The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 286

< Verse 44. The End >

***

Sanghyun’s first studio album, , sold 3.2 million copies in 2009 alone.

It ranked 7th in worldwide album sales for 2009, but the 4th and 5th spots were taken by Michael Jackson’s special albums, released after his death that year.

So, in reality, only four people were above Sanghyun.

Of course, some might still feel that four people were too many.

This was because Sanghyun’s album had shaken up the entire US and dominated most of the headlines, making it a disastrous release for competing musicians.

However, one fact that should not be forgotten was the release date of Touch The Sky.

Sanghyun’s album came out on the last day of September. So, the staggering number of 3.2 million copies was achieved in just three months.

As of the end of January 2010, the album sales had increased even further, nearing quadruple platinum (4 million copies).

J. Cole’s had sold 1.3 million copies to date, achieving platinum status, and Kendrick’s album, despite being considered less commercially viable, had shown its potential by selling 1.6 million copies.

The media, who were keenly observing the competition between the three musicians, often used these expressions:

-FiveSix in terms of album sales.

-J. Cole in terms of single sales.

-Kendrick Lamar in terms of support from rap enthusiasts.

The media’s words were not wrong.

However, in reality, it wouldn’t be strange to say that Sanghyun had already secured a victory.

First, when compared to J. Cole, Sanghyun was far ahead in album sales, but the difference in single sales was only about 50,000 copies.

In fact, it was known externally that J. Cole had surpassed Sanghyun by a huge margin when it came to singles alone.

This was due to the Hot 100 rankings. J. Cole had achieved high rankings on the Hot 100 with club tunes like ‘Work Out’ and ‘New York’s Crown’.

However, when actually calculated, Sanghyun’s singles were gaining momentum and continuously narrowing the gap.

‘I Swear,’ which was receiving rave reviews every day, and ‘Lonely Road Part 2,’ which was nominated in the R&B field at the Grammy Awards, were examples of this. Gold Digger, with Eminem, was also recording high sales.

So, the difference in single sales between J. Cole and Sanghyun was very small, and there was a possibility that sales could be reversed as time went on, given the nature of the songs.

The comparison with Kendrick was similar.

The vague indicator of support from rap enthusiasts was something the media put forward to highlight Kendrick’s characteristics, and the support from rap enthusiasts for Sanghyun’s album was by no means lacking.

Decisively, Sanghyun had a record of tremendous significance.

He was the rap musician who had held the number one spot on the Billboard album chart for four consecutive weeks, the longest since 2000.

Given this situation, the more people talked about the Grammys, the more Sanghyun’s dominance was predicted.

The question was ‘how many awards’ he would win, not whether he would win at all.

-Honestly, at this point, he can’t not receive it, right?

-But doesn’t it remind you of Eminem in 2002? Back then, everyone acted like Eminem’s main award was already decided. But it wasn’t.

-But Eminem had a lot of controversies. Like highly provocative lyrics and celebrity diss marketing [publicly criticizing other celebrities]. Everyone knows the Grammys are a conservative organization, so it seemed a bit difficult for Eminem.

-And in 2002, there hadn’t been a rapper who had won a main award yet. Outkast won in 2003.

-And as we saw at last year’s Grammys, the status of rap music has risen a lot. The Grammy old-timers seemed to finally acknowledge the trend of the times. FiveSix’s win is 100% likely.

-Aren’t Beyoncé and Taylor Swift’s sales much higher?

-It’s almost the same as Beyoncé, and a bit behind Taylor. But there’s a big difference in release dates, so, whatever.

-And FiveSix is unparalleled in terms of the diversity of his music and breaking the prejudices and limitations of rap.

-No matter what, I don’t trust the Grammy old-timers. Honestly, MJ [Michael Jackson] should have received twice as many awards as he did now. How many awards did he miss out on because he was black?

-Certainly, Jackson was a person ahead of his time. If he had appeared just five years later, he would have received more Grammy Awards.

-Well. I think black musicians would still be discriminated against if Jackson hadn’t appeared. And the same goes for Asian people like FiveSix.

-FiveSix’s award this time will be proof of the path that MJ paved in American popular music history, and the path that Eminem paved in the rap scene.

-But Bell Force is just dissing him.

