The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 297

Verse 46. Rapstar

***

The skies of England, more often cloudy than clear, were bright for once. And in that brightness, countless people began to move.

They weren’t going out for a picnic just because the weather was nice.

Of course, some might have been, but most people were headed to New Wembley Stadium.

The reason the public was heading to New Wembley Stadium was, needless to say, to see the hottest rap stars in the world.

But among them were some rather special people.

Those who felt awkward being included in the category of ‘the public.’

Those who felt more comfortable on stage than below it.

These were other stars who had come to see the stars.

Noel Gallagher, the main songwriter, lead guitarist, and vocalist of the band Oasis, was one of them.

“Times have really changed. To think there’d be a time when ‘rap’ would be attached to the word ‘star.'”

“Why? You had guys like Tupac and Jay-Z when you were active, right?”

“Yeah, but even then, it still felt like a minor culture, especially in England.”

“What about Eminem?”

“That guy’s treated like a grandmaster now, but when he debuted, he was just an idol who came out with a crazy concept. The band scene had plenty of crazy guys like Mötley Crüe, so he wasn’t anything special.”

Noel Gallagher chatted with his close friend, Jamie Carragher, a football player for Liverpool FC [Football Club].

As Noel Gallagher was talking, Jamie Carragher suddenly looked around the VIP seats and exclaimed in admiration.

“Golden New Era and FiveSix are really something.”

“They are. Especially FiveSix, he’s got a diamond record [an album that sells over 10 million copies]. A lot of critics were saying there wouldn’t be any more diamond records after the 2010s, right?”

As Jamie Carragher admired, there were various people in the VIP seats.

And most of them were treated as top celebrities even in England.

Simon Cowell, who’s been more active in the US than in the UK these days, was there, and so was Christopher Nolan, who was sweeping awards at various film festivals with his movie *Inception* released last year. Next to him was Christian Bale, who was greatly loved as Batman.

“There’s that Asian guy from Man U [Manchester United] too. Park, doesn’t he have the same nationality as FiveSix?”

“I think so? I know they’re both Korean.”

Besides them, many sports stars were seen.

“By the way, are they just leaving Winehouse’s fans outside?”

“It’s tricky. The more you react to that kind of thing, the bigger the reaction gets.”

“Hadel Raines must be having a headache too. Of all times for Amy Winehouse to pass away like that.”

“But he can’t just give up the tour, can he? He’d lose an astronomical amount of money.”

“I wonder how he’ll handle it.”

“He’ll probably say a few words of condolence. It’s not like he had time to prepare anything.”

Noel Gallagher said in a cynical tone.

Today, 90,000 people were able to enter the venue.

However, there were far more people outside New Wembley Stadium, most of whom were reporters and Amy Winehouse fans.

It wasn’t that there were a huge number of Winehouse fans. It was estimated to be just over 300 people.

300 people was an extremely small number compared to 90,000.

But their voices were by no means small.

-Rest in Peace. Winehouse.

The radical fans of Amy Winehouse were shouting that today’s tour was disrespectful to Amy Winehouse’s death.

Public opinion is something that can be created in an instant.

Especially when the public’s inclination is neutral.

Therefore, some of the fans who came to the concert today were watching the noisy behavior of Amy Winehouse’s fans and thinking, ‘Oh, is that so?’

In this situation, the UK’s tabloid journals, which are more aggressive than any other media in the world and love to find fault with celebrities, were not going to sit still.

Probably after today’s performance, there would be a flood of ridiculous articles for a while.

‘But if they had canceled the performance, they would have complained about that too,’ Hadel thought as he received reports from the staff.

But this was out of his hands.

Therefore, Hadel only gave one instruction to the staff.

***

Originally, before a performance, the songs of the lineup or the latest hit songs are played. This is because a warm-up stage is needed to raise the atmosphere at once when the performance starts.

However, today at Wembley Stadium, no songs were played until right before the performance started.

Not only were H&R INC musicians’ songs not played, but no songs were played at all.

“What’s this? Why is it so quiet?”

“Is the concert even happening?”

“Are you kidding me?”

Because of this, many people started to complain.

