America's Top Player

Chapter 150 Carnival, Ending Adele's Reign
A contract with Adidas is equivalent to a long-term meal ticket, and the contract can be renewed as long as the sales data during the endorsement period is not too bad.

Li Ang currently doesn't have much thought about the sales prospects of the chestnut shoe series.

The one-time payment of $900 million alone made him feel satisfied.

He doesn't have Kanye's ambition to make a fortune by operating the sneakers business.

According to market conditions, singers’ ability to promote such products is far inferior to that of sports stars.

Surprisingly, not only did Kanye West not hold a grudge against Li Ang because of this incident, but he showed a little more respect for him.

This respect does not come from the streets, but is directed at talent.

He often called to ask for ideas on design concepts and to inform Didi of his progress.

Diddy's revenge against Lil Duke has been secretly unfolding.

Li Ang was not surprised by this.

For a rapper, street cred means traffic, money, and respect.
For a rapper, the most intolerable thing is to swallow one's anger.

Even though Diddi is already a billionaire who mingles with the upper class.

Three days later, in the office of Apocalypse Music.

Bonnie knocked on Leon's office door, "Hey, wake up, Boss!"

Li Ang woke up half asleep, rubbing his eyes and cursing, "Bonnie, don't you know it's lunchtime now?"

He yawned, stretched, and looked listless.

Bonnie bent down and handed over a cup of coffee, then picked up the messy documents and newspapers on the table.

I don’t know if it was unintentional or to cheer up the boss.

The spring scenery hidden under the hip skirt is elusive and more refreshing than any coffee.

"The weather is getting hotter after all." Leon took a sip of coffee. "What happened?"

Bonnie came to the computer without saying a word.

Open the search box and enter some text, and a news report will begin:
"A shooting occurred near an apartment building in the O-block area of Chicago at 10 a.m. This morning. Young rapper King Von was shot in the shooting."

"This is the fourth shooting in the 0-block area this month, three of which are suspected to involve King Von and are currently under investigation by police."

Li Ang listened with his eyes narrowed, without a trace of expression throughout.

"That's it?"

"You're just so indifferent?" Bonnie sighed. "Right now, the online community is divided into two camps. One thinks this is Didi's revenge, and the other thinks..."

"Go on."

Bonnie paused for two seconds and then said, "The other faction believes that you are trying to silence people in order to clear yourself of any connection with the Didi shooting incident."

Li Ang was at a loss for words. These fans really thought of themselves as gangsters.

"Is this kind of thing really worth making a fuss about?" Leon said with a smile, "Even if those Chicago bastards get killed, it doesn't matter. It won't affect me at all."

"You don't care at all?"

"The police don't care, so why should I care?" Li Ang spread his hands.

He now has no time to care about the life and death of the two Nigos.

"Bang Bang" has just been released and is currently in the critical promotional period.

Even diva-level figures like Beyoncé and Taylor are running around for publicity.

Both Columbia Records and Big Machine Records had great ambitions for this single - to top the Billboard charts.

Ten days later, Li Ang will attend the Billboard Music Awards ceremony;
The end of the month marks the premiere of Straight Outta Compton.

What is even more troublesome is that JAY-Z is pressing forward with contract renewal negotiations.

In this situation, although he verbally agreed to sign Li Er Duke and King von, he really had no time to take care of these two black guys.

We can only pray that they can survive round after round of street revenge and finally be lucky enough to get a ticket to debut.

But soon Bonnie's response made Leon nervous:

"Cardi B is in Chicago promoting her new song."

"WTF" Bonnie didn't finish her words, but Leon already realized something was wrong.

This crazy girl is always involved in all kinds of trouble.

Even though she was already a nationally renowned rapper, she never cared about her own dignity and actively participated in various community disputes.

Last month, photos of her chasing her brother-in-law through the streets of the Bronx with a gun went viral.

My brother-in-law was forced to run wildly on the street wearing only his underwear.

Finally he had to kneel on the ground and beg for mercy.

The reason was that he was caught cheating by Cardi's sister.

Such scandals have never ceased to happen to her.

"Don't tell me that Kadi has anything to do with this." Leon frowned.

"If she had nothing to do with this, I wouldn't be telling you." Bonnie sighed. "She moved into King Von's apartment after the Chicago tour ended. She was also at the shooting this morning."

"Shhh!" Li Ang was so angry that he almost threw the cup, "Why didn't this crazy girl tell me about this?"

