin

3 – Group battle: Forecast

(Shin Junhyung, Park Inhyuk, Lee Sanghyun VS Bae Sangwook, Yeom Hyunpil, Woo Yeonwoo)

* 888 Crew VS Bounce Rhyme

1 – One-on-one battle: Oh Minji VS Edition

2 – Two-on-two battle: Lee Sanghyun, Shin Junhyung VS Shin Kak, Dolphin

3 – Group battle: Do the Rap

(Shin Junhyung, Kim Hwan, Shin Hayeon VS Dolphin, Shin Kak, Edition)

* Stars Records VS Bounce Rhyme

1 – One-on-one battle: Kim Yuwha VS Shin Kak

2 – Two-on-two battle: Oh Myungjin, Yeom Hyunpil VS Dolphin, Edition

3 – Group battle: Control Tower

(Bae Sangwook, Woo Yeonwoo, Yeom Hyunpil VS Dolphin, Shin Kak, Edition)

——————

The battle order and competition evaluation were simple.

First, they decided to complete the three one-on-one battles, followed by the two-on-two battles. After the three two-on-two battles, the group battle was scheduled.

The order of the three songs within each battle type would be determined by random selection using a playback program.

The competition evaluation was even simpler.

As in the 2nd round, the number of votes received was irrelevant.

The only important thing was whether you won or lost.

For example, if Oh Minji won the one-on-one battle between 888 Crew and Bounce Rhyme, +1 point was awarded to 888 Crew. Since there were six rap battles per team, the maximum number of points a team could earn was six.

If there was a tie for 1st place with the same score, an additional two minutes would be given.

The 공동 1위 [joint first place] teams would perform in any way they wanted within two minutes, and a revote would be held to determine the final results based on that performance.

And each team’s hidden track remained a secret.

“The performance is tomorrow—no, it’s today since it’s past midnight. It’s today at 6:30 PM. The rehearsal is scheduled for 5 PM.”

PD Heo Taejin, who was speaking, looked even more exhausted than the contestants. His dark circles had visibly deepened.

“The venue is the same as the 2nd round, the KM Music Box set. You’re free to practice from now until 4 PM tomorrow. Everything is free, including when you practice and when you sleep.”

“Can we go out and buy late-night snacks?”

“Of course. Everything is free. However, when exchanging opinions between teams, please do so at the camera mounting point I mentioned earlier. You know the 숙소 [dormitory], right? Women are on the 2nd floor, and men are in the 3rd and 4th floor 숙직실 [staff rooms]. All the staff will be 퇴근 [leaving work] soon, and I’ll be staying in the editing room or PD room. If you have any problems, please call me.”

“Wow, PD, you’re really working hard. Aren’t you going home?”

“It’s not for nothing that PDs become broadcasting station ghosts when they die. But I’m energized because the viewership is good and the buzz is high. So, please take care of me.”

Led by PD Heo Taejin, who was utterly drained, the staff began to 퇴장 [leave] en masse.

After a while, only sixteen musicians were left in the Hip Hop the Vibe set. As the set, which had been noisy all day, fell silent, the surroundings felt strangely empty.

“Shall we try to match some 그림 [lit. picture, meaning ‘strategy’ or ‘plan’] right away?”

Bae Ga shook his head at Junhyung’s question.

“Hyungs [older brothers/male friends] are starving to death. There’s a 24-hour burrito place right in front of us, so we’re going to go there. We’ll buy some for you guys too.”

“Hyungs, stay here. We’ll go.”

“No, I want to get some fresh air. Dolphin, you guys will eat too, right?”

Everyone except Edition, who said that his face would swell up if he ate and slept, agreed.

Thus, starting with the 1 AM burrito party, the endless practice of the sixteen musicians continued.

***

Sanghyun woke up to the sound of footsteps in the hallway. He checked his phone; it was just past 7:30. His mouth felt dry from eating a burrito before sleeping.

‘The members probably don’t have toothbrushes and toothpaste either, do they?’

