America's Top Player

Chapter 86 Picked it up for free again
The day after Leon returned to Los Angeles, Chris told fans about the end of Beef on a Los Angeles music radio show.

Now there is no conflict between him and Leon, only love and peace.

He appreciates Li Ang's music from the bottom of his heart and admires Li Ang's great character sincerely.

At the same time, he also retracted all his previous insults and slander, claiming that he had only said those stupid things in the heat of the moment.

While watching this podcast, Leon clearly noticed that Chris's eyes had become much clearer.

"The only sound they could understand was the whip."

With his first album about to be released, Li Ang has been staying at ROC company almost every day these days.

The company's executives, especially Lenny, had unhappy expressions on their faces when they saw him.

The video store negotiation incident has become known to everyone, and the aftermath of this incident has also spread to ROC.

As the boss of ROC Entertainment, JAY-Z is very happy to see the rapid growth of his singers, but it cannot be too rapid.

After only half a year of debut, he dared to lead others to confront his old friend Puff Daddy, which made JAY-Z feel a little uneasy.

Will this kid dare to flip the table in front of me one day?

However, Li Ang no longer cared about what JAY-Z thought. He only had one thing in his mind now, which was to make a good album and break through the barriers to the front line in one fell swoop.

As long as your status is big enough, as big as Madonna and MJ.

If he dares to be disrespectful to the president, would he be afraid of you, JAY-Z?

In the recording studio, Old Mike and Max Martin had been waiting for a long time.

Given Martin's status as a gold medal producer, he generally would not tolerate newcomers being late.

But after more than two months of getting along, Martin has been completely impressed by Leon's inspiration, which is like a cascade of diabetes insipidus, and firmly believes that he will be the next phenomenal superstar.

Producers of this level usually have to participate in the record revenue sharing.

According to the contract between ROC and Martin, he can take 3% of the record sales.

Streaming platforms are no exception.

Therefore, the quality of this record directly affects his income.

"Is the post-production tuning work completed?" Li Ang sat down on the sofa and lit a cigarette as usual.

"Of course it's done. Every beat is in top form." Martin frowned and continued, "Didn't I remind you not to smoke so much? It'll ruin your voice!"

Although Martin himself is a smoker, he is extremely strict with his cash cow.

Li Ang spread his hands and said, "The era of talented singers is over. Mariah Carey, Celine Dion. They're already half buried, almost dead."

"I don't make a living from singing."

Martin thought for a moment and stopped pestering her.

Compared with other newcomers who take drugs and have promiscuous sex after getting rich, quickly draining their bodies, Li Ang is already a leader in self-control.

"One with you." Old Mike smiled and took a cigarette from Li Ang's cigarette box. "What brand is this? Why haven't I seen it before?"

"Huazi, a high-end imported product. You can only buy authentic Huazi from tobacco vendors in Chinatown."

Old Mike lit a cigarette, and the rich smell of smoked tobacco immediately hit him: "I like Huazi"

"Seriously, Martin's work is all done. I want to know how the music video is progressing."

Faced with the questioning, Old Mike did not dare to be negligent. Ever since the incident in the video store spread, he had been very careful even when making jokes.

In his eyes, Leon, like BIG and Tupac, are all tough guys who have truly crawled out of the mire of the streets.

“Except for ‘Demons,’ all other productions have been edited and finished.”

“You know the reason.”

Li Ang curled his lips helplessly.

There's no other reason than Beyoncé's involvement.

She strives to be in the best possible condition in the MV, so she revised Old Mike's editing and post-production plans over and over again.

She never thought about one problem: a MV costing $20 would never be able to achieve the effect of a million dollars. The queen is already accustomed to big scenes and big productions.

Every detail must be perfect.

Since it was because of his sister-in-law, Li Ang naturally didn't want to embarrass Old Mike. He continued to ask, "How long will it take at the earliest?"

"That depends on Ms. Beyoncé." Old Mike spread his hands, looking helpless.

"I mean, can it be done before Christmas?"

"That'll be no problem mate!"

"Very good." Leon turned to look at Martin and said, "Then let's put 'Demons' on streaming platforms as the pre-release title song."

"Streaming comes first before the album" has become a common practice nowadays.

Initially, musicians worried that doing so would discourage fans from buying records, but the opposite has actually happened.

An excellent pre-release song can warm up the album and have a good publicity effect.

