At 9 AM on Christmas Day, Leon arrived at the Staples Center to start rehearsal.
Not only were there staff from Roc Nation and Interscope Records on site, but even Lakers owner Jerry Buss came to watch in person.
He was quite dissatisfied with Stern's decision to invite Leon as the halftime show guest; he had never even heard of this name.
The 70-something Jerry stubbornly believed that only veteran superstars like Madonna were worthy of such an important occasion.
If the league was reluctant to spend money, the NBA's attention level would never catch up to the NFL's coattails no matter what.
It wasn't the first time Leon and Kendrick collaborated. Their cooperation was smooth, and the rehearsal for Sucker for Pain passed in one go.
"How do you think it went?" Leon asked Phil.
"Very good... but rehearsal is one thing, the performance later is another." Phil patted Leon's shoulder to cheer him up. "Cheer up, this is the most important performance since your debut."
Leon had seen big scenes before. At the Made in America Festival, he sang to nearly 100,000 music fans.
At Huntington Place in Detroit, he delivered a performance that conquered tens of thousands of people.
At that time, the audience consisted of drug dealers, sex workers, feminists, addicts...
Although the Staples Center could only hold less than 20,000 people, the quality of the audience couldn't be compared with previous performances.
Those who could afford tickets for the Christmas game were wealthy people, and Los Angeles was the heart of the entertainment industry.
Among the 20,000 spectators pouring into the stadium, there would be no shortage of famous media personalities, investment magnates, record company executives, and film superstars...
Thanks to Beyoncé, Leon could get this opportunity that all singers dreamed of.
By 5 PM, fans began to enter the arena one after another.
Players from both teams also walked out of the locker rooms, and the scene instantly became exceptionally heated.
Although last year's Christmas game was also Kobe vs. James, obviously this year's heat was even greater.
With the Lakers carrying the championship halo and the Heat having just formed the Big Three, no fan wouldn't be crazy for such a game.
As a performance guest, Leon and Robbie's seats were rightfully in the most conspicuous position in the first row, easily accessible to the players.
Playing at home, the Lakers were suppressed by the Heat in the first quarter. Finals MVP Kobe had no touch, clanking shots frequently.
When the players returned to the sidelines and the coach was arranging the next tactics, Leon tapped Kobe on the shoulder from behind.
Kobe turned around, looked Leon up and down with puzzled eyes, but had no impression of this person in his mind.
Leon smiled and said, "Looks like your touch isn't good today, man..."
Kobe didn't intend to pay attention to this strange young man in front of him.
But seeing his conspicuous front-row seat and the rare Knicks championship ring on his hand, he changed his mind.
Those who could sit in the first row were none of them ordinary people.
He spread his hands and shook his head. "Man, what can I say?"
"Come on, man, destroy them in the next quarter!"
As the whistle for the second quarter sounded, Leon also entered backstage to make final adjustments for the performance.
With the halftime whistle, staff came to the center of the court to quickly set up the performance site.
The lights in the stadium suddenly went out.
Leon put in his in-ear monitors and walked straight through the locker room tunnel.
Buried his head low.
Took a deep breath to adjust his breathing rhythm.
The charming prelude sounded. He closed his eyes and picked up the microphone: "I torture you~ Take my hand through the flames!"
"I torture you~ I'm a slave to your games!"
Applause, screams, and cheers instantly submerged the Staples Center.
Now, this was Leon's home court.
Robbie stood up from her seat, staring at the center of the court with eyes glowing like a fangirl.
Her eyes were full of only Leon.
Beyoncé, also sitting in the first row, couldn't help but stand up too.
Jay-Z narrowed his eyes and applauded in his seat. Not far from him sat West Coast godfathers Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
Several big shots who didn't get along in the 90s were now appreciating the performance of the new generation together.
Leon held the microphone with both hands, perfectly interweaving falsetto and natural voice. "I wanna chain you up! I wanna tie you down!"
"Wuwuwu~ I'm just a sucker for pain!"
Leon ended the first chorus perfectly with a growl. Kendrick walked slowly out of the player tunnel.
Wearing sunglasses, holding the microphone in his left hand and beating the rhythm with his right, he walked to the center of the court while rapping bent over.
"I got the squad tatted on me from my neck to my ankles... Pressure from the man got us all in rebellion!"
"We gon' go to war, yeah, without failure!"
