The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 84

< Verse 14. Be the Underground >

***

Dread, the leader of the group ‘Code Name,’ frowned.

“Manager! Seriously, man. How can this be? I was told I’d definitely have this day off!”

“It’s just that the higher-ups suddenly gave the order…”

“Orders or whatever, how can they just suddenly schedule something like this? Ah, I had a date planned for that day. This is seriously messed up, damn it.”

“What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

The members of Code Name, having finished their rehearsal, rushed into the waiting room.

“We got a gig on the 6th.”

“What? Ah, seriously! It’s so frustrating, I feel like quitting…”

“What kind of gig? Baseball stadium? What is this, not even the Korean Series, just the semi-playoff opener?”

“Wait, this is in Gwangju? Gwangju is a seven-hour round trip? Ugh…”

“This is insane.”

As the Code Name members began to swear, the atmosphere quickly turned sour. Their manager, who was old enough to be their uncle, was at a loss, fidgeting nervously.

Code Name was an idol group in their third year since debut. Their concept was hip-hop.

In the early 2000s, the idol hip-hop group ‘1TYM’ dominated mainstream hip-hop, achieving massive success. They had a string of hits like One Love, Kweijina Ching Ching, and Hot.

Watching this, many agencies benchmarked 1TYM and produced hip-hop idol groups, and Code Name was one of the teams created at that time.

However, unlike most of the hip-hop groups created then that failed and disappeared, Code Name was still quite popular.

But the reason for their popularity wasn’t their skill. It was because the company deliberately formed them with only handsome members. These so-called ‘face fans’ (fans who liked them primarily for their looks) were Code Name’s main fan base.

Because of this, hip-hop communities, as well as most people who knew hip-hop, criticized Code Name’s musicality. Of course, Code Name didn’t care.

The manager stood there, unsure of what to do, so Dread, annoyed, sent him out of the room. Then, he sat down in the waiting room and lit a cigarette. Soon, the waiting room was filled with smoke.

The music show recording was about to start soon, but it didn’t matter since they were just lip-syncing anyway.

“Okyeong Ent isn’t any different. I think it was better when I was with my previous agency.”

“Nah, that’s bullshit. At least they pay us properly here. And we don’t have to suck up to those bitchy female CEOs and pour them drinks.”

“But why did they suddenly schedule this?”

Dread, after exhaling a mouthful of smoke, explained what he had heard from the manager.

“So, OMB is creating a baseball-focused cable channel?”

“Not just baseball, you idiot, it’s a sports channel, but it focuses on baseball.”

OMB was Okyeong Ent’s cable broadcasting station.

Okyeong Entertainment, to which Code Name belonged, handled broadcasting content, media companies, and media content. Singers like Code Name were under an agency affiliated with the media content division.

“So they’re broadcasting from the semi-playoffs? Then our performance will be broadcast on cable too?”

“Ugh, seriously, can’t you just do it roughly?”

“Roughly or whatever, you guys are just lip-syncing anyway.”

“The hell you’re not?”

Dread stubbed out his cigarette and spat on the floor.

“Just do it roughly, damn it. It’s not like they’re paying us more for doing a good job.”

“So how long is the performance in total?”

“Twenty minutes.”

“Wow, seriously. We have to drive seven hours for twenty minutes. What about other teams besides us? Are there any girl groups coming?”

“I don’t know. The manager mentioned some weird amateur names, but I don’t remember. Isn’t it on the schedule?”

“Nope. If they’re amateurs, they’re probably trot singers [Korean pop music genre] or dance teams. What a downgrade.”

“Why are you looking down on amateurs? They need to suck at their performance so we can shine even when we’re just phoning it in. That’s why we need amateurs.”

At Dread’s words, the members chuckled.

“Wow, this guy’s a creative genius? Look at that flexible thinking?”

“Hey, did you bang that girl?”

“No, damn it, I was going to bang her on the 6th, but now I have to go to that gig. Ugh, it pisses me off just thinking about it.”

“What’s so great about this dirty bastard that girls keep sticking to him?”

“Dirty guys attract dirty girls, I guess. You know, like attracts like?”

“This son of a bitch is showing off that he’s a high school graduate, using difficult words all the time.”

The Code Name members chain-smoked and shared lewd jokes until five minutes before the music show recording was about to begin.

***

As soon as the 2006 WBC [World Baseball Classic] was confirmed to be held, OMB, Okyeong Ent’s broadcasting station, began to comprehensively review the possibility of a baseball-focused cable channel. They predicted that the popularity of baseball would increase.

In conclusion, the plan to establish a cable channel dedicated to baseball fell through. However, OMB decided to create a program called ‘Baseball Story.’

Baseball Story was a baseball-focused program like the UK’s soccer-focused programs, broadcasting games and, after the games, covering player interviews, behind-the-scenes stories, in-depth game analysis, next game predictions, and other behind-the-scenes information.

And it was scheduled to start with the semi-playoffs on October 6th.

As they were working hard for the upcoming first broadcast, the head of Baseball Story received an interesting proposal from the PR team leader of the Gwangju Tigers.

It was a request for cooperation in broadcasting the performance video of Gwangju UP, who had started to gain popularity with their Han Gwang-soo’s cheer song.

“Have we always had invitation performances from the semi-playoffs?”

“Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t.”

“An invitation performance… it won’t be broadcast on terrestrial TV, right?”

