America's Top Player

Chapter 182 Recording Site
On August 1st, the auditions for “The Rap of America” ended and the recording of the first main competition unit began.

The program was only officially confirmed in July, and the schedule for both promotion and recording was extremely tight. As the producer, Li Ang also had to take time out to participate in the promotional activities.

At least he must participate in the promotional activities in New York, as this is his base.

The reputation of Street Coconut Crisps is the best publicity.

I just finished shooting a promotional video for the show this morning, and then I will attend a rally held by the Donkey Party in Queens.

When Li Ang returned to the office, he was exhausted and his eyes were dull.

Seeing his disheveled appearance, Phil joked, "You look like a wind-up toy. This is the best state for a singer!"

Li Ang was so tired that he didn't want to bother with Lao Deng. He took the wine glass and poured himself a glass of whiskey. It was rare for him to start drinking in broad daylight.

"There are two professions in this country that make the most money~" Phil clinked glasses with him, "Do you know what they are?"

Li Ang rolled his eyes. "I don't know, but I guess there must be a commander here."

"No, no, no~" Phil shook his finger. "Being a commander-in-chief is a high-risk job. There's always the risk of being assassinated. The ones who make the most money are street prostitutes and singers. They can make money just by opening their mouths!"

Li Ang was amused by Lao Deng's trash talk and laughed while shaking his head: It was as if being a singer in America was not a high-risk job.

Phil stood up and walked over to Leon. "Cheer up! You still have 13 days to completely sever your ties with JAY-Z. Columbia's attention to you is no joke. Your resources are on par with Beyoncé and Adele. You might be able to leave JAY-Z behind soon!"

In less than two weeks, his contract with ROC Kingdom will officially expire.

This should have been a good thing, but he was worried.

JAY-Z's reaction was so calm, as if the person who was about to leave the company was a nobody.

"I don't think JAY-Z will give up my contract so easily," Li Ang said.

"What else can he do? Didi is finished!" Phil said. "Your worries are unnecessary. He's a shrewd businessman, no longer the drug dealer with a gun on his waist all day. You just changed jobs, not slept with his wife like the media hype!"

Having said that, Lao Deng smiled meaningfully.

The scandal between Leon and Beyoncé caused quite a stir, but most people just took it as a joke.

The scene of a younger brother turning over and riding his older sister-in-law is popular among onlookers all over the world.

In the absence of substantial evidence, no one took this matter seriously, and even Taylor always regarded this matter as hype by unscrupulous media.

"Even if it's revenge, I hope he can come up with some new tricks instead of using some street smarts like Diddy." Leon took a sip of whiskey. "I don't have the energy to waste on this guy anymore."

"He really thinks so! Didn't ROC officially announce the release date of JAY-Z's new album some time ago?" Phil said.

Jay-Jay, who has not focused on music in recent years, suddenly made a big move and released another big news after officially announcing Rihanna's new album "Talk That Talk" in September.

JAY-Z suddenly announced that the release date of his album "Watch the Throne", which was originally scheduled to be released in November, will be advanced to the 11th of this month.

This is only five days away from the expiration of Li Ang's contract.

This new album is not a solo album, but a studio album co-produced by Jay-Z and Kanye.

The publishers are ROC Kingdom and Dave Jim.

"I'm really curious how Kanye managed to do this, working with JAY-Z on a new album while also announcing he'd be joining your show," Phil said.

But Li Ang was not surprised at all.

Although Kanye occasionally acts violently in his works, he has nothing to do with the word "street" in real life.

He is a complete fence-sitter who can please both sides.

Even at the recording of "The Rap of America", RAY-J and Kardashian reenacted the classic scenes from the video.

Kan Ye, who witnessed this scene, might not jump out to teach the other party a lesson.

After a simple rest for an hour, Leon stretched and got off his favorite swivel chair.

Downstairs, the business convoy led by Jorge had been waiting for a long time, just waiting for his order to go to the recording site.

The recording location is in an abandoned factory in the Bronx. After a series of modifications by Sean's team, the place has been completely transformed.

The passage leading to the studio was surrounded by barbed wire and covered with fake diamond necklaces.

The walls of the passage are painted with colorful graffiti of rap superstars such as Tupac, BIG and Diddy.

What they have in common is that they have all profoundly influenced the landscape of hip-hop music, and are now all "dead."

At the end of the passage is a three-way fork with the slogan "RAP OR CRAP" spray-painted in colorful colors.

One end leads to the studio, and at the other end there is a large garbage truck that is about to be scrapped.

"You have been abandoned by Hip-hop" is printed on the body of the garbage truck.

A group of black actors temporarily hired from the streets of the Bronx were guarding the place.