"Hold on."
Kendrick stopped on the last beat, making a pause gesture to the whole venue.
Snoop Dogg in the audience laughed back and forth, patting Dr. Dre's shoulder beside him repeatedly. "This kid really has a way!"
This was his crowd control skill.
"Make some noise! Los Angeles!"
The emotions of the audience were completely controlled, emitting a stronger wave of sound than before.
Leon entered the next chorus, with Kendrick backing him up.
The cooperation between the two was simply perfect.
After the first song ended, Lakers owner Jerry Buss, who always scoffed at hip-hop music, couldn't help but stand up and nod repeatedly.
After hugging Leon, Kendrick made a Crip hand sign to the audience and exited.
Next was Leon's solo performance time.
He stood in the center of the stage. When the noise dissipated, he concentrated fully.
The prelude of Demons sounded.
"When the days are cold, and the cards all fold... And the saints we see are all made of gold."
As soon as he opened his mouth, it instantly caused a sing-along from the whole venue.
Every spectator in LA was familiar with this hit song currently ranking second on the Billboard charts.
Leon extended the microphone to the audience, pricking up his ears to listen to their chorus.
"I wanna hide the truth, I wanna shelter you!"
His eyes became more complex, staring in Robbie's direction. "But with the beast inside, there's nowhere we can hide..."
"No matter what we breed, we still are made of greed."
"This is my kingdom come..."
He handed out the microphone again, and the whole venue went crazy shouting: "This is my kingdom come!"
"I can't escape this now!"
"Unless you show me how!"
After the singing ended, the applause lasted for a full minute before gradually subsiding.
"God damn it! I said he would become a superstar!" Phil, sitting in the back row, couldn't control himself and punched Lenny hard.
"Yes... look, the audience here is crazy."
Leon returned to the audience seats. Robbie had long been mesmerized by that "determined" look in the performance just now.
"Honey... let's go straight back to the hotel."
Haven't started drinking yet, but she was already drunk.
Leon revealed a bitter smile and hugged Robbie.
In last night's battle, they used many secret poses of Australian aborigines. Even now, Leon's thighs still felt numb and sore.
In sharp contrast to the halftime show was the Lakers' performance afterward.
They continued the decline of the first half, and star player Kobe was still out of form.
In the end, the Lakers suffered a disastrous defeat of 80-96, drinking hatred in the Christmas game for the second consecutive year.
In the interview after the game, Leon was completely absent-minded. Consecutive days of intensive performances had already exhausted him.
Early the next morning, he boarded a flight to New York.
Inside the Apocalypse Music office, Bonnie placed coffee and newspapers on Leon's desk as usual.
Unsurprisingly, the result of the NBA Christmas game occupied the headline position of the sports page.
A considerable space was also left for Leon's halftime performance, with music media praising this performance unsparingly.
Half an hour later, Phil came to the office.
Stepping on a pair of shiny Stefano Ricci leather shoes.
Affected by the explosion of Leon's debut album, the old geezer also made a lot of money through commercial performance commissions.
"Look, a popular newcomer whose mind is not full of orgies and alcohol but how to make more money..."
"I simply love you more and more!"
Leon glanced at Phil, ignoring the other party's awkward praise. "Why hasn't the commercial performance fee for November been transferred yet?"
"My accountant is still reconciling the accounts. Not everyone is as professional as Aisha." Phil had a wretched smile on his face.
Leon frowned. "Don't play tricks. You know we signed a one-year contract... If this situation happens a second time, I'm afraid we won't have the chance to cooperate again."
These words scared Phil into trembling. He relied entirely on Leon to support him for the rest of his life.
He immediately stated that he would transfer the $600,000 commercial performance earnings to Leon's personal account in the afternoon.
With the continued popularity of Demons, Leon's appearance fee rose with the tide, and future commercial performance earnings would only be more.
"Man, without me, you'll never find such an excellent manager again..."
"I think it's the same with or without you."
"Do you really think so?" Phil revealed a cunning smile and continued, "I came with a surprise for you, an opportunity to endorse an international brand."
"Oh?" Leon took a sip of coffee and put his feet on the table. "What international brand? Tell me about it?"
Phil stood up from the sofa, took out a mysterious item from his pocket, and slapped it on the table.
When seeing what it was clearly, Leon almost sprayed the coffee out of his mouth.
