Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

When Link arrived at the Link Music Studio, he saw Mars busy in the recording room, accompanied by two young men, one white and one black.

According to Mars, the white guy named Philip Lawrence was the technician of the trio, responsible for providing equipment, selecting music segments, and offering references; the black guy, Ali Levine, wearing glasses, was in charge of harmonies and accompaniment.

They were his colleagues at Atlantic Records, and because they got along well, the three of them formed a production team called The Smeezingtons.

Link found these two somewhat familiar, as if they had appeared in Mars's music videos, his right-hand men.

This was even better, a three-for-one deal, he decided to call Ivanka later and poach this whole crew.

"Mr. Baker, there are a lot of spoken parts in 'Lighters', do you want to try them yourself, or find another rapper to collaborate with?"

Mars asked, sitting on the sofa.

Philip and Ali sat on the armrests on either side, like guardians of music.

Link shook his head slightly; he also wanted to perform the spoken parts himself, but there were too many words. A song only lasted three to four minutes, and to recite the lyrics fluently and rhythmically in such a short time, he couldn't do it.

He had tried several times, but ended up getting tongue-tied.

"I was initially going to collaborate with Eminem, but I have a conflict with Kanye, and Em declined. Bruno, do you have any suitable candidates?" Link asked.

Mars had also heard about the conflicts between Link, Kanye, and others, but it didn't matter to him. He wasn't black, and after being released by Motown Records, he kept his afro, trying to blend in with the rappers, but unfortunately, he didn't succeed.

His specialty was rhythm and blues, funk, soul, and pop music. He knew some rap but was not a master.

Scratching his head, Mars thought for a moment, "Mr. Baker, do you know B.o.B? Last year he released a single 'I'll Be in the Sky', which ranked 15th on the Billboard Rap Singles chart. His rap skills are pretty good, I think he would be a perfect fit."

"We can invite him to try!" Link nodded after hearing this.

Mars made a phone call, and within an hour, the singer Bobby B.o.B arrived at the studio, a twenty-something African American from North Carolina, not much associated with the East Coast rap scene. He had released a single last year and was also a newcomer to rap.

After Bobby arrived, the work began in Studio 3.

Link was responsible for singing the chorus of 'Lighters', Bobby was in charge of the spoken words, and Mars and his two assistants stood at the mix console, responsible for mixing and sound effects.

Fighters keep fighting, put your lighters up, point 'em skyward.

Warriors, hold firm in battle, light up your lighters, let the flames reach for the sky.

uh Had a dream I was king, I woke up, still king.

I dreamed a dream where I was a king, and upon awakening, I remained a king.

"Mr. Baker, don't sing these lyrics too forcefully, enunciating too hard can make your voice less smooth, and the rhythm may slow down,"

Mars advised.

"Okay!"

Link gave a thumbs up and sang the lines again.

While they were recording, Lana Del Rey came to visit the set, and upon seeing a guy with an explosive hairdo standing at the mix console, she curiously asked, "Hello, are you the new producer at Link Music?"

Mars, holding headphones, was listening to music when he suddenly smelled a fragrance and turned his head, his heart skipping a beat.

Before him stood a classic beauty with reddish-brown curls and fair skin, taller than him by a head.

Scratching his curly hair, Mars replied, "Miss, hello, yes, I'm the new producer."

"You look really young,"

Lana said, smiling as she sized him up.

"Miss, you're not old either, no, I mean, Miss, you also look very young, younger than me," Mars stammered out his explanation.

Lana didn't mind his slip of the tongue, pointed to the headset and asked, "May I have a listen?"

"Of course, you can!"

Mars handed over his own headphones.

Lana waved him off with a smile, picking up a spare pair of headphones and placing them on her head.

Seeing her listening to the music, Mars secretly slapped his own head, extremely dissatisfied with his behavior; he was all over the place, like a boy who had never seen a beautiful woman before, embarrassingly clumsy.

"....."

Philip and Ali watched him with disdain.

Mars felt his face heat up with their stares and rolled his eyes at them, gesturing toward the recording studio for them to focus.

"This song is amazing, Mister Producer, who wrote it?"

Lana inquired as she put down her headphones.

"Mr. Baker wrote it, and my name is Bruno Mars, you can call me Bruno,"

Mars responded.

"Mr. Baker can write rap songs too? He's incredible,"

Lana admired, looking through the soundproof glass at Link.

