America's Top Player

Chapter 109 Is this what you usually watch?
Jones's left and right brains were locked in a struggle.

He entered the industry at the age of 13 following the "King of Soul" Ray Charles. In that era, the entertainment industry was full of the shadows of Irish gangs and Italian gangs.

After experiencing countless dirty deals and betrayals, he developed the habit of considering everything from the perspective of profit.

Seeing this, Li Ang was not in a hurry and continued to induce: "Mr. Jones, I have a question for you."

"Ask me, kid, and I'll do my best to give you the answers."

"Why do black people only make up 13 percent of the country's population, but account for 50 percent of all homicides?"

Jones and Beyoncé were stunned when these words were spoken.

This is blatant racial discrimination!

Beyoncé, who had never lost her temper with Leon before, couldn't help but yell, "Leon! What the hell are you talking about!"

He quickly pressed his hands together to signal everyone to calm down, and still repeated the sharp question: "Can you answer this question for me?"

Whether answering this question from an educational or historical perspective, it is difficult to avoid being labeled as racist.

Jones immediately realized that the boy in front of him was digging a hole for himself.

"I don't understand." Although he said this, he knew very well about his black compatriots in his heart.

They keep shouting peace and love, but more than 80% of the murders they commit are committed by their own black compatriots.

"I think the reason is that only 20 percent of black people have a father with them when they grow up," Li Ang said in a deep voice.

"Really?" Beyoncé showed a surprised expression. A middle-class girl born in Houston, a big city in the South, would definitely not understand these situations.

Jones nodded in agreement.

He believes that 20% is conservative. When he was young, it was considered good if 10% of black children were accompanied by their fathers.

Most fathers disappear without a trace after sowing their seeds.

They either go to hell due to drug abuse or break the law and go to jail.

"What exactly are you trying to say young man?"

"I mean, there are studies that show fathers are the number one priority for shaping children's values, but look at how many black children in this country have fathers?"

"In this situation, how many films depicting the struggles of lower-class black people can help shape children's values?"

Li Ang's series of sharp questions left Jones speechless.

He went on to say, "I can't seem to think of any other movie like this except Will Smith's 'The Pursuit of Happyness'."

"What I want to do is something like this. Our films will influence and encourage many young people!"

After Li Ang's brainwashing and Beyoncé's encouragement, the dying old man was finally moved.

If the movie "Straight Outta Compton" can really have a certain influence as Leon said, then Jones, as the art director, will have another brilliant resume at the charity dinner.

He can proudly tell others that the wisdom he contributed to the film has changed the fate of countless young people.

This is exactly what he longed for.

The most important thing is that although biographical films are unpopular from a market perspective, they are very likely to win the favor of the Oscars!
Jones has been on the Oscar podium since his collaboration with Spielberg in 1985, and he is eager to return to that glorious podium before he is buried.

"You've convinced me young man."

"That's really great!" After getting the promise, Li Ang could finally relax his facial expression.

This meant that he had successfully gained the trust of this eccentric old man, and the process of acquiring Vibe magazine had taken a big step forward.

The next thing to do was to snatch the most famous hip-hop magazine in history from the black Jew at the lowest price.

After returning to my seat, the award ceremony was about to end.

Robbie, who witnessed Leon and Beyoncé sticking together throughout the whole process, looked unhappy.

She crossed her arms and kept muttering to herself: "Asshole, asshole, asshole."

Li Ang curled his lips and said calmly: "Ms. Beyoncé and I were just talking about work."

"Your boss is JAY-Z, not Beyoncé!" Robbie glared at him fiercely. "Didn't you notice JAY-Z's expression?"

"There's nothing between her and me. I swear to God."

Robbie rolled his eyes. "We are all devout Protestants, but your actions sometimes really make me question my faith."

Before she could finish her words, Li Ang took her into his arms.

After returning to the apartment, the two could no longer wait for another second. As soon as they got out of the elevator, they hurriedly removed the seal on their bodies without waiting for the door to open.

They merged into one under the witness of two Grammy golden trumpets.

From the kitchen to the balcony, every corner of the apartment bore witness to their intense friction.

The next morning, Robbie and Leon boarded a plane back to New York together.

Phil kept blasting Li Ang while reading the newspaper: "Congratulations! You've successfully gained traffic again. The media are all speculating about the meaning of your acceptance speech last night."

