The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 191

< Verse 29. Just For The Record >

If you were to pick rappers with a similar dry rap vibe in the mecca of hip-hop, the United States, you might think of Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Lupe Fiasco, and so on. If you were to move to Korea, you could think of Paloalto, Verbal Jint, Mad Clown, and so on.

Of course, because it’s art, there can’t be a perfect comparison. The ones who can create even subtle differences to match the mood of the song are first-class musicians. Sanghyun also tried to abandon the dryness and give a dreamlike feeling when singing songs like Daydream.

But Sanghyun’s rap now was different from those.

Unless I give up something at stake in my life

Saying I’m pursuing a better life is all a lie

Sometimes addition and subtraction aren’t accurate

I subtracted 1 and got 100. In my narrow room

As Sanghyun’s rap progressed calmly, the audience felt a strange emotion and fell deeply into it.

La Mancha had a feeling of immersing and exciting the audience, even though it wasn’t a fun song. Just like Get That Money Welcome To School.

‘Unless I give up something at stake in my life, saying I’m pursuing a better life is all a lie…….’

The audience pondered Sanghyun’s lyrics.

Even though there was a change in style, the amazing feeling that the lyrics seemed to be seen and heard at the same time didn’t change at all.

And those who had been watching the 888 Crew since the beginning of their career could realize what the song ‘La Mancha’ meant.

‘Ah.’

This was the very first 모습 [appearance] of the 888 Crew.

It was a rap that depicted their beginning, pursuing a better life only through rap, giving up realistic conditions such as university, academics, and other career paths.

Sanghyun had once thought about it.

What the unbelievable miracle of returning to the past gave was not a talent for music, nor knowledge of the future. It was the conviction to walk the ‘path’ he wanted.

Originally, Sanghyun was a very timid person.

He was so timid that he wrapped himself up tightly after his parents passed away, pushed away everyone except Junhyung, gave up his dream of becoming a rapper, and even failed to embrace Sangmi.

At the same time, he was also scammed by people like insurance planner Park Yunhee because of his contradictory desire to be protected by adults.

But not anymore.

He came to regard uncertainty and impulse as blessings and was able to move forward little by little with conviction.

Sanghyun was not a person who rapped and then returned, so he had no certainty of succeeding as a rapper. He had the cheat key of knowing the musical trends, but to really use that cheat key, he should have become a producer, not a rapper. No, to use future knowledge for success, becoming a businessman like in the past was the easiest path.

But he was deeply immersed in music, felt impulses, and, in vulgar terms, went crazy. Like Don Quixote in La Mancha, who went mad for chivalry and set out on a journey.

Others might click their tongues and say he’s crazy, but he couldn’t stay still with the impulse and passion filling his heart.

The reason why Sanghyun’s rap has a different vibe than usual is because he is rapping in the way he did when he first started music.

‘Let’s go.’

That resolution when I started rapping there

If you ask if I was scared, Nothing, not really

I learned the attitude of a musician, wrote lyrics, and wasn’t satisfied

Notebooks, studios, La Mancha that 8 people tore up all night

It’s not a method that has been refined and completed through official bootlegs, Hip Hop The Vibe, and countless other performances.

With the blessing of uncertainty and impulse, a year ago when he started without knowing anything, with his pure yet rough voice.

With the feeling of making ‘We Have To Move’ to apologize to Junhyung, making ‘F*ck The Show Biz’ to get revenge on the show business, and singing ‘Gwangju Up’ to shout out the city where music started.

‘Ah……!’

The audience maintained silence without realizing it themselves. The concert hall became surprisingly quiet.

Could there be another musician besides Lee Sanghyun who gives a beginning, development, turn, and conclusion like a musical or opera in just 16 bars, just 48 seconds?

If you only consider the technical elements of rap, there wasn’t much difference between Sanghyun and the members of the 888 Crew, and the top Korean rappers.

But despite that, the reason why Sanghyun is classified into the number one category and classified as a ‘more special’ rapper was in this elevation of emotions.

A voice that excites and elevates the listener.

The audience wanted Sanghyun’s rap to continue.