-Who’s Bell Force?

-You know, the LA musician that FiveSix mocked at the BET Hip Hop Awards [an award show celebrating hip hop music and culture].

-Ah, that idiot?

-Yeah, that idiot.

-Bell Force, suffering eternally.

Days filled with anticipation continued for the public and the H&R INC musicians.

As every year, this year’s Grammys were also held at the Staples Center in LA, so the Golden New Era members who arrived in LA caught up with friends and prepared for the Grammy’s celebratory performance with a relaxed mind.

Although the Grammys were only a week away, they had already decided on the song selection and stage format in the plane, so there was no rush.

As January passed, and on a day when the Grammys were only two days away, a party was held.

It wasn’t a big party, but a small party by H&R INC for the musicians who had been running non-stop from MTB until now.

-The beginning was humble, but the end will be great!

A cliché phrase that many venture companies kept shouting, but now it’s a tired phrase.

That became the phrase that accurately represented the appearance of this H&R INC party.

Hadel sending invitations ‘as a matter of course’ to those who participated in the albums of the affiliated musicians without much thought was the beginning of the incident.

“Uh……!”

“What’s wrong? Huh?!”

Westrun and Mel, who were invited to the party through Sanghyun, were smoking outside the party venue when they were surprised.

This was because the face of the person getting out of the car and walking towards them now was unreal.

Nas and Jay-Z participated in J. Cole’s album, and Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and The Game participated in Kendrick’s album.

Himewawa, Melody, Eminem, and KRS-One participated in Sanghyun’s album.

Logically, these people would not accept an invitation to a small party. They were musicians who received huge amounts of money for one stage, one song.

However, surprisingly, many of the musicians who received the invitation flew to LA.

The reason was that the Grammys were being held in LA two days later, so they came for that reason, but in reality, it was different.

They were curious.

In what kind of environment and in what way do you make music so that all the albums from one company record platinum and get nominated for a Grammy?

In that way, a lineup that could easily mobilize about 50,000 spectators was completed, and a boisterous party began.

“Is it okay to just walk into enemy territory like this?”

“What enemy territory? Where’s Hadel?”

“You weren’t an enemy, but an industrial spy.”

Sanghyun joked to Jay-Z, and Jay-Z burst into laughter.

The two musicians who were currently most likely to win the Grammy’s main award were Jay-Z’s wife, Beyoncé, and Sanghyun.

Also, Jay-Z was the president of the black music label ‘ROC NATION,’ which was trying to catch up with H&R INC.

“Did you prepare your acceptance speech?”

“I’m writing that more than lyrics these days.”

“When you were making Touch The Sky, did you ever think about wanting to receive a Grammy?”

Sanghyun recalled his conversation with Standard at Jay-Z’s question.

‘Let’s do it.’

‘What?’

‘Billboard Album Chart #1. Billboard Single Chart #1. Album Sales #1. Even the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.’

‘You have to do that much to reach the sky?’

Sanghyun wasn’t necessarily aiming for a Grammy.

He just wanted to prove it and get evidence.

And as he diligently ran, the evidence left in front of him was just the Grammys.

‘Well, I didn’t even get to #1 on the single chart.’

Then Jay-Z asked.

“So, what are you going to do after you get a Grammy?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t even received it yet.”

“There’s a rumor going around that you’re in a slump?”

“Wow, the rumor’s already gone that far?”

“Because you’re the hottest musician. The speed of rumors is always proportional to popularity.”

“I don’t know if I’m in a slump. Usually, if you’re in a slump, you’re tormented and frustrated, right? I’m not like that.”

“There are cases like that.”

“What kind of cases?”

“The case where you’ve decided to quit music.”

“I don’t think that’s it. What would I live on if I quit music?”

The moment Sanghyun smiled, Hadel spoke from behind.

“What are you guys talking about, enemies?”

“Ah, Hadel. There’s an industrial spy here. Report him.”

Hadel chuckled and held out his hand to Jay-Z.

Hadel, whose activities overlapped with Death Row Records, had met Tupac and Biggie, but this was his first time meeting Jay-Z. This was because Hadel had left the music scene around the time Jay-Z was starting his career and trying to move into the mainstream.

