The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 61

< Verse 10. 888 X 888 >

***

The 888 Crew began to move in earnest.

The L&S8 performance, the show business interview incident, “Fuck Tha Show Biz,” and the Jeonju Worldwide Indie Music Festival.

It was a breathless series of events, but in reality, they hadn’t properly showcased the music of the ‘888 Crew’.

Until now, Lee Sang-hyun and Shin Jun-hyung, the two rappers representing the 888 Crew, had been at the forefront.

Therefore, the 888 Crew members preparing for the Hommie performance were excited, nervous, expectant, and fearful about the upcoming show.

“It’s blowing up!”

In the meantime, the teaser video of Hommie Vol.1’s hidden guest, the 888 Crew, began to receive tremendous attention.

Sang-hyun took the rare opportunity to examine the reactions of the hip-hop community one by one, because he himself wasn’t sure about the success of trap music yet.

‘The reaction is fifty-fifty.’

The overall conflict of opinion wasn’t between ‘good and bad,’ but between ‘okay and strange.’

That’s because proper trap music didn’t really appear in Korea until after 2012. In other words, Sang-hyun’s attempt was about seven years ahead of its time.

Besides, they only revealed the beat and the hook, not the rap. It was impossible to get a proper evaluation.

Of course, Sang-hyun didn’t bring the trap music sound of 2012 as it was. He didn’t have the ability to do that. He just slightly modified the 2005 trap sound established by T.I. and Gucci Mane.

But art can change a lot with very small differences.

It was very difficult for Sang-hyun, who didn’t know much about instruments or terminology, to ask DJ Standard to make a trap beat. Standard also had difficulty producing it.

In fact, Sang-hyun offered a beat fee because of the difficult work, but Standard refused the fee and readily worked on it. Thanks to that, a satisfactory sound was produced.

‘What can Eight, Eight, Eight be compared to in the future?’

Sang-hyun first thought of Illionaire Records’ “Yeon Gyeol Go Ri” [a popular Korean hip-hop track] and Future’s “Sh!t,” which became famous for plagiarism controversies in Korea.

However, “Eight, Eight, Eight” was too tight to be compared to “Sh!t,” which is a typical mainstream trap music.

Next, he thought of Schoolboy Q’s album *Oxymoron*, specifically the first track, “Gangsta.”

Thinking about it, there were many similarities with “Gangsta.” He didn’t remember the verse lyrics well, but the hook was similar.

Would you call it a trap version of “Gangsta”?

“Hyung [older brother/male friend], you really worked hard. The video response is good.”

Sang-hyun smiled at Woo Min-ho, who was monitoring community reactions. It looked like a simple video clip, but it was a teaser that could only be made because of Woo Min-ho.

While working on the video, Sang-hyun realized the difference in sophistication between when Woo Min-ho captured the angle and when he captured the angle. He shuddered at the thought of how corny the video would have been without Woo Min-ho.

However, Woo Min-ho, who suffered from chronic lack of confidence, had been whining for days.

“No, Sang-hyun. Let’s delete that and upload it again. I’ll shoot something really killer for you again. We don’t have time for this!”

Sang-hyun ignored Woo Min-ho’s words without hesitation. Then Woo Min-ho made a tearful face.

“So many hip-hop fans in Korea are mocking me right now!”

Sang-hyun recalled the Woo Min-ho manual written by Kim Hwan, who used to work with Get a Grip.

-Woo Min-ho is never satisfied with his work. If he is not satisfied, he whines. If you accept the whining, he starts working on a new project. A new work comes out. Then he is not satisfied again. He whines again. Then it becomes whining whining whining. If you accept it there, he starts working again. He is not satisfied again. He whines. Then it becomes whining whining whining whining whining whining. It’s an infinite loop.

In fact, this work had progressed to whining whining whining.

“Min-ho oppa [older brother/male friend]!”

Woo Min-ho, who had been whining for a while, got up from his seat at Sang-mi’s call. Sang-mi was entering the studio.

“What?”

“Teach me some of the touches I learned yesterday.”

“Do you think you can learn from a piece of trash like me?”

“Um… Hwan oppa told me to say this when Min-ho oppa says that.”

“What words?”

“Shut up and teach me!”

Sang-mi said powerfully. Then Sang-hyun frowned.

“Lee Sang-mi! What kind of language is that to your oppa?”

“Hwan oppa told me to do it!”

Sang-mi grumbled and sat next to Woo Min-ho.

These days, Sang-mi was learning how to draw from Woo Min-ho and Kim Hwan. To be precise, it was the art style used in comics rather than drawing.

It had only been a few days since Woo Min-ho, whose home was in Daejeon, had been staying at Kim Hwan’s studio.

Originally, Woo Min-ho was only going to film the Hommie Vol.1 video and go back. But he kept postponing the date, and before he knew it, he was going to work at the 888 Crew studio.

‘Well, it’s helpful to Sang-mi.’

Also, Woo Min-ho’s DJ experience didn’t seem to be a lie, and he had a fairly deep understanding of sound. Sang-hyun was finally able to properly learn about mixing and equipment.

As lunchtime slowly passed, members gathered in the studio.

“Oh, it’s cool here.”

Starting with Park In-hyuk running to the air conditioner with a fuss, Kim Hwan and Oh Min-ji arrived at the studio. Finally, Ha-yeon and Jun-hyung of the ‘Shin Trio’ arrived.

The Shin Trio were Shin Mi-joo, Shin Ha-yeon, and Shin Jun-hyung.

Shin wasn’t a common surname like Kim, Lee, or Park, but there were a lot of Shins in 888. Sang-hyun sometimes jokingly told them to form a unit called New Scene.

“You know the performance is in four days, right?”

“Oh, what if I forget the lyrics?”

