"I do have some impression of that name..." Leon nodded thoughtfully.
He spent at least dozens of hours a month on planes. When bored, he often flipped through the crappy magazines on the airport bookshelves.
Jeffrey Epstein's name often appeared in financial magazines like Fortune and Bloomberg Businessweek.
His "J. Epstein & Co." specialized in serving clients with personal assets of over 1 billion dollars.
New York State Senator Charlie Evans was also his guest of honor.
"McKenney is famous in the pimp circle for his 'specialty services'." Robinson's lips twitched, as if he had tasted something dirty.
"What specialty services?" Leon revealed a contemptuous smile.
He wasn't surprised by whatever hardcore fetishes the American elite possessed.
Madonna was extremely obsessed with young men of color ("boy toys"), and even during her marriage to director Guy Ritchie, she constantly slept with Black and Latino men.
And the poor cuckold Guy Ritchie always turned a blind eye to this.
Boxing champion Mayweather was obsessed with full buttocks, sometimes using women's taillights as punching bags for fun.
Fueled by rap culture and consumerism, money worship had been pushed to new heights.
Body modification became a nationwide trend in the US.
Every young woman was filling her body with stuff to satisfy people's increasingly perverted aesthetics.
But in the eyes of many upper-class elites who were bored with playing around, big boobs and big taillights had become somewhat tedious.
"McKenney mainly provides young girls. Very young girls." Robinson spat lightly. "Heinous white trash..."
"Okay..." Even Leon, who had no bottom line, was speechless.
He fully understood what the other party meant by "very young."
Compared to endless plastic surgery and body fillers, Epstein's hobby was obviously much more perverted.
It had reached the level of breaking the law.
"Can you contact McKenney?" Leon lit a cigarette and asked.
"That guy is a pimp who moves in high society. Do you think he would deal with a Black man living in Compton like me?" Robinson shook his head.
"Fxxk..."
"But I can find those girls McKenney has in Los Angeles."
Hearing this, Leon immediately showed a joyful expression. "That's great! Contact those girls for me immediately!"
"Man... I know what you want to do." Robinson's eyes suddenly became complicated.
A large portion of the girls in McKenney's hands came from destitute working-class families in the Rust Belt or the South Side of Chicago.
Among them were young girls from Compton; Robinson knew them.
Under McKenney's brainwashing and careful packaging, they quickly became tools for the rich to have fun with.
Leon spread his hands and said, "Listen... I will give these girls a large sum of money, enough for them to start a new life."
"This..." Robinson thought about it carefully; there was actually some sense in these words.
Anyway, these girls were already used to serving people like Old Jones. Their lives had inevitably fallen into the abyss of being manipulated by others due to poverty.
What Leon asked for was nothing more than taking a few photos while they provided services.
"Do as I say, man." Leon patted Robinson's shoulder. "I'm saving them!"
"I want to expose the ugly and obscene state of those elites! For them, this is even more of a revenge!"
---
Early April, inside the headquarters of Apocalypse Music.
Leon sat in his swivel chair, fiddling with playing cards.
Phil just pushed the door open and walked in. Seeing this scene, he smiled and said, "Looks like you are addicted to poker games now..."
"Fxxk~" Leon pushed over the card tower in front of him. "You bastard are late again."
According to the plan, they would set off for the Adidas North America headquarters in Portland today to negotiate the endorsement contract.
This was a competitive negotiation because Kanye's management team would also appear there.
To make himself more competitive, Leon decided to go to Portland in person.
"I'm very sorry, I haven't recovered from last night's hangover." Phil scratched his head. "We can leave now."
After a long seven-hour flight, their figures appeared at the Adidas headquarters in Portland.
Inside the conference room, the meeting was hosted by Adidas Senior Vice President Torben Schumacher.
Just hearing the name, you knew he was a genuine German.
Marketing Director Thomas and a group of executives sat on the left side of the conference table.
Leon and Phil sat opposite them. Kanye's business manager, St. John, sat in the same row as them.
Torben first welcomed the guests, then began to introduce the glorious history of Adidas.
From the brand's founding in 1949 to the later split of the founders, which subsequently spawned another world-class sports brand, "Puma."
While listening patiently, Leon revealed a playful smile. Actually, the history of this company went back even earlier, probably to around World War I.
During World War II, they made their fortune by manufacturing military boots for the Little Mustache Painter.
