Conquer America, Start with a Boxing Champion

In fact, it didn't take three days, just one day, for Ivaca to send someone to get the Mars trio's contract from Atlantic Records, without even paying a cent in liquidated damages.

The condition put forward by Atlantic Records was that it hoped to obtain the overseas distribution rights for Link's second album.

Ivaca did not agree.

The overseas distribution of Link's first album was handed over to Universal Music, and the cooperation between the two parties was quite pleasant. He will continue to cooperate with Universal Music for his second album, and there are no plans to change partners for the time being.

However, Ivaca proposed that the distribution rights in South America be given to Atlantic Records.

After some consideration, Atlantic Records agreed to let him go.

Link is a popular singer. His first album sold nearly 5 million copies worldwide. The sales of his second album will definitely not be bad. If he gets the distribution rights in a region, he can make real money. Obviously, he is better than three people behind the scenes who have never debuted. More valuable.

There are still hundreds of musicians like Mars under Atlantic Records, so it’s not a pity.

"Bruno, Philip, Ali, welcome to join Link Music."

After signing the contract, Link reached out and shook hands with Brother Martian and the other three.

"Thank you Mr. Baker!"

Mars shook his hand excitedly and took a sneak peek at Lana Del Rey floating by the window. He suddenly realized that he really liked Link music. It was great here.

Link also noticed the look in Brother Martian's eyes. He turned around and saw Ivaca passing by outside. He couldn't help but be secretly surprised. Brother Martian likes Miss Ivaca?

Quite brave.

After Mars joined Link Music, two rap songs were recorded very quickly.

"Lighters" was sung by Mars, B.O.B. and Ari Levine.

"I'm the One" was written by Link and singer Wiz Khalifa.

Wiz Khalifa is a friend of Snoop Dogg and belongs to West Coast rap. After Link Music sent an invitation to Snoop Dogg, the other party recommended Wiz Khalifa.

Wiz debuted in 2006 and is 22 years old. He is tall and thin and has tattoos all over his body.

The representative work is "See you again", which has been sung on the same stage as Duanmei and Taylor, but of course it has not appeared yet.

I'm the only one oh-eh-oh oh oh-eh-oh

I'm the one oh-eh-oh oh oh-eh-oh

I'm the only one

"how do you feel?"

In the lounge of the recording studio, Link finished playing "I'm the One", looked at Graeme, Mars, and Wiz Caffari and asked,

"Out of ten, how many points can you give me?"

"10 points!"

Wiz Khalifa smoked a cigarette, blew out a smoke ring and smiled, "Link, you should have confidence in our cooperation."

Mars nodded and said: "The rhythm of this song is great, and the cooperation between You and Wiz is also very good, at least nine points."

Graeme also thought it was good. Mars was better than he expected. After the production of this song was completed, the quality was very high and was no worse than the rap songs currently on the singles chart.

"I hope you're right, I don't want to be laughed at by Kanye and the others after it's released."

"Don't worry, they have no chance."

After gaining everyone's recognition, Link's first rap song "I'm the One" officially landed on major digital music platforms in the United States, and he also posted a tweet on Twitter.

‘Rap song I’m the One, thanks to Wiz Khalifa! ’

Not long after he tweeted, tens of thousands of fans came out to comment, saying it was a great song and looking forward to him releasing a rap album.

Several acquaintances of Lady Gaga left comments and likes, congratulating him on his successful crossover.

In the first week of its release, "I'm the One" sold 171,000 copies on digital platforms such as Amazon Digital Music Store and ITunes Music Mall, was played more than 12 million times on online platforms, and was played more than 100 million times on radio stations.

In one fell swoop, it reached No. 48 on the US Billboard Singles Chart and No. 4 on the Billboard Hip-Hop/Rap Music Singles Chart.

Second only to Eminem's single "We Made You", Lil Wayne and Rihanna's "Live Your Life", and Drake's single "Best I Ever Had".

Link is a newcomer in the rap industry. His first single surpassed many veteran rappers in terms of sales and playback volume, and it reached the top ten of the rap charts, causing quite a stir in the music industry.

The media covered the incident.

"Billboard" magazine commented that the main reason why this song broke into the top ten of the rap chart in its first week is that the song is of high quality and the collaboration between Link and Wiz also works very well. It is a 'very stunning' song. Rap songs.

When the New York Post reported this news, it said that the reason why "I'm the One" hit the top 100 on the Billboard singles chart and the top 10 on the rap chart in its first week proved that Link had succeeded in crossing over into other industries. Not only is he a boxing star in the boxing world, he is also extremely popular in the music world.

The "Chicago Forum" commented that the song's lyrics and music are of a very high level, perfectly blending electronic music, pop music and rap music. It once again proves that Link has extremely high talent in music creation, saying that he and Lady Gaga , Adele, and Katy Perry are the most anticipated new singers in the music industry in 2008/09.

Netizens jokingly call them three queens and one king.

However, after Link released his new song, there were some negative comments online.

Some anti-fans jumped out to criticize him, saying that he wrote the "rap song I'm the One" and claimed to be the best in rap, which was a declaration of war against rappers such as Kanye.

