RAP STAR

Chapter 18 [verse 2, I got to move]

Suddenly, although there was some uneasiness about why those lyrics stuck in his mind, he decided not to dwell too deeply on it since it was something that couldn't be explained rationally.

"Is there any other music that fits the band sound? Nowadays, many rappers incorporate live instrumentals into their music."

"There should be plenty if we look for them, right?"

In the Korean pop music scene of 2005, the position of hip-hop was fittingly described in baseball terms as "out of place." Despite being a genre that often led to failure even with manufactured artists, it occasionally produced big hits. MC Mong's "I love you, oh thank you," a blend of idol vocal choruses with traditional ballad hip-hop, achieved significant success. Similarly, Epik High and Dynamic Duo's hip-hop albums in 2005 were also well-received. During that time, a strange formula emerged among bands where featuring a rapper equated to commercial success.

"It's like 'rapper featuring equals commercial,'" a strange bias that quickly arose due to the overall shortage of indie musicians.

"But what does L&S mean?"

"What does it sound like?"

"LG, Samsung?"

"Although it sounds highly commercial?"

Laughing at Sanghyun's joke, Bong Min-sik pointed below while chewing his meat.

"Local Spirit. It's like the soul of the area. Just as New York has its own artists and Paris has its own artists, we wanted artists who embody the colors of Hongdae, Gwangju, and Busan."

At that moment, drummer Hwang In-soo struck up a commotion. Yong-jun also laughed while drinking soju.

"Oh, stop your nonsense, bro."

"When did you come up with that? Did you get interviewed?"

"Ah, you crazy guys are so noisy. Let's just go with Local Spirit as I said!"

"Why? No way?"

Listening to Bong Min-sik's explanation and feeling the pride of the region inherent in hip-hop, Sanghyun thought it was a very good team name, but Hwang In-soo and Yong-jun chuckled and teased Bong Min-sik.

"Absolutely not. Actually, when the three of us, including the vocalist from Daegu, first started practicing together, we didn't have a team name. But then, some guy told Min-sik hyung that our band's music was boring. At that time, our music was even simpler than it is now."

"So Min-sik hyung was really furious? But then suddenly, he said we got permission to perform at the district office, and we had to write down a band name. So he bravely named us L&S."

"What does being boring have to do with L&S?"

"Long S. 'S' stands for 'boring.'"

Finishing the story, In-soo and Yong-jun chuckled, and Sanghyun, realizing what 'S' meant, joined in the laughter.

"Ah, stop that story! You crazy guys! Do you find it so funny to talk about ruining our band's image?"

"Are you blaming others for something you came up with? How is this about the band's image? It's your image."

Sharing some soju and slightly intoxicated, the L&S members laughed heartily.

"But now that Min-sik hyung has gotten weaker with age, maybe we should change it to S&S. Short S."

"Don't worry. Since I'm above average, how about M&S? I'll cover for Min-sik hyung and count as average."

"Since Sanghyun is the young blood, it'll be L&S again when we perform together with Sanghyun."