"Yes, Mr. Baker is very impressive,"

Mars shrugged, secretly envious. It was normal for girls to like a tall, handsome, fit, and talented guy like Link.

"Mr. Mars, I'm Lana Del Rey, a signed singer with Link Music. We're all part of Link Music now, so I look forward to your guidance,"

Lana smiled politely.

"Okay, alright, Miss Del Rey, please feel free to give me your guidance,"

Mars said in a hurry.

Lana smiled slightly, waved to Mars, Philip, and Ali, and left Studio Three.

When Mars saw her skirt fluttering out of the studio, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Bruno, you're so embarrassing, acting like you've never seen a woman before,"

Philip teased.

"Yeah, seeing this guy's reaction reminded me of myself at thirteen, when I first fell in love. So juvenile,"

Ali said with a grin, showing his white teeth.

"Shut up!"

Mars wiped his cheek, feeling the heat on his hand, and decided not to argue with the two, focusing instead on giving serious guidance to Link and little Bobby's duet.

However, after rehearsing more than ten times, there were still some issues.

Link and little Bobby's voices didn't mesh well; Link's voice was too bright, and Bobby's was too husky.

Their coordination wasn't quite in sync either, and considering that the song was Link's single, he had no choice but to find another rapper to replace little Bobby.

Link also noticed some issues while recording, so after leaving the studio, he listened to the song twice with headphones and felt that it wasn't quite right for him.

"Bruno, want to give it a try?"

Link proposed.

The original version of the song was a collaboration between Mars and Eminem, with Mars handling the chorus and Eminem the rap parts. Their collaboration was quite successful.

Considering Mars would join Link Music in the future, it wouldn't be bad to pass the song to him.

There were two reasons he started Link Music.

The first was to become famous. After gaining fame, he would attract more attention when competing in boxing matches, indirectly promoting the sport of boxing.

The second reason was to make money, which was also Eva's goal. With Mars joining Link Music, he would be part of the company. Handing the song over to him for an early boost to his fame seemed like a good idea.

"Mr. Baker, you want me to sing?"

Mars asked, puzzled.

Although he also wanted to sing, he was currently a producer.

"Yes, you and Bobby are acquaintances, so the collaboration should be better,"

Link said, holding a water bottle.

Mars looked at Bobby and nodded. The two of them entered the studio together and sang the song again.

Link, with headphones on, listened from outside and realized that they were indeed stronger in this kind of music than he was and better suited for this song.

"Philip, Ali, don't you think their collaboration is a bit better than mine?" Link asked his two assistants from Mars.

They nodded. Mars and Bobby had collaborated before and were more in tune with each other. Moreover, Mars was skilled in performing funk music, which is a category of black music, giving him a more relaxed sense of rhythm.

When Mars came out, Link approached him for a chat, asking if he was interested in performing the song.

"Mr. Baker, you want me to perform? But I'm not a singer," Mars said, taken aback.

"Your voice is more suited to this song than mine,"

Link paused, then looked at him and asked, "Also, Bruno, I've listened to your compositions, and I can see that you are a very talented person. I think highly of you. I want to know if you're interested in developing your career with Link Music."

Mars was stunned for a moment. "Mr. Baker, are you offering to hire me as a dedicated producer for Link Music?"

"Not just that, but also a singer's contract. You sing very well, and I appreciate it," Link said.

Mars was ecstatic inside, scratching his afro in disbelief, and cautiously asked, "For this single's contract?"

Link waved his hand, "Of course not just for this one song. If you're willing, Link Music can sign a contract with you for no less than five albums."

"I'm willing..."

Mars was about to say 'I'm willing,' but suddenly remembered he was still with Atlantic Records, with two years left on his contract. If he switched companies now, it would constitute a breach of contract, requiring payment of a $500,000 breach fee.

He hesitated for a moment and then brought it up with Link.

"Don't worry about that. As long as you're willing, you can start working at Link Music tomorrow."

"Great! Thank you, Mr. Baker!"

Mars stood up excitedly. Suddenly, he remembered something else and pointed at his two companions outside. They were a production team, and if he left, the team would fall apart.

Link smiled gently, indicating that their contracts could also be bought out.

"Thank you, Mr. Baker!"

Mars grasped his hand and shook it, then hurried out to tell his two companions the good news.

Link shook his head; Mars was still too young, easily leaping for joy at any piece of good news. It would be good for him to get some real-world experience and learn a bit.

He then called Eva to talk about Mars's situation. Eva said it would be taken care of within three days.