The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 72

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The 888 Crew returned to their daily lives. To be precise, Sanghyun, Junhyung, Hayeon, and Sangmi, who had to go to school, were the ones who returned to their daily lives.

The 888 Crew members, who had been enthusiastically eating and drinking at the Stars Records studio, fell asleep at 4 AM and woke up at 2 PM.

Thanks to Park Inhyuk’s insane safe driving, reminiscent of a Korea Road Traffic Authority’s safe driving CF [Commercial Film, a type of advertisement], they arrived back in Gwangju at 8 AM.

‘I’m never letting Inhyuk hyung [older brother or male friend] drive again.’

Until October 3rd of next year, when he could finally get his driver’s license, it seemed better to use the train or bus.

“Haaam-”

Sanghyun yawned widely.

He had been dozing off since the morning class, but he was still sleepy. Junhyung seemed to be the same. Whenever he woke up and checked on Junhyung, he was always asleep.

“You crazy bastards. Are you guys chickens?”

“I don’t know. I’m sleepy.”

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“No. We just have to hang in there for a few more hours until we get off work anyway.”

“Is this a company? Getting off work?”

Sanghyun waved his hand at Woocheol, who was trying to wake him up, and tried to fall back asleep. It wasn’t enough to doze off during class; he had to get a good nap during lunch.

Even as he drifted off to sleep, Sanghyun smiled contentedly, thinking about Club Homie’s performance.

‘It was awesome.’

It had already been two days, but the heat of the performance didn’t seem to be dying down. And the same was true in the online community, Hiphopplaya. Starting with the article by critic Ryu Jehyun that was posted on the dawn of the performance, all sorts of posts began to heat up the community.

Of course, the Club Homie performance itself was so great that the topics of the posts were very diverse. But among them, the one that listeners mentioned the most was, of course, the post about the 888 Crew.

There were two main types of posts about the 888 Crew. The first was posts asking for information about the members of the 888 Crew.

-Who are the members of the 888 Crew? How many members are there in total?

-Who were those two female rappers who performed then? That pretty girl was so good.

-I thought they were both pretty?

-I like Park Inhak more than the girls? That person is totally my type.

-Is that a woman?

-It’s a man.

After Sanghyun and Junhyung, Hayeon received the best reviews. Perhaps it was natural, because except for Yoon Mirae, there were not many well-known female rappers in Korean hip hop yet.

Hayeon’s rap wasn’t amazing, but her style, which combined the delicacy unique to women with the solidity unique to hip hop, was enough to earn her bonus points from listeners.

Of course, the most attention was focused on Sanghyun.

-How old is Lee Sanghyun? He looked so big in the video. How tall is he?

-He didn’t look that big when I saw him at the concert hall?

-That’s because the stage was high then. Stars Records’ Wooyeonwoo is 188cm tall, but he didn’t look that big.

The posts kept coming, but no one was able to give a clear answer. In fact, that was inevitable. Except for Sanghyun and Junhyung, who were known through show business, there was little information about the 888 Crew members that was known to the outside world.

Eventually, when even nonsense appeared that Sanghyun’s rap name was ‘Lee Sanghyun’ and that he had a separate real name, Sangmi couldn’t stand it and organized a post on Hiphopplaya.

* The Reality of the 888 Crew

-J.Bro (Shin Junhyung). 1988. 03. 15.

Representative song: Gotta Move, ‘Eight, Eight, Eight’

Position: 888 Crew’s Hollywood-style leader.

No dating experience. Very forgetful.

-56 (Lee Sanghyun), 1988.10.03.

Representative song: Gwangju UP.

Position: Nag, money source, Sangmi’s brother.

I wish he wouldn’t turn his socks inside out.

His rap name is corny, hahaha.

-In-Hulk (Park Inhyuk). 1982. 05. 05.

Representative song: Uh-Slang, Coffee Machine.

Position: ‘Keu’ [a Korean onomatopoeia for clearing one’s throat, often used to express authority or disapproval] authority.

