As Leon expected, Bonnie didn't hesitate for a second before accepting his job offer.
In the following days, Bonnie ran back and forth to Leon's apartment almost daily, and she genuinely seemed to be working hard.
She handled the typical assistant duties—picking out performance outfits, arranging schedules, and liaising with contacts—with great care. She even found time to cook for Leon.
It was just that watching a woman bustle around the kitchen wearing an apron in the front and a T-back thong in the rear was a bit... surreal.
And naturally, some strange outfits and toys started appearing in Leon's apartment.
---
Roc Nation, Leon's dressing room.
The middle-aged Black man sitting across from Leon was one of Jay-Z's top executives, Vice President Lenny Santiago, who was also mainly responsible for the label's marketing.
Take Me to Church had been re-recorded and repackaged by Roc Nation, and a remastered version was released.
With the backing of the company's powerful promotional machine, the record's sales performance completely changed from its previous steady pace, skyrocketing like a rocket.
The deep-pocketed Roc Nation printed 200,000 CDs and 10,000 vinyl records in one go. The price of the CD was also raised from the $3.00 Black Panther version to $3.50.
Even so, the enthusiasm of the fans didn't wane. Many die-hard fans who already owned the CD opened their wallets again to buy the vinyl for their collections.
Take Me to Church had been widely praised by critics since its initial release, but even a perfect album like Michael Jackson's Thriller had its critics.
After the label switch drama, for some reason, criticism against the record started to grow. Some radio DJs even dedicated segments to criticizing the lyrics as blasphemous.
But after Roc Nation took over, those criticisms vanished almost overnight.
Unsurprisingly, that was the power of money.
In its fourth week, Take Me to Church performed spectacularly. Combined sales of CD and vinyl broke 40,000 copies, and its ranking on the Billboard Hot 100 jumped into the Top 50.
When Phil heard this number from Lenny, he was so excited his balls were practically tingling—he was even more hyped than Leon.
Over twenty years of experience told him how difficult it was for a newcomer to break into the Top 50 on the brutally competitive Billboard chart. This meant Leon was now a bona fide star.
"The market performance of the record exceeded expectations. Company management is very satisfied," Lenny said, crossing his legs.
At the same time, he pointed out to Phil that the New York market was nearing saturation. Future commercial performances should focus on the Midwest.
Commercial performances are also an important means of promotion. Since Roc Nation didn't hold Leon's management contract, they needed Phil's cooperation on these matters.
Lenny turned to Leon. "Both company president Mr. Yormark and founder Jay-Z agree that your focus shouldn't be entirely on endless commercial gigs right now."
"You can make money anytime... If a singer doesn't have an album of their own, they don't deserve to be called a singer."
Leon fully understood what he meant. He lit a cigarette and said, "Within a month, I will record a brand new demo. This song will be on my new album."
Receiving a satisfactory answer, Lenny smiled slightly. "Excellent. If you need any help, just tell me."
"According to Miss Beyoncé's wishes, whatever you need, we will prioritize it."
This warmed Leon's heart. Beyoncé's promise wasn't just a blank check.
Just that alone made her better than 90% of the hypocrites in this industry who called themselves gentlemen.
---
On Sunday, Leon chose a quiet time to come to the office. Under the guidance of Phil and Roc Nation producer Big Dog, he attempted to record the demo for Sucker for Pain.
Phil had already secured a performance slot for him at the Made in America festival. Although it was just garbage time during the opening, it was crucial for Leon.
Delivering an outstanding performance at a festival of this level would be hugely beneficial for his career.
If the recording went smoothly, he would debut the live performance of Sucker for Pain at the festival in a month.
I torture you~ Take my hand through the flames
I torture you~ I'm a slave to your games
For the opening chorus, neither of the two experienced producers could find any fault.
Seeing Leon's manic lyrical and performance style for the first time, Big Dog couldn't help but cover his headphones and praise him repeatedly. "Damn bro~ This is fking amazing~"
However, once they got to the rap section, his face quickly went from sunny to cloudy, and finally, he was clutching his stomach, laughing uncontrollably.
The expected problem happened. The dense rap lyrics couldn't transition naturally from the chorus at all. By the end, Leon was practically gasping for air, nearly sending himself to the afterlife.
"Bro, that was the trashiest rap performance I've ever seen..."
Everyone present, including Leon himself, agreed with this assessment.
Phil said, "Maybe you need some rap training. I know an expert in this field; you'll pick it up quickly."
Big Dog immediately stood up and glared at Phil. "I've produced hundreds of rappers. Are you saying I'm not professional enough?"
"I didn't say that... please sit down."
"You amateur old hack, you don't understand! This isn't about whether he can rap or not!" Big Dog pointed at Phil's nose and continued his rant. "Listening to the whole thing, the chorus and the rap parts don't sound like they were written by the same person..."
"This sense of disjointedness isn't something rap skills can fix."
Leon nodded silently on the side, secretly praising Big Dog for being a true expert.
In the original version given by the Inspiration Refresh, it was clearly a multi-artist collaboration. The chorus was done by one person, but the rap parts featured at least five distinct voices.
Even if they compressed the number of collaborators to the limit, this song needed at least two people to complete.
One person for the chorus, and another singer for the rap verses.
Only then was there a probability of presenting the work completely.
Before Big Dog could speak, Leon beat him to it. "According to my original creative idea, this song should be a feat with a rapper."
Snap—
Big Dog snapped his fingers, then viciously flipped Phil the bird. "See? I told you nobody knows rap better than me."
"The one thing this company doesn't lack is young nrs with dreams. Aside from big shots like DJ Khaled who might be tough to get, I think anyone else would be willing to perform on a masterpiece like this."
"It's just..."
Big Dog suddenly changed his tone and paused.
"Just what?"
"You might have to accept the featured artist changing your original lyrics. Originality in lyrics is a rapper's life, you know that, bro."