Conquer America, Start with a Boxing Champion

After leaving the office, Link came to the music studio. The music studio was actually not far from the company. They were both on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, about three kilometers away. It took twenty minutes to walk there and a few minutes to take the subway.

Arriving at the music studio, Mars, Wiz Khalifa, B.O.B., Phillip, Ali, and Lana were all there.

The music studio not only has a recording studio and a soundtrack room, but also a lounge, a bar, etc. A few of them were smoking and drinking in the bar, making it a mess.

However, Link knew that this was the style of musicians and did not stop them. Not allowing them to smoke or drink would be tantamount to restricting their freedom. Generally, no one would cooperate with such a company.

Link only asked for one thing, that it was forbidden to bring jewelry and firearms into the music studio. If he didn't agree, he could end the contract early.

Because he remembered the news that both Mars and Wiz were caught by the police in possession of drugs and later exposed by the media.

"Link, do you want a drink?"

Wiz has three dreadlocks, wears a T-shirt and jeans, holds a cigarette in his left hand, and holds a glass of golden whiskey in his right hand. At the age of 22, he looks like a chain smoker.

Weisz was not from Link Music, but at Link's invitation, the other party agreed to sign a two-album contract with Link Music.

The same goes for B.o.B Little Bobby. Link remembered that he was one of the original singers of "Nothin' On You", so he spent a million dollars to loan him out from Atlantic Records and invited him to help participate in Mars. The production of the new album.

"No need! I'll hit people after I drink. You'd better not let me touch the wine."

Link joked.

"This really doesn't allow you to drink. If you're drunk, we can't fight you together."

Wiz laughed.

Lana took a bottle of pure water to him and said with a smile: "Boss, you came suddenly, do you have any instructions?"

Link glanced at her. When Lana was in the recording studio, she rarely wore skirts anymore. She still wore her original outfit, jeans, and an artistic T-shirt, but her makeup was not as heavy as before.

"Lana, I already said my name, but you calling me boss makes me feel like an ugly capitalist."

Link said shaking his head.

Everyone laughed.

Lana smiled and said: "Link, I call you boss because I respect you. You are so powerful. Many of your skills are at full level. You are so powerful. I regard you as my idol."

"I don't need your respect. Don't forget how much older you are than me." Link smiled.

Lana snorted dissatisfied, "A girl's age is a secret, okay?"

Link smiled softly and looked at Mars, "Bruno, how are you recording the rap singles?"

Recently, in addition to recording "Lighters", they also have to re-record several songs from Mars' player, as well as several rap songs written by Link, so that Mars, Wiz, and B.o.B can collaborate. Mars' album is planned to be released on Released at the end of the year.

Mars scratched his afro and said, still somewhat restrained, "This is the second recording of my songs, and it went relatively smoothly. The recording has been completed in the past few days, and I am currently arranging "No Problem"."

Link nodded. The song "No Problem" was a single he wrote for Mars to collaborate with.

Because the rap lyrics in those singles were too many and too messy, he couldn't remember a lot of the content, so he supplemented it based on his own experience when writing.

After giving a few to Mars, he asked them to revise the songs "Lighters" and "I'm The One."

"I'm The One" was originally a single collaborated by Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne, Usher and others in 2017. It won the first place on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and stayed at the top for two weeks.

After being modified by him, Graeme, Mars and others, it only ranked first on the rap chart, and its highest ranking was only third on the Hot 100 Singles Chart, which shows that there is something wrong with the level of their modification.

"Link, you don't want to release a song now and use the rap songs we collaborated on to compete with Jay-Z and the others, do you?"

Wiz Khalifa asked.

Wiz belongs to the West Coast rap side. The conflict between East Coast and West Coast rap began with the deaths of Tupac and B.I.G. There has been no reconciliation to this day.

Tupac was born in New York and moved to Los Angeles when he was a teenager. With his extraordinary talent, he became the boss of West Coast rap. He led the rise of West Coast rap and became the number one in the rap industry. He also dated Madonna for two years.

B.I.G is a New Yorker who became famous later than Tupac. He released his first rap album in 1994 and achieved platinum sales. He broke the dominance of West Coast rap and was called the "Savior of East Coast Hip Hop".

By 1995/96, Tupac took the lead in attacking B.I.G and others in the media, leading to the outbreak of the "Rap Wars" on the East and West coasts.

Fans from both sides were seriously opposed, and bloody conflicts broke out many times.