Since he was already awake, it would be good to go to the convenience store. Sanghyun, stretching as he got up, felt surprisingly refreshed.

He had fallen asleep around 2:30 and slept for five hours, but he felt good.

-Squeak.

Sanghyun, carefully opening the door to avoid waking his crew members, made eye contact with someone passing by in the hallway.

It was Dolphin, who appeared to be brushing his teeth in the bathroom.

‘Entertainers must be used to staying up all night; he looks so refreshed?’

Dolphin hadn’t been sleeping when Sanghyun went to bed, but seeing him so active made him feel respect.

Sanghyun greeted Dolphin.

“Hello. Did you stay up all night?”

“No. I slept for about three hours.”

“Ah, please speak comfortably [use informal language].”

“Can I?”

“Of course. You’re much older than me.”

At Sanghyun’s words, Dolphin smiled and switched to informal speech.

“Do you know my name?”

“Um… no.”

The only thing that came to mind when he thought of Dolphin was the future title of ‘Poor Dolphin’ that clung to him because of the unfair contract he signed with his agency.

Dolphin’s real name, which Sanghyun found out later, was Eum Hanyu. He had never encountered the Eum surname before.

“Where were you going?”

“I’m going to the convenience store because I don’t have toothpaste and a toothbrush.”

“Do you want to have a cup of coffee before you go?”

Sanghyun started the morning with a vending machine coffee with Dolphin. He sensed that Dolphin had something he wanted to discuss.

“Is there anything you want to say?”

Dolphin, who had been deep in thought, slowly began to speak.

“What do you think of my music?”

“Music? Are you talking about our rap performances?”

In truth, Sanghyun didn’t know much about Dolphin’s original rap.

Until now, all he had seen was rap that was tailored to the company’s plans. He did, however, remember the music Dolphin released after starting his own underground label in the future.

“No, I shouldn’t start the story like this. Right now, I’m not doing the music I want to do. You may not believe it, but I’m doing music that the company forces me to do.”

“I know. I got that feeling a lot too.”

“Yeah, you guys will be able to feel it quickly.”

“But, hyung.”

Sanghyun didn’t know what Dolphin was trying to say.

However, he also had something he wanted to say to Dolphin—to a colleague who would one day return to underground hip-hop.

“I felt it in the 1st round and the 2nd round, that you’re making music in a direction you don’t want. But do you know how I could tell?”

“How?”

“Because you’re doing it half-heartedly. It’s too easy to see that you’re capable of much more than what you’re showing, but you’re 맞춰줬다 [adjusting/conforming] to the company’s low standards.”

Sanghyun had no intention of criticizing Dolphin.

However, Dolphin’s current approach was what would hold him back after he returned to the underground scene.

-Dolphin raps half-heartedly.

That was also why he eventually gave up rapping and became a producer.

In the Korean hip-hop scene, there was one rapper who represented the exact opposite of Dolphin’s situation.

It was Rap Genius, rapper San E.

San E received both strong support and harsh criticism from underground hip-hop fans.

In the early days of his debut, he enjoyed almost fanatical support, but from 2013 onwards, he faced strong criticism for releasing mainstream love songs.

However, San E managed to regain the support of underground hip-hop fans a few years later.

Of course, it wasn’t as much support as he had during his debut, but he began to receive comments like, ‘Still, San E is good at rap,’ and ‘He sings terrible love songs, but he raps hard.’

The fundamental reason for this shift in evaluation was that San E always gave his best rap performance on every track.

Unlike Dolphin.

That was what Sanghyun wanted to point out. However, he refrained from directly telling him to work harder.

That wasn’t something that could be achieved through words alone, and it would likely only make Dolphin feel worse.

It was something that Dolphin had to realize for himself.

“I may have been presumptuous. I should go to the convenience store now.”

As Sanghyun politely excused himself, Dolphin, who had been lost in thought, snapped out of it and grabbed Sanghyun’s arm.

“The reason I asked you to come was because I overheard something strange a while ago.”

< Verse 20. Battle Rhyme > End

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