The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 40

< Verse 4. Cross Over >

***

The ‘Band L&S8 Crew’ performance concluded successfully, and the performers and their acquaintances, eager to continue the celebration, relocated to a nearby all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ restaurant.

They rented the entire second floor, separating the adults from the minors. As the grilling began, even the initial awkwardness between those who had never met before quickly dissolved.

The center of attention at the after-party were the L&S members, the stars of the performance, along with Miju, and Sanghyun and Junhyung from the 888 Crew.

However, these key figures had to briefly excuse themselves from the festivities.

Surprisingly, Hwang, the editor-in-chief of *Show Business*, a well-known magazine among musicians, had requested an interview.

“The individual interviews are a great start. Could we delve a bit deeper into the performance itself? I should mention that I’ll be summarizing and condensing this section for publication.”

“Yes, of course,” Minsik replied.

“First off, was the ‘cross over’ theme part of the initial planning for the performance?”

“Ah, no, not at all. I was initially drawn to Sanghyun’s performance and the rap-metal genre, which led me to invite him. My initial thought was simply to have him as a featured guest for a few songs.”

The members of L&S nodded in agreement with Minsik’s explanation.

“But how did the 888 Crew’s involvement become so prominent?”

“Firstly, it was Junhyung joining the lineup. The dynamic of one rapper with a band is qualitatively and quantitatively different from that of two rappers. Had the 888 Crew been formed just a month earlier, and if the other members could have participated, we might have achieved a collaboration that filled half the show’s runtime.”

“Two rappers…”

Editor Hwang nodded, typing rapidly on his laptop as the recorder blinked, capturing Bang Minsik’s voice.

“You mentioned Junhyung joining as the primary reason? Were there any other factors?”

“Well, it’s nothing major, but I was surprised by how many songs Sanghyun and Junhyung had. I asked them to share some tracks they were considering for a couple of collaborative pieces, and they just kept coming!”

“Oh, really?”

Editor Hwang turned his attention to Junhyung.

“How many songs do you have?”

Sanghyun and Junhyung exchanged troubled glances. It was a difficult question to answer precisely.

“Our songwriting process differs from that of a band, so it’s hard to quantify our song count… You could consider the songs we performed today as the official repertoire of the 888 Crew.”

“Hmm? So, the other songs are works in progress?”

“Not exactly… From the moment we conceive a theme, sketch the lyrics, and select a beat, it goes on the list of potential songs. But we can’t just let anyone hear them. They capture emotions that are unique to our team.”

Editor Hwang frowned at Sanghyun’s ambiguous response. He struggled to grasp their meaning.

“Sanghyun, let me rephrase: When you decided to perform with the L&S band, how many songs were immediately ready to perform?”

“One.”

“One?”

“Yes. Just one song called ‘Run this town,’ which is a cover of Run-DMC’s ‘Walk this way.'”

Not only Editor Hwang but also the members of L&S looked bewildered by this unexpected revelation.

“Then what were all those songs you brought to practice every day?”

“Those were songs we created the day before. Or Junhyung and I would grab beats on MP3 and write them at school.”

“What?”

Everyone except Junhyung looked astonished at Sanghyun’s answer. Sanghyun understood the difference in perspective between different genres.

Rap is a genre where the completion time of a song is unpredictable, even with a beat. It might take 10 minutes, or a year of revisions. However, this difference in production methods shouldn’t be a basis for judging the quality of different genres.

For example, Jay-Z’s legendary album *The Blueprint* (2001) was produced in just two weeks. The lyrics were completed in only two days.

Some might dismiss it as a rushed album, but *The Blueprint* topped all Billboard charts, produced top 10 singles, and is a critically acclaimed masterpiece.

Furthermore, some songs, or verses, were recorded with ‘freestyle’ (improvised rapping) without pre-written lyrics.

Therefore, Sanghyun believed that production time in rap was irrelevant. Of course, he also had songs like ‘Gotta Move’ that he labored over for nearly a month.

“Are you comparing yourself to Jay-Z?”

Editor Hwang asked with a sly grin. Sanghyun waved his hand, smiling.

“Hey, Editor. And songs like ‘Gotta Move’ took a long time to finish.”

“I see. How long has Sanghyun been involved in music?”

“Well? It’s hard to say precisely.”

Sanghyun had a specific moment in mind when he decided to pursue music, but he was embarrassed to admit his relatively short career.

However, Junhyung chimed in that it hadn’t even been three months yet, which surprised Editor Hwang.

After that, the conversation continued with lighter topics.

They discussed the future of hip-hop and band music, Miju, the guest keyboardist, and even stories about respected musicians.

The interview stretched far beyond an hour, reaching two.

“Finally, I’ll ask each team leader one question. First, what is the near-term goal of the band L&S?”

“Uh, first and foremost, it’s to win an award at the Jeonju World Wide Indie Music Festival in August.”

“Hmm. Are you participating in the band competition?”

“Yes.”

Editor Hwang nodded at Minsik’s answer.

“And what about the 888 Crew?”

“Um…”

Junhyung hesitated, looking to Sanghyun for guidance, but Sanghyun pretended not to notice.

“We want to make sure that when anyone in Gwangju thinks of ‘hip-hop,’ they think of the 888 Crew.”

“That’s a near-term goal? That’s ambitious.”

“Ah… near-term goal…”

Junhyung scratched his head, eliciting laughter from everyone. Editor Hwang chuckled and closed his laptop.

“Okay, that concludes the interview. The contents will likely appear in the July issue of *Show Business*, in the music interview section. The release date is August 1st. I’ll need to get your approval on a few things beforehand.”

“Approval?”

“Ideally, I’d publish the full interview, but space limitations prevent that. Some of the conversation will be edited in the summarizing process. I’ll do my best to maintain the original nuance, but some musicians are occasionally dissatisfied.”

“Ah, that’s fine.”

“And would it be alright to include the performance poster photos and the photos I took during the performance in the magazine? With captions, of course.”

“Of course. Please use a flattering photo, if possible.”

Editor Hwang laughed at drummer Hwang Insoo’s joke. They shook hands with smiles and parted ways. L&S, Sanghyun, and Junhyung returned to the all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ restaurant.

“Let’s drink now!”

“Cheers!”

The enjoyable time continued as all schedules concluded with the interview.

< Verse 4. Cross Over > End

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