There are also black fans calling Kanye, Lil, 50 Cent, Eminem, Jay-z and other top rappers online, asking for their opinions.

Regarding the online comments, Link was busy participating in the school sports meeting and ignored them.

Kanye and others have not responded publicly.

It wasn't until the second week that "I'm the One" rushed to No. 23 on the Billboard singles chart and No. 2 on the rap chart, leaving songs by Drake and Lil Wayne behind.

"How is this possible? Link is a pop music singer who doesn't have many fans in the rap field. How can his new song be listened to by so many people?"

In a club in Brooklyn, 50 Cents looked at the "Billboard" magazine in his hand with some disbelief.

"Could those data be false?"

Duck Drake asked in annoyance.

His new song "Best I Ever Had" was released in March and stayed in the top three of the rap chart for more than six weeks. Just last week, his song was pushed out of the top three, and he was very unhappy.

"It's impossible. Billboard has existed in the music industry for more than 100 years and relies on credibility. The data they publish will not be wrong."

Lil Wayne said, holding a pool cue.

"But why are his scores so good? I have listened to that song, and the quality is very average."

Derek said disdainfully.

"Is it average? I think it's pretty good."

Eminem is lying on the pool table, hitting the cue ball with his cue.

"Eminem, don't be too happy. You are first and he is second. Be careful that he will poke you in the butt next week."

Lil Wayne pokes Eminem with his stick.

"Fake Squid! Then what are you going to do? Don't let the fans listen to his songs? Or kill him with a gun?"

Eminem joked.

50 cents and Lil Wayne shook their heads after hearing it.

In the 1990s, gangsta rap was very popular, and its record sales were always at the forefront of all types of music at that time.

However, after several shooting incidents occurred in the 1990s, Tupac and B.I.G were killed, many rappers involved in gangs were terminated by their record companies, and rap music was also affected.

If they dare to use this method to attack competitors again, the careers of the entire group members will be affected.

It is not appropriate to use violence against Link.

"I have a great idea."

Eminem leaned on the case, holding a beer and laughed, "Link is a pop singer. He has done well in cross-border rap. You guys can also cross-border and play pop music and crush him on the pop music charts." ”

Lil Wayne and others shook their heads decisively. Pop music is not that simple. You can't just play it if you want to. The competition there is more fierce and ordinary people can't get a foothold at all, let alone get on the singles chart.

Thinking of this, they felt that Link's bastard seemed a bit powerful.

A boxer crosses over to the music scene and can establish himself in the pop music circle in less than a year.

Now he is doing rap across different industries, and his singles can hit the billboards. This guy is indeed quite good.

It's absolutely impossible for them to admit that Link is great.

"How about we hurry up and release a few singles in advance to squeeze out Link's songs?"

50 Cent suggested.

"This is a good idea. Kanye has a single that is scheduled to be released next month. Let's go and persuade him to release it in advance."

Lil Wayne said while rubbing his chin.

Everyone thought it was a good idea, put down their glasses and clubs, and left the club together.

Eminem looked at the empty recreation room, cursed Fake, and had no choice but to pick up his clothes and leave.

——

In the third week of the release of "I'm the One", Kanye released the rap single "Monster" in advance.

Lil Wayne, Beyoncé, Jay-z, 50 Cent, T.I., Diddy, Shane Carter, Drake, Chris Brown, Busta Rhymes and many more have featured through various Use social platforms to forward information about this single.

On the day of release, "Monster" was downloaded 174,000 times across major platforms, exceeding the first-week digital downloads of "I'm the One".

In the first week of release, the number of downloads exceeded 600,000, making it the most downloaded song in the first week of 2009.

"Monster" also shot to No. 9 on the Billboard Singles Chart and No. 1 on the Rap Songs Chart. Link's "I'm the One" ranked No. 22 on the Billboard Singles Chart and No. 1 on the Rap Songs Chart. 3 places.

The media saw that Kanye released the single in advance and suspected that he was targeting Link, and the two parties did not reach a reconciliation.

A reporter came to ask for confirmation.

Kanye's music manager said that Kanye was just preparing to release a single recently and had nothing to do with Link.

Kanye's fans saw that his new song surpassed Link in sales and did not let "I'm the One" reach the top of the rap chart. They called it a huge victory and restored the face of rappers. .

Many fans went to the comment area of ​​Link's Twitter to leave messages, asking him to listen to Kanye's new song, saying that Kanye's new song is a hundred times better than "I'm the One".

He said that if his "I'm the One" didn't get the number one spot, it should be renamed "I'm the three" or "I'm the loser".

"Monster was downloaded 614,000 times in its first week? Kanye is really strong."

Link looked at the news in the newspaper and was a little envious of Kanye's popularity.

Currently, he is only considered a first-class singer in the music industry. Compared to a top singer like Kanye, there is still a huge gap in influence and number of fans. This gap can not only be narrowed by a few singles and a few albums, but also It takes time to develop a built-in fan base.

"Boss, the comments of these anti-fans are too outrageous. Should we respond?"

Ms. Anna asked.

"No! Responding with words is too weak and wastes money. It's not cost-effective. I prefer to use practical actions to prove that I am the best."

Link shook his head, pulled off the towel on his body, and jumped into the pool in his bathing suit.