Martin smiled and said, "Couldn't it be other works? Why not release the best ones right from the start? Are you so eager to make money?"

In response, Li Ang explained, "I really need money."

Hearing this, Martin and Old Mike both laughed.

"Your label is so successful, and you've signed so many outstanding girls to make money for you, how could you still be short of money?"

“Although I earn a lot, I also spend a lot.”

"Fuck you, you're such a cheapskate! I was originally planning to switch to your company, but now it seems I've decided not to."

Although he knew it was a joke, thinking of Martin's talent, Leon said without hesitation: "If you can come, you can set any conditions."

"Isn't it rumored that Tianqi Music only accepts women?"

"There aren't so many rules and regulations. I think you're quite good-looking now."

"Fuck you!"

There were bursts of laughter in the recording studio, and the air was filled with joy.

Martin laughed so hard that he held his stomach, and it took him a while to recover.

"You're the Boss. Since you insist on doing this, I think Lenny will agree."

Suddenly Martin paused, then continued: "If you go online streaming now, you will encounter a monster."

"monster?"

Li Ang scratched his head, not understanding what he meant.

"Yeah, you should hear this."

As he spoke, Martin took out his mobile phone and opened the Apple Music Store.

The powerful drum beats and the deep, hoarse female voice spread instantly.

There's a fire starting in my heart
A raging fire ignites in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark
The most intense and pure, lead me through the darkness

Finally I can see you crystal clear
Finally, you are as easy to see through as glass

Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare
Go ahead, if you dare to betray me, I will tear off your hypocritical face
Everyone in the studio originally thought that "Demons" was an unparalleled work.

After the popularity of Mars and Rihanna's works has passed, it can definitely compete for the top sales title if it is released online now.

But after listening to the song "Rolling in the deep", everyone fell silent.

"WTF" Even Li Ang himself has no confidence in beating this song. It is an undisputed masterpiece.

Martin smiled and pulled out a photo of the original singer, Adele, from his phone. "Who among you would believe that this chubby British chick could write such a mature piece of work? She's only two years older than you."

Li Ang listened carefully to the photos on his phone.

This woman doesn't look very good. In America, there are many people with the same body type who are fed with fried foods.

If this girl had come to Tianqi Music for an audition, Li Ang wouldn't have given her a chance, no matter how well she sang. Two years ago, it was a very small probability that 20-year-old Adele would be signed by a record company.

Martin continued, "Not only that, this girl wrote the lyrics and composed the music all by herself. She even arranged it."

"Her current work is much more mature than the album '19' from two years ago."

Li Ang nodded silently after hearing this. This was indeed a powerful opponent.

In the chorus of this song, dense harmonies appear in the background music, which is quite reminiscent of Queen's immortal hit "Bohemian Rhapsody".

This is genius arrangement.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh that there is never a shortage of real monsters in the music industry, and not cheating is worse than cheating.

"It doesn't matter. Adele's work is still a love song at its core. Our audience is different, so it shouldn't affect our sales."

Martin spread his hands. "The initiative is yours. I'm just giving you a reminder."

After making up his mind, Leon went to Lenny's office, and it took only two minutes for both parties to decide to put "Demons" on streaming media one day later.

"Leon~"

As I walked out of Lenny's office, a familiar voice came from behind me.

Li Ang looked back and saw that it was the direction of JAY-Z's office.

The office's luxurious double doors were half open, and Beyoncé and her pet jaguar, a human and a leopard, poked their heads through the gap.

"Hello Ms. Beyoncé"

"Come here, we haven't seen each other in a while." Beyoncé stretched out her arm and waved, with bright red nail polish on each nail.

"This"

Li Ang wanted to refuse, but he was finally bewitched by the Queen's repeated calls of "baby".

After making sure that no one was in the corridor, he quickly slipped into JAY-Z's office.

After closing the door like a thief, the scene before him shocked him.

Beyoncé wore almost nothing, with her slender and plump body mostly exposed to the air, with the outline of her muscles faintly visible.

That is the result of long-term martial arts training. Beyoncé is more like a female leopard than the big cats around her.

Actually, it wasn't like she was wearing nothing at all.

She wore a lace bra on her upper body and a crotchless T-pants on her lower body.

Li Ang recognized the "Evil Angel" logo at a glance.