They wanted his voice to continue.

But before they knew it, the 16 bars had come, and Sanghyun’s rap was over. But they were soon able to realize once again that Sanghyun was not the only one in the 888 Crew.

The moment Sanghyun’s rap ended, Hayeon’s voice smoothly 끼어든 [interjected] into the beat.

No matter how much I eat, it’s not enough, I’m not full

No matter how much I run, I’m fine, I’m not out of breath

The empty stage is filled with eight

Everyone gathered and started, La Mancha

A solid voice that strongly checks the melody.

A melody that calmly goes back and forth between the medium R&B tempo and the rap rhythm.

Hayeon preferred this type of hook in the early days of her career. The chorus of ‘Remission’ that Sanghyun heard in the hospital was exactly like that.

Of course, just because Hayeon and Sanghyun gave off the feeling of their early days, it didn’t mean that their delivery method was 촌스러운 [outdated] at all.

Their rap had already reached the realm of 완숙 [maturity], and Sanghyun in particular was a rap musician who was 평가받는 [evaluated] to have reached the realm of ‘completion’. It was even more difficult to sound like he couldn’t do it.

No matter how much I eat, it’s not enough, I’m not full

No matter how much I run, I’m fine, I’m not out of breath

The empty stage is filled with eight

Everyone gathered and started, La Mancha

By the time the second chorus continued, the audience began to hum the melody vaguely. They hummed as they remembered, and even followed the ‘-cha’ rhyme very quietly.

It was the moment when Hayeon’s strength of creating melodies that are strong in description and easy to follow was actively displayed.

But the audience maintained a very quiet state compared to being 흥이 오른 [excited]. Even humming and following the rhyme, their voices were so small that they were not easily heard by others.

Because this was the place where JFTR [Just For The Record] was first revealed.

Rather than missing the music with unnecessary cheers and applause, they wanted to concentrate deeply and remember it well. Isn’t it a song that only people in this place can hear?

Of course, the release date of JFTR was not far away, but 888 Crew’s music was music that they wanted to ‘monopolize’ even for a few days.

After the two choruses ended, the bridge began.

The percussion sounds, including the drums, were suddenly 쫙 빠지며 [completely removed], and the sharp and strong feeling of the harpsichord created a deep resonance with the 장음계 [major scale]. When the drums were 빠지고 [removed] and the scale changed, a performance with a much brighter feeling than the verse and chorus appeared.

And Sanghyun, Hayeon, and Kim Hwan, the main characters of La Mancha, began to fill the bridge by exchanging words as if they were playing ball.

The three of them had light smiles on their faces and uttered very exciting and cheerful voices. Sanghyun also 들썩이며 [swaying] his shoulders while keeping the beat.

The audience clapped to Hayeon’s response with a 2-3 tempo. The sound of 짝짝 [clap clap] filled the MICE Center in time with the beat.

La Mancha, La Mancha,

La Mancha, La Mancha, La Mancha

I don’t sleep, I don’t sleep,

I don’t sleep to achieve my dream

The 888 Crew was a very pleasant team, but it was difficult to find playful or humorous 모습 [aspects] in their music, except for Inhyuk.

Except for songs like Loafing or Dressing Room.

But even though La Mancha didn’t start playfully, that feeling was coming out in the bridge. Originally, the bridge was a place to deal with slightly deviated experimental parts from the main theme of the hook or verse.

“Ah……!”

At that time, about half of the 800 audience members 탄성을 내질렀다 [exclaimed]. The audience members who 탄성을 내뱉은 [exclaimed] looked at each other and smiled.

The other half of the audience did not understand why 탄성이 [exclamations] was suddenly coming out from around them.

Why is the 탄성 [exclamation], which they had endured even when Sanghyun’s great verse came out, coming out in the 통통 튀는 [bouncy] bridge? Besides, the 탄성 [exclamations] sounded more like they were 깨달아서 [realizing] than surprised.

And that was true. There was one thing in common among the audience members who 탄성을 지른 [exclaimed] in surprise.

That was that they had been watching the music of the 888 Crew since the beginning. Of course, there were also cases where they explored the early music after getting to know the 888 Crew through Hip Hop The Vibe.