Pretends to be a law student.

Keu.

-Humill (Kim Hwan). 1982. 03.28

Representative song: Background.

Position: In charge of concert invitations and management.

Specialty: Pretending to be the only normal one in the 888 Crew.

Pretends to be a Yonsei University student. I’m jealous.

-Lucy (Shin Hayeon). 1988.01.16

Representative song: Do Dream, Only Today.

Position: Mixing slave (best at mixing)

Specialty: Melody rap. Being pretty. Hayeon unnie [older sister or female friend] is pretty.

She’s one grade higher, but she’s worried because Lee Sanghyun and Shin Junhyung speak informally to her.

-Manuel (Oh Minji). 1983. 09. 30

Representative song: Do Dream.

Position: Kant fanatic. Her rap name is also taken from Immanuel Kant.

Specialty: Using difficult words. Showing off her philosophy major. But she goes to Yonsei University.

She only speaks Seoul dialect when filming music videos. Minji unnie is glaring from behind.

-Woo Minho. 1982. 07. 02

Position: Art director. Music video director. DJ. Lee Sanghyun follower.

Specialty: Complaining that he has to redo the work.

The most common thing he hears is, ‘Shut up and get on with it, hyung.’

His greatest achievement is the 888 X 888 logo design.

His home is in Daejeon, but he joined the crew and settled in Gwangju. Thanks to that, he was dumped by his girlfriend.

★ Lee Sangmi. 1990. 04. 11 ★

Position: Manager and 888 Crew cartoonist. Unfortunately, Lee Sanghyun’s younger sister. Studying art work. Shows genius.

Pretty. Very pretty. In just 5 years, she’ll have the beauty potential to take over Korea.

She will soon start serializing a webtoon [digital comic] titled ‘888 X 888’ on the Internet. It’s a fun webtoon based on a true story, so please look forward to it!

Cyworld homepage. www.Ciworld.com/Sangme

Welcome to apply for 촌 [chon – a Cyworld feature similar to adding friends].

Lee Sangmi didn’t write this post.

Sangmi’s post, ‘The Reality of the 888 Crew,’ received a huge number of views and recommendations as soon as it was posted, and quickly became an announcement.

She wrote the post to be funny, but she was embarrassed because she couldn’t edit it once it was posted as an announcement. Also, the comment ‘Writer Lee Sangmi’ was posted a lot.

“Oppa [older brother or male friend], how do people know I wrote this? That’s weird?”

“……You’re not serious, are you?”

“O-of course not.”

Sangmi was a little embarrassed for a moment, but she quickly felt better because there were many comments saying it was funny. She got excited and started accepting 촌 applications and writing guestbook entries.

In the meantime, Sanghyun read Sangmi’s post again.

‘Representative song. Does Sangmi think Gwangju UP is my representative song?’

Sangmi had written the introductions in front of all the crew members. So everyone laughed when Junhyung begged her not to write ‘no dating experience’ or when she wrote ‘Keu’ authority in Park Inhyuk’s introduction.

But there was a moment of silence when Sangmi wrote each person’s representative song.

“The representative song is just based on the verse I like, so no picking on it!”

The representative songs that Sangmi wrote were, strictly speaking, a bit erroneous. For example, a song like Gotta Move was Sanghyun’s song, ‘Lee Sanghyun Feat. Shin Junhyung.’ Also, Eight, Eight, Eight was not a song by any one person, but a group song.

However, Sangmi decided on Gotta Move and Eight, Eight, Eight as Junhyung’s representative songs. The reason was very simple.

“I like this verse the best out of Junhyung oppa’s verses?”

In fact, Sanghyun agreed with Sangmi’s words. Gotta Move had some shortcomings, but Junhyung’s verse in Eight, Eight, Eight was literally a machine gun pouring into his ears.

“Sangmi, so you like Background the best out of my verses?”

Sangmi nodded at Kim Hwan’s question.