That’s because, although the performance starts at 7 p.m., people who came early had been waiting for more than 3 hours.

People sitting in reserved seats could at least bear it, but the 15,000 spectators who lined up from the morning for the standing seats, which were first-come, first-served, were bound to be very dissatisfied.

However, the moment the first song came out, people could understand why no songs had been played until now.

You went back to what you knew

So far removed from all that we went through

And I tread a troubled track

My odds are stacked

I’ll go back to black

The first music heard at New Wembley Stadium was Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back To Black.’

Amy Winehouse’s unique, inimitable voice, flowing with a dreamy beat, began to give many people a strange feeling.

Amy Winehouse left behind many lyrics and music videos as if she knew she would die young.

Most of her music videos were made in black and white with minimal color, so they felt like videos of a dead person.

The music video for ‘Back To Black,’ which is now being played on the giant screen at New Wembley Stadium, was no different.

‘He’s chosen the worst method,’ Noel Gallagher thought. He was known as ‘the smartest person in the rock music scene.’

The reason Oasis became so popular was not only because their music was good, but also because of Noel Gallagher’s clever course of action, aiming for a position representing the working class in the Britpop movement.

In his opinion, the method chosen by the Golden New Era Tour now was the worst.

Of course, the tribute to Amy Winehouse was conveyed to the people.

‘We’ve shown this much sincerity, so don’t say anything more.’

This was probably Hadel Raines’ message.

He seemed to value public opinion quite a bit.

But it was ambiguous.

Too ambiguous.

Starting the performance like this meant missing both opportunities. [referring to pleasing both the public and honoring Amy Winehouse]

It would have been better to ignore Amy Winehouse’s death and create a lively atmosphere, even if it meant getting some criticism.

Or, even if it was difficult, it would have been better to adjust the performance schedule and show a proper tribute.

In fact, the death of a fellow musician was something that one had to experience at least once while doing music activities.

It was up to Hadel Raines, the person in charge of the tour, but there was no need to place too much significance on the tribute.

‘Of course, there aren’t many cases where a lineup musician dies the day before the performance, and it’s rare for it to be a musician of Amy Winehouse’s caliber.’

As Noel Gallagher made an ambiguous expression, Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black music video ended.

‘Now he’ll probably say a few words of condolence and start the full-fledged performance. Let’s see the skills of the world’s best rappers.’

Noel Gallagher leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

However, the musicians of H&R INC did not move as he thought.

The performance started abruptly.

‘Huh?’

A moment later, his arms unfolded.

***

Ben Meldington was a huge fan of Amy Winehouse.

While other fans loved only Winehouse’s musicality and natural talent, Meldington loved even her skinny body and drug-addled eyes.

Because of this, he had even tried to commit an act of terror against Amy Winehouse’s husband, but failed and ended up in jail.

If Amy Winehouse hadn’t had extreme troubles with her husband, Ben Meldington would have really committed an act of terror someday.

To him, the Golden New Era Tour was unacceptable.

How could a performance proceed as scheduled when a musician who was supposed to be on stage together had died?

Especially when she died the day before the performance.

So Ben Meldington took a picket [a sign used in protests] and went to New Wembley Stadium, and with other fans who joined him, he was able to receive media attention.

“So do you think this performance is immoral?”

“Yes. Of course, I think it’s inevitable that the performance is proceeding due to capitalism. But I couldn’t just stand by and watch capitalism stand on death. I’m not a racist, but I think this is a choice they can make because they are people of color. They lack respect for British culture.”

Ben Meldington tried to pick out professional and difficult-sounding words as much as possible and argued to the reporters who were interviewing him.

His words didn’t make much sense.

But the reporters were chefs who were skilled at cutting out the front and back and then cooking it up sensationally.

At that time, a reporter pointed somewhere with his finger.

When Meldington turned his head, a group of men with STAFF marks were bringing a large screen from somewhere.

“What is this?”

“It’s a TV. Tuned to HBO channel.”

HBO was a British broadcasting station that had won the rights to broadcast the Golden New Era Tour this time. So the screen that the staff brought meant that they were also broadcasting the Golden New Era Tour to Amy Winehouse fans.

