RAP STAR

Chapter 24 [verse 2, I got to move]

Sanghyun nervously greeted the applause once again, noticing the genuine smiles on the faces of those clapping. He wondered what aspect of the performance elicited such applause from them. Lost in thought, he was interrupted by Miju.

"How was it?" she asked.

"It was fun. Truly," replied Sanghyun.

"They seemed to enjoy it too," Miju remarked, gesturing towards the visually impaired individuals.

"Yes, they did," Sanghyun nodded in agreement.

"Did you write lyrics at home yesterday? Did you get angry after hearing from the boss?"

"Yes, I did. Actually, I was quite angry."

"Was it fun writing those lyrics? Did you write them because you wanted to?"

"I don't think so."

"Why did you do it if it wasn't fun? Can people find it enjoyable when you didn't?"

From Sanghyun's perspective, or perhaps from the perspective of ordinary people in South Korea, it was a question he had never imagined. "Why did you do it if it wasn't fun?" It was so taken for granted. He had lived his life that way.

Above Sanghyun's common sense, Miju drew a line between art and non-art.

"What the boss wanted to show you by choosing a role that doesn't suit you is your attitude toward music. Your attitude during the performance today. Rap is the unique art of 'speaking', are you 'speaking' in your own way?"

Suddenly, Sanghyun thought of a song that would be released three years later, in August 2008.

A song that expressed one person's life and way of life, honestly reflecting unhideable agony and confusion. It wasn't a party song, nor did it have a catchy melody, but it reached 4th place on the Billboard rap chart.

"The Game's 'My Life'"

The driving force behind the love for "My Life" undoubtedly lay in the lyrics.

The Game was a real gangster rapper. Born into a dangerous slum as the son of a drug-addicted father, he grew up in an environment where a normal life was impossible. Naturally exposed to drugs and guns from a young age, he started gang activities to survive. He lost friends and brothers in frequent shootouts, and The Game himself survived five shootings and came close to death.

In "My Life," The Game depicted the lives of gangsters living in the hood or ghetto based on his honest experiences and thoughts.

"There are no bars, but black people can't escape from the hood. I took too many of my friends, so I hate the hood, but those who make up the hood are like us."

Throughout "My Life," The Game consistently expressed affection for the hood. It's where I grew up, but it's where my friends died, and it's where I want to run away from right now. At the same time, he wondered why John Lennon left The Beatles, vowing never to leave this place.

When The Game created this song, he was suffering from severe depression. To heal himself.

If The Game hadn't rapped, he would never have been able to overcome depression and suicidal urges.

"Why can't hood friends eat and live without evil? Answer my question quickly before I shoot myself."

A common prejudice about hip-hop is that most of it is meaningless self-praise. It's not wrong. Rappers tie money, women, cars, and fame into a swagger and express themselves without caring what others think.

But this is by no means meaningless.

Blacks who grew up in a state where learning was impossible in the hood. There were almost only three ways for such blacks to succeed.