RAP STAR

Chapter 115 [verse 16. Ripple Effect, END]

Sanghyun expanded the spectrum of flows achievable with low tones, while Minji became more immersed in her rapping. Kim Hwan started using tongue twisting to add fun to the rhythm, and Hayeon was breaking the boundaries between melody and rap.

Inhyuk, who used to enjoy laying back around the beat, began to experiment with syncopation, subtly pulling the rhythm.

So, how did Sanghyun progress?

Bae Ga, noticing the changes in Sanghyun's rap compared to past 888 Crew performances, listened intently. However, Bae Ga couldn't find an answer to the question. There was definitely something different about Sanghyun's rap, and it seemed to be for the better. But what it was exactly, Bae Ga couldn't grasp. Perhaps Sanghyun, as a musician, had surpassed the level Bae Ga could evaluate.

Sanghyun's rap, neither too excited nor too restrained, began to resonate with the audience of around fifty through the speakers.

Today, timing my commute with the beat again
Filling time with freestyle
When I get home, the wife nags again
Blaming overtime as an excuse

The office is filled with Rhyme tasks
Except for copying tracks
Today, fieldwork with the Lirisaurus
What should I rhyme with? Recognize Me

Lyrics that metaphorically liken hip-hop culture to a "company" and depict real-life constraints as "home".

Interestingly, critics who came across this through the Official Bootleg had different opinions. Some implied that Sanghyun categorized rapping as a profession, while others expressed that 888 Crew's music had surpassed the hobby stage and taken on a sense of "obligation."

Some interpreted that home represents what is given, while work represents what is achieved.

It was fascinating for Sanghyun to see that there were now people finding meaning in 888 Crew's music.

"I’m Back. I'm Another. Next Level
My interest is solely in estrogen
I make you burn up with my rap
If you don't believe me, wanna test it here?"

But Sanghyun didn't want to be consumed by such attention.

Graduated from college, wearing a tie,
Black instead of white collar
My skin is yellow, but as you know
Mix it with black, it all turns black

"WE BLACK-!"
As Junhyung's backing sound responded, Sanghyun's rap came to an end.
He always felt a strange sense of liberation and accomplishment when the verse ended. A sense of liberation that I had fulfilled my responsibility, and a sense of accomplishment that I had expressed the rap without mistakes.
That's how the sense of liberation and accomplishment of the six on stage began to explosively emanate in the final chorus.

The final chorus, unlike the previous ones, was a repetition of 'one sentence.' However, that one sentence was a magical sentence that never got boring even after hundreds of repetitions.

We Eight that Eight that Eight that Crew!
We are the 888 Crew.

Producer Heo Taejin monitored the stage and had a premonition that soon the number 888 would become a brand of its own.

There were two weeks left until the first broadcast of Hip-Hop The Vibe 2. Perhaps those two weeks would be the last rest 888 Crew would enjoy before facing the ripple effects of Hip-Hop The Vibe.

🎶🎶🎶🎶

The first shoot of Hip Hop The Vibe 2 ended successfully. Of course, this assessment of success was from the perspective of 888 Crew, Stars Records, and PD Heo Tae-jin. Bounce Lime and Code Name disappeared from the set as soon as the shoot ended, leaving behind only the lingering excitement of the performance for 888 Crew and Stars Records.