The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 165

< Verse 24. 2006 >

Overwhelmed by the incredible scene, Minji, a philosophy major, quoted a somewhat obscure line, something she hadn’t done in a while. She mixed in a quote from her favorite movie, ‘From Dusk Till Dawn.’

“Busking from dusk till dawn.”

Sanghyun smiled and interpreted Minji’s words.

“Street performance from dusk till dawn.”

Busking from dusk till dawn.

It seemed like there was no need for a warm-up act to build the audience’s excitement today. All the buskers present were both the opening act and the main attraction.

It was Junhyung who snapped the 888 Crew out of their daze.

“Alright, alright, watching is fun, but shouldn’t we set up the speakers first?”

“But can we even use electricity here? I don’t see any outlets.”

“It’s rechargeable. We’ve been running on battery power until now, so it should last for four hours, right?”

“Oh, awesome. Shouldn’t we buy one of these speakers too?”

“Sanghyun, how are you so good at English? But why are your grades so bad?”

At Hayeon’s sudden question, Sanghyun flinched but pretended to be calm and replied,

“I’m good because I studied. The best way to watch movies is without subtitles anyway.”

“But still, why are your grades like that?”

“Exams are a pain.”

Everyone shook their heads at Sanghyun’s response.

The 888 Crew members had seen Sanghyun talking to foreigners while promoting the guerrilla concert. They had seen him talking to Standard [likely referring to a foreign individual or company] multiple times. They knew he would excel if he applied himself to his studies.

But it seemed like Sanghyun was solely focused on music. He didn’t seem to entertain the possibility that his life’s path might lead him away from being a musician.

Inhyuk was looking at Sanghyun with a strange expression.

“Let’s save the chatter for later. It’s almost six o’clock, so let’s hurry and get set up.”

At Kim Hwan’s urging, the 888 Crew members began to move quickly. The audience looked eager to get closer, but they mostly just took pictures while the crew set everything up.

After about fifteen minutes, the 888 Crew’s stage began to take shape.

Today’s stage was located in the center of the bleachers, with the audience watching the performance from the court below. It wasn’t planned, but they liked that the stage’s height was similar to that of an actual concert hall.

In addition, the bleachers, which consisted of four tiers, had a fairly large area on each level, roughly one meter wide. They couldn’t move around freely, but it didn’t feel too cramped.

“Ah, ah.”

A microphone test began to adjust the sound balance. Before they knew it, the surrounding buskers had also finished their performances and joined the audience.

“Can those of you on the upper bleachers come down? The speakers are facing forward, so you won’t be able to hear well from the back anyway.”

At Sanghyun’s words, the audience on the upper level came down in droves. Some remained, but they couldn’t force them to move.

“Were you planning to perform here from the start? You really set it up well.”

“It seems like this was the 888 Crew’s secret weapon?”

“The speaker output is no joke!”

The musicians admired the 888 Crew’s stage.

The four speakers, arranged in a trapezoid, were positioned with two on the lower tier and two on the upper tier. The vocals came from the lower speakers, and the beats came from the upper speakers. Considering that ordinary street performances play both the beat and vocals through a single speaker, this was a very elaborate setup.

Finally, two carts were placed at the very bottom of the bleachers to protect the speakers.

Even during the microphone test, the audience continued to grow. Among them were security personnel sent by AIMMF [likely an event or organization] and reporters who had heard the rumors and came to investigate.

Since they had already established a boundary with the carts, the security guards simply waited at a distance, and the reporters who arrived late were speechless at the size of the crowd.

‘Awesome!’

That’s what the reporters thought as they frantically clicked their camera shutters.

While the newspaper reporters were snapping photos, the newsroom reporters were furiously texting on their cell phones. The rookie reporters, who had been dispatched as scouts after hearing the rumors, were sending reports to their superiors.

-Senior, you absolutely have to bring a camera here. The main coverage team needs to come.

-What? The main coverage team? Are you crazy? We came here today to cover celebrities, remember?

The supervisor’s harsh tone echoed in the text message, and the rookie reporter trembled. But the conviction that the coverage team needed to be present remained unchanged. For the first time in three months since joining the company, he was certain.