In 1996, Tupac was shot and killed in a car in Las Vegas. According to police investigations, the gunman was related to B.I.G. This also led to B.I.G being shot and killed in a car in 1997 in Los Angeles on the West Coast.

Snoop Dogg is Tupac’s close friend, and Jay-Z is B.I.G’s classmate and B.I.G’s younger brother.

After the rap bosses on both sides were killed one after another, rappers from the east and west sides were also hostile to each other and rarely cooperated.

Wiz is Snoopy's friend, so naturally he doesn't mind cooperating with Link.

It’s just that East Coast rap is extremely powerful now, with too many top performers, including Jay-Z, Kanye, Lil, 50 Cent, etc.

In West Coast rap, only Snoop Dogg is more famous, the others are not good, and including Link and others, they are no match for the East Coast.

At this time, there is no chance of winning against the East Bank.

Link shook his head. He had no intention of getting involved in the conflict between the East Coast and the West Coast, nor did he want to compete with Jay-Z and others at this time.

"I'm just asking, after the recording is completed, release "Lighters" first to see how the fans react. It can also be regarded as a warm-up for Mars' new album."

Link said.

"Boss, when will it be sent?"

Mars asked.

Link looked at him helplessly. He repeatedly stressed that they should call him by his name, but they still couldn't change it.

"The situation in the rap industry has been a bit chaotic these two weeks, so just wait for another two weeks."

Link thought for a moment and said.

"Boss, I think it's okay to release it now. The rap charts are all top-notch, including Jay-Z, Kanye, you, Wiz, Eminem, T.I., Drake, me and Bobby. Newcomers may not be able to chart if they release a single at this time.”

Mars said.

"Bruno, you should be more confident. The song "Lighters" is great, the boss's lyrics and music are great, and the collaboration between you and Bobby is also great. It is very likely to be on the charts after it is released."

Lana said, looking at Link and smiling, "Link, if we take the initiative to retreat at this time, will it seem too weak to spread the word? You are the world boxing champion, and even Tyson can't beat you."

Link shook his head, "No matter how powerful the boxing champion is, he can't guard against bullets. It's better to be careful. We are in New York, and they have more fans here."

"Link is right. We are all newcomers and have too little foundation in the music industry. It is not worthwhile to have conflicts with them, and we can easily be labeled as racists."

said Mr. Graeme, standing at the door.

Link also had this consideration. After thinking about it, he said to Ms. Anna:

"Some rumors were leaked to the media that we originally planned to release our second rap single this week. In view of the current chaotic situation, releasing a song can easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings. For the sake of the overall situation, our company has decided to postpone the new single until Re-released in mid-June.”

"Link, is this necessary? If word spreads, others will really regard you as a weakling. Aren't you worried about your fans protesting?"

Wiz Khalifa put his legs on the low table, blew out smoke rings and laughed.

"It doesn't matter! We've all lost anyway, and it doesn't matter if we lose a little more face. Besides, when you're a singer, your ability is the most important. If you sing well, you don't have to worry about not having fans to support you."

"Boss, I feel you are right and I support you."

Lana blinked and smiled.

"Thanks!"

Link smiled softly and touched her water bottle.

Mars and others also expressed their support for his decision.

On the same day, Link Music expressed its position through the media, saying that it did not want to conflict with East Coast rappers, so it postponed the release of the second rap single originally planned to be released this week to the middle of the month.

When expressing its stance, Link Music introduced in detail the creation experience of "Lighters", which is a rap song created by Link in March.

Eminem participated in writing and editing the lyrics.

The original plan was for Link and Eminem to collaborate, but due to some reasons, the two parties could not reach a cooperation.

It has now been handed over to newly signed singer Bruno Mars to collaborate with rapper B.O.B. It was also emphasized that Mars is the singer recommended by Eminem.

It is scheduled to be released on June 15th.

After Link Music made concessions, fans of Jay-Z, Kanye and others were so excited that they went to Link's Twitter and fan sites to open champagne and ridicule Link as a 'soft egg boxing champion'.

Even so, there are still many dissatisfied fans.

They believe that "Lighters" is a song sung by two new singers. Even if the song is released now, it will not affect "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)"'s status as the number one rap chart.

Link Music is taking this opportunity to promote the single and arouse the curiosity of fans. The purpose is to continue to compete with Jay-Z and Kanye on the charts.

If they really have no intention of competing, they should postpone it for a few more months and wait until next year to publish it, or not publish it at all.