Oh Min-ji worried habitually. Even though she memorized the lyrics the fastest among the members.

“Strangely, I sometimes get confused with my lyrics, but I never get confused with Jun-hyung’s.”

“Oh, me too, hyung. I get confused with mine, but I can do full doubling on hyung’s. Perfect memorization.”

“Shall we switch verses?”

“Oh? I’m drawn to it?”

When Park In-hyuk and Jun-hyung started talking nonsense again, Ha-yeon slammed the table. Then Sang-mi screamed!

“Unnie [older sister]!”

It was because Sang-mi’s pen went off course when Ha-yeon hit the table, as she was drawing at the end of the table.

“Oh? I’m sorry. Sang-mi.”

“Lee Sang-mi! Why are you yelling at your unnie?”

“No, Sang-hyun, I made a mistake…”

The 888 Crew’s unique chaos began.

Oh Min-ji muttered the lyrics of each performance song, checking for mistakes, and In-hyuk and Jun-hyung began to sing each other’s verses.

Ha-yeon was flustered in the middle as Sang-hyun and Sang-mi argued because of Ha-yeon.

Min-ho, who was teaching Sang-mi how to draw, suddenly got excited about something and started drawing on A4 paper with a mechanical pencil. After drawing for a while, Min-ho wasn’t satisfied with the mechanical pencil and started drawing something using tools in earnest.

‘Oh, these crazy people.’

Kim Hwan, who was watching quietly, shook his head. Where did they gather all these crazy people? It’s so noisy.

Kim Hwan knew the special prescription for times like this.

-Tak!

Kim Hwan went to the corner of the studio and pressed a button.

Everyone’s eyes were drawn to the cheerful sound. The members could see the light coming on in the camera that had been set up on one side of the room.

“Should we start practicing?”

“Oh my, should we?”

Oh Min-ji smiled brightly, using Seoul dialect. Park In-hyuk laughed at the sight.

The camera that Kim Hwan turned on originally belonged to Woo Min-ho, but recently it was being used for monitoring performance practice. It was very helpful to understand the movement and gestures through the camera.

And another role was to capture the usual appearance of the 888 Crew. One of Woo Min-ho’s filming beliefs was to minimize ‘artificial situations’.

Of course, he had to act according to the situation when necessary, but his belief was that if he needed a glimpse of everyday life, he should use real everyday life.

Anyway, thanks to Kim Hwan’s wise actions, the 888 Crew’s practice began. The members were conscious of the camera at first, but as they got used to it, they gradually became dull.

The 888 Crew’s performance practice was almost at the end.

They agreed not to touch it musically anymore. This was because no matter how much they fixed it, parts that they didn’t like kept popping up.

Instead, they were paying attention to their proficiency in the song and their manners outside the stage.

“Hyung, about the ‘coffee machine’ hook, I was thinking about it yesterday, and I think it would be good to make the same gesture when singing the hook.”

“The same gesture? Are you suggesting we choreograph it?”

“No. Rather than choreography, I’m suggesting we set some points [specific, repeatable movements].”

“How?”

Sang-hyun went to the computer and played In-hyuk, Min-ji, and Hwan’s “Coffee Machine.”

“Coffee Machine,” which expressed musical inspiration as coffee beans and chose the material that each person’s color of coffee = rap comes out depending on the grinding method. It was a song that Sang-hyun especially liked.

Grinding in each way.

Blue Mountain, this is Climbing

Sang-hyun, who was nodding his head to the chorus, stopped playing and explained.

“When grinding, take the action of turning the handle with the hand that is not holding the microphone.”

“What is that? That’s weird.”

“Just try it once. It would be cooler to hold the microphone in your left hand and turn it with your right hand.”

At Sang-hyun’s request, Park In-hyuk, Kim Hwan, and Oh Min-ji, with suspicious expressions, stood in front of the camera. Their rap began, and the chorus also passed smoothly.

Park In-hyuk’s gesture, who had a bit of clumsiness, was awkward, but if you think about it, it was a gesture that suited Korean coffee with 3 sugars and 3 cream [a common, less refined coffee drink in Korea].

“Ooh.”

Jun-hyung, who was watching quietly, nodded his head. When he first heard Sang-hyun’s opinion, he thought it was corny, but looking at it like this, it has its own charm.

“Do you like it? Is it okay?”

“See for yourself.”

In-hyuk, Min-ji, and Hwan gathered their heads on the small camera screen. Sang-hyun smiled because the sight looked like baby birds sticking their beaks out to their mother bird.

“Oh, is it okay?”

“Hey, is my gesture a little weird?”

“Oppa, your gesture suits Korean coffee right now, so don’t try to do well for nothing.”

“Are you looking down on Korean coffee because you’re an espresso? Don’t you know that if I take out 3 sugars, I’m a Korean-style espresso?”

Oh Min-ji is espresso, Kim Hwan is Blue Mountain, and Park In-hyuk is Korean coffee. How could it fit so well?

Sang-hyun admitted in his heart that “Coffee Machine” was a great performance song. Sometimes the members who had no performance experience whined about what to do if they were embarrassed in Seoul, but Sang-hyun was confident that 888’s stage could cause a sensation.

Currently, the 888 Crew has prepared a total of 6 songs for the Hommie performance.

1. Gwangju UP – Sang-hyun

2. So Tight – Sang-hyun, Jun-hyung, Ha-yeon

3. Coffee Machine – In-hyuk, Hwan, Min-ji

4. Background – In-hyuk, Hwan, Jun-hyung

5. Do Dream – Jun-hyung, Min-ji, Ha-yeon

6. Eight, Eight, Eight – 888 Crew

* Fuck Tha Show Biz

< Verse 10. 888 X 888 > End

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