My absurd experiences in North America over the years

Kanye looked up, his gaze falling on Li Fu's face again. The lights in the private room were dim, only illuminating the wine glasses on the table and the outline of his face.

"You're right, I really can't get any worse off than I am now."

He said this with a self-deprecating expression, and then picked up his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

"But there's one thing I need to make clear to you first: I'm not here to be your servant, and I will never bow my head to anyone again."

After last year's storm, Kanye finds it hard to trust anyone anymore. Even if he rots away, he would never want to be someone else's pawn and then be ruthlessly abandoned like a stray dog.

Li Fu didn't feel offended. He just looked at Kanye calmly and said, "I never need servants. I always treat my collaborators equally. As long as you have enough musical talent, I will do my best to help you reach the top."

Kanye stared into his eyes, as if trying to see if he was lying, but all he seemed to see was sincerity and determination.

"I will contact you again, but I need some time to sort out some things for myself right now."

"Okay," Li Fu nodded, and asked Thompson for his business card.

"There's one more thing," Kanye said, taking the business card, glancing at it briefly, and then stuffing it into his pocket.

"Go ahead and say it."

"If you ever find me a nuisance and want to kick me out, you'd better tell me directly. Don't be hypocritical like them, or you'll definitely regret it."

Kanye clearly knew that Li Fu was using him, and he was still wary.

Li Fu was somewhat surprised by what he said, but still said, "I generally don't use underhanded tricks, and at least I never kick someone when they're down. That's the fundamental difference between me and them."

Kanye nodded, then put on his baseball cap, turned around, and pushed open the door to leave.

Only Li Fu and Thompson remained in the private room. He picked up his glass of wine, drank it all in one gulp, then put down the glass, got up, and left the room.

The music in the nightclub was still playing, and the lights were still flashing, but his mind was no longer on the nightclub. He was thinking about what was about to happen, and that the meeting he had just had would definitely change a lot of things, at least for the next few years.

It would be difficult for him and Kanye to become friends, but they might become "comrades-in-arms." Kanye needs an opportunity, and he needs a knife, a knife that he may not necessarily have to wield himself.

When Kanye reached his peak, he posed the greatest threat to Jay-Z. In fact, in Li Fu's memory, they did break up, but by then Kanye had grown to the point where he could rival Jay-Z and his wife.

Isn't this exactly what he needs?

Li Fu came out of the private room and went back to the booth. Tucker and the others hadn't left yet, or they might be waiting for him, since the chance to run into him was not often.

They tacitly avoided asking Li Fu and Kanye what they had discussed in the private room, instead continuing to talk about some industry secrets. Tucker lamented that their label was likely to be reorganized and shut down.

The label he worked for was called LaFace, which was once very popular, but after it was acquired by Sony BMG, its resources were reassigned and it is now idle.

As a once-famous manager in the industry, who single-handedly created the TLC group, he now has no place to use his talents.

He even had the idea of ​​going solo. The friends who were present today were discussing what new talents could be discovered and whether going solo was risky.

Li Fu rarely interrupted, but listened patiently.

At 3 a.m., everyone had had their fill of fun and left the club together.

When they parted, Tucker was probably drunk and boasted with his arm around Li Fu's shoulder that LaFace had been marginalized by Sony Entertainment in the last two years, otherwise he could have easily created another TLC group.

Li Fu certainly wouldn't take his drunken words to heart, but he had a deep impression of the TLC group, not because he had heard their songs, but because Lisa Lopez had once been the lead singer of the group.

When he investigated Beyoncé and her husband, it was difficult to avoid this combination. In the "conspiracy theory" of his past life, the public even believed that Beyoncé was inextricably linked to Lisa's death.

Because after Lisa's death, TLC fell apart, and Beyoncé's Destiny's Child group soared to new heights.

She was the biggest beneficiary.

At 10 a.m. the next day, Li Fu appeared in the manager's office of Forrest Capital's Los Angeles branch.

Paul was quite surprised by Li Fu's arrival and immediately stood up to greet him, "Mr. Li, do you have any work arrangements?"

"There's something I need you to do for me. I'm very interested in a record label called LaFace, which is now owned by Sony BMG," Li Fu said, leaning back in his chair. "Could you please provide a feasible acquisition plan as soon as possible, including its asset structure, the current status of its artists' contracts, the ownership of its music library copyrights, and a rough valuation?"

"LaFace... I remember it was a pretty famous R&B label in the 90s," Paul actually remembered it. "TLC, OutKast, and Usher were all there in their early days, but they haven't been very active in recent years."

"Yes, this is the one. You can investigate and evaluate it," Li Fuwei paused slightly, then continued, "How much would it cost if we wanted to buy this brand, and whether Sony is interested?"

"Understood. Is there a time limit?"

"The sooner the better. Also..." Li Fu hesitated slightly, but still added, "If Tucker Lane is still listed on LaFace, find out his contact information while you're at it."

He listened to the other person talk fluently last night, and he thought he was an experienced and capable agent, someone worth investigating.

"Okay, I'll get on it right away!" Paul prepared to gather his subordinates.

"Wait a minute," Li Fu called out to him.

"Mr. Li, is there anything else you need?"

"How is the fund operating? Are there enough staff?" Li Fu didn't want this matter to delay the fund's operation.

"Both funds are operating smoothly and we are preparing to submit reports to you. We have recently hired two new employees, so there is no shortage of manpower," Paul said. He has been working tirelessly lately, but he has finally lived up to expectations.

"OK, you can go ahead with your work!" Li Fu stood up from his chair. "Call me anytime if you encounter any difficulties later."

"Okay," Paul nodded, turned and left the office to call a meeting with the staff.

This is the first acquisition he's in charge of, and he absolutely cannot afford to make any mistakes.

"Mr. Li, is it worth it for us to invest these resources in Kanye?" Thompson wondered.

After all, Kanye isn't exactly a top-tier artist right now.

Jay-Z is a hip-hop king, and Beyoncé is a nationally renowned pop diva whose influence continues to spread.

In his view, training Kanye to fight against the couple was a bit of a pipe dream.

"Just you wait and see! Kanye will soon be a formidable rival to Jay-Z," Li Fu understood Thompson's concerns and patted him on the shoulder. "When have I ever misjudged him?"

Thompson thought about it and realized that although it seemed outrageous now, his boss always managed to "turn the impossible into reality".