Shawn pointed at the garbage truck and excitedly introduced, "If any contestant performs poorly, these guys will throw them into the garbage truck. I think this will be a great show."

Li Ang nodded, satisfied with all of Sean's arrangements.

The Bronx is littered with abandoned factories like this one, and the rent is negligible relative to the production costs of this show.

The renovation didn't take much effort, and the atmosphere was mainly created through various graffiti and decorative paintings.

What really requires a lot of money is the temporary studio.

Although many equipments are rented, it is still expensive to temporarily build such a large and fully functional stage.

But overall, Sean has done an excellent job with the lowest budget.

"Everyone, get back to your seats! The filming is about to begin!" Mike, the chief photographer, yelled at the top of his lungs. "Why are you still on drugs over there? Hurry up and get your camera over here! I really want to throw you in the garbage truck right now!"

At the same time, the lighting team began to debug the lights and the sound team conducted a final check on all equipment.

Kim Kardashian was walking quickly through the back passage, holding up the hem of her skirt, and happened to meet Li Ang.

"How do I look, Mr. Leon?" Kardashian threw him a wink and turned around on the spot to show off her figure in all directions.

It was obvious that her waist had become thinner and her hips had grown a few inches.

Apparently new technology has been added.

The tight long skirt is particularly eye-catching, so tight that it fits perfectly against the skin.

The buttocks are ingeniously made of transparent lace material, which is not only transparent but also reflective when lit.

This dress perfectly highlights her most attractive part.

"You look great~" Li Ang said in a joking tone, "If any contestant forgets the lyrics, it's likely that you distracted them."

Kardashian covered her mouth with her hands and laughed continuously, and the fat on her buttocks trembled lively.

"It's time to go on stage, Ms. Kardashian!" the assistant reminded her in her ear, and the makeup artist rubbed the powder on her face twice more.

After hugging and greeting Li Ang, Kardashian walked towards the stage holding up the hem of her skirt.

"Who designed this dress?" Li Ang asked.

"I came up with the idea, and Mike completed the design," Sean said. "I think this kind of clothing can extend the audience's average viewing time. When the camera sweeps over Miss Kardashian's buttocks, there will definitely be viewers who will rewind the progress bar to watch it frame by frame. I call that guy "Screen Sherlock Holmes"."

The average viewing time data has little impact on Li Ang as the producer, but it is of great significance to Netflix.

When streaming platforms and advertisers sign cooperation agreements, average viewing time is an important evaluation data second only to the number of views.

Sean had already figured out the audience's psychology. Leon couldn't help but shake his shoulders vigorously. "You and Mike are a pair of fucking geniuses!"

Kardashian slowly walked onto the stage wearing 12cm high heels.

After a few quick breaths, he curled his jelly lips into a perfect smile for the main camera. "Welcome to The Rap of America—the hottest, most street-savvy talent show in America, and the only one that allows me to host the show dressed like this!"

As she spoke, she intentionally shook her butt slightly, and the camera accurately captured this scene from a side angle.

"Tonight, get ready to witness history, because we have an unprecedented lineup of mentors!"

"Don't blink, if you miss the next show you might have to wait until the Super Bowl~"

As soon as he finished speaking, the lights in the venue dimmed.

Taking advantage of this gap of less than ten seconds, the props team quickly completed the stage setting, and more than ten figures walked across the stage.

When the lights came on again, a black throne covered with thorns appeared on the stage.

Cardi B wore a loose bathrobe and a furry pink hat on her head.

He was chewing bubble gum, blowing bubbles and laughing so hard that he fell over.

After the accompaniment sounded, she held the microphone and performed her famous song "Bodak Yellow":
"Look, I could be relaxing in my bathrobe, and I could be with your boyfriend~"

"I'm feeling your boyfriend's body. My Puxi is like a lake for him to swim in."

During the chorus, Cardi takes off her white bathrobe.

She wore a high-cut black swimsuit with disappearing bottoms.

Kardashian also swayed to the rhythm, and their bodies collided and rubbed against each other from time to time.

"They both seem to be in perfect harmony." Li Ang watched everything from the side of the stage.

"Originally, Miss Cardi wanted a more revealing costume, but we couldn't accommodate her request." Sean spread his hands. "You know, this is a talent show broadcast to the public after all. We can't let her look like she's wearing nothing."

Li Ang nodded in agreement. He thought the opening show was a success.

The opening scene is a large-scale performance by Cardi and Kardashian, which is sure to arouse the audience's desire to watch more.

When seeing borderline content, every viewer will have a sense of anticipation, looking forward to seeing more explicit content next.

