The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 37

< Verse 4. Cross Over >

As Sanghyun started rapping, the musicians who had been standing with their arms crossed changed their expressions.

‘What is this?’

It was because they heard an unexpected sound.

If I capture it as it is, I can never

Reverse it. It’s easier to do it my way

To do my own thing, to try, and maybe to give up

That situation is more comfortable

The original ‘Gotta Move’ recorded on MP3 was an unaccompanied rap without a beat.

Since unaccompanied rap is a song done freely without rhythm, the lyrics would typically be adjusted to fit a beat. But Sanghyun didn’t want to change a single word of ‘Gotta Move’.

This was Sanghyun’s starting point and a monumental track in his musical journey.

‘If I can’t change the lyrics?’

He could change the way he delivered the rap.

So, Sanghyun took a particular rapper as a role model and started working on ‘Gotta Move’.

Big Sean, a rapper from Detroit.

He was active in the underground scene until his street freestyle deeply impressed Kanye West, and he joined Kanye’s team.

Signed to G.O.O.D Music [Kanye West’s record label], he made his mainstream debut in 2011.

2011 BET [Black Entertainment Television] Hip Hop Awards Rookie of the Year.

2011 BET Hip Hop Awards Album of the Year.

2012 BET Hip Hop Awards Best New Artist.

He started his career smoothly, sweeping awards from his debut, and has been at his career high since 2014, showing no signs of slowing down.

Sanghyun was convinced that if you could score a rapper’s talent, Big Sean’s score would be in the top handful in the world.

The first Big Sean song Sanghyun heard was ‘Beware’, released in 2013.

After graduating and getting a job, he hadn’t been able to keep up with new music, and this song, which he encountered late, completely changed Sanghyun’s rap taste.

Big Sean’s ‘Beware’ featuring Jhené Aiko and Lil Wayne was a revelation to Sanghyun because Big Sean’s verse existed on a strange boundary between melody and rap.

Saying fuck you, I miss you or I hate you so much. Cause girls only say “hate you” to the guys that they love.

Especially when he heard this part of ‘Beware’, he was so impressed by the smooth melody that he listened to it dozens of times.

Sanghyun modeled the ‘Gotta Move’ verse after Big Sean’s rap style, and the work yielded very interesting results.

By bringing the expression method of 2013 to 2005…….

A song that drove musicians crazy came out.

If it doesn’t work, forget it. To become Better Than if it works out well

Multiply it several times

Get used to hearing it. Success is like summer.

You never know it’s coming until you try it.

The vocalist of Golden Finger opened his mouth wide, completely absorbed in Sanghyun’s rap.

‘What genre is this? Is this hip hop?’

The hip hop he knew was noisy, full of cursing, and music that wasn’t art, just shouting with a rhythm and no melody.

But this was different.

If this wasn’t music, then what on earth was musical art?

‘What should I call this?’

The standard for my actions is always all of my dream

The crosswalk the Beatles walked on is Green to me

Freedom is not free, freedom is my root

The picture of my mind that Picasso can’t express

I think like this, so I’ll act like this

Maybe it’s a fight that’s sure to fail

But if I do something that’s like me

Something will appear.

It borrowed the form of rap, but it was full of attractive melodies, even though it wasn’t technically a song.

He swore it was a way of rapping he had never heard before in his life.

‘Why are the lyrics so easy to understand?’

It was a shocking sound, especially for musicians who weren’t yet familiar with the diverse expressions of hip hop.

‘Fuck, it’s fucking awesome.’

The curse slipped out naturally.

The Golden Finger vocalist felt a sudden desire to do a song with Sanghyun, then shook his head. Lee Kyungmin would definitely freak out if he knew.

‘Ugh, if that bastard had only paid the practice room rent…….’

He focused on the rap again, resolving to go home and listen to more hip hop music after the performance.

“Wow!”

“Kyaa!”

He was grateful to the audience for shouting.

‘First stage.’

The first stage in the true sense. First song.

He needed to get even more excited.

Even though the electric guitar was already going wild at Sanghyun’s gesture, the drums, which had been sounding dry and unmoving, finally started an all-out bombardment.

-Doo doo doo doo!

At the same time, Sanghyun shouted. The audience realized that their turn had come.

“Everyone together!”

“movin’ it. move it! Gotta Move!”

The audience’s chorus was a completely new sensation.

Goosebumps.

“Louder!”

“movin’ it. move it! Gotta Move!”

“One more time!”

Junhyung joined in and shouted. Sanghyun and Junhyung now took their mouths completely off the microphone and made exaggerated gestures. They were so excited that they couldn’t control themselves.

Minsik’s electric guitar arrangement was perfect. Everyone was moving to the sound of the electric guitar and drums.

“Gotta Move-!”

Sanghyun couldn’t help but burst into tears.

How could he have lived without knowing this world? The world of seeing the audience on stage. It took him a really long time to choose this path. 20 years.

Is this a chance my mother and father gave me?

With a bang! The drums and electric guitar finished playing. The shouts continued.

Sanghyun looked around for a moment and then quietly muttered, slightly out of breath.

“movin’ it. move it…….”

Yeah.

“Gotta Move…….”

Sangmi finally shed tears. She knew where Sanghyun’s gaze was directed: Mother and father in heaven.

“Your brother is so cool…….”

“Seriously, he’s fucking awesome! I’m going to be your brother’s fan from today!”

Her friends were making a fuss.

Even when Sangmi brought her friends today, she had a vague anxiety about what if her brother didn’t do well.

There were so many people behind them, so she was worried her friends would complain about the heat and the temporary stop in the performance.

However, once the performance started, Sangmi’s friends liked Junhyung’s rap even more than Sangmi did. Sangmi felt proud and puffed up her chest.

When her brother finally started rapping, she strangely kept crying, constantly thinking about how happy her parents would have been to see her brother doing what he loved so much.

Sangmi could see that her brother was thinking the same thing as her on stage. Eventually, the tears she had been holding back flowed.

‘I have to try too,’

She knows that her brother is worried about her agoraphobia [fear of places and situations that might cause panic, helplessness, or embarrassment] and keeps trying to be with her. Maybe he couldn’t meet more people and couldn’t practice more because of her.

She is still scared and afraid when she is left alone in a crowded place without her friends or brother. She gets cold sweats and feels nauseous. But it’s something she has to overcome someday.

So, is that what her brother was telling her?

Gotta Move.

‘It’s just the first song, what’s with this drama [진상, Jin Sang: Korean slang for someone who is being overly dramatic or making a scene].’

Sangmi wiped away her tears. She was so grateful to her friends for pretending not to notice that she was crying.

“Lee Sanghyun, fighting [fighting: Korean expression of encouragement]!”

When Sangmi shouted loudly, the friends around Sangmi also shouted after her.

“Brother, fighting!”

“Sanghyun oppa [oppa: Korean term used by females to address older brothers or male friends]!”

Then, the middle school girls standing on the left side of the stage glanced at this side and shouted loudly.

“Kyaa!”

“Oppa, you’re so cool!”

This time, Sangmi’s friends glanced at them and shouted even louder.

“Kyaaaa!”

“Woo-oh-oh-oh!”

Sangmi quietly moved away from her friends. Being grateful and being embarrassed are separate things.

< Verse 4. Cross Over > End

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