The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 253

< Verse 40. The Unknown Factor >

***

“At this rate, MTB might become more popular than MTV, don’t you think?”

This was a statement made by a comedian in LA on a local broadcast, perfectly capturing the rising popularity of MTB.

It was said in jest, but it wasn’t entirely a joke.

That’s how hot MTB’s popularity was, especially in LA, rivaling even the biggest rap stars in the US.

There were many factors contributing to their popularity. But no matter what anyone said, the biggest reason was simply that their rap was good.

In truth, collaboration albums were always a big gamble.

If the balance between the rappers was off, or there was a clear skill gap, or their styles clashed, a collaboration album could do more harm than good.

Moreover, even if all the above conditions were avoided, if the lineup didn’t create a synergistic effect, it would all be for nothing.

If putting talented musicians together was a guaranteed win, a collaboration album between Whitney Houston and Madonna would have been released a long time ago.

In this sense, MTB’s synergy was highly praised.

-An album showcasing the consideration of three rappers with different colors and cultures.

-A deep understanding of collaborating musicians within the rapper-like swagger created exquisite synergy.

-The coolest hip-hop team born amidst the trend of genres excluding bands disappearing.

Kendrick Lamar’s unique, high-level lyrics and straightforward rapping.

J. Cole’s unique, genuine lyrics and lyrical rapping.

FiveSix’s unique, top-down, sophisticated lyrics and rapping that possessed both dryness and richness.

These were the appealing elements of MTB’s rap.

However, rap elements weren’t the only reason for their popularity.

MTB’s popularity also stemmed from ‘diversity,’ something solo musicians could never have.

Hardcore hip-hop fans favored Kendrick Lamar the most among MTB’s members.

Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics, which would later earn him the reputation of being the best lyricist among all musicians of the 2010s, had a way of driving hip-hop fans wild.

On the other hand, female fans liked J. Cole the most.

His handsome looks, honesty, and lyrical vibe had the power to stir women’s hearts.

In fact, rappers rarely had handsome looks. The fact that T.I., who now reigns as the king of the Dirty South, was able to gain popularity as a rookie was largely due to the fact that there hadn’t been a rapper with handsome looks who made ‘strong music’ until then.

Kendrick, supported by hardcore listeners, and J. Cole, supported by female fans.

In contrast, Sang-hyun didn’t have a significant support base in the US, except for Asian ethnicities.

However, this didn’t mean he was unpopular.

Rather, Sang-hyun was the most publicly recognized member of MTB.

‘He has as much influence as Tupac and Biggie combined?’

‘He opened the Golden Era of Korea, they say.’

‘He went platinum in that small country?’

The American public showed great interest in Sang-hyun’s greatness.

Because the more amazing Sang-hyun was, the more a certain proposition shone.

-Despite all that, he gave it all up and came to America.

Americans had strong individualistic tendencies, so it might not seem like it, but they actually had a very strong sense of national pride. It wasn’t hard to find lines like ‘Because this is America’ in Hollywood movies.

Therefore, the more impressive Sang-hyun’s past achievements were, the more valuable American hip-hop felt, as he had given up everything to come here.

Interest in how great a musician Sang-hyun was in Korea increased, and the media slowly began to report on Korean hip-hop.

It was obvious that increased exposure would lead to increased popularity.

Around that time, the WorldStarHipHop interview was released.

***

The interview with WorldStarHipHop, conducted in a relaxed atmosphere, was enjoyable.

The interviewer was PM, a hip-hop producer actively working in New York.

In fact, Sang-hyun didn’t know much about PM, but J. Cole told him that he was a producer who perfectly executed New York’s unique newschool sound.

“You’re taller than I thought?”

PM’s first words upon seeing Sang-hyun. Perhaps because of the perception that Asians are short, Sang-hyun often heard such comments.

“Kendrick’s short, though. It’s all stereotypes.”

“Yeah, it’s all stereotypes. But it’s also true that breaking those stereotypes isn’t easy. Has an Asian ever caused such a big stir before?”

“There was one about 45 years ago.”

