America's Top Player

Chapter 156 Floating on the Avenue of Stars

It’s the end of May and there are only two days left until the premiere of “Straight Outta Compton” on Children’s Day.

Li Ang was lying on the sofa in the office throwing darts. There was a large map of the United States on the wall.

He asked Bonnie to mark each city where he would perform to prevent himself from going insane under the pressure of the tight schedule.

"I will ride my horse on the old city road and won't stop until I am exhausted~" I hummed while trying to find the feeling of vocalization.

The young black man in the original version did not have great singing skills, but he had a unique hoarse voice that is unique to black people.

This is a kind of racial talent.

Soul music has been dominated by black people since its birth.

The King of Soul Ray Charles' smoky voice is unique in the world. After his death, no matter who performed his works, they would not have that flavor.

Similarly, Guns N' Roses' "Don't Cry" can only be called a work of art when it's sung with Ross's roaring voice.

"FxxK, as a singer, you don't read music scores but study geography?" Phil pushed the door open and walked in, without saying hello as usual.

"My schedule is so packed, I'm marking it to make it more memorable." Li Ang sat up and spread his hands. "I'm going to T-ray's podcast show tonight, flying to Los Angeles tomorrow, and the movie premiere the day after tomorrow."

"After that, I have seven more shows in Florida."

"It's nothing, you're still young." Phil said, "Think about Taylor's 111 concerts. The hardship you've endured is nothing."

Speaking of Taylor, she just happened to be holding the "Say Yes" concert in Miami in early June.

When the two learned that their schedules overlapped, the other party immediately invited Li Ang to be a guest at the concert.

He agreed immediately.

In order to be able to use Taylor's traffic more confidently in the future, it is natural to contribute some effort.

Phil opened the wine cabinet and pulled out a half-drunk bottle of Bowmore whiskey.

After drinking half a glass of liquor, his eyes became three times clearer.

"Drink more. Once you die of drinking, I will take back your agency business." Li Ang said sarcastically.

"WTF are you serious?" Phil almost spit out the wine he had just swallowed.

"I'm not lying to you, you bastard." Li Ang said with a smile, "We're no longer a small workshop. In April, during New York State's tax season, I paid a damned over $600 million in various taxes."

"A mature record company should have its own management department."

The issue of paying taxes made Li Ang quite depressed.

He originally had 1600 million in cash on hand and was ready to use the money to purchase real estate.

As a result, the tax bureau chopped him down with a butcher knife, and he fell from the throne of multi-millionaire again.

Fortunately, the money was supplemented by Adidas, and now there are nearly 2000 million US dollars in hand.

"Shxt, you're such a fool! This money is just feeding those idiots in the state government." Phil changed the subject of his broker and sarcastically said, "I've told you long ago that if you keep your money in your pocket, they'll slowly eat it all up. Investing it in the securities market is the right thing to do!"

Li Ang nodded in agreement.

After the tax season, he has deeply realized the importance of tax avoidance.

One of the strange phenomena in American society is that the richer people are, the lower the proportion of their personal assets that they pay in taxes.

Buffett, the head of Berkshire Hathaway, has a tax rate of 17.4%.

His secretary, Sanek, had 35.8%.

Luca told him a truth - "People used to say that rising water lifts all boats, but now the reality is that rising water lifts yachts."

The United States has a strictly progressive excess tax rate.

The higher your income, the higher the tax rate you have to pay.

The personal income tax rates borne by people with different incomes range from 10% to 37%.

The U.S. government imposes capital gains tax on income generated from asset appreciation.

The tax rate for this type of tax is also proportional to income, but the capped tax rate is only 20%.

Capital gains tax is only levied on assets that have been converted into actual income.

That is to say, no matter how much the assets you hold appreciate in value, as long as they are not sold, you do not have to bear any taxes.

Luca's advice was quite crude: "Invest in securities and real estate!"

Buy, borrow, and die, this is the typical "lifestyle" of wealthy Americans.

To avoid paying huge taxes, America's super-rich rarely sell their stocks and real estate.

It is much more affordable to mortgage it to a bank for a loan.

In this situation, only a fool would sell assets under his name at will.

Li Ang had no confidence in the securities market, and buying a house instantly changed from a need to show off to a necessity for investment.

Beyoncé, an avid real estate enthusiast, once reminded him that now is the best time to buy a house.

The real estate market is recovering from the impact of the 08 subprime mortgage crisis.

He had already paid a deposit to the real estate agent and in June, he paid the full amount for the large flat in Tribeca that he had previously set his sights on.

In addition, he also needs to conduct a systematic review of the companies under his name.

This matter has been given to Bonnie.

