Chapter 100 Chapter 100
After sending the letter of intent to Ha Ji-hye, Lia sat at her desk and sent a short English email to the email address left by Isaac Kim.
She briefly introduced her background and thanked the other party for noticing her through YouTube and for proactively inviting her to collaborate. She also hoped to engage in preliminary non-commercial collaboration on certain musical directions.
If the other party is interested, they can communicate further via email. She tried to control her words, making her tone neither official nor overly casual, striving to convey sincerity and respect. She thought it would take at least a day or two to receive a response.
I didn't expect to receive a reply that afternoon. Isaac's email was warm and cheerful, and I could almost feel his excitement through the words: Hi Lia, I just saw your email and I'm really flattered.
I first started following you when you posted that behind-the-scenes video, and I told a few friends, "This girl knows what she's doing." I'm so happy to hear from you!
Of course I'd love to try it out. I'm currently working on some new sound ideas, so if you don't mind, we could try to get in touch via WhatsApp.
He left more specific contact information and attached a Dropbox link with some beat clips he had recently made.
This was Lia's first real conversation with a producer outside of the YG system. She clicked on the link, put on her headphones, and listened to each track.
Isaac's production style was exactly as she had imagined: relaxed rhythm, strong sense of rhythm, delicate and clear sound, and a preference for blank space and atmospheric expression. In terms of melodic tendencies, their musical aesthetics were very similar, but in terms of arrangement,
Isaac focuses more on the refinement of timbre and texture; while she is accustomed to starting from concepts and using narrative structure to drive emotions forward.
To some extent, they share a common musical language, yet possess enough differences to create a complementary dynamic balance.
Isaac is a third-generation Korean-American immigrant whose native language is English and who speaks almost no Korean. Apart from basic phrases like "hello" and "goodbye," their communication is almost entirely in English.
Over the next few minutes, the two exchanged musical preferences and creative progress. Isaac played her a few demos he was still working on, shared his Ableton interface, and explained his production ideas track by track.
They weren't in a rush to define the direction of their collaboration; most of the time, they simply shared inspiration like friends. Isaac's relaxed pace also made this long-distance communication seem light and natural.
Meanwhile, Lia took some time off to meet with PD Cho, the executive director of the show "Show Me the Money."
Ha Ji-hye had briefly introduced the content of the program to her, but she wanted to further confirm the details of her participation - the direction of the program, how to participate and the overall recording rhythm.
This program is a newly prepared rap-themed program and is currently in the preparation stage for the first season.
The program's format draws inspiration from some international music talent shows, attempting to bring underground rap culture into the mainstream. However, as a brand-new initiative, its direction and market response remain uncertain, and the program's tone and scale are still being carefully considered and adjusted.
The production team wanted to leverage Lia's industry recognition to expand the show's external attention, so they contacted her. However, unlike the initial invitation, which stated she would be a "program judge," Zhao PD admitted that they hoped she would participate in some of the content as a "specially invited producer" or "co-host."
He has contacted some of the registered contestants.
Most of the people who appeared on the show were rappers who were good at improvisation and had rich experience in live performances. Although Lia was well-known in certain circles, her strengths did not lie in this area, making her a reluctant judge.
"We plan to invite some special guests to participate in Cypher production or collaborate on the stage later in the show. If you are willing, this part of the performance will be relatively less time-consuming, consistent with your production expertise, and will also be much less stressful."
"If that's the case, that would be the best." Lia nodded. In fact, this proposal just met her needs. She was not familiar with underground rap culture. In the early days, YG was indeed based on Hip-
Artists of Perry and Jinusean’s generation all started out as authentic street artists, possessing solid musical skills and a deep cultural foundation.
But as time went on, the core of this style gradually shifted to "stage expression" itself, serving more to shape the artist's image or song structure rather than originating from a truly underground context.
For Lia, rap isn't just a musical form; it's a complex cultural system. She's always in awe of it. And so, the two of them came to a consensus.
"You're not what I imagined." PD Zhao sighed with a smile after the actual deal was settled. "Please tell me it's for the better," Lia joked. PD Zhao burst into laughter.
"Of course," he waved his hands. "Of course, I have a daughter about your age, and she's not as mature as you."
——Of course, it could also be that the rappers he's been interacting with lately are mostly tough-minded, and it's been a long time since anyone has spoken to him so gently. Zhao PD thought with tears in his eyes. *
Later that evening, Lia ran into Kush at the studio. She'd been coming to the company whenever she could. While she had a simple setup at home, neither the monitoring environment nor the overall acoustics could compare to the company's studio.
She came more often, and therefore ran into Teddy and Kush more often. It was like going back to the time when she first joined YG, the only difference being that now she was leading her own work.
Kush obviously has his own dedicated recording studio, but he often comes to the public recording studio to make jokes.
He is not responsible for fixed artist production, so he does not have the same pressure as Teddy. He always adheres to one principle - having fun is as important as music.
Kush occupied a keyboard, randomly tapping away at it. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he said, "By the way, do you want to go to Japan next month?"
"Huh?" Lia was just mulling over an arrangement and didn't react for a moment. "Japan?" "Yeah, let's go have some fun," Kush said excitedly. "Bigbang is having a concert in Osaka at the beginning of the month. Let's go and support them."
"Why so sudden?" She stopped what she was doing and looked at him in confusion. "It's just that...JiYo-nim felt too lonely and insisted that I go over," he said shamelessly. Lia couldn't help but hold her forehead.
She didn't believe him. "Besides, you haven't been anywhere since you came to Korea, right? It's nice to take this opportunity to get some fresh air," Kush added. She hadn't taken it seriously at first, but now she was really tempted.
If she could get her final paper in early, it wouldn't be impossible. After all, she'd been busy practicing, attending classes, and working for the entire time, barely taking a break. "Okay, I'll check my schedule when I get back." She didn't hesitate for long.
"Aza! Take that as your agreement!" Kush cheered, and without waiting for her response, he pedaled his balance bike and rushed out of the recording studio like a gust of wind. Recently, their group collectively bought balance bikes, and all they needed to get around was the two wheels under their feet.
Lia shouted at his back, "I said I need to check my schedule first!" Kush responded with a casual wave, then disappeared in a flash. She looked at him and sighed helplessly.
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