He stood there in a daze, unable to take his eyes off Beyoncé: He didn't expect the queen would also wear it.
"Does it look good? I bought it because I knew it was your brand." Beyoncé blushed a little. "What the hell is going on in your head...how did you come up with these designs?"

"I'm going to a charity dinner later. As the owner of a clothing company, you must have a good sense of fashion."

"My husband is not here, could you give me some reference?"

Li Ang then came to his senses and noticed that the carpet in the entire office was full of clothes.

Louis Vuitton, Celine, and Dior, brands that fascinate the middle class, and Chanel and Hermès, brands that attract the rich, are piled on the ground like garbage.

Even though the jaguar's sharp claws kept stepping on her, the Queen didn't care.

"I think you look stunning in whatever you wear."

"Do you really think so? I don't believe it at all."

"I'm serious. You're the epitome of beauty. You look just as good without any clothes on."

Li Ang made the queen laugh so hard that she was shaking with laughter with just a few words.

Then he really measured Beyoncé's size and chose clothes for her.

Soon, Beyoncé picked out a black high-slit tight skirt at Li Ang's suggestion and spun around in front of him.

"You're going to stun the crowd, Ms. Beyoncé."

Li Ang originally thought that he would have nothing to do here, but he didn't expect that choosing clothes was only the first step for a woman on a date.

Next, Beyoncé will choose an outfit from her vast jewelry collection.

Li Ang glanced at the time on his phone and was about to find an excuse to leave when Beyoncé called him over.

The queen used a key to open a locked drawer on JAY-Z's bookcase, which contained hundreds of watches from various luxury brands, many of which were out-of-print antique watches.

"WTF!" Li Ang was like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world. He was so shocked by the glittering jewels that he was speechless.

"Most of my jewelry is at home. It's not too urgent to go back and get it now, so I can only make do with it." Beyoncé sighed and picked up the few women's watches in the drawer to try them again and again.

This made Li Ang on the side swallow his saliva.

Old Mike had just been showing off his newly bought Rolex watch in the recording studio, mocking Li Ang for making so much money but not knowing how to enjoy it.

The Queen seemed to see through his thoughts and said with a smile in her eyes, "See if there is anything here that you like."

"What? These are all JAY-Z's stuff, I can't do this"

"How could that be? I have the right to control everything he owns. Besides, I bought a lot of the things here."

The ordinary series of Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin have no place in this drawer at all. The truly precious ones are the limited editions.

Among them is even a Patek Philippe 1953 watch launched in 2523, which is the prototype of its current world time watch.

This watch will cause a rush no matter which auction it appears at.

In the end, reason triumphed over greed, and there was no point in accepting such a gift.

It will be very embarrassing when JAY-Z sees him wearing his treasured limited edition watch.

He said to Beyoncé with a serious face: "You have to know that I am not that kind of man. I can't accept gifts without reason!"

Seeing that Li Ang still had some anger on his face, Beyoncé hurriedly said, "I know you're not that kind of man. Just think of this as a gift, as my way of thanking you."

"grateful?"

"Of course I have to thank you for letting me star in your music video and for making it such a great film." Beyoncé smiled sweetly. "If it wins an MTV Award, I have even more secret rewards."

After some explanation, Li Ang felt that there was some truth to it.

This should be considered an exchange of interests rather than a gift.

He chose the most plain-looking gold watch, which he felt at ease with.

Although this Vacheron Constantin OVERSEAS does not look fancy, it has a very resounding translation name in Dongda - "Zongheng Sihai".

After putting on the watch, even Li Ang himself felt that his temperament had improved by three points.

After an hour of hard work, Beyoncé finally completed her look.

Li Ang thought his mission was over, but Beyoncé asked him to sit on JAY-Z's luxurious swivel chair with a mysterious smile on his face.

"Ms. Beyoncé"

Watching the Queen slowly bend down, Li Ang immediately understood what she was going to do.

This watch was not a complete gift, and the queen required him to pay with a special currency.

click-

At this moment, the jaguar lying on the ground pricked up its ears and the office door was pushed open.

"Baby, are you still there?"

It's JAY-Z!

Li Ang's heart instantly rose to his throat, but fortunately he and Beyoncé hadn't started messing around yet.

After seeing Leon, JAY-Z was so shocked that he almost dropped the rose in his hand, with a confused expression on his face.

"WTF are you doing in my office?"

(End of this chapter)