Sangmi unknowingly set fire to the hearts of the 888 Crew members.

‘I’m going to make a really killer solo song!’

The second most popular topic was a song.

Fuck the Show Biz.

Apart from questions about the members, there were overwhelmingly more posts about Fuck the Show Biz.

-I know why people watch musicals. It’s really creepy. When Lee Sanghyun says things like he’s been programmed and shouts Fuck the Show Biz, chills run down my spine.

-Bae said on Cyworld that if there was no encore, he wouldn’t do Fuck the Show Biz. It’s really non-fiction.

-Honestly, I don’t think it’s non-fiction, but I can’t deny that it was really cool, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction.

-Lee Sanghyun has star quality. I didn’t feel like he was a great rapper, but he has a way of attracting people.

-Lee Sanghyun can’t rap? Look at this bastard pretending he’s seen the concert without even coming.

-When did I say he couldn’t? I said I didn’t feel like he was good. Based on the basics, it’s a solid rap.

-Lee Sanghyun, the Jay-Z of Korea.

-Jay-Z is too much of an overstatement. Just because his tone is a bit similar and he likes rap metal, does that mean he can be compared?

-I’m not saying that, but his lyrics style and rawness are similar.

-Not at all. Jay-Z is East Coast hip hop, but Lee Sanghyun is closer to West Coast hip hop.

-What era is this that you’re dividing East and West with sound?

-Gwangju is in the south, so it’s Southern hip hop.

-Then is Jeju Island Dirty South?

Sanghyun thought he had gained a lot through this performance. Of course, the biggest thing was the recognition of the 888 Crew.

The only minor complaint was that he wanted to be called FiveSix instead of Lee Sanghyun, but that wasn’t the case?

‘The Homie boss is all sorted out, too.’

As soon as the performance was over, Sanghyun got Bae’s number from Homie and called him. The Homie boss readily accepted the greeting and said that he didn’t know the inside story of the show business. Then, after exchanging pleasantries, they ended the conversation amicably, saying that they hoped to see each other again at the next performance.

In a way, it was the most sensitive issue, but it was a relief that it ended smoothly.

Now, all that was left was to plan the 888 Crew mixtape and the performance hosted by the 888 Crew. Of course, he also had to prepare for pre-arranged performances such as the Chungjang Festival.

‘Was there anything else booked besides the Chungjang Festival……?’

So Sanghyun dozed off, half asleep and half planning for the future. Before he knew it, school was over.

Sanghyun shook Junhyung, who was still sprawled out asleep. Junhyung woke up in a daze, looked at the clock, and quickly packed his bag. Suddenly, he was full of energy.

“Junhyung, are you going to the practice room?”

“No. I have to go home today. It’s my mom’s birthday.”

“Oh? It’s your mother’s birthday? I should give her a call later.”

“Okay. Come over with Sangmi on the weekend. Let’s have a meal.”

“I should.”

Junhyung headed home, and Sanghyun headed downtown. It was to buy a birthday present for Junhyung’s mother.

Junhyung’s parents, who were full of affection, had given a lot of help to Sanghyun and Sangmi, who had become orphans. In addition to bringing them side dishes on a regular basis, they helped them with various things.

Even if he usually offered them money for the side dishes, they would never accept it, but he thought he should repay them at times like this.

‘What should I buy?’

Sanghyun walked around the department store looking at autumn coats and scarves. It was still hot, but it was ambiguous to give summer clothes as a gift because summer was not far away.

While Sanghyun was walking around the department store for a long time to choose a gift, he received a call from an unknown number.

“Hello?”

-Ah, hello. Is this Lee Sanghyun’s student’s cell phone?

“Yes, it is, but who is this?”

-Hello. Nice to meet you. I’m Go Won-guk, a deputy in the public relations team of the Gwangju Tigers.

Gwangju Tigers?

Sanghyun made a puzzled expression at the unexpected affiliation of the caller. What would a baseball team call him for?

End