The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 67

< Verse 11. Hommie Vol.1 >

“Lee Sang-hyun from 888 Crew? Ah, right. He’s the guy who dissed Show Business, which was recently incorporated into our affiliate.”

Oh Yeon-ju couldn’t understand a word Hong Kyung-soo was saying, but she clearly heard the name Lee Sang-hyun.

“He’s the hottest guy in the hip-hop scene these days. He’s only released a few songs, but he’s already become a super rookie. He looks much better in person than in pictures.”

Oh Yeon-ju tuned out Hong Kyung-soo and focused on Lee Sang-hyun. It hadn’t been that long since they met, but he seemed taller.

‘Lee Sang-hyun is a rapper?’

She was amazed to see Lee Sang-hyun, who had made such a strong impression on her at their first meeting, rapping on stage.

*Don’t use my parents’ death as a card in the game you’re trying to play.*

It felt strange to hear the voice that had once rebuked her coming through the speakers. Oh Yeon-ju was lost in a strange emotion as she focused on Lee Sang-hyun’s rap.

‘He’s good.’

Lee Sang-hyun was good at rapping. Even Yeon-ju, who knew nothing about rap, could tell. Or, to be precise, from her perspective as someone who didn’t know much about rap, he put on a good performance.

There was a strange power in his rap that drew people in. Plus, he was clever. When he mentioned the names of different regions to encourage the audience to respond, she felt like she had to join in.

“He’s really good.”

Hong Kyung-soo grinned at Yeon-ju’s words.

As a hardcore hip-hop enthusiast, he was happy that Oh Yeon-ju had reacted positively.

“Right? Actually, about half the reason I came to the show today is because of that guy.”

“Yes? Why?”

“I want to hear the live performance of ‘F*** the Show Business,’ and I also want to recruit him into Oh Kyung ENT [Entertainment].”

Hong Kyung-soo is the team leader in charge of the music division in the media content field. For him to talk about recruiting meant he was talking about signing him to the agency.

“Are you saying you want to debut him as a singer?”

“That’s right. That guy is really marketable.”

Hong Kyung-soo made a hmm sound and stroked his chin.

“He still looks a bit young, but his face is good enough, his height is decent, and his proportions are good. He’s not an insanely good rapper, but he has something that draws people in beyond his skills.”

“I see.”

Yeon-ju thought it was a promising idea. Oh Kyung ENT was the second most successful agency in Korea after SM Entertainment. It was a dream agency for most aspiring singers.

Of course, there were still issues like unfair contracts and profit exploitation, but compared to other companies, Oh Kyung ENT was a good company.

‘If he’s serious about his dream of being a musician, he should join an agency. Oh Kyung ENT would be a good choice.’

Lee Sang-hyun’s *Gwangju UP* ended, and the next song, which continued the enthusiastic atmosphere, began. It was a song called *So Tight*, and it featured a female rapper.

Hong Kyung-soo’s eyes widened.

‘That girl is good too? First of all, she has the looks.’

Contrary to her oriental and feminine appearance, her tight and well-organized rapping was quite attractive. Also, there were few female artists in Korea who could rap properly besides Yoon Mi-rae.

Hong Kyung-soo watched the stage and thought that 888 Crew had a lot of talent.

Aside from Lee Sang-hyun and the female rapper, another rapper was ambiguous to be the main, but he was talented enough to debut as a group.

Regardless of Hong Kyung-soo’s thoughts, the wonderful performance continued. Hong Kyung-soo soon fell into the stage.

Oh Yeon-ju also fell into the stage like Hong Kyung-soo. It was a very exciting stage that she had never seen before. But for some reason, she didn’t get as deeply immersed as when she heard *Gwangju UP*.

It was because she kept feeling like she was missing something.

‘Did I have something to do at work……?’

But nothing came to mind. Oh Yeon-ju focused on the stage again.

***

*Gwangju UP* – *So Tight* – *Coffee Machine* – *Background* – *Do Dream*.

The enthusiastic performance of 888 Crew continued according to the set list.

888’s stage was incomparably better than during practice. It wasn’t just the difference between having audience response or not, but the quality of the stage itself was different.

‘Amazing.’

Sang-hyun finished the *Gwangju UP* and *So Tight* performances and waited backstage, enjoying the members’ performances. He could see the members growing as they performed.

*Mix Up.*

In sports, to actively exchange pinches by demonstrating skills beyond one’s capabilities.

The 888 Crew members were mixing up, feeling each other as colleagues and rivals. Sang-hyun was already looking forward to the work that the crew members would create after this stage.

“Wow……! They’re really good.”

“I think we messed up the lineup order…….”

“Sang-hyun, aren’t you guys being too intense? What about us, the older guys?”

Bae Ga put his hand on Sang-hyun’s shoulder as he waited backstage. Sang-hyun smiled awkwardly.

The last performance team of the day, scheduled after 888 Crew. The Stars Records members, including Bae Ga, were constantly groaning.

Sang-hyun felt proud as he watched their expressions.

As expected, 888 Crew’s stage had tremendous explosive power. Thanks to that, it was very enjoyable to see the other rappers’ expressions changing seriously every time a song came out.

The rappers watching the stage showed a slightly different reaction from the audience. Of course, they also enjoyed 888 Crew’s rap. But they couldn’t just purely enjoy it. Inevitably, they were analyzing 888 Crew’s music from the perspective of a rapper and musician.

And some of them had something to feel after listening to 888 Crew’s music. Something beyond the hip-hop of 2005, influenced by Sang-hyun.

