webnovelfull The 1574th Rap God?
The 1574th Rap God?
"A rap album?"
On the other end of the phone, Joel froze, repeating the same sentence uncertainly.
"Ye, you're not kidding, are you?"
Ye Zhi Qiu replied, "Do I look like I'm joking?"
“…That’s not what I meant,” Joel stammered. “I was thinking you could write a rock song, or something else, in response…”
"After all... it's really... rare for a non-Black person to release a rap album in North America."
"To be honest, this isn't our area of expertise, and the audience might not necessarily buy into it..."
Joel phrased it rather tactfully, but his meaning was clear.
Don't be fooled by Ye Zhi Qiu's previous rap single "Just the Way You Lie" achieving great success; that was a special case and cannot be generalized.
Ultimately, rap is still music dominated by Black people, and audiences have formed stereotypes about it.
This is similar to the concept of "Chinese style." If you ask a Black guy to release a Chinese style album, the audience's first reaction will be, "What is this?"
In response to Joel's question, Ye Zhi Qiu replied nonchalantly, "Isn't that even better?"
"Defeating someone in their area of expertise when no one else is optimistic about them is more convincing, isn't it?"
Joel was speechless.
That makes sense, but you also have to be able to do it!
He didn't know where Ye Zhi Qiu's almost insane confidence came from, but as her agent, he needed to consider more.
Ye Zhi Qiu chose the strategy that would generate the most traffic. If successful, he could become a legend in the rap music industry and reap huge profits.
However, if it fails and album sales plummet, the impact on his commercial value will be enormous.
Frankly speaking, this is a decision where the risk and reward are disproportionate. Given Ye Zhi Qiu's current status, he has no need to take this risk.
Joel opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything to persuade him. He knew that Ye Zhi Qiu's decision wouldn't be easily changed.
In his collaboration with Universal Music, Ye Zhi Qiu has maximum autonomy, and the management company cannot force him to do certain things.
This is the source of confidence for singer-songwriters.
“Okay…” Joel said, “If you really decide, the company will fully support you.”
"The company's rappers and collaborating artists can all assist you in creating songs."
While Joel said this, what he was really thinking was that if Ye Zhi Qiu's so-called rap album didn't go well, Universal Music would take this opportunity to call a halt.
If all else fails, have the collaborating team write a rap song, put Ye Zhi Qiu's name on it, and that would be enough to respond to Blaze's diss tracks.
These kinds of verbal battles are just a back-and-forth exchange of words, and they're never really going to get to the bottom of things.
Business is business; there's no need to let this little thing affect your ability to make big money later.
"No need." However, Ye Zhi Qiu's answer was beyond his expectations.
"The song is already written, we can start recording immediately."
“I have some business to attend to in China and can’t leave. Just send a professional team to China to assist with the recording.”
Is it all written?
An album usually has at least 8-10 songs... For some reason, Joel had a familiar feeling lingering in his heart.
He recalled that Ye Zhi Qiu's previous English album, "VIVA," was like this: Ye Zhi Qiu silently produced 10 songs, recorded them in just over ten days, and then they became a bestseller...
Suddenly, he had a lot more confidence in Ye Zhi Qiu's rap album.
“…Of course, no problem.” Joel couldn’t help but ask, “What song are you going to use to respond? Have you decided?”
On the other end of the phone, Ye Zhi Qiu seemed to be thinking, and his voice came through after a two-second silence.
"Let's just call it the album's title track."
"RAPGOD (The Rap God)".
"..." Upon hearing the song title, Joel fell silent.
At that moment, he felt utterly absurd.
During an interview after his Super Bowl performance, Blaze famously declared himself the "King of Rap".
As a result, Ye Zhi Qiu performed "The God of Rap," which was undeniably full of confrontation and mockery.
But this song title isn't just targeting Blaze; it's about dealing area-of-effect (AOE) damage.
This situation is like a house full of black rappers, where a yellow person suddenly walks in, points at one of them, and actually yells at everyone, "Your singing is garbage."
Joel swallowed hard, seemingly already imagining the bloodshed that was about to unfold.
......
Universal Music acted quickly; the production team arrived in Huahai City just two days later.
Without further ado, Ye Zhi Qiu immediately got to recording the song.
At the same time, he did not forget the online public opinion.
He ignored Blaze's taunts and instead posted a teaser for a new song on his personal Twitter account.
The post included a poster showing a heavy black iron gate covered with intricate patterns, with the gate opening to the left and right, creating a space more than a meter wide.
In the center of the iron gate stood a black figure with arms hanging naturally at his sides, standing silently without making any other movements.
A beam of light shone from behind the iron gate, obscuring the figure's expression in the shadows. However, one could sense that the figure was staring directly at them, seemingly making eye contact with the person in front of the poster.
Although the figure's expression is blurry, fans familiar with Ye Zhi Qiu can tell that this should be Ye Zhi Qiu himself.
In the center of the poster, there are two clearly visible English words.
RAPGOD.
The post also included a preview time: "Officially released at 10:00 AM on March 8th".
This post went viral almost instantly, without any promotion.
The various media reports during this period have made the whole internet aware of the "feud" between Ye Zhi Qiu and black rapper Blaze. After Blaze released a diss track, everyone was waiting for Ye Zhi Qiu's response.
In the hearts of North American fans, Ye Zhi Qiu's image has always been that of a wild and unrestrained individual.
However, the explosiveness of his response still exceeded everyone's expectations.
"???"
"Is this a teaser for a new song?"
Does this mean letting the work speak for itself?
"Wow, the song title is so direct and crazy, I love it."
"But who is Rapdog? Is it himself?"
"Clearly, this is a mockery of Blaze calling himself the 'King of Rap'."
"I know, but he's Asian!"
"Is this a challenge to all rappers in America?"
"My God, has Ye gone mad?"