The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 227

***

On October 3rd, Standard left LA. Coincidentally, that day was Sanghyun and Standard’s birthday.

However, Standard was too busy preparing to leave, and Sanghyun was too busy preparing to settle down, so they didn’t realize it.

“Happy Birthday.”

“You too.”

They belatedly saw the airport clock displaying the date and wished each other well in their future endeavors.

Sanghyun hoped for Standard’s father’s recovery, and Standard blessed Sanghyun’s success as a rapper in America.

After Standard left, Sanghyun’s full-fledged life in LA began.

There were no major issues since he was using Standard’s house, car, and music equipment. The real problem was how to get his music out there in the LA scene.

Of course, when he first started 888 Crew in Gwangju, he had nothing prepared either. But back then, he had people.

President Hong of Sejong Instruments, the godfather of the Gwangju underground, and L&S and Miju, who led their early days.

But now, the only person Sanghyun could trust was…

“Five! I got some soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] from K-Town.”

Weber.

‘Ugh, I’d rather die than put up with this.’

In fact, Weber was a good guy. Kind, pure, and didn’t care about skin color at all. Sanghyun’s grumbling was just a joke.

Sanghyun started working at Weber’s record store, Vevo Record. Not because he needed money, but to be closer to the scene.

Originally, Weber wanted to hire Sanghyun as the leader of the label’s strategic business division (not an actual department, just Weber’s suggestion), but Sanghyun refused.

One reason was that he didn’t know the LA music industry well, but more than that, Weber’s plan seemed reckless no matter how he thought about it.

However, Weber still couldn’t let go of his attachment and made recruitment offers every time he saw Sanghyun. He seemed to believe that everything would go smoothly if Sanghyun helped him.

What’s absurd is that the source of Weber’s belief is, ‘I can’t read Korean, but if you search for 888 Crew on Google, there are endless results. You must be doing well.’

Sometimes, he seemed so pure that I worried his way of thinking was too simple.

“Why suddenly soju? Drink it next time. I have something to do today.”

“Something to do? Oh, did you say today is your first performance?”

“Yeah.”

“Where is it?”

“Orange County.”

Orange County is a county located next to LA, where the famous Disneyland is located.

“Does it have connections with the LA side?”

“Standard said it did when he introduced me. I don’t really know.”

“What’s the club’s name?”

“T&T.”

“Oh, T&T in Stanton? That’s a good place. T&T is much better than performing in some cheap LA club.”

Sanghyun nodded inwardly at Weber’s words.

He didn’t think Standard would introduce him to a strange place, but he felt relieved to hear that.

“Five, do you know the way? Should I take you?”

“It’s okay. You have to take care of the store in Pasadena. I’ll go alone.”

Weber nodded at Sanghyun’s words.

“Okay, then do that. Go quickly. It’s your first time, so you should leave with plenty of time.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

“Oh, right. Bring any work you’ve done anytime. If you make about 50 CDs, I’ll put them in the shop.”

“Later. When something worth releasing comes out.”

“If you’re a musician, you just throw it out there, right? Anyway, have a good performance.”

Sanghyun smiled at Weber’s words. He grumbled inwardly, but he was a good guy.

Sanghyun left Vevo Record and headed to Stanton in Orange County by car. Soon, the inside of his car was filled with music. But if you listened closely, the only two songs filling the car were the only two songs.

The two songs being repeated now were the songs Sanghyun would be singing at T&T today.

The first song he made in America and his first work to be released in LA.

‘Ah, not LA, but Stanton.’

However, the rap scene in Stanton, a satellite city, is usually considered part of the LA rap scene, so it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Sanghyun stepped on the accelerator with a pounding heart.

Thus, a car filled with expectations for the future was speeding down the open road.

***

Westrun and Mell were musicians belonging to Cycadelic Records, which is based in Compton, the mecca of LA hip hop.

And they were also among the few black youths in Compton who were dissatisfied with the existence of gangs.

To be precise, Westrun hated gangs, and Mell agreed with Westrun’s opinion.

The reason why Westrun and Mell left their residence in Compton and came to the T&T club in the satellite city of Stanton was because of Bloods, a major gang in LA.

Westrun, who had settled in T&T, drank beer and cursed loudly.

“Damn it! Why do I have to run away? That bastard is the one who did wrong!”

“Calm down, Westrun. You need to be careful on a day like today.”

One year ago today, Westrun had beaten up a Bloods gang member who had fired a threatening shot at his cousin.

That was a minor incident in Compton.

The problem was that the gang member who was beaten by Westrun was in critical condition and died of respiratory distress due to a drug overdose in the car.

Fortunately, someone saw the dead gang member getting into the car in good condition, so Westrun was able to avoid the revenge gunfire of the Bloods gang.

However, even though he didn’t kill him directly, he was targeted by other gang members for being the cause of death.

Since then, Westrun had been targeted by the Bloods gang, and he needed to be careful because today was the anniversary of the dead gang member.

“Damn it. Music should end with music. Gangster hip hop is increasingly making young people on the streets impulsive and violent!”

“It has nothing to do with the gang being crazy bastards, man. That was exactly what white꼰대 [Kkondae: Korean slang for a condescending older person] were saying on the news just now?”

Westrun cursed again, putting a cigarette in his mouth at Mell’s nagging.

“Ah, I don’t know!”

“Stop getting so angry. The atmosphere at T&T is good today, why are you like this? Just think of it as a rare trip out.”

With that said, Mell whistled at a passing woman. But the woman glanced at Mell and just passed by.

Westrun, who was grumbling at the sight, nagged.