‘Be careful with spelling. Be as polite as possible.’

-I know you came to cover AIMMF. But senior, in my humble opinion, I think this scene is a story for the culture section.

-I’ll ask you one more time. You know that the coverage manager is with the main coverage team, right? If it’s a wasted trip, I’m not the only one who’s going to get yelled at.

-I know.

Perhaps taken aback by the bold reply, there was no text message for a while. Five minutes later, exactly two letters arrived: Going.

Looking around, the rookies from other broadcasting stations were either being scolded and leaving the scene, or they hadn’t argued as persuasively as he had.

‘Yes! CBC exclusive!’

The CBC rookie reporter hurriedly began to write a script, hoping that he might get a chance to debut. [CBC is likely a broadcasting company]

Shortly after, the supervisor who rushed in was surprised to see the 888 Crew’s performance, which was already in full swing, and praised him. But the script ended up in the hands of the coverage manager. That’s just how things worked.

Even though they had finished all the preparations before six o’clock, the 888 Crew didn’t start the performance right away. They were waiting for something: the lighting. Because it was winter, the sun was already beginning to set.

“Let’s start with three claps!”

Then, Inhyuk’s voice was suddenly heard. The audience, who had been chattering, looked at Inhyuk with bewildered expressions. It was the first time they had heard that phrase since they were ten years old.

“Let’s start with three claps!”

Inhyuk said it one more time. Question marks appeared on everyone’s faces, but some people started to clap.

-Clap, clap, clap.

It was the kindergarteners and lower elementary school students who were there with their families.

“Now, eight, eight, eight, shh! Let’s start with three claps!”

-Eight eight eight! Shh!

The audience followed along with amused expressions. They actually did it quite well.

“Thank you so much for coming even in the cold weather. How many people do you think came?”

Someone guessed five hundred. Because the area was relatively quiet, the voice echoed even when spoken softly.

“I counted carefully, and it seems like there are a little less than a thousand people. Ah, there are a few more people coming over there. Hello.”

Inhyuk waved both hands at the audience members who were passing the public restroom and entering the court. The audience, who appeared to be high school girls, were surprised by Inhyuk’s sudden greeting and the gaze of a thousand people and hid behind the restroom.

“Shall I tell you a funny story? There are a thousand of you here, right? Do you know what kind of blessing only you thousand people can give?”

Someone who had seen Hip Hop the Vibe [likely a TV show or event] shouted ‘Eight that Eight that Eight that Crew’ and then bowed his head deeply. It was because no one responded.

“Oh, that’s not bad either. But I mean a blessing.”

The audience all looked puzzled. Then Inhyuk said, suppressing a laugh,

“You’re welcome.” [The joke is that a thousand people saying “you’re welcome” is a “thousand blessings”]

“……”

The entire court was silent.

“He was definitely a funny guy when I saw him on TV……”

Someone’s quiet murmur made people nod.

-Pop!

Then the court’s night lights, which they had been waiting for, turned on. It was a good time to salvage the atmosphere that was about to crash and burn.

Junhyung snatched Inhyuk’s microphone and shouted in a strong tone,

“This is unacceptable! It shouldn’t be happening! King Sejong the Great [Korean historical figure who invented the Korean alphabet, Hangul] didn’t create Hangul for you to make jokes like this! Our 888 Crew will hold an internal meeting and impose appropriate sanctions on Park Inhyuk!”

-Wowwwww!

-Shin Junhyung! Shin Junhyung!

The audience’s cheers, half joking and half sincere, continued. Then Inhyuk picked up another microphone instead of the one he had been snatched from and opened his mouth.

“Are you giving a speech?”

“Ah……”

“He barely saved the atmosphere……”

It was only natural that the crew members’ faces were distorted.

In the end, the opening was left to Inhyuk. It was unspoken pressure for him to revive the atmosphere he had killed.

But Inhyuk was Inhyuk. Far from being nervous, he smiled brightly and grabbed the microphone.

The opening track that was chosen was Inhyuk’s solo song ‘Loitering’ from Bootleg 0.5.

“Minho! Drop it! Drop That Shit!”