The business was completely split and reorganized into three sections: Apocalypse Music, Lion's Nest Media, and a clothing company responsible for the Evil Angel brand and chestnut shoes.

Apocalypse Music is responsible for all record-related business and copyright management.

Lion's Den Media currently includes Lion's Den Radio, Chester Bad Boy Radio and Vibe magazine.

Even if the scope of media business is expanded in the future, it will all be incorporated into Lion's Nest Media.

As for the clothing company, Li Ang thought it was a wrong investment until he got the joint contract with Adidas.

After more than half a year of development, the Evil Angel brand has only managed to break even.

The occasional small profit is negligible compared to his current wealth.

Right now, there is no possibility of development except holding a large-scale lingerie fashion show or inviting more famous and sexy spokespeople.

The newly established Leezy clothing company will manage the two brands of Leezy shoes and Evil Angel.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, it was redesigned by Jones Fashion Design Studio.

Phil interrupted Li Ang's chaotic thoughts and asked with a smile, "Are you planning to release a new song soon?"

"No." Li Ang rolled his eyes at the other person.

"Really? I heard from Max that you're planning to restart the recording of 'We don't talk anymore.'" Phil said with a smile, "and I heard that you wrote a great new song that's completely different from your previous styles."

Damn big mouth
After a brief moment of annoyance, Li Ang quickly returned to normal.

As Phil always says, whether or not to renew his contract with ROC, that day will come.

Don't give up eating because of choking.

"Maybe in a few days, at least until I come back from Los Angeles," said Li Ang.

"Great. Great! I love seeing you full of energy!" Phil flattered her. "It won't be long before you can crush JAY-Z. Then, if you want, you can even hook up with Beyoncé right in front of him."

"I think you're crazy asshole"

The two were chatting happily when Li Ang's finger, which was casually sliding the middle axis of the mouse, suddenly stopped.

Li Er Duke sent him a private message again.

This guy would report his situation to Li Ang regularly every day.

During this period, he was shot five times.

He lost two Hao Houmi, but also successfully killed a gunman sent by Didi.

"This kid is really something." Li Ang muttered to himself after looking at the content of the private message.

Many fierce mafia characters have been portrayed on the big screen, but few films have depicted black street gangs.

Although this gang plays low, the level of bloodiness is no less, and the intensity of gang wars is even greater than that of the Mafia.

Unless core interests are involved, the mafia rarely sends people directly to see God.

But young black people hanging around the streets are very likely to reveal the truth and shoot each other with a provocative look.

In Compton, in downtown Detroit, on the South Side of Chicago.
These are not isolated incidents, it's just that few people pay attention to these dark corners.

It's like they've been abandoned by this country.

The last message from Lil Duke was: "Boss, when are you going to sign me?"

To this, Li Ang replied: "Just survive this month first."

Phil looked at Leon's grinning expression and came over curiously.

"If you ask me, you might as well sign those two silly guys. I'm already attracted to them," said Phil.

"Haven't you already done that?" Li Ang's retort left the other party speechless.

Phil had already secretly contacted Lil Duke, intending to be his agent.

But Li Ang had warned before that if he wanted to sign with Apocalypse Music, he had to bring his agent contract along.

This is why Lao Deng failed to succeed despite all his efforts.

Phil's face flushed, and he quickly changed the subject. "I've heard the music of those two black guys. Although it's crude, it has a certain audience. With professional equipment, it won't be too bad. Besides, you don't need this little money right now."

"Are you really going to stick to what you said to the media and only sign female artists to this label?"

Gender is not the point; it was just a fabrication to stun the media.

The point is, the three singers of Apocalypse Music are already very famous, and each has a distinct personality.

Letting two unknown black guys join in will only pollute the purity of the label.

If we really want to sign them, setting up a new label is the best solution.

Let this new label be managed as a subsidiary label of Apocalypse Music.

Li Ang started the Drill music trend with the song "Billy".

This type of music is now rapidly rising in the market, and major labels are preparing to divide up the cake.

Li Ang made the cakes himself, so there was no reason for him not to eat them.

But now is not the best time to sign Lil Duke.

At least until the shooting incident is over.

The next day, Li Ang boarded a flight to Los Angeles.

50 Cent, accompanied by Kendrick, finally showed up at the airport on time to pick up the plane.

They hadn't seen each other for more than a month, and they started chatting happily as soon as they got in the car.

"Bro~ You don't know how much I miss you!" 50 Cent's signature bear hug made Li Ang stop quickly.

"enough."

"I'm serious Bro! When I'm having sex with girls, your asshole's face is all in my head!"

Even the driver couldn't hold back after hearing this, and couldn't help but turn his head to secretly look at Li Ang.