“Huh? What happened 45 years ago?”

“I heard a Japanese person topped the Billboard Hot 100.”

Sang-hyun didn’t know this either, but after hearing Sang-mi’s fuss and reading articles in the Korean media, he learned that a Japanese person had topped the Billboard charts in 1963.

A Japanese singer named ‘Sukiyaki’ [Kyu Sakamoto] had surprisingly topped Billboard’s two major charts, including the Hot 100, for three weeks. Even more surprising was that the song that topped the charts was a song in ‘Japanese’.

However, unlike today, the US in the 1950s and 60s was a time when foreign songs were quite popular. The reason the Grammy Awards were launched in 1959 was to promote ‘the development of American songs’ in response to foreign songs.

The Korean media was also promoting Sang-hyun’s chart entry as the first achievement since the 80s, when foreign songs disappeared from the American charts.

‘A feat, huh…….’

Sang-hyun was someone who aimed for higher ground rather than being satisfied with the past. Therefore, a desire to get on Billboard with a Korean song someday, before he died, was smoldering in his heart.

“Alright, let’s do the interview.”

At that moment, PM, who had been chatting with Kendrick and J. Cole, clapped his hands.

They soon each grabbed a bottle of beer and began to talk.

Because the location was a bar, it felt more like being at a bar with an older brother than an interview. If it weren’t for the fact that the entire bar was rented out and recording engineers, stenographers, and photographers were watching them.

“The team name that came out when the single was released this time was Golden New Era, is that the meaning I think it is?”

“It’s correct, but it also has a double meaning. It means we’re going to make enough money to wear a New Era [brand of baseball cap] made of gold.”

“Is it not related to KRS-One’s mention that FiveSix opened the New Era of Korea?”

“Actually, the word Golden New Era came out while talking about Sang-hyun, or FiveSix’s story in Korea. So it’s not unrelated.”

“Hmm. I’m suddenly curious, who’s the oldest? It’s a bit of a rude question, but I’m curious.”

The WorldStarHipHop interview was a little different from the interviews Sang-hyun had experienced in Korea.

If Korean interviews approached with the goal of extracting information about the musician, American interviews seemed to have the goal of becoming friends with this musician.

“I’m the oldest.”

PM asked the question, and J. Cole, born in ’85, raised his hand. Next was Kendrick Lamar, born in ’87, and last was Sang-hyun, born in ’88.

Asking about age in the United States was often considered rude, and even if they asked, they often forgot. This was because there was no difference between older and younger siblings in terms of language or attitude.

Also, because they aged after their birthday rather than on January 1st, the calculation was complicated. If Sang-hyun’s birthday was in March and Kendrick’s birthday was in December, the ’88 and ’87 liners were the same age for 9 months.

“Then who has the longest music career? Let’s just go with the first mixtape to make it easier.”

Kendrick released his first mixtape in 2003 at the age of 16, and J. Cole released his first mixtape in 2000 at the age of 15.

“Sang-hyun, what about you?”

“I released it in 2005. It wasn’t a solo mixtape, it was a mixtape from our team called 888 Crew.”

“Really? Then what was the reaction when everyone released their first mixtape…….”

PM, who had been talking for a while, suddenly stopped talking. Receiving curious glances, PM, who was deep in thought, looked at Sang-hyun and asked.

“Something’s weird, isn’t it? You said you released your first mixtape in 2005?”

“Yes.”

“I know you stayed in the LA rap scene for about a year? Right?”

“I came to the US in early 2007, and I came to LA around October 2007? I traveled across the US for about half a year.”

“Then your activities in Korea were until the end of 2006? How can a rapper who released his first mixtape in 2005 be evaluated as having opened the Golden Era of Korea? It doesn’t make sense in terms of timing, does it?”

Sang-hyun was taken aback by PM’s words.

PM added to Sang-hyun’s bewildered appearance.

“Oh, I’m not doubting you. KRS-One isn’t someone who would say nonsense, I’m just curious. I apologize if it sounded like I was grilling you.”

“Ah, it’s not that…….”