They realized another intention hidden in La Mancha.

‘I don’t want to limit you to the position of a fan. Aren’t we friends?’

It was what Sanghyun said playfully before he started rapping.

Like Sanghyun said, ‘JFTR’s number 1 track La Mancha’ was really a song made to be sung to a friend.

It was a song that told new friends, ‘This is what we were like when we first started rapping,’ and a song that asked old friends, ‘Do you remember that time?’

So it was a song that fans who liked the 888 Crew couldn’t help but love.

The 888 Crew members on stage realized that many of the audience members had noticed their intentions.

As they thought, La Mancha was initially planned as a song where the 888 Crew members honestly 털어놓는 [confessed] ‘when they started music’. The original title was Da Capo.

However, as they made it, it was upgraded to feel like they were talking to all their friends, not just the 888 Crew, but also the band L&S, Stars Records, Caliph, and Shin Hyeyeon.

The moment the bridge ended, Hayeon’s rap began.

The audience waited for the story that Hayeon would tell this time and fell deeply into her rap.

***

“Okay, please take your seats!”

Shin Hyeyeon, the host of today’s showcase, who has a slightly 상기된 [flushed] expression, led the 888 Crew members to their seats.

In fact, Hyeyeon was also listening to JFTR’s songs for the first time. Because the 888 Crew members didn’t let her listen to them as a complete album. So, she came to 진행하러 [host] the showcase, but she was more interested in the music than that.

“Is everyone seated?”

Centered on Shin Hyeyeon in the middle, the female members Hayeon, Sangmi, and Minji sat in order on the right, and the male members Junhyung, Sanghyun, and Kim Hwan sat in order on the left.

Minho sat in the DJ booth located between them and the audience. Even though it was a DJ booth, it was not isolated by himself but rather in a diagonal direction closer to the audience.

“Ah, the song is so good? I forgot my 본분 [duty] and just screamed. The title is La Mancha? That’s right. Is this the number 1 track?”

“Yes. It’s the number 1 track that announces the opening of JFTR. And the meaning is the hometown of Don Quixote.”

“Please briefly introduce the song.”

Sanghyun briefly explained the meaning of La Mancha. But he didn’t explain the meaning contained in the use of instruments or the lyrics. That was a part that had meaning only when the listener 알아차려야 [realized] it himself.

Sanghyun, who finished introducing the song, suddenly grumbled that he was getting 소름이 돋는 [goosebumps] because Shin Hyeyeon was using 존댓말 [formal language].

“It’s not a simple showcase anyway, so just be comfortable.”

“Shall I? Oh, I was a little embarrassed too.”

Hyeyeon spoke without any hesitation. The female fans who treated Shin Hyeyeon as a public enemy didn’t react much, but the male fans cheered.

“Actually, there was supposed to be a simple talk, but these friends suddenly started playing music, so I was a little 당황했네요 [flustered]. Now that it’s come to this, instead of 잡다한 [miscellaneous] recent news or already 철지난 [outdated] things about the 888 Show, it would be better to ask about JFTR right away, right? Okay, Junhyung. What kind of album is JFTR?”

Junhyung, who was organizing his words for a moment at the question of the host Shin Hyeyeon, slowly opened his mouth.

“Um…… JFTR is, as the title suggests, an official record. The bootleg 0.5 or official bootleg that we released so far were songs that were ignited by the sparks that 튀었다 [flew] from our conflicting inspirations, right? They are primitive and pure songs, but they didn’t contain any overall message. But JFTR is a bit different. It is a very official record with our message and intention from the planning and composition stage.”

“What exactly is the message and what is the intention?”

“The flow of time. The 1st track starts from the moment the 888 Crew started music. As you guessed, La Mancha is a song that tells our friends about our beginning. And as the track progresses, it traces our past time. F*ck The Show Biz, Club Homie, Mudeung Stadium, Bootleg Series, Hip Hop The Vibe…….”

At Junhyung’s words, the audience each recalled the moment when they first encountered the 888 Crew.

< Verse 29. Just For The Record > End

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