"Fuck, I really want to kick you out of the car." Li Ang was quite helpless. This was 50 Cent's personality.

Just like his rough appearance, he is honest and has no ulterior motives.

This is also the key reason why his rap career has been able to receive help from big names such as Dre and Eminem and has been revived several times.

Now Li Ang's name must be added to this list of benefactors.

The success of the song "Billy" was phenomenal.

In Los Angeles, 50 Cent faced no less criticism than Leon did in New York.

There are constant announcements and beautiful women all around.

Kendrick, on the other hand, remained surprisingly silent.

Until I got off the car and arrived at the luxurious suite of the Four Seasons Hotel.

He pulled Leon away from 50 Cent and whispered, "Bro, are you and Robbie really done?"

"Really." Li Ang responded indifferently.

Kendrick was slow to realize the news and didn't learn about it until the night of the Billboard Awards.

Before this, he had always thought that this was just gossip spread by unscrupulous media.

"Damn bro Robbie did everything for you, she even went on adult sites to learn"

Before Kendrick could say anything, he was interrupted by Leon's sharp eyes.

He waved his hands and said, "Okay Bro~ I mean, I've never seen Robbie do this to a man before."

Li Ang immediately retorted, "Damn it, what's wrong with your head? There's nothing more common than this in the black area."

In the underclass, breakups are as common as the nightly chores.

Anyone who talks about this matter will surely be ridiculed by his peers.

Kendrick scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, I thought you white people were more affectionate, like in Titanic."

"Stop talking nonsense and get out of here." Li Ang was angry and laughed at the same time. "I'm already very tired after flying for so long."

That night, Leon flirted with two of the Kardashian sisters and Ariana at the same time.

My fingers are almost smoking from rubbing them on the screen.

After putting down the phone, he wondered in his head whether he should invite Robbie to come back to New York to record a song with him in person.

According to Kendrick, Robbie will also be at the premiere.

The next day at four o'clock in the afternoon, the extended Lincoln appeared at the entrance of the Four Seasons Hotel on time.

"Come on Leon! I missed you so much!"

"Shxt, you're dressed so casually on such a big day?!"

Davis and Kendrick sat in the back of the car, shouting at Leon from a distance.

Li Ang almost didn't recognize the other person when he saw his appearance.

It's been a while since I've seen this guy wearing a decent tailor-made suit. It's a world of difference compared to his shabby appearance in Brownsville.

"You look great~" Leon patted Davis' shoulder, "Would you like to go back to New York with me after the premiere?"

"Damn Bro, who wants to go back to that damn place!" Davis shook his head repeatedly, his dreadlocked head looking like a broken mop.

Leon and Kendrick smiled at each other.

Davis's achievements in Compton can be described as a class leap.

Not only did he become a movie star, but he also started dating the cousin of the famous street legend Robinson.

It was a long time after learning about this incident that Leon understood why Robinson was so annoyed at the time.

He only has one cousin, who is also the only female in this generation of his family.

During the filming of "Compton", Davis lived comfortably in Robinson's large house.

While encroaching on his cousin, he was also not polite to Robinson's collection of cigars and fine wines.

You can even enjoy cocktails specially mixed by street bosses from time to time.

The premiere took place at the ACE Theatre in Los Angeles.

This meant the motorcade had to pass through the iconic Los Angeles landmark, Hollywood Boulevard.

The world-famous Avenue of Stars is located here.

Before they reached their destination, the three people in the car were already drunk.

Today is supposed to be a happy day, and carnival is the only theme.

Li Ang simply stopped hiding his strength, and in less than an hour he knocked down the two men in front of him.

Davis, in particular, was in a particularly excited mood today.

He was clearly just drunk, but he was talking to himself and behaving strangely as if he had taken a drug overdose.

It was as if I was in a hallucination.

The vehicle just drove onto Hollywood Boulevard.

At any time of the year, it is always crowded with tourists from all over the world.

Davis suddenly ordered the driver to open the sunroof.

Before anyone could react to what he was about to do, he had already stood up.

His upper body was exposed through a skylight, and he was holding a half-full bottle of whiskey in his hand.

He threw the bottle up without warning and drank the liquor with his head held high.

Shouting to the crowds on both sides of the street:
"I'm the coolest dude in Los Angeles, everyone watch me!"

"I came from the garbage dump of Brownsville, New York, and now I'm floating on the Los Angeles Avenue of Stars in a stretch limousine!"

"The movie I'm in is about to be released!"

"I'm hanging out with the street-slicked coconut guy, Li Ang!"

Passersby turned their heads.

Their surprised expressions were like film, frozen in black and white under the humid June sea breeze.

(End of this chapter)