“Stop it. Who would like a poor musician without an album?”

“Hmph, if I release an album, LA will be turned upside down.”

“Your mother will be turned upside down. She’s a gospel singer, right?”

“I don’t do gospel.”

“Why? Become the Marvin Gaye of the rap world.”

Westrun, who was feeling a little better, joked with a chuckle.

The two drank and talked about this and that. Of course, most of it was about music or gangs.

“I respect Mr. Kim, but Cycadelic Records seems to be clinging too much to the glory of the past. N.W.A has disbanded and Easy-E is dead.”

“Papa just feels sorry for the kids in Compton. Honestly, who would sign a contract with musicians like us with an advance?”

“Why? What’s wrong with us?”

“Oh, you’ve been contacted by other labels, right?”

The lights and music inside the club went out the moment Mell nodded, and a single spotlight shone on the stage.

Everyone’s attention was focused on the stage, and the DJ opened his mouth under the spotlight.

“Hey, friends. It’s Mo`fucker Live Time. We have three killer lineups ready today too.”

The audience all clinked beer bottles together. It was T&T’s tradition for the audience to show when Live Time started.

“The first one is… This friend is a fresh rookie debuting for the first time today. He has a killer sound. He’s so dope and cool. Everyone will fall in love when they hear it!”

The DJ shouted excitedly, but Westrun, who was listening to the comment, said nonchalantly.

“Looks like a newbie who got in through connections.”

“I guess so.”

To get a chance on a club stage, unknown rappers have to steal the DJ’s heart. The main DJ has to listen to the rapper’s work and like it to pick them up.

DJ’s feel proud that the rapper they discovered is doing well, and that soon becomes a connection, so they do their best to introduce the rapper.

Saying what style of music they do, where they’re from, and what their name is.

So, doing a cliché comment like ‘dope’ or ‘cool’ that can be attached to any rapper, means that the DJ didn’t pick up the rapper.

In the case of a club owner or a request that is difficult to refuse to stand in the lineup.

As expected, the DJ didn’t introduce the rapper’s name until the end. Maybe he forgot.

Audiences familiar with club culture were thinking similarly to Westrun, so few people were paying attention to the rapper on stage.

Then, the rapper slowly walked out of the darkness behind the stage.

‘Huh? What is it?’

Westrun tilted his head, looking at the stage without much thought. It was because he couldn’t see the rapper’s face because he was wearing a hood.

It was normal for a rapper having their first stage to try to promote themselves in some way. Wearing a specific color New Era all the time, or wearing only certain clothes.

But the rapper who came out now wore a gray hoodie that wouldn’t be remembered well in the dark, and even covered his face.

If you do that, you won’t be remembered even if you rap well.

While Westrun was tilting his head, the rapper opened his mouth.

“Standby.”

The moment a slightly dry voice rang through the speakers, the DJ played the beat.

“Woah.”

Mell, who values beats, made a strange exclamation as soon as he heard the intro and nodded his head.

Westrun also thought the beat was pretty good.

‘The beat is good? Who made it?’

Over the smooth R&B melody, dull but not dull-feeling snares began to burst. At the same time, West Coast-specific kicks and hi-hats were topped.

It was meaningless to distinguish hip hop coasts by sound, but it was a beat with a strong G-funk feel when you heard it.

Not a poorly imitated one, but real G-funk.

As the beat gave a pretty good feeling, more people started looking at the stage.

Westrun initially thought it was a beat made by T&T’s DJ, but he realized it wasn’t when he saw the DJ’s expression while listening to the beat.

The DJ also had a pretty surprised expression.

At that moment, the hooded rapper’s mouth opened and the rap began.

The beat was really good, but not many people expected the rapper’s rap. There were too many rappers in LA to expect the rap of a rapper whose name the DJ had forgotten, and the level of listeners was too high.

However, the 4-bar rap that seemed to be cut off succeeded in completely changing the atmosphere of the club.

I’m on standby in front of the ticking sound

Waiting for the signal,

To fly, Underground

always pole position, Pick-up

I’m a standby, tic-toc

waiting for the sig-nal

To fly, Underground

always pole position, Pick-up

Songs often have a calm intro because the stronger the flow, the greater the emotion felt at the highlight.

However, rappers tended to pay the most attention to the intro. Because rap doesn’t have a melody, it often just flows away if the listener doesn’t concentrate.

In that sense, the nameless rapper’s 4 bars were very successful.

In particular, Westrun’s surprise was beyond imagination.

Because the sound he had vaguely imagined had appeared. A sound that escapes the typicality of gangster hip hop while preserving its unique funkiness.

Westrun and Mell focused intently on the rapper’s rap.

As he listened, he could see that Standby, which the rapper had shouted at first, was not the meaning of ‘ready’, but the title of the song.

The gray hooded rapper sang only two songs and went down the stage. The songs were titled ‘Standby’ and ‘Main dish’, and the club became quieter as the songs progressed.

“Thanks you.”

Belated cheers erupted when the rapper’s very short thank you was heard. But the rapper just nodded and disappeared behind the stage.

Westrun felt like he had woken up from a dream.

“Who, who is that bastard?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never heard that voice before, no matter how I think about it?”

“Is it Retin by any chance? He’s about the same height?”

“No. Retin’s voice is a little lower. And in the first place, Retin wouldn’t cover his face.”

“Let’s go to the backstage.”

Originally, the audience could not enter the backstage, but Westrun and Mell were well-known in the LA scene, so they were barely able to obtain entry permission.

But there was no one backstage.

There were only two rappers waiting for the next stage.

End

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