America's Top Player

Chapter 35: Forgot to bring underwear when going out

Seeing Leon's disdainful look, Phil said seriously, "All the big names in the industry will be there. This is a great opportunity for you to show your face."

"The most important thing is resources! Your business is still in its infancy, and nothing is more important than those precious resources!"

Phil's preaching did not impress Leon.

The entertainment industry has clear class divisions, and those top stars simply don't bother to waste their time on little people because they are not driven by vested interests.

Even if a small-time celebrity hangs out with big names, at best he is just a bag-carrying boy, just like Kardashian was Paris Hilton's bag-carrying girl back then.

"This year's awards ceremony should be a foregone conclusion. The Grammys earlier this year were Beyoncé's personal coronation as queen. The MTV Awards will follow suit."

2010 was undoubtedly the first year of Beyoncé, as she released a number of hit songs such as "Single Ladies" and "Halo".

Destiny's Child unexpectedly swept ten nominations at the 52nd Grammy Awards and ultimately won six of the major awards.

Phil sneered and said, "That's not necessarily true. Lady Gaga will be the biggest X-factor. Let's wait and see."

"Lady Gaga?"

This somewhat strange name is not unfamiliar to Li Ang.

Whether in the streets of the slums or inside the ROC company, almost everyone in society was discussing this woman with an exaggerated and weird appearance.

The melody of "Poker Face" can be heard almost everywhere in New York, from high-end nightclubs to cheap red-light districts.

Such popularity is undoubtedly phenomenal.

The only thing that can compete with it in terms of popularity is probably Kesha's "TIK TOK".

"In short, this is an opportunity you can't miss!"

After Phil's earnest persuasion, Leon set a schedule to attend the MTV Awards ceremony.

This means that his schedule in September will be very tight, as he will have to fly to Los Angeles right after performing at the Made in America Festival.

During this period, the production of Cardi B's first album has been basically completed. Leon completely handed over the remaining post-production work to Phil and Davis because his own new song has not made any progress yet.

After hearing about Leon's request, Lenny didn't dare to make a decision. How could a young man, who was just starting out, get the new generation goddess of Hollywood to appear in his MV?
But in the end, the work was made possible with the support of Beyoncé and Robbie's own strong request.

She will fly to New York in a week, and the shooting period will only be two days.

And in just these two days, her remuneration was as high as 80,000 US dollars, and this was a discounted price at the insistence of Robbie and his agency team!
Kendrick Lamar was also naturally packaged as a gift for Robbie.

The expected scene of JAY-Z and Dre being at odds with each other did not appear. The two big guys had no objection to the cooperation between the new generation and even expressed a positive attitude.

The feuds and disputes in the gang world of the last century have long become a thing of the past.
In this day and age, hip-hop music is a pure business!

Those guys who even have diamond-studded teeth will no longer kill each other for ridiculous respect issues.

A day later, Kendrick showed up at Roc Kingdom's recording studio as scheduled after finishing his last Livehouse tour in New York.

"Everything about this piece is perfect, and I don't want a single letter to be changed."

"Fxxk bro don't you know this is a disgrace for a rapper?"

Unsurprisingly, Kendrick expressed strong resistance to the question of songwriting attribution, but was speechless when he heard the instrumental and lyrics.

The street life described in the lyrics perfectly reflects his upbringing in the gangster world of Compton.

Kendrick gritted his teeth and said, "I think I was fooled by Robbie. Okay, bro, I can use your lyrics, but my name must appear on the lyricist list!"

"Of course!" Li Ang excitedly high-fived the big dog next to him. The most difficult problem in the recording was finally solved!

Not to mention putting Kendrick's name on the list of lyricists, Li Ang would agree without hesitation even if his grandmother was included, as it would not affect his own income anyway.

The final contract stipulated that Li Ang symbolically transferred 1% of the copyright of the work to Kendrick. This 1% of copyright may not bring much actual profit, but it is a testament to the amount of work Kendrick put into this work.

The most important thing is that both parties enjoy equal performance rights, which means that both Leon and Kendrick can perform this work alone in commercial performances.

After the details of the cooperation were agreed upon, the recording work instantly entered the fast lane.

Li Ang's performance was as amazing as ever. Apart from the unstable falsetto, there was nothing else to fault with it.

In addition to being good at incorporating emotions into his singing, he has recently received professional vocal training from ROC, and his singing skills have improved qualitatively compared to before.

He was originally worried about whether Kendrick could perfectly handle the dense lyrics of the rap part.

This is not because he doubted the other party's ability, but because in the original version when inspiration came, this part was originally completed by at least five people.

But when Kendrick's segment began, Leon realized how ridiculous his previous worries were.

I got the squad tatted on me from my neck to my ankles
I have squad tattoos from neck to ankle

Pressure from the man got us all in rebellion
This society brings too much pressure. It's time to resist.
We gon' go to war, yeah, without failure
We need a war we can win

A full dosage of detrimental dysfunction
A fierce poison of chaos and collapse
I'm dying slow but the devil tryna rush me
I am slowly fading, but evil wants me to be destroyed faster

See I'm a fool for pain, I'm a dummy
I'm a hopeless addict of pain

Might cut my head off right after I slit my throat
I will slit my own throat and then behead myself
Kendrick's singing was impeccable. Even the tight transitions were handled well by him without appearing rushed.

Big Dog, who boasts of having seen countless rap geniuses, was also stunned by Kendrick's performance, "Fxxk bro, he's practically flying with the accompaniment."

"No! He's forcing me to play the accompaniment!"

Apart from some minor pitch flaws and breathing issues, the cooperation between the two was almost perfect!
"Don't worry about those details, I'll fix them in post-production," Big Dog said excitedly to Kendrick. "Little brother, I can't imagine what JAY-Z's expression would be if he saw your performance."

"He'll put a Glock to your head to make you stay, and you might never be able to go back to Dre."

The recording came to an end in such a cheerful atmosphere, and the next step was to optimize the details.

Big Dog tried to add more elements to the arrangement to make it closer to the version in Li Ang's mind.

Ring ring ring——

At this moment, Leon's phone suddenly rang, and the caller was Robbie.

"I'm already in New York, but why isn't there anyone picking me up at the airport?"

This question caught Leon off guard. According to the agreement, Robbie and her team had booked a flight for tomorrow.

"Sorry, I thought you wouldn't come until tomorrow. Do you want me to pick you up now?"

Robbie on the other end of the phone laughed playfully: "Because I changed my flight, idiot, my agent only gave me two days, and I'll waste six hours on the plane alone~ This way we can stay a little longer~"

"Well, we'll see you tomorrow, Miss Robbie."

"Are you not free now?"

Li Ang glanced at Kendrick and Big Dog, then said into the phone: "I'm free."

"Then can you go shopping with me to pick out some lingerie? I'll be shopping on Fifth Avenue."

"Underwear?" Li Ang quickly covered the phone with a look of surprise.

Robbie sighed and said, "I was in such a hurry to catch the plane that I forgot to bring some underwear with me."

"I can't wear just one outfit all the time. I'm going to be in New York for a while."

(End of this chapter)