"She wants to solve it in her own way, you know." Bonnie spread her hands.

O-block is the most chaotic and poor neighborhood in Chicago's South Side, where black people have long lived together.

It is not uncommon for ten people to live in a 500-square-foot apartment.

Here, nothing is unshareable, including women.

When he thought that Kadi might have been infected with some strange virus, Leon secretly thanked God that he hadn't had anything to do with this black girl for a long time.

The most important thing is that the promotion of "Bang Bang" is currently at an extremely critical moment, and Cardi is one of the lead singers of this song.

If she had been killed in a street conflict, the song "Bang Bang" would have been announced as being admitted to the ICU just as it was being released.

"Does this crazy girl know what she is doing?" Li Ang patted his head.

"It sounds like she's dating King von." Bonnie said, "Phil has tried to persuade her, but she won't listen."

"She said this was a way to hype things up, and she learned all this from you."

Li Ang was completely confused.

He likes to use street conflicts to create hot spots, but he never takes the initiative to put himself in the hands of his opponent.

"Get this worm-headed black chick back from Chicago immediately. I mean immediately."

What Leon never expected was that Kadi really brought him a surprise.

The originally divided rap groups of all sizes in Chicago's South Side became more united than ever before, standing on Li Ang's side in the East Coast-West Coast Beef.

Now, "Street Coconut Crisps" have become a street religion in Chicago's South Side.

Graffiti about him can be seen everywhere in those dirty and chaotic neighborhoods.

As for how Cardi did it, whether it was street tricks or magic in bed, he didn't know.

A week later, the sales data of "bang bang" was released, causing a stir in the industry.

Over 40 copies were sold in the first week, and 60 copies were streamed.

Excluding the album, this single is the most popular record in sales since the beginning of 2011.

"We did it! The results speak for themselves. We're a top-notch team!" Phil grabbed his glass at the celebration party that night. "We knocked that fat girl off her throne! It's incredible!"

Adele is what Phil calls the fat girl.

Since the album "21" was released in North America at the beginning of the year, it has topped various charts including Billboard.

As of now, it is still dominating the Billboard 200 album chart.

The title song "Rolling in the Deep" has been at the top of the Billboard singles chart for seven consecutive weeks.

The sudden appearance of "Bang Bang" broke the monopoly of the "Queen of England" and landed at the number one spot on the Billboard charts!
"Boss, maybe we should take this opportunity to increase overseas distribution," suggested sales director Rubio.

"Bang Bang" not only broke Adele's reign in the United States.

It also topped the rankings in eight other countries, including the UK, France, and Australia.

But the idea of increasing overseas distribution was immediately rejected by Li Ang.

The advent of the Internet has completely changed the landscape of the record industry.

Now, most overseas listeners choose to pay for music products through streaming.

You can't expect an album that sells for $7 in the US to sell for its original price in a third world country. Coupled with the impact of piracy and the ever-increasing printing costs, overseas distribution in most cases only makes a profit from licensing fees.

"Congratulations, kid!" Phil walked over to Leon, holding a glass of wine. "I can't believe you've reached this level in less than a year."

"I'm just a producer, you have to thank Cardi for her excellent performance."

He deliberately emphasized the word "excellent".

The day after Cuddy returned to New York from Chicago, one of King von's gang members was shot dead.

Even so, Didi's revenge will not stop.

A billionaire was bitten by a group of bugs. His counterattack was of course to kill all the bugs.

"I'm not just talking about this song," Phil explained. "According to what I heard from Nielsen, you're currently slightly ahead of Rihanna in the Billboard Hot 100 for Top Radio Artist. Maybe you can actually beat that Caribbean chick even though you're the underdog."

Li Ang did not show any excessive desire for awards.

It's best to have it, and it doesn't matter if you don't have it.

The most important thing is to put money in your pocket.

In any case, it is worth being happy to defeat Rihanna and Lady Gaga, the two radio queens, in the competition for best radio artist.

This means he has won awards at the Grammys and Billboard Awards.

Coupled with extremely high traffic and impressive record sales data, it can completely establish the position of a top superstar.

"Cheers everyone~" Li Ang grabbed the glass and drank half a glass of whiskey.

He is usually restrained in drinking, but today is definitely an exception.

This was the first time that the work he participated in producing topped the Billboard charts, and any kind of celebration was worth it.

The entire Apocalypse Music Company has been transformed into a wild party scene.

All the employees of the company, including Jorge and T-ray, joined in the carnival.