"Great, this will make my album reach platinum faster." Leon responded perfunctorily while flirting with Robbie.

Two months have passed since the release of the album "Demons", and sales have now reached the 90 mark, just one step away from the platinum line of one million copies.

According to the album annual chart data just released by Billboard, Eminem's comeback masterpiece "Recovery" topped the chart with sales of 2010 million copies in 342.

But Eminem's album was released in July last year, and it sold for four months longer than Leon's album.

From this perspective, it is very rare for "Demons" to achieve such results against the backdrop of the decline of rock music.

Taking into account the income from commercial performances, advertising endorsements, copyright income and the sales share of the Apocalypse label, Li Ang's net worth has officially exceeded 10 million US dollars.

But in fact he does not have that much money now. Before the filming of "Straight Outta Compton" began, he paid Lionsgate $500 million in start-up capital according to the contract.

He contributed $350 million and Robinson contributed $150 million.

"Your only thought about money?" Phil sneered and shook the newspaper. "Your remarks last night were really too extreme. I can't imagine there's any possibility of reconciliation between you and Didi."

"Why reconcile?" Li Ang said nonchalantly.

Phil vented all his frustrations. "No reconciliation? Do you really think you're Al Capone? Is it destined that one of you and Dee Dee will end up dead on the streets?"

"Why did you insist on getting involved with Beyoncé at such a sensitive time? Is that dark tunnel so attractive to you?"

"Shxt! This is so stupid. Now your only option is to renew your contract with ROC, otherwise JAY-Z will definitely give you a hard time!"

After listening to Lao Deng's series of analysis of the pros and cons, Li Ang still looked satisfied.

He leisurely asked the stewardess for a cup of coffee, took a sip, and said with a smile, "The situation is already bad enough. If I let others push me around, I'll only lose more."

"So you just stepped on the gas and drove straight to hell?!" Phil grabbed his hair anxiously. "Warner, Diddy, and if you add Jay-Z, your career and life are in danger."

Leon put down his coffee cup and told Phil a story: "Two little mice fell into a bucket full of milk. One little mouse gave up struggling and soon drowned in the milk. The other little mouse struggled hard and finally churned the milk into cream and escaped."

After listening to this, Phil was silent for a while, and his brows gradually relaxed.

"Are you saying that chaos is a stepping stone?" After pondering for a moment, he seemed to understand something. "Interesting. But I must warn you that challenging their legendary status is extremely dangerous."

After landing in New York, Li Ang contacted Max Martin immediately to discuss his ideas for the arrangement of "We don't talk anymore".

Robbie's schedule is very tight, with only three days left before she kicks off her Great Lakes tour and then flies straight to her home country of Australia for a performance.

"Faded" became a global hit, and in terms of international fame, Robbie is obviously more famous than Leon.

In the recording studio, Leon and Robbie were singing "We don't talk anymore" a cappella, and Cardi B was also in the studio.

Max couldn't figure out why there was an unrelated black girl at the scene.

But he had no time to think about it. Leon and Robbie's singing had left him no time to pay attention to anything else, and his face was full of pain.

After only listening for a few seconds, he shook his head repeatedly, "Stop it, Shxt. You two are a couple, why don't you have any chemistry?"

"Miss Robbie, you need more vocal training. You've been missing beats since the beginning."

Although Max was being polite, Robbie still hung his head in shame. "I'm so sorry."

Li Ang patted her shoulder and said, "It's okay, we just need to plug something in to make up for these flaws."

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Robbie's cheeks flushed instantly, and Leon quickly explained, "I'm talking about plugging in. The audience is already used to you plugging in anyway."

"You can't always rely on plugging in to solve your problems." Max said angrily, "And you, Leon, this song doesn't fit your personality at all. It's really too effeminate."

Li Ang had indeed considered this issue before.

Both the album "Demons" and his famous song "Take Me to Church" are rock music full of power and masculinity.

But the results speak for themselves. His previous collaboration with Ariana on "Senorita" has proved that the audience is not opposed to him singing this style of music.

But he didn't want to completely imitate the original singer's overly effeminate singing style in the inspiration refresh mechanism.

Some intonation adjustments are necessary.

After Max's guidance, the cooperation between the two has improved significantly, but it still cannot achieve the best results.