“The Korean Series is sometimes broadcast, but the playoffs or semi-playoffs are almost never broadcast. It was broadcast once three years ago.”

“Then let’s broadcast it. Let’s emphasize the differentiation by covering everything from the pre-game event, the invitation performance, to the post-performance behind-the-scenes stories. What program was originally scheduled before the semi-playoff broadcast?”

“A V-League (volleyball league) game.”

“Perfect. I’ll talk to the higher-ups, so think of it as removing that and filling that time with our program. Gwangju says they’re bringing out a performance team that represents Gwangju, right? Talk to Incheon and ask if there are any singers they want. It would be good to go with a rivalry structure from the cheerleading competition.”

“It’s only a few days away, is it okay to proceed so urgently?”

“What do you mean a few days away? Can’t you handle that much in five days?”

“Understood. I’ll proceed immediately.”

“Put a brief report on my desk before you leave.”

Ignoring the sound of his subordinate dying [overworked], the head of Baseball Story began to calculate.

‘If I do some media play in advance, the performance will get more attention, right?’

***

Lee Hyun-hak’s Fall Baseball Talk! (2)

– Another factor that determines the victory or defeat of a game: Cheering!

Last February, there was controversy over Incheon Woo Ki-hyung’s cheer song during the KBO League [Korean Baseball Organization] exhibition game. Incheon used Woo Ki-hyung’s cheer song from his Daegu days, ‘Woo Ki-woo Ki, Woo Ki-cha Cha, Woo Ki-hyung hit.’ Upon hearing the news, Daegu announced its official position that Woo Ki-hyung’s cheer song could not be used in Incheon.

(Omitted)

Like this, cheer songs are a popular element of baseball stadiums. Fans memorize all the cheer songs of the team they support. In baseball communities, when a big trade occurs in their team, they post affectionate posts such as ‘Speed Cheer Song Memorization Course’ in order to sing the cheer song right away at the next game.

So, are cheer songs just a fun element? Not really. Professor Kim Yeon-il of the J University Sports Science Department also presented research results based on KBO data that the more enthusiastically cheered teams are, the higher the probability of winning.

(Omitted)

There is an even more interesting story involved in this Gwangju Tigers vs. Incheon Sky semi-playoff game. It is the cheer song battle that will take place at the invitation performance.

The cheer song for Han Gwang-soo, the ‘Fall Baseball Man’ who raised the Gwangju Tigers from 6th to 4th after the transfer, is Gwangsoo UP. Gwangsoo UP is a song created by arranging the song ‘Gwangju UP’ by the underground hip-hop team 888 Crew, which is active in Gwangju.

The 888 Crew, who are long-time fans of the Tigers, provided Gwangju UP to Han Gwang-soo for free. In response, Han Gwang-soo expressed his gratitude to the 888 Crew when asked by a reporter if he liked the cheer song.

As such, the 888 Crew, who were invited to the congratulatory performance of this semi-playoff, will perform as fans and supporters of the Gwangju Tigers. They are not just simple invited singers, but a reliable ally to the Gwangju Tigers fans and a fearsome enemy to the Incheon Sky visiting fans.

Then, isn’t there a singer who supports them in Incheon Sky? No, there isn’t. The singer who supports Incheon Sky in this semi-playoff is the hip-hop group ‘Code Name,’ which has many female fans.

Code Name’s Dread, Rookie, and Woosung are from Incheon. Three of the four members are from Incheon. Code Name announced that they will sing ‘Yeonan Pier,’ which was arranged into a hip-hop version so that Incheon Sky can win in this semi-playoff congratulatory performance.

Yeonan Pier is a cheer song that has been sung since Incheon Sky was the Sammi Superstars. It means that Incheon has gone through all the processes of becoming the current Incheon Sky through Chungbo Pintos, Pacific Dolphins, and Hyundai Unicorns.

(Omitted)

Also, Code Name’s leader Dread said, “I don’t know much about the 888 Crew. I heard that they are an excellent hip-hop group active in Gwangju, but as a senior in the same field, I am confident that I can show a better side. I think it will be a great help to Incheon Sky if we win the cheerleading competition.” Also, the members of Code Name said, “If the team that wins the cheerleading competition wins, Incheon Sky will definitely win,” expressing their confidence in their long hip-hop career.

As such, the semi-playoff opening game is mixed with various attractions and stories. The Gwangju Tigers fans, the Incheon Sky fans, or even the fans of other teams who are watching the fire across the river [watching the rivalry], this semi-playoff is quite an interesting sight…

***

The announcement about the semi-playoff was revised on the Gwangju Tigers website. What was different from the existing announcement was that the admission time was moved up to 1 p.m.

And Code Name was added to the congratulatory performance lineup in addition to Kim Soo-hee, who sang ‘Namhaeng Train,’ and 888 Crew.

—————

Congratulatory Performance (15:00)

Code Name

888 Crew

Kim Soo-hee

First Pitch (15:50)

Pitcher: Woo Hyun-taek, Mayor of Gwangju

—————

At first, baseball fans did not show any particular reaction to the addition of Code Name to the lineup. Unless they were fans of Code Name, it was just ‘Oh, another celebrity is coming.’ However, the situation was reversed after ‘Lee Hyun-hak’s Fall Baseball Talk’ was released. The baseball community was heating up.

‘If the team that wins the cheerleading competition wins, Incheon Sky will definitely win.’

Code Name’s words ignited the Gwangju Tigers fans.

***

< Verse 14. Be the Underground > End

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