‘Can this performance advance the glory of the Korean hip-hop scene?’

The Korean hip-hop’s Big Bang that Sang-hyun remembers is 2007-2008. A time when various hip-hop expressions and methodologies exploded based on the music of Verbal Jint, Swings, Dok2, Minos, San E, Supreme Team, etc.

If he could, Sang-hyun wanted to bring it forward by just a few months.

‘With our crew members.’

Then, with a roar of cheers, *Do Dream* ended.

Among the set list, *Coffee Machine* received the biggest cheers after *Gwangju UP*. However, since *Gwangju UP* was already known through videos, *Coffee Machine* was the most popular as a debut song.

*Do Dream* was no less popular. People who saw 888 Crew’s performance today would definitely say this: 888 Crew is not Lee Sang-hyun’s one-man team.

With Ha-yeon’s hook, the beat of *Do Dream* faded. People cheered.

“Thank you so much.”

Jun-hyung grabbed the microphone, panting. Not only Jun-hyung but also Ha-yeon and Min-ji, the performers of *Do Dream*, were panting.

‘It’s this hard.’

To be honest, even when practicing, I wanted to do more performance songs. If there was enough time, I wanted to do about ten songs. But after singing three songs in a tense state, I couldn’t dare to do any more.

My throat is dry and I’m out of breath. I think my voice is a little hoarse.

‘It’s not over yet.’

But it’s not over yet. They still have one song left.

Jun-hyung, who had gulped down bottled water, opened his mouth again.

“Many people call us Palpalpal [888 in Korean, pronounced Pal-Pal-Pal], but our team name is Palbaek Palsipal [Eight hundred and eighty-eight].”

-Palpalpal! Palpalpal!

The cheers of the audience like a frog burst out.

“Okay. Palpalpal. What does the name matter? Anyway, I have some complaints while working as a crew, and one of them is this guy, Lee Sang-hyun.”

Ha-yeon and Min-ji’s eyes were on Jun-hyung because it wasn’t a promised comment. Jun-hyung smiled and continued.

“Sang-hyun likes to show off so much. He likes to step out too. So many people think of Sang-hyun when they think of Palpalpal.”

“That’s right. But honestly, Sang-hyun is the worst in our crew. The audience did everything for *Gwangju UP* today, what did he do?”

Ha-yeon took over Jun-hyung’s joke. Min-ji, who guessed the atmosphere, joined in.

“But he’s so pretentious, he’ll brag that *Gwangju UP* was the best after the show today, right?”

“Fortunately, the atmosphere of *Gwangju UP* has continued to this point. I’m so glad that Sang-hyun can’t show off.”

Sang-hyun behind the stage had an unfair expression, but it didn’t reach the audience. The audience who laughed at Jun-hyung, Ha-yeon, and Min-ji’s jokes guessed that Lee Sang-hyun would come out again from their tone.

Yes, Lee Sang-hyun hasn’t sung *F*** the Show Business* yet.

The live performance of *F*** the Show Business*, which had gathered the most expectations after the lineup was revealed.

-F*** the Show Business!

Suddenly, the *F*** the Show Business* call came out. Jun-hyung waved his hand.

“Woah, woah, woah, if you do that, that guy will become arrogant!”

While Jun-hyung was joking and wasting time, Ha-yeon and Min-ji’s breathing became comfortable. Jun-hyung, who was watching, brought up the main point.

“This song is our 888 Crew’s group song. We have a lot of affection for it as it is the first song created by all the members of the crew.”

At Jun-hyung’s gesture, In-hyuk, Hwan, and Sang-hyun, who were waiting, came up on stage. The audience, not tired, burst into another cheer.

“Scream!”

When Park In-hyuk, who was excited, shouted, the audience screamed even louder.

“The title of this song is *Eight, Eight, Eight*. The chorus was also released as a teaser video. You know what it’s about just by hearing the title, right?”

*Eight Eight Eight* was a song that received a lot of attention from many people, although not as much as *F*** the Show Business*. When the *Hommie Vol.1* hidden guest clip was released, a debate about the song broke out among hip-hop fans.

Then Sang-hyun, who came on stage, grabbed the microphone.

“Wait a minute. There are more people who need to come up on stage before the song starts. There are six people on stage now, but in fact, there are eight members of our 888 Crew.”

Sang-hyun gestured to two people located close to the stage. It was Sang-mi and Woo Min-ho. Woo Min-ho, who was pointed out, widened his eyes and pointed at himself, and Sang-hyun smiled and nodded.

“Hyung [older brother/male friend]. Bring the camera up. It’ll break during the performance if you leave it there.”

The eyes of the people near the stage were on Woo Min-ho and Sang-mi, who were flustered. And when Sang-mi and Woo Min-ho came up on stage, applause from the kind-hearted audience burst out.

“This hyung used to be active in Get a Grip, a graffiti crew, but he has been with us for a while. Hyung, introduce yourself.”

“Ah, hello. I’m Woo Min-ho, and I’m in charge of DJing and video directing at 888 Crew.”

“I’m planning to edit and post the video I took today on the bulletin board, so please pay a lot of attention. And this is…… my mortal enemy, my younger sister. She’s not a very important person. Don’t introduce yourself.”

As Sang-hyun moved away from Sang-mi, Sang-mi slapped Sang-hyun on the back of the head and snatched the microphone. The audience burst into laughter.

< Verse 11. Hommie Vol.1 >

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