"Listen everyone, I may not understand music or street culture very well, but I know both of you are excellent musicians."
"Kanye's 14 Grammy Awards are truly a great achievement..."
Torben's words revealed a bias toward Kanye between the lines.
Phil quickly gave Thomas a look.
Taking gifts makes one's hand short; eating others' food makes one's mouth soft. (idiom: Taking bribes makes it hard to act impartially.)
Having taken a kickback in an "alternative way," Thomas quickly chimed in, "Mr. Leon is also remarkable. He is currently the singer with the most traffic. Most importantly, he is a symbol of street culture!"
"That's right, Mr. Leon's achievements are indeed remarkable..." As a typical German, Torben was extremely rigid and boring.
Whether it was rap or rock, he had zero interest in music other than classical music.
He just wanted to focus on making good sneaker technology.
If not for being beaten dizzy by Nike in recent years, he wouldn't compromise with the market to cater to young people.
Torben continued to ask, "Please tell us respectively, what can signing with you bring to Adidas?"
Phil was about to speak but was stopped by Leon.
PUA (Psychological manipulation/Persuasion) was his forte; he decided to do it himself.
"Traffic. Massive traffic." Leon knocked on the table. "Everyone here is an expert. I believe you have done enough market research. My current traffic needs no further explanation."
"Whether it's music media, serious news, radio podcasts... streets and alleys are all discussing my name."
"Even if only one percent of this traffic converts into purchase rates, it's a tempting sales figure!"
Torben nodded.
Judging whether a spokesperson is qualified is not complicated at all; you just need to look at the sales data for the quarter after the endorsement launches.
Although Leon didn't have tens of millions of fans, tens of millions of people indeed paid attention to his information through various channels.
Kanye's manager kept his arms crossed while Leon spoke, looking relaxed.
As if this endorsement was already in his pocket.
After Leon finished speaking, he slowly opened his mouth. "Kanye West can bring you the opening of a new sneaker series. He is a genius in design."
Phil couldn't help but retort, "Is that so? The sneakers he designed for Nike didn't sell many pairs at all..."
"Say whatever you want." John spread his hands. "In the sneaker business, without doing a collaborative series, anyone endorsing has little meaning."
Torben nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. These words hit him right in the heart.
As a specific category of consumer goods, sneakers belonged to the category of sports equipment.
A suitable spokesperson could empower the product. Just the name Jordan could cause a rush among consumers, not caring at all about the premium price.
This was also why sports brands usually preferred to choose athletes when selecting spokespeople.
Even singers with bigger fame received much smaller contracts than athletes.
John continued, "I know your company recently developed a new technology. The Boost sole is a great innovation..."
Torben's eyes lit up. He might not understand entertainment trends well, but he paid extreme attention to sneaker technology.
He quickly signaled his secretary to bring over a white Boost sole.
"What is Boost?" Phil looked blank.
Leon remained calm on the surface, but sighed secretly in his heart: This is bad...
Obviously, as a professional business manager, John had made precise and comprehensive preparations in advance.
Holding the white sole in his hand, Torben said, "The BOOST sole is manufactured using TPU foaming technology. It is composed of thousands of energy capsules, which can effectively absorb the impact of the foot and convert it into rebound force, making jumping easier and more comfortable..."
After a lengthy introduction, John said confidently, "In fact, after hearing the news about Kanye terminating his contract with Nike, Puma also approached us..."
"Puma?" Torben snorted. "They are just our imitators."
"That's not important. What's important is that Puma offered more money, didn't they?" John spread his hands.
Torben was speechless from the retort.
John continued, "And the reason Kanye decided to choose Adidas is that he valued your unique BOOST technology! Combining this technology with Kanye's genius design, we can make the greatest sneakers in history!"
These words made everyone present boil with excitement, except for Leon and Phil, whose faces were ashen.
"This bastard is a negotiating genius..." Leon said through gritted teeth.
With just a few sentences, the opponent reversed the status on the negotiation table, as if Adidas became Party B, the one being selected.
Seeing the situation wasn't right, Thomas hurriedly said, "But we haven't even seen the design sketches..."
"That's simple!" John snapped his fingers and said, "Kanye's brain has been full of inspiration for sneaker design recently! At most, it will only take two months for you to see sketches or even samples!"
At this point in the negotiation, Torben already had the answer in his heart.