As Cardi's performance came to an end, 50 Cent emerged from under the stage on an elevator.

He crossed his hands and hung them on his hips, his head lowered as if he was muttering something.

Dancers wearing red and blue headscarves appeared from both sides of the stage, pointing at each other and creating the appearance that they were about to start a fight.

Then the accompaniment started, and both parties stopped and stared at 50 Cent.

The violent prelude of "Billy" pierced the eardrums, and the dancers, who had just been on edge, fell down and tumbled together.

"We're going to shoot you all, shoot you all, shoot you all!"

The stage instantly transformed into a gangster extravaganza. At the climax of the song, 50 Cent suddenly called out, "Hold on! Let me see where that faggot is. What? He's in jail?"

"So let me see where the winner is?"

50 Cent covered his eyebrows with his left hand, pretending to look out, pointed at Leon and said loudly: "He's right there! Shout out to Leon!"

At the same time, the camera captured Li Ang's smiling expression at the edge of the stage.

As expected, the production team used P. Diddy again to make some money.

At this moment, the lights suddenly dimmed again, and the violent accompaniment quickly switched to blues music.

The most famous mentor Kanye Asia appeared on the stage and brought his famous work "Gold Digger".

Different from the performances of the first two mentors, the song chosen by Kanye completely subverted the provocative street atmosphere of the previous performances.

The song has a warning meaning. The whole song is about Kanye reflecting on his greed and admonishing women not to worship money.

Xiao En sighed repeatedly as he watched, "Kan Ye insisted on choosing this song, and I can't change his mind."

It was obvious that he was not satisfied with the song selection this time, which was inconsistent with the tone set by the show.

"Don't worry, maybe this will make the show more effective." Li Ang watched the performance on the stage with a smile on his face.

He had long guessed that Kanye joined the show with a mission, wanting to use this opportunity to conquer Kardashian.

Sure enough, when singing the chorus, Kanye suddenly approached Kardashian and stared at her with a dazed look.

This design was not originally in the script.

Faced with the perverted Kanye, Kardashian, who has rich experience in reality shows, was not affected at all and kept smiling.

This caused Kanye to escalate his behavior further. He suddenly stopped his performance and put his thick lips close to Kardashian's neck.

"Shxt, what does he want to do?" Sean subconsciously thought that there was something wrong with Kanye's condition.

Before going on stage, a staff member reported to him that they saw Kanye drinking a lot of whiskey backstage.

Just as Sean was about to call a halt and re-record, Li Ang stopped him, "Don't be so hasty to call a halt yet."

"I'm worried that Kanye might get drunk and do something irrational. Will Miss Kardashian be frightened?" Sean looked worried.

"Scared?" Li Ang shook his head. "Don't worry, this is impossible."

The Kardashians are veteran actors, so what big scenes have they not seen?

Li Ang would rather Kanye's actions were a little more extreme so that the program team could use this to hype up the topic of Kardashian and her fiancé Humphries.

However, Kanye did not do so. He released the other person's waist and returned to normal performance state.

Even under the influence of alcohol, he still backed down.

At this point, the opening shows of the three mentors were all over, and they all took their seats in the mentor seats.

Cardi B sat in the middle, with 50 Cent and Candy Clyde on either side.

Next is the contestant's appearance, and each contestant has 60 seconds to perform.

After the performance, the mentor will choose whether to let the contestant join his or her team.

If no one chooses it, it will be lifted up by the staff and thrown into the garbage truck.

clap clap-

The first contestant walked onto the stage while patting a basketball. "Hey yo, my nickname is Jordan, I'm from the Windy City of Chicago. Basketball, rap, and street dance are my beliefs!"

As he spoke, the player deliberately moved the basketball towards Kardashian's crotch, as if measuring its size.

The three mentors stared at him expressionlessly. 50 Cent took the microphone first. "This is a rap show. No one wants to see your terrible basketball skills. And why did you decide to give yourself such a disgusting hairstyle?"

His hair was parted on the side, a style not common in America.

"I think this hairstyle is cool~ Don't you think so?"

50 Cent slapped his forehead. "Bro, why would your mother let you go out with that hairstyle? If you're walking down the street in Chicago, don't say you're black. Say you're tanned."

After the trash talk, Jordan's expression was still full of confidence and he officially started his performance.

Just like his previous self-introduction, he combines his three hobbies of rap, basketball and street dance into one.

He sang, juggled a basketball, and did a funny dance by shaking his shoulders.

The judges covered their mouths and laughed non-stop, and Cardi quipped: "If this was the only man left in the world, I would marry my middle finger without hesitation."

"Hurry and throw this clown in the garbage truck!"

(End of this chapter)