The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 231

< Verse 36. No Color >

The Psychedelic Records members gossiped, watching Sanghyun’s popularity.

“Five must have been really popular in Korea, huh?”

“Looks like it. Look at that girl’s expression.”

“Is he a real rap star?”

They seemed unable to imagine how popular Sanghyun had been in Korea.

Part of it was because Sanghyun never showed off, but a big reason was that they didn’t know much about Korea. The Black people in Compton, who had difficulty receiving proper education, wouldn’t have known that a country called Korea existed on Earth if it weren’t for CEO Kim Wan-joon.

Compton didn’t have internet access throughout the entire area, and even where it was available, the internet was incredibly slow. This was due to the difficulty of management because of frequent shootings and robberies, which hindered various services.

Sanghyun’s house was located on the outskirts of West Athens, adjacent to Compton to the south, and this area also had frustratingly slow internet. However, Compton was much worse.

Because of this, very few rappers in the Compton area had seen KRS-One’s “The Way We Live” video clip on YouTube. Some might have heard the song in a CD shop, though.

Naturally, they didn’t know that Sanghyun had collaborated with KRS-One.

Thanks to this, after Sanghyun finished his long-awaited star activities, the Psychedelic members held a debate on the topic of ‘How popular was Five, really?’

And that debate soon turned into ‘Is Five popular with Korean girls?’ and finally morphed into ‘Despite all this, is Five gay for not meeting girls?’

“I’m not gay!”

Sanghyun firmly resolved to translate 56 JFTR [an inside joke or reference] into English someday.

They spent a pleasant time wandering around Black Street until the sun began to set in the distance.

However, as time passed, tension began to fill the faces of Westrun and Mel, who were about to perform on the Compton Black Block stage.

The performance was starting in just two hours.

It wasn’t just Westrun and Mel who were performing at Compton Black Block. Although he was relying on Standard’s power, Sanghyun was also on the lineup.

Westrun, trying to relieve his tension, took a drink and suddenly asked Sanghyun.

“Five, aren’t you nervous?”

“Not really.”

“You were so nervous until yesterday. Your expression was completely stiff.”

“I wasn’t nervous, I just had something to think about.”

“Really?”

As Westrun shrugged, Beaver spoke up.

“But everyone knows Hoodman is on the lineup, right?”

“Of course, I heard. Do you think he’ll take off his hood today?”

“Is Hoodman that good?”

“I heard he’s good. I haven’t heard him myself.”

“Me neither. Who among us has the money to go to TNT [likely a venue or event]?”

“That’s true. I heard from a friend in Stanton that Hoodman hasn’t performed at all for the past week or two?”

“Really?”

Since none of the Psychedelic Records members made money by selling drugs, most of them were working in factories. Even then, all except Westrun and Mel were on night shifts.

Therefore, none of them had the opportunity to see Hoodman.

“I think Hoodman is a rookie from a major label doing marketing tailored to Compton Black Block. Or maybe a very famous rapper is doing a surprise show for the festival.”

“Would there be such a laid-back superstar? Who’s the guest rapper coming today?”

“Snoop Dogg and Warren G. The rest aren’t that great.”

“Warren G is coming, but not his brother Dre [Dr. Dre]?”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

“Isn’t that old guy coming too? The one who released an album recently.”

“Who?”

“Ah, I can’t remember his name all of a sudden.”

Then Westrun suggested to the members that they should grab something to eat since the performance was not far away.

Perhaps because everyone was starting to feel hungry, Sanghyun and his friends from Psychedelic Records headed to a nearby McDonald’s.

***

Hadel Raines had been following his uncle, who was the manager of the band Blue Cheer, since he was 14 years old, and had entered the music industry at a very young age.

The band Blue Cheer deserved the title of being the first in the heavy metal genre. They were the team that created the first mold of the heavy metal genre.

However, the titles of ‘The First of Heavy Metal’ or ‘The Godfather of Heavy Metal’ were all in the hands of Black Sabbath. Or maybe with Led Zeppelin.

Hadel Raines was convinced that he had realized the essence of an artist from that time.

‘An artist is created through music and completed through promotion.’

That was the conclusion Hadel Raines came to, and it seemed close to the correct answer at first glance.

Faster than anyone else, Hadel Raines predicted the end of hard rock bands and created LA metal (originally hair metal) by combining seemingly incompatible elements: ‘pretty faces,’ ‘flashy high notes,’ and ‘intense performances.’

The concert venues of metal bands began to fill with the screams of female audience members. Critics criticized that the essence of metal was being damaged, but the commercial success was undeniable.

Hadel made a lot of money, and the agency he set up became a super label.

At the time, his company, ‘H&R Inc,’ had 17 songs on the Billboard Hot 200.

His ambition at that time was to create an ‘eternal rock star.’

But he eventually failed.

LA metal had to give its place to Kurt Cobain as if its immense popularity had been a lie, and Kurt Cobain showed how an ‘eternal rock star’ is born in 1994.

It’s better to burn out than to fade away.

(It is much better to burn out all at once than to slowly fade away.)

The eternal rock star was completed by death.

Everyone predicted the decline of H&R Inc, but Hadel Raines still believed he could do it.

Their momentum had waned, but their representative band, LA Guns, was still going strong, and they had enough talent that they had discovered.

But after that, H&R Inc took a predicted downturn.

The singers were embroiled in various scandals, and astronomical lawsuits began to be exchanged due to contract issues.

The rookies he had ambitiously planned all recorded huge losses, and the musicians Hadel had nurtured struggled to escape his corporation.