Just in the area of sneaker design, Leon and Kanye were completely incomparable.
"Mr. Torben, I also have many ideas about sneaker design." Leon knocked on the table and said.
"You?" Doubt was written all over Torben's face.
"Of course. Miss Cardi B and I founded a women's lingerie brand." Leon said, "Wicked Angel. Maybe you've heard of this brand."
"Never heard of it..."
Just hearing the name, one knew it wasn't a "proper" brand. In Europe, where sexual relationships were extremely open, Germans could be considered anomalies.
Among the three major European economies—UK, France, and Germany—Victoria's Secret lingerie sold the worst in Germany.
Thomas delivered an assist at the right time: "This is a very strong emerging lingerie brand. It currently sells more than 30,000 pairs of various styles of crotchless thongs every month..."
Originally thinking Leon had nothing to do with the design industry, Torben didn't expect him to achieve monthly sales of hundreds of thousands of dollars in the women's lingerie track within just a few months.
Knowing how involuted (intensely competitive) the clothing industry was, Torben instantly felt a sense of respect.
"If you are willing to give a chance, I can also present a new sneaker using BOOST technology within two months." The corners of Leon's mouth rose.
"Fxxk~ Lingerie and sneakers are two different things." John mocked.
"Kanye understands the sneaker market so well, how many pairs of Air Yeezy did he sell in total?" Leon delivered a killing blow with one sentence.
For a company like Adidas, even if they designed a perfect sneaker that everyone marveled at...
If consumers didn't pay for it, it was no different from trash.
After a meeting and discussion among the executives, they decided to make a decision after seeing the design samples from both sides in two months.
And they directly dropped a big promise (big cake): the designer of this new collaborative sneaker would receive a 10% share of sales profits.
This ratio was hard not to be tempted by. Michael Jordan's share in Jordan Brand was only 5%.
If signed successfully, this treatment would be considered very generous.
On the plane back to New York, Phil complained incessantly.
"Fxxk, I can't imagine what kind of trash you're going to present to Adidas in two months..."
"Did you forget that I bought a design studio in Los Angeles?" Leon rolled his eyes at the other party.
"Designing lingerie and sneakers are completely two different things!" Phil retorted. "Kanye studied design seriously while working for Nike, and he also has a professional team of sneaker designers!"
Leon completely understood these words. He knew that even if he dragged it out for another two months, his chances of winning were still slim.
He just didn't want the opponent to get the contract easily.
Even if he couldn't win, he had to disgust Kanye a bit.
---
One week later, inside the Apocalypse Music office.
Leon was drinking coffee while staring at the financial report submitted by Aisha.
The physical record sales of Faded had exceeded 2 million copies, heading toward RIAA "Double Platinum Record" certification.
In a market where physical records were declining daily, such a result was undoubtedly a hit electronic track.
Ariana's Señorita physical sales also exceeded 1 million copies, and streaming platform copies exceeded 2 million.
Besides that, the complex calculations of various royalty revenues were giving the company's finance department a headache.
Leon was already considering handing over the quarterly audit work to an accounting firm.
Billy, jointly released with Aftermath Records, performed even more strongly. In just one month, physical record sales exceeded 1 million copies, and streaming sold 1.5 million copies.
According to the contract previously signed with Aftermath Records, counting Leon's copyright income...
Calculating based on the unit price of $4 for CD and $14 for vinyl, Apocalypse Music's share from physical records alone was over $1.9 million in pre-tax income.
Counting the streaming platforms, the total income was nearly $2.5 million.
Such exaggerated sales data even made Dre completely change his view of Leon. After deducting all production costs of the record, Aftermath Music made a fortune from it.
Combining all record and copyright income, Leon's liquid capital was close to 15 million dollars.
After everyone got off work, he sat alone in the office browsing real estate agency websites.
Battery Park City, Central Park South, Tribeca, Long Island...
Leon was completely inflated, dazzled by mansions costing tens of millions of dollars.
At 9 PM sharp.
A high-pitched female voice broke into his cochlea—Bang Bang.
One, two, three...
This was a collaborative song completed by three girls.
She got a body like an hourglass, but I can give it to you all the time
She got a booty like a Cadillac, but I can send you into overdrive (oh)
You've been waiting for that, stop, hold up, swing your bat
See anybody could be bad to you, you need a good girl to blow your mind, yeah