“Are they even accommodating the people who are protesting the performance?”

“Well. I don’t know. It’s an instruction from Hadel.”

The staff said that and disappeared.

‘Hmph. Do you think we’ll change because of that?’ Meldington thought.

But he couldn’t help but naturally turn his eyes to the TV.

And after a while, at 7 o’clock, the broadcast started.

However, the broadcast was not showing the Golden New Era Tour, but was broadcasting Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black music video.

When Amy Winehouse’s song came out, the 300 or so fans were silent. Some female fans burst into tears.

However, apart from this atmosphere, the reporters couldn’t understand why Amy Winehouse’s music video was suddenly coming out.

“Did they play it for a memorial?”

“If they were going to do that, they should have played it earlier. It’s already seven o’clock?”

At that moment, the music video ended and subtitles appeared in the blackened screen.

-Rest in peace. Amy Winehouse

-And,

-We dedicate this stage to the musician who will be remembered forever.

Soon, the screen switched and began to show the stage of the Golden New Era Tour.

Kendrick, dressed in black, was standing on the stage.

And one song was flowing out.

The song was Amy Winehouse’s famous song ‘You know I’m No Good.’

Meet you downstairs in the bar and heard

Your rolled up sleeves

and your skull t-shirt

You say “Why did you do it with him today?”

The moment the intro of the song started, people focused on the song.

But the song did not continue.

The moment the lyrics ‘Why did you do it with him today?’ came out, the song was cut off and silence was created, and Kendrick opened his mouth over the silence.

“We sang, Together.”

It was as if he was answering Amy Winehouse’s song.

At that moment, Amy Winehouse’s voice disappeared and only the beat of You Know I’m No Good remained.

From the beginning, this song was famous for singing sophisticated songs on top of rap beats. So it was not difficult for Kendrick to put rap on top of it.

But it was too perfect.

It was strangely perfect.

The lyrics were the same.

Kendrick began to say through rap that it was a time when everything was not going well when this song first came out.

At the time, he had no money, his rap was in a slump, and his friend had died. So he lived with the title of this song on his lips.

But he worked hard and was inspired by Amy Winehouse’s song. And finally, he became a person who could confidently say ‘I’m Good.’

It would be a lie to say that all of this is thanks to you.

But what is clear is that your song inspired me

That I was looking forward to performing with you.

And that I feel sad that I lost that opportunity.

It wasn’t an overly glorified tribute song.

There was not much direct contact between Amy Winehouse and Kendrick to do that.

Therefore, Kendrick was calmly respecting Amy Winehouse, saying that he was greatly inspired by her song, and expressing his regret for her death.

His rap ended with the lyrics, ‘You Know, She is Good.’

After that, the original chorus of Amy Winehouse started.

However, the lyrics ‘You Know That I’m No Good’ in the original chorus had already been changed to the last lyrics that Kendrick had spat out.

“What’s going on?”

“Well, I don’t know?”

The reporters who were watching the screen were embarrassed.

Amy Winehouse clearly died in the early hours of the day of the Golden New Era Tour rehearsal.

So, this song could not have come out in time.

You might think of it as a pre-prepared song, but the lyrics of the rap sung by Kendrick Lamar were clearly songs written at the present time.

“Is this a song made in just one day?”

“What? He must have written it in advance.”

“You heard the lyrics. Are these lyrics that can be written in advance?”

“That’s true…….”

That’s right. The ‘fundamental and obvious method’ that Hadel heard through Sanghyun was to make and sing a tribute song.

However, how many musicians in the world can choose this obvious method?

Logically, it was a stage where 90,000 people gathered, and it was a stage that was broadcast all over the UK. On such a stage, singing a song made in just one day was impossible without considerable confidence.

‘I don’t know. If that’s possible, do whatever you want.’

That’s why Hadel left everything to the musicians.

Kendrick was not the only one who did as he pleased.

The next stage of J. Cole that followed was also a tribute song made with Amy Winehouse’s ‘Love is a Losing Game.’

When Sanghyun came on stage after J. Cole’s stage, Rehab, which is considered Amy Winehouse’s representative song, was playing.

< Verse 46. Rapstar > End

ⓒ