RAP STAR

Chapter 134 [verse 26. 888 Show]

The news of Lee Sang-hyeon joining OK Media sparked many debates among the public. Discussions ranged from whether capital swallowed underground musicians or if musicians carried capital on their backs. The tone of criticism and support for Sang-hyeon clashed fiercely.

Among the majority, the general public's reaction leaned towards "So what? What's the problem? Isn't this a good thing?" They were well aware of Sang-hyeon's musical uniqueness, but they couldn't understand what the problem was with Sang-hyeon joining OK Media.

To them, it seemed like congratulating Sang-hyeon for joining the best entertainment company in Korea was the natural response. That's what the general public thought. They felt that Sang-hyeon was originally a singer. Although he succeeded as a self-made artist, he was someone who appeared on TV, radio, internet news, and charts, making him easily recognizable. They hadn't experienced the difference between having a company and not having one, so there was inevitably a gap in emotions and temperature between them and the underground fans.

In contrast, underground fans fiercely debated, divided into two categories.

It was a collision of logic between rapper San E joining JYP in 2008 and Paloalto's Highlight Records being acquired by CJ E&M in 2015.

When San E joined JYP, underground fans showed strong support. This was because there had never been a rapper recognized by a large agency before. Moreover, San E wasn't particularly famous among the general public, so there was a big desire for him to succeed.

They wanted to showcase real hip-hop to the general public. Among the commercialized music disguised as hip-hop, they hoped to show the true taste of hip-hop, which is what underground fans supporting San E wanted.

In contrast, when Highlight Records was acquired by CJ E&M, hip-hop fans poured out immense criticism. There were various reasons for the criticism, but the biggest reason was that Highlight Records gained popularity by forming a hostile position (musically and lyrically) against mass media and capital, represented by Show Me The Money, etc.

In fans' eyes, Highlight's acquisition by CJ E&M was the opposite of everything they had built up until then.

Hip-hop fans' reactions to Sang-hyeon were a mix of these two perspectives.

- Why are people cursing Lee Sang-hyeon? All the rappers you guys love like Jay-Z, Eminem, Tupac, Biggie, and Dr. Dre have all combined with major capital. When Biggie didn't want to record Juicy with female vocals for fear it wouldn't be good, his manager said that. He said, "Without this song, your career as an underground rapper ends here, but with this song, you become a superstar."

- But 888 Crew, including Lee Sang-hyeon, has strongly adhered to the underground position while gaining popularity. But suddenly they're under the control of capital at OK Media? That's the distortion of 888 Crew's music.

- They're only talking about Lee Sang-hyeon right now. 888 Crew didn't join OK Media. It's not like 888 Crew, led by Lee Sang-hyeon alone, right?

- It seems like the members who have grown with underground values want to taste the money by joining OK Media, right?

- Am I remembering wrong? Until now, Sang-hyeon has never been antagonistic towards capital, right? Then he wouldn't have gone to the vibe of hip-hop, he wouldn't have sold goods, he wouldn't have featured after today, and he wouldn't have appeared in popular music.

- No. If until now the main mind behind all these activities was more underground, now the main mind is set by OK Media.

- Sang-hyeon is continuing 888 Crew activities separately from OK Media, right? Ah, it's really frustrating. If 888 Crew wanted, the entire team could have joined OK Media as a sub-label, right? But that's not the case. Did Sang-hyeon just want to make money? No. It means that the music of 888 Crew will remain unchanged.