But when they actually talked, it wasn’t like that.

“Ah, so the rapper in the recording booth at that time was……?”

“That was probably when I first met Biggie and Primo. I was selling drugs in Brooklyn and got called in.”

“Biggie was really amazing back then. When the rumor spread that Juicy was a freestyle, I was sure it was a lie for marketing.”

While Hadel and Jay-Z were reminiscing about the old days, the party continued.

With all the musicians who participated in Sanghyun, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar’s albums, except for Eminem and Nas, the party was naturally filled with music stories.

And the musician who was attracting the most attention among them was Melody.

Melody was also the only vocalist at today’s party, except for a few vocalists invited by J. Cole, and she was also a vocalist who was evaluated to have tremendous potential.

In particular, the strange singing style that coexisted with both innocence and sexiness in Lonely Road Part 2 with Sanghyun stimulated the inspiration of many rap musicians.

“Sanghyun.”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s go out.”

“Why? Do you smoke weed too?”

“What are you talking about? It’s hot.”

Sanghyun, who had been throwing darts with Schoolboy Q for a while, came out of the party with Melody, who was trying to escape from the musicians’ love calls.

The party venue wasn’t like a hotel, but Hadel’s mansion in a quiet suburb of LA, so you could go outside with just a short walk.

“It was hot inside, but it’s cold outside.”

“Because it’s winter.”

“Is Korea colder than here?”

“Um…… maybe similar? I think it’s a little colder.”

“What are you going to do after the Grammy Awards?”

“Why are so many people asking me what I’m going to do after the Grammy Awards these days?”

Melody answered Sanghyun’s question.

“Because I want to be with you.”

“Huh?”

“I want to be with you. I’m confessing now.”

“Uh…….”

While Sanghyun was momentarily embarrassed by Melody’s nonchalant expression, Melody said again.

“I just said it. I thought I should say it.”

Sanghyun suddenly remembered what Melody had said when he was doing a showcase.

‘Yeah, you’re not gay. You can’t be gay.’

‘Huh? Why?’

‘Um……. Because your female fans lining up in Koreatown will be sad?’

“So the answer…… is still No?”

“I’m asking like this because I know it’s not.”

“……Sorry.”

“You have someone you love in Korea, right?”

Sanghyun suddenly had someone in mind at Melody’s question.

Sanghyun wasn’t an idiot, not a child, and not someone who didn’t have a clue. That’s why he knew that the person who came to mind now liked him.

And he felt the same way.

‘No, am I already clueless? I realized it a little while before coming to America.’

He had been too busy, and when he realized his feelings, his trip to America had already been decided, so he couldn’t take any action.

But now it wasn’t.

He was sure that there was one more person to show the trophy to when he returned to Korea.

“Did I give you certainty?”

“Sorry.”

“If you’re sorry, feature on my album. For free.”

“That’s after consulting with Hadel…….”

“Wow, that’s too much. To a pitiful and unpopular musician trying to rise from the wounds of hardship.”

“Unpopular? Someone who has already received more than ten feature proposals today?”

Melody chuckled at Sanghyun’s words.

It was certain that she had liked Sanghyun alone, but today’s confession was a kind of closure. It was like evidence needed to completely clear her mind.

There seemed to be no room to squeeze into Sanghyun’s heart.

“Let’s go in. It’s cold.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, right. If you have someone you like, show it a little. Buy a ring or something and wear it.”

“It’s not allowed for the female fans lining up in Koreatown.”

Melody shook her head.

Just looking at it, Sanghyun seemed to think that this kind of thing would never happen again anyway.

It was a bit much to interfere in other people’s love affairs, but Hime’s mental anguish seemed to be drawn.

-Smack!

Melody slapped Sanghyun on the back.

“Ouch! What!”

“Punishment.”

“It hurts! But why is it familiar……?”

“What are you saying?”

Sanghyun thought that the subtle pain he felt on his back somehow tasted familiar, like his mother’s miso soup, and entered the party venue.

Even though the two had disappeared, the party continued.

Kendrick was freestyling on one side, and Westrun and Schoolboy Q were throwing darts at each other on the other side.

Hadel was watching the scene and hoping that this party would continue to the Staples Center two days later.

***

< Verse 44. The End >

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