Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

Chapter 382: It’s All Link’s Fault

"Drake, Chris, what’s happening over there?"

Drake and Chris Brown had just turned a corner in the corridor when they suddenly saw Beyonce standing in front of them.

Beyonce was wearing a fashionable plaid shirt with a knee-length pencil skirt that showed off her abundant chest and curvy hips; a slim, white belt cinched her slender, supple waist, giving her an overall look that was both stylish and sizzling hot.

Drake was taken aback by the sight of her and, coming to his senses, said, "It was Puff Daddy who brought some people to see Jay-Z."

"Oh? Who was it?"

"A few people with Josie Epstein."

Drake mentioned several names.

Beyonce raised her thick, long eyebrows, her seductive eyes glanced at Drake and Chris, then settled on Drake, "Why were Em and 50 Cent looking so sour when they went downstairs? Did they have a falling out?"

Drake hesitated, then relayed what he had just heard, including Eminem’s accusations against Puff Daddy and his efforts to persuade Jay-Z.

Beyonce asked, batting her long eyelashes.

"Jess didn’t object,"

Drake said.

After a moment of contemplation, Beyonce asked the two about their albums and new songs. Then, swaying her sexy hips and walking on her high heels, she left, leaving behind a captivating fragrance.

Drake watched her full, sensuous hips and couldn’t help but swallow hard.

"Jess just instructed us not to tell anyone about this, yet you told Beyonce."

Chris Brown said.

"Is Beyonce just anyone? She is the boss lady. Besides, I also feel that what Jess and Puff Daddy are doing isn’t quite right. If Beyonce knows about this, maybe she can have a word with him."

Drake said.

"Man, it’s all that bastard Link’s fault. If it weren’t for him, none of us would be in this mess now. Motherf*cker!"

Chris Brown cursed.

Drake shrugged his shoulders but didn’t contradict him; it was indeed all Link’s fault.

He was Canadian, originally making his debut as an actor, appearing as an extra in TV shows such as "Degrassi: The Next Generation" and "Charlie Bartlett."

Influenced by Jay-Z, he began to sing.

Starting in ’06, he released several original rap songs on the internet and caught Lil Wayne’s attention. In ’08, he became a signed artist with Lil Wayne’s record company and also joined the East Coast rap crew.

When he first joined, the East Coast rap crew had Jay-Z as the big boss, with Beyonce, Eminem, Kanye, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, T.I., Usher, and others as top-tier artists.

There were also Rihanna, Chris Brown, Pharrell Williams, Ludacris, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, and others who were all bestselling artists.

Back then, the East Coast rap crew was extremely powerful in the music industry and had significant influence.

Even megastars like MJ, Madonna, Mariah Carey, and Justin Timberlake were seeking collaborations.

At that time, Drake thought the East Coast rap was very cool, and by hanging out with them, he could also achieve the same success as they did.

But starting in ’09, things gradually began to go south.

Apart from changes in the music market and the rapid development of pop and country music squeezing the rap music market to some degree, another significant reason was the rise of Link.

When Link entered the music scene, he’d just defeated Tyson and Jermain not long before and was well-known in the boxing world, looking to switch to singing.

Kanye and his crew were displeased with Link and wanted to make him lose face, so publicly they disparaged Link’s new album.

They thought that Link, a newbie singer, wouldn’t amount to much; they could just suppress him a bit and his album would flop.

But what happened next was beyond everyone’s expectations.

Link’s new album was surprisingly good quality and became very popular in the market.

In its first month in the US, sales surpassed one million copies, outperforming many top-tier artists’ albums and pushing Kanye, T.I., and Usher’s new albums down on the Billboard 200 chart.

This infuriated Kanye and others; they had thought that Link was just a small fry in the music industry that they could easily crush.

But when they tried to crush him, they found out he was a Transformer.

They ended up tumbling and losing face in the media.

This also led to Lil Wayne confronting Link at the 2009 Grammy Awards.

They thought Link would cave, but sadly for them, they were wrong; Link was a real tough nut to crack. That day, outside the Grammy Awards venue, he not only openly criticized Kanye and Lil Wayne, but he also targeted Washington, directly igniting public opinion.

In the following month, they rallied many Black celebrities and fans to try and brand Link with the stigma of racism, to force him to back down, apologize, and retire from the scene.

But sadly for them, Link didn’t budge. He countered the enormous pressure with a song called "Give Me Reason" that escalated the situation even further, turning it into a social issue.

In the end, even Washington had to step in, hoping the East Coast rap groups would back down and stop the ruckus.

Afterward, Lil Wayne and 50 Cent were forced to apologize, marking the first-round battle in favor of Link, with East Coast rap losing.

In the second round, Link announced his foray into rap and when the East Coast rap teamed up against him, they were shattered by the song "See You Again." For three whole months, it suppressed the entire rap community from raising its head.

In the third round, the chart battle between Link and Jay-Z, despite Jay-Z having enlisted the help of many top-tier celebrities for promotion, couldn’t match Link’s series of tactics such as boxing matches, lottery events, swimming competitions, and scandal hype, among others.

The East Coast rap lost again this round.

The battle continued until the beginning of this year when East Coast rap joined forces with pop prince Justin Bieber and marketing guru Scooter, arranging three albums to surround and besiege Link’s new release. They thought they could defeat Link and regain some face.

But it was a disaster.

Not only did their albums not outsell his, but Scooter and Justin Bieber also got recruited by Link’s music label, directly becoming his subordinates, and Kanye and Usher also fell into Link’s grasp, becoming indirectly his subordinates.

Kanye was utterly depressed, retreating to Hawaii Island to recover and write songs, attempting to reclaim his dignity with his next album.

Usher, with an album crafted by 15 golden producers, took more than two months to just break one million sales, not even a quarter of Link’s new release.

Usher also nearly sank into depression, staying home all day and not venturing out.

After four battles and four defeats, the once-thriving East Coast rap was left fragmented.

Now, Jay-Z is preparing to launch a fifth counterattack, but even before it’s begun, he faces dissension within his team, with Eminem and 50 Cent no longer playing here.

Drake shook his head helplessly. Link really wasn’t a nice guy; without him, East Coast rap wouldn’t have ended up like this.

"Let’s go have a drink," Chris Brown called out.

Drake shrugged his shoulders, glanced at the sexy, enticing figure disappearing down the corridor, sniffed, and followed down the stairs.