Around that time, black music, led by hip-hop, emerged as the mainstream of American popular music. Hadel, who had lived with metal bands since he was 14 years old, could not accept hip-hop as music.

That’s how H&R Inc disappeared, and Hadel disappeared too.

Several local broadcasting stations offered Hadel, who created LA metal, high positions, but Hadel declined all positions and lived a leisurely life.

But in fact, his heart was full of anger.

To the musicians who failed to carry out the promotion properly, refused, and even escaped H&R Inc.

Eight years passed like that.

Hadel had become an adult who had lived half a century.

In the meantime, he received higher education that he had not received because he had been working as a manager since he was 14 years old, and he obtained a degree from a prestigious university.

And then he reflected on his past self.

Not everything was the artists’ fault. Of course, they were also at fault, but the primary responsibility for that lay with him.

So in 2006.

Hadel decided to make a comeback and decided to find an artist to burn his last flame.

Hadel traveled all over the United States and met all kinds of underground musicians. There were band players, solo vocalists, and even black music musicians that he hated so much.

But there was no one he liked.

He had been to England two or three times, but there was no one who satisfied him.

After a year and a half, when Haden Raines was gradually getting tired, he was at Compton Black Block, a hip-hop festival in Los Angeles.

***

Compton Black Block was a festival that was held in two main events.

The first was a stage for underground rappers in the LA area, and the second was a performance by mainstream rappers.

People naturally think that the second performance is more popular, but surprisingly, the popularity is similar.

Tourists often look for the second performance, but LA residents prefer the first performance. This is because the stories about the city they live in and the stories about the way they live come out.

There was one more reason why the performances of underground rappers were so popular.

That’s because scouters from labels active in California and other areas came to the stage to discover talent.

As a result, the competition among rappers to get on the Compton Black Block stage was fierce. For them, Compton Black Block was an opportunity that could change their lives.

In that sense, the Asian who came up as the third performer after the opening was a very unique being. Beyond being unique, black rappers couldn’t help but feel repulsed.

It wasn’t the first time an Asian had stood on the Compton Black Block stage. A Korean-American named Dumbfoundead had been on stage before.

However, Dumbfoundead went on stage as the winner of the freestyle category, one of the most important cultures in LA hip-hop.

Traditionally, winners of the Open Mic Project Blowed [a well-known open mic night] were eligible to perform at Compton Black Block. So it was different from the Asian man on stage now.

This was why some audience members booed when Sanghyun, an Asian who went up on the Compton Black Block, appeared.

***

Hadel Raines watched the booed Asian rapper with an interesting expression.

‘Is he a Korean-American? Judging by the reaction, he doesn’t seem to be from Compton.’

The Asian man’s expression was calm. And it wasn’t acting. He didn’t know about his skills yet, but he was a very good musician in terms of mental aspects.

Perhaps it was also because the booing wasn’t that loud.

The current audience watching Compton Black Block seemed to be just under 10,000 people, but the actual booing audience was only about 100 people.

The Asian rapper revealed his rap name as FiveSix.

Hadel couldn’t help but think of the band Flatfoot 56. He had listened to their recently released album very well.

‘Is he flat-footed?’

While Hadel was having such a silly thought, FiveSix’s stage began.

“Oh?”

From the moment Hadel heard a few words of FiveSix’s rap, he began to like his tone and the way he developed his rap.

In particular, his ability to deliver lyrics was amazing.

Metal and rap were genres where it was difficult to deliver lyrics on a live stage, but this rapper was arguably the best in the world in terms of delivery ability alone.

Moreover, he was a rapper who not only delivered the lyrics, but also knew how to properly convey the emotions through the lyrics.

‘Not bad… no, he’s quite good?’

The fact that it wasn’t the unique lyrics of West Coast’s gangster rap was also a pretty big attraction. Even in the United States, gangster rap was a genre that was severely divided.

Moreover, Hadel personally hated gangster rap.

Death Row Records, one of the best labels in the 90s that had Dr. Dre, Tupac, and Warren G.

Suge Knight, the president of Death Row Records, was from a gang and was a real thug. He had a headache because of him more than once or twice.

Hadel was gradually falling into FiveSix’s stage. And it wasn’t just Hadel.

Quite a few audience members were showing positive reactions. But FiveSix’s stage soon ended.

Compared to other rappers who received three opportunities each, FiveSix only received two opportunities.

‘He’s good… but what’s missing?’

Hadel felt great potential in FiveSix’s rap.

There weren’t many flaws, and the level of completion was sufficient. If he released an album right now, he would be able to easily achieve gold (500,000 copies) if he had proper promotion and connections.

But something was a little lacking.

Something that he couldn’t put his finger on was missing, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.

There are some musicians like that.

Musicians who have great talent but give listeners a slight disappointment. And these musicians often self-destruct to fill that disappointment.

‘That’s a shame.’

Hadel thought about contacting FiveSix, but soon gave up.

If he was a band player, he would think about developing together, but unfortunately, he had never controlled a rapper [managed a rapper].

That’s how FiveSix went down the stage. He was booed when he came up, but he was able to receive a pretty good cheer when he went down.

‘I hope he does well.’

Hadel watched the Compton Black Block stage with that thought.

There were a lot of musicians who came up and down, but there was no musician like FiveSix.

‘Maybe it’s because I hate gangster rap.’

Before he knew it, the performance had passed two hours since it started and was reaching its peak. He could feel that better musicians were coming out as he went back.

‘Should I go now?’

There were many good musicians, but Hadel couldn’t think of a gangster rapper as his last ‘rock star.’

It was then. The audience began to stir, and Hadel began to hear a strange name, ‘Hoodman.’

< Verse 36. No Color > End

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