"Well, I really can't ask for too much when the accompaniment is not made yet." Max sighed.

They spent a long time exchanging ideas about the accompaniment.

Li Ang not only provided the simplified score, but also made precise arrangements for every drum beat in the arrangement, which greatly reduced Max's workload.

After exchanging opinions, Max was about to return to his studio to start producing the accompaniment when he was stopped by Leon.

"Miss Cardi B also recently wrote a song and she would really like to hear your opinion."

Leon brought Max to Kadi and they shook hands.

"Aha~ It's an honor to meet you Max~" After meeting the legendary producer, Cardi had a hard time controlling her expression: "I've been more and more interested in mature men recently. You look very delicious~"

Max had, of course, heard of Cardi and remembered her bold and raunchy style well.

Despite some mental preparation, he still shuddered when he saw Cuddy licking his fingers.

"Hello, Ms. Cardi B." The two shook hands.

After a few more brief pleasantries, Max pulled Leon aside and whispered, "I don't have much experience in rap music. Maybe you can hand this girl over to someone else."

"Others? In my mind, no producer can compare to you. They are all just in name only." Li Ang quickly praised the other party.

“I’m really not that good at rapping.”

Max was interrupted by Leon before he could finish his words. "You should take a look at the work first, Cardi. Hand me the lyrics you wrote."

"Yes, sir!" Cuddy rummaged through her backpack filled with female toys, lipstick and foundation, and pulled out a stack of heavily wrinkled papers.

Confidence was written all over her face as she handed over the lyrics, "You're going to love it Max!"

Max sighed helplessly. Even though he had prepared himself mentally, he was still shocked by the scale of the lyrics.

He was silent for a minute, then he held his stomach and laughed out loud, and he directly recited the essence of the lyrics.

"Once you enter this tunnel, don't even think about getting out. Remember to bring a bucket and a mop, because this tunnel needs to be cleaned at all times."

"Show us all your skills! Only then will you be worthy of the world's best tunnel."

"I'm going to just pin you down and swipe your face like a credit card!"

"Ms. Cardi B, what mental state were you in when you wrote these lyrics?"

When Robbie heard the lyrics for the first time, his mouth formed an "O" shape in surprise, and he looked at Cardi with a little more respect.

Judging from Marx's current condition, Li Ang no longer has any hope.

The other party completely treated this work as a joke.

Cardi B was clearly unaware of this and took Max's laughter as praise.

She replied with a smug look on her face, "After connecting with my ex-boyfriend~ Girls, you know, at that time, there will always be a lot of thoughts in your head."

“Great!” Max didn’t stop laughing until he ran out of breath. “I’d love to be the producer of this piece.”

"Are you kidding, Max?!" This answer was beyond Leon's expectations.

"Of course, I've never seen such interesting lyrics before. I can't wait to hear what the finished product will be like. It's really exciting~"

Leon felt relieved only after receiving Max's affirmative answer.

Obviously, this super producer who has been in the industry for more than 15 years and has produced countless hits regards Cardi B's work as an interesting experiment.

It was already seven in the evening when we left the recording studio.

At Robbie's strong request, Leon did not arrange for him to stay in a hotel this time, but let him move directly into his own apartment.

Even from an economic perspective, it is quite cost-effective.

When Robbie travels, he only stays in suites in luxury five-star hotels.

The starting price for a night at those luxury brand hotels in New York is over a thousand dollars.

Robbie couldn't hide her excitement as she stepped into her boyfriend's house for the first time. She indulged herself in Leon's chest from the moment she got in the elevator.

This represents a further step in the relationship between the two.

But as soon as she entered the door, she stopped smiling.

Bonnie, who had already finished get off work, lay on the yoga mat in the living room and practiced yoga following the instructions on a TV program.

A voice came from the TV: "Now this movement is downward dog, try to lower your waist as much as possible ladies in front of the TV"

“Regulate your breathing. Feel the rhythm of your breathing.”

The point is, Bonnie was wearing next to nothing.

As she didn't know there would be guests today, Bonnie didn't look back when she heard the door open, and was completely immersed in the world of yoga.

Robbie's forehead was bulging with veins, and he gritted his teeth and said word by word, "Does Miss Bonnie usually practice yoga like this?"

"Is this what you usually watch?"

(End of this chapter)