❛WELCOME TO UPTOWN RECORDS.❜
━━ ANDRE HARRELL.
/
COME & TALK TO ME | CHAPTER ONE.
❝CONTRACTS, CONTRACTS.❞
' SEPT 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟐 '
[ NEW YORK, NEW YORK ]
A pen has never felt heavier than the one that was held in Imani's hands. It felt dragging, unnerving knowing that—the pen also held the key to her future. A contract was placed in front of her and across from her the founder of Uptown Records himself, Andre Harrell, and his A&R the very man who discovered her demo, Sean Combs sat next to him.
You'd think she'd be more nervous during final exams but this was a whole different level of emotions that she'd never felt before.
"Imani, I can assure you that you'll be taken care of if you choose to sign with us at Uptown. Not only that the world will be able to hear your voice—you'll also be a force that nobody can stop." The older man's words echoed throughout her mind as a mantra causing her reluctant brown eyes to stay glued to the pen and the paper.
Another presence sat next to her, the presence in question being her older sister Eve. After begging her to accompany her to New York she was the same one who was watching her on behalf of their parents.
You're probably wondering how she ended up sitting inside the office with the same CEO himself right? To put it in simple terms, Imani was tired of spending hours upon hours studying for a degree she wasn't so sure if it would make her happy in the long run. It felt hopeless. She was beyond sick and tired of working her ass off to receive hardly anything at the end so by the stoned-upon push Eve gave her much to her parent's dismay to send in that demo she's held close to her for almost three years to two big labels that she wanted to join. The two are Uptown Records and LaFace Records.
If you're uncultured you probably also don't know what Uptown records are right? Well, Uptown Records is a record label that was founded by Andre Harrell in '86. Since then with the help of A&R Sean Combs, they've managed to fuse R&B and Hip-Hop and create hits. With the artists Al B. Sure!, Guy, Heavy D & The Boyz, Jodeci, and Mary J. Blige they've created incredible hits that found their way on the charts.
And if you're still uncultured you probably don't know who or what Laface Records are right? Well, LaFace Records was a joint venture made by Antonio 'L.A' Reid, Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds, and Arista Records. They were the hottest label in Atlanta with artists such as TLC, Goodie Mobb, Outkast, and supposedly an upcoming female artist from Maryland who went by the name Toni Braxton.
With LaFace Records, it didn't take long for them to reject her demo claiming that she didn't fit the image they wanted and Sean Combs who was always looking for new talent came across Imani's demo and asked her to fly in to officially meet his boss and hopefully come towards in getting a contract.
Two hours later after a surprisingly great conversation and meeting, Imani now sat with a contract in front of her very eyes.
"Imani, are you okay?" The whisper of Eve's voice brought Imani's mind back to where she was. With a nod, she looked back at the contract.
"Imani, I can tell you're feeling reluctant and it's normal I would too if I were in your shoes." It was Sean who spoke up, his words causing her to look up at him. "But if you sign this contract, your life will change just like that. The amount of privacy you once held will now be reduced to less, eyes and ears are on you at all times, you can't hang out with your friends in public like you used to, not to mention you'll have people that hate you for no reason, try to get under your skin with senseless words and cash grabs for the press. create lies to taint your character. You have to have thick skin or else this industry will chew you up and spit you out."