It was a condom.
"WTF... are you making fun of me?"
"No, no, no..." Phil waved his hands repeatedly. "Yesterday, many celebrities came to your performance at Staples... You know one lady among them appreciated your performance very much. She thinks you have great sexual tension."
"By the way, she is the marketing director of Durex..."
"I received her email last night. She sincerely invites you to be the spokesperson for Durex."
Hearing this, Leon finally dispelled his doubts. Durex has always been known for outstanding marketing strategies.
This company can now occupy a leading position in the global contraceptive market, mainly due to marketing.
After thinking for a moment, Leon sighed and said, "Can't you bastard find me some normal jobs?"
Phil grinned broadly. "What are you talking about? Isn't making love as normal as eating for Americans?"
"I can go a day without eating, but I can't go a day without sleeping with a woman!"
"This is a big company, selling one billion condoms every year!"
"Are you really not interested?"
Leon tilted his head. "Not interested."
"Really? They offered you an endorsement fee of $500,000, and you just need to pose for a few shots in front of the camera."
Hearing this number, Leon immediately perked up, lasers in his eyes. "Fxxk... I suddenly feel this is a good deed, a public welfare undertaking to reduce the virus transmission efficiency in America..."
"Hahaha! You guy!" Phil laughed out loud, baring his teeth.
Leon spread his hands helplessly; he was really too short of money recently.
If the Straight Outta Compton movie started filming, the more than three million dollars in his hand would be burned up in minutes.
First, to obtain authorization from N.W.A members, either give them authorization fees or box office share.
And Kendrick wasn't completely joining out of friendship; the agent behind him wouldn't agree to such a thing.
As an investor, he also had to find a production studio willing to distribute this movie, paying a distribution fee ranging from 5% to 15%...
Venue, props, shooting team, promotion...
Currently, it seems impossible to finish filming this movie without investing tens of millions.
Even though James Wan had excellent cost control capabilities, this wasn't a horror film that brought sensory stimulation to the audience.
Moreover, James Wan's matter was still up in the air.
Last night he asked Bonnie to send the script to James Wan's email and also expressed his intention to cooperate through Robbie.
But until now, the other party hadn't responded.
After Phil left, Leon glanced at his gold watch. His promotional focus at the end of December was mainly in Florida.
Sunshine, beaches, Latin beauties making up Miami, full of hormonal atmosphere.
There was no better arrangement than this in cold December. Just so happens that Cardi B would also be touring in Florida then.
Miami is the swimwear capital of the world. Hundreds of swimwear shows, big and small, are held in Miami every year; it is the wind vane of the entire industry.
It would be a good opportunity to expand the influence of the Evil Angel brand.
Currently, the revenue of the brand's offline stores had stabilized, and Bonnie was also working hard to open up the online market.
Leon's business plan for this was: as long as Evil Angel's monthly turnover could exceed $500,000, he would spend a sum of money to hold a large-scale fashion show.
Benchmarking against "Victoria's Secret" next door, turning it from a clothing brand into a cultural symbol.
This sounded beautiful, but based on the current situation, it was still far away.
Just as Leon wanted to lie down and rest for a while, Bonnie pushed the door open and walked in.
"Leon! Mr. Wan replied to our email!"
"Really?! Did he express his attitude?" Leon hurriedly sat up from the swivel chair.
"Maybe you should look at it yourself; I don't understand his thoughts either."
Saying this, Bonnie placed the printed email reply on the table.
Through the email, James Wan neither refused nor agreed.
He showed strong interest in a gangsta rap movie and also looked forward to cooperating with Leon very much.
But his concern was that making a movie couldn't be a decision made on a whim. If the box office was dismal, it wouldn't be good for anyone.
The box office would affect his own reputation and the thickness of Leon's wallet.
There was too much preliminary work that needed to be coordinated first.
The production studio responsible for distributing the film, authorization agreements from N.W.A members, etc...
If Leon could settle all the preliminary work, he would be very happy to accept this invitation.
Seeing this, Leon revealed a gratified smile. "I think James' reply means he agreed."
With Kendrick around, the matter of those N.W.A rap OGs shouldn't be difficult to handle.
As for production studios, with capital injection from investors, they generally wouldn't refuse to take a share for free.
If the box office explodes, I earn passively; if the box office flops, I still get some soup.
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