After taking a big gulp of liquor, Leon suddenly felt dizzy.

He had already drunk quite a bit.

Ariana supported his arm, frowned and whispered, "I fed you a little too much."

"No, I'm very sober now." Leon's arm went around the other's slender waist. "I'm more sober than ever."

The moment of contact, Ariana's body trembled but she did not resist.

This was the first time she had seen Li Ang in this state.

"Shxt~ It's okay that you are so greedy for money, but why are you like this to women as well?" T-ray cheered.

There were quite a few girls at the scene, but he didn't dare to mess with any of them.

Bonnie is Leon's personal assistant.

It is well known in the company that Aisha has a mysterious Mexican gang background.

As for Cardi B, although she never hesitates to show off her twerking to everyone, T-ray didn't even have the courage to get close.

He still couldn't forget the scene on the streets of Brownsville where Cady grabbed his head and attacked him with biological weapons.

Maybe it was the sweetness of money, or maybe it was because he consumed too much alcohol.

T-ray looked abnormal.

For the first time ever, he hugged Phil, the enemy who stabbed him in the back, with their faces touching, looking very intimate.

The two men shouted at the same time: "Fxxk, we rule New York today! We need girls!"

Their voices grew louder and louder, and even the employees who usually looked dull and honest joined in the booing:

"We want girls! We want Mexican girls!"

"Wait, the girl in the little book is pretty good too!"

“Fxxking Brazilian chicks are the best!!”

The atmosphere was set just right, and Li Ang, as the boss, had to compromise.

"Satisfy you~" He took out his phone and dialed a mysterious number, "Tonight, turn this place into a jungle!"

"Yeah!"

"Leon! Leon! Leon!"

The office was instantly in an uproar, with everyone shouting his name.

Half an hour later, a group of scantily clad young women walked in.

The office became busier than a late-night club.

The place is filled with women of different skin colors, different beliefs, different heights, weights and sizes.

The complexity of the races makes this place look like Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings.

Ariana was stunned by the scene, especially after noticing Leon's eyes scanning the group of women.

He muttered angrily.

She tried to straighten her chest and tugged at Leon's arm.

Li Ang understood what he meant and said, "You still have room to grow."

Ariana blushed and subconsciously took a big sip of wine.

She immediately started coughing and her pretty face turned even redder.

Li Ang smiled and touched the other person's head lovingly.

The carnival lasted until 12 o'clock midnight, and not only did it show no signs of ending, but it was actually at its climax.

T-ray hugged the two most plump Brazilian girls in the audience, who weighed over 140 pounds, and took them to the office next door.

Phil was already drunk and unconscious, but he still poured alcohol into his mouth.

From time to time, he would make hesitant sounds and curse the world.

"This country has changed. It has become a paradise for lunatics, villains and thieves."

"Our values are being destroyed and our wealth is being plundered"

"Give me another chance to be young, I will take a double-barreled shotgun and shoot up those freaks with dyed hair and wearing women's clothes"

In the carnival atmosphere, no one wanted to listen to Lao Deng's complaints.

He also deliberately avoided Lao Deng when clinking glasses.

In case of any accidents, let him drink himself to death on the spot.

Although Ariana was very restrained in her alcohol intake, she was already a little tipsy after several hours of partying.

"I can't hold on any longer." She bent down to take off her high heels that were rubbing her feet, and stepped on the ground barefoot.

Walk straight to the jukebox.

"What is Xiao A going to do?" Li Ang stared at the other person in confusion.

After a while, a Latin-style melody sounded -

"Senorita".

Ariana came over with a microphone.

Li Ang understood and jokingly said, "We charge for our performances."

"Do you want to join us or not?" Ariana muttered and rolled her eyes.

"why not?"

I love it when you call me seorita
I love the way you call me "my girl"

I wish I could pretend I didn't need ya
I wish I could pretend I didn't need you
But every touch is ooh la la la
But every touch is wonderful
It's true la la la
Really true~
The moment the singing began, everyone stopped what they were doing and quietly enjoyed the live performance of the two stars.

Ariana's body was pressed tightly against Leon, and the two exchanged hot breaths.

When the last note ended, she threw down the microphone and jumped into Li Ang's arms.

Although he weighed only 90 pounds, the drunk Li Ang still staggered and almost lost the hold.

He felt Ariana's hot breath invading his cochlea, "Do you want to come to my house?"

“I feel my body getting hot.”

(End of this chapter)