Sang-hyun didn’t need to be flustered because he hadn’t lied.

He was just flustered because, after hearing PM’s words, he realized that the time he had spent making music in Korea was much shorter than he thought, and he had accomplished unbelievable things in that short amount of time.

Sang-hyun began to explain.

“The first mixtape I released in 2005 was very popular. I first gained attention with a track I released before the mixtape. And I released another mixtape in 2005, and I think about 30,000 copies were sold before I left Korea?”

“30,000 copies?”

“At the time of its release, it was the second-highest-selling mixtape. No, was it the first?”

Starz Records also eventually sold 30,000 copies, but he didn’t remember the record at the time of release.

“Then you’re telling me you sold 500,000 copies of your next album?”

“Yes. The two albums I released in 2006 each sold about 500,000 copies.”

During the Golden Era of the US, PM was a student who was deeply into hip-hop. He wasn’t a musician at the time, but he was a maniac who knew the market situation well. So he knew what Sang-hyun’s words meant.

Like Run-DMC and N.W.A’s albums, it meant that they had changed the market situation. From a market where 30,000 copies were sold to a market where 500,000 copies were sold.

‘Isn’t that crazy?’

Hearing the specific numbers was a lot more impactful than hearing ‘amazing’ through KRS-One.

After that, the interview continued.

Questions continued about how [the music] was made, who the producers of the tracks were, and how it felt to enter Billboard.

PM was once again surprised that all of MTB’s tracks were made by J. Cole and Sang-hyun.

“Is this the first time a Korean has entered Billboard?”

“Um…… there have been a few in the sub-charts, but this is the first time in the major charts.”

Singer Kim Bum-soo had his name on the Hot Singles Sales Chart in 2001, and Skull’s Stony Skunk had ranked 4th on the R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales Chart in 2007.

However, the Singles Sales Chart tended to be regarded as a lower-level chart of the Singles Comprehensive Chart. This was especially true after major singers such as Mariah Carey caused a major stir in the late 90s and early 2000s by manipulating the sales charts.

Of course, that didn’t mean that the musicians’ efforts could be belittled.

“How’s the reaction in Korea?”

“Well…… they’re just cheering us on a lot.”

Sang-hyun answered with an awkward smile.

In fact, he was a little embarrassed because Hadel Raines was preparing a major lawsuit against Korean media outlets and commenters.

The interview, which had been going on for 4 hours, finally came to an end.

Perhaps because of PM’s way of speaking and attitude, the Golden New Era members quickly became close to him. J. Cole was already familiar with him.

“So, what’s the next plan? Kendrick?”

“An album I worked on with Black Hippy members will be released soon. They’re killer guys. I’ll probably be distributing it through H&R INC, so I’ll have to play in bigger waters.”

“Then is Golden New Era activity temporarily suspended?”

“I don’t know. It depends on Hadel Raines’ plan.”

Kendrick shrugged.

“Okay. J. Cole?”

J. Cole didn’t have any special plans. He just wanted to release a solo album as soon as possible, reflecting what he had learned from making MTB.

“FiveSix?”

“The reason I traveled around the US for about half a year was because I wanted to understand American society more deeply. In terms of language, emotions, and culture.”

“That’s a very important part.”

“As I traveled around the US, I imagined rapping in the US a lot. Where to rap, what kind of rap to do. And every time, there were three rappers who never left my imagination. In a way, they account for a large part of why I came to the US.”

“Who are they?”

“Jay-Z, Kanye West, Eminem.”

“Kanye’s a bit unexpected. Oh, I don’t mean he’s lacking in his career, but his career is relatively short.”

In fact, there were originally three more rappers in Sang-hyun’s imagination. Two of them were next to him, and the other was Big Sean.

“I have a chance to work with one of them. No, I should say I have a chance to get a chance to work with them?”

“Can I ask what that opportunity is?”

“I’m going to catch the unknown factor.”

PM’s eyes widened at Sang-hyun’s words.

“The unknown factor?”

“Yes.”

The unknown factor.

X-Factor.