At the same time as Inhyuk’s powerful shout, the two speakers began to vibrate.

The heavy bass and drums instantly energized the court. Inhyuk’s voice cut through the sound.

Uh! Loitering~ Uh! Uh! Loitering~

From Munheung-dong to passing Ochi-dong

Arriving on the beat, uh! Loitering~

Inhyuk’s unique chorus, which seemed to deliberately hover around the snare instead of landing directly on the beat, began to stir up excitement.

The audience had only heard it a few times, but the rhythm of ‘Loitering’ began to stick in their heads. Before the first chorus was over, some audience members began to sing along.

But it wasn’t just the chorus that the audience was copying. They even started to imitate Inhyuk’s choreography, because Inhyuk’s choreography was very simple and funny.

Uh! Loitering~ Uh! Uh! Loitering~

Inhyuk looked at Sanghyun’s face on the right and was surprised, ‘Uh!’ and then turned his body while saying ‘Loitering~’. Then he looked at Minji on the opposite side and was even more surprised, ‘Uh! Uh!’ and turned his body forward.

People burst out laughing, and the number of people following along with ‘Uh!’ gradually increased.

In the chorus that was repeated once more, Inhyuk looked at a nearby female audience member and made a suggestive expression, saying ‘Oh! Loitering~’. But when he saw her boyfriend holding her hand, he made a sulky expression, saying ‘Hey! Loitering~’.

-Wowwwww!

A laughter-filled response flowed out naturally.

Inhyuk now passed the turn to the audience.

“Look at the person next to you-!”

-Uh! Loitering! Uh! Uh! Loitering!

The rest of the chorus was a free-for-all for the audience.

Following Inhyuk, the audience looked at the person next to them, surprised ‘Uh!’ and then turned their bodies to the opposite side, ‘Loitering~’. In the process, some male and female audience members made eye contact, and families were having a blast.

A strange sense of camaraderie formed among the audience, and the atmosphere heated up.

Sangmi shook her head at the sight.

“Ugh, that’s why I can’t help but forgive Inhyuk oppa [Korean term for older brother, used by females] even if he makes terrible jokes.”

“I know, I can’t say anything.”

Laughter erupted among the crew members.

Inhyuk, who glanced at the scene, smiled and jumped into the full-fledged verse.

Do you know how to have fun? I know how to have fun!

Do you know how to have fun? You know how to have fun too!

Stand with both hands up, this is a punishment for not having fun

In-Hulk, write three numbers and make a fuss

Inhyuk’s rap began to echo through the court.

The sound spewed out by the four speakers was much louder and clearer than expected. The audience was very excited by the unexpected intensity of the sound.

-Kyaaaaaa!

-Park Inhyuk!!

On the opposite side of surprise-

Always engrave my name-

Attached behind the name that will shine with my rap

Triple Eight’s microphone checker

The rap, which slowed down rapidly in an instant, was filled with melody and transformed into a song. But the song didn’t last long. Inhyuk suddenly increased the speed of the rap.

Park Inhyuk’s unique rap that cannot be grasped.

But Inhyuk’s rap was never the kind that made listeners feel uneasy or precarious. Stable offbeat and variable beat. This was Inhyuk’s vibe that was hard to imitate.

On this stage, for me, you’re jumping around,

Avoid the rhymes that you don’t know where to bounce,

Avoid, because it’s delusional, because it’s behind,

To the ears of those who missed the chance to play, G-Yeah!

Finally, when Inhyuk’s rhyme bombing, which he doesn’t use often, began, the audience raised both hands.

After verse one ended, the second chorus returned. The audience, who were already very excited, followed the chorus much more fiercely and enthusiastically than before.

Uh! Loitering~ Uh! Uh! Loitering~

In fact, when we were doing the promotional performance, we lowered the speaker volume a bit because we were worried that it would interfere with the AIMFF event. Nevertheless, people nearby could feel the sound pressure.

But now the limit was gone.

There was no one to be considerate of here, and there was no need to be considerate. This wasn’t AIMMF. Rather, everyone wanted to be enveloped by the sound.

Real Hiphop 888 St.

A new festival site hosted by the 888 Crew.

< Verse 24. 2006 > End

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