Jasper Smith - (Michael Jackson Fan Fiction)

Steeltown Records

The day had finally arrived. Tuesday, 16th March 1974. Jasper had been excited, anticipating this day ever since his father Nathaniel told him the news. However, since then, Nathaniel has been contacted by a few 'Agents' wanting to sign Jasper to their record label before anyone else. It was clear that Jasper had a huge amount of potential, but this worried Nathaniel. He knew fame at an early age can destroy lives, and their perspective on the world. Frankie Lymon was the example in his mind, that made him more cautious when making decisions. Of course, Frankie Lymon was also a child sensation but unfortunately died at the early age of 25, after a heroin overdose. This was what Nathaniel was trying so very hard to avoid, but now that the two were known, the security of Jasper became an issue for Nathaniel. 

Jasper was already dressed by the time Nathaniel woke. "C'mon dad! Let's go!". Nathaniel sat up, rubbing his eyes wearily. He glanced at the clock. The time was half-six in the morning. "Jasp', we don't have to leave until 4 in the afternoon. Why are you up this early, son?" 

A frown appeared across Jasper's face as he heard this. "I wanna' go now! I wanna' sing some more daddy," he said, a sense of tantrum in his voice. "We have no choice. We'll go at four, no sooner, no less." 

"Aw man," Jasper said, as he turned and walked out of the room, which was connected to the lounge area. He began to play with some elastic bands which were randomly on the couch. Clearly he had not had much sleep last night, as he soon drifted off to sleep on the sofa. Nathaniel grinned, turning over and also going back to sleep.

Nathaniel was woken again by Jasper, who was jumping at the end of the bed excitedly. Nathaniel glanced over at the clock again, this time it was 3:55pm. He leapt out of bed, and quickly got dressed into a suit and tie, which he had not used in a long time (He even had to blow some dust of it). Jasper was already dressed in the usual casual white top, light jeans and plain trainers. The pair rushed out the house just before 4pm, and began to jog down the road. Even in all the rush, Nathaniel remembered to go down a side alley to avoid Wickham street where the local thugs would linger. 

The pair finally arrived at Steeltown Records, but it had taken a while. After getting tired of running half way, they both decided it was best to walk the rest of the way. This was when Nathaniel especially wished he had a car. He knocked on the door of the modern, eccentric building. While they waited, Nathaniel admired the building and it's features, like the glass panelled walls down the sides. The door eventually opened, and a black woman, wearing hot pants and a revealing low cut top. Nathaniel tried his best to look into her eyes as he spoke, "We're here to see Bob Johnson."

She grinned widely, before looking down at Jasper. "You must be Jasper. I've heard a lot about you, sunshine." She patted him on the head, before moving to the side, and letting them in. They entered a large lobby, where two men in brightly coloured clothes sat on the sofa, looking to also make an impact on Mr. Johnson. Nathaniel had no clue who they were, but Jasper sure did. "Dad, look! It's the Jones brothers," he whispered to his father.

There was a elderly woman behind the desk, also black, who was on the phone. Nathaniel made his way to the counter, but before he reached it, she spotted him and Jasper, and pointed to the door at the end of the lobby. There was a plaque on the door which read 'Bobby Johnson, CEO'. 

Nathaniel looked down at Jasper and said "This is it." 

They entered the office, and Bob Johnson was sitting behind his desk, going through some paperwork. He looked up and saw the pair, a grin appearing across his face. "Ah, take a seat gentlemen." Bob reversed the chair to the wall, and stood up to grab a folder, before returning to his desk. He opened it in front of him, for the pair to read. "I've brought you two here today because I'm looking for a musician to shake the music industry. To make a real impact, y'know." Nathaniel nodded, listening carefully, while Jasper looked around the room blankly. "I'm interested in signing your son up to the label. He showed a lot of potential, charisma, and he's talented. I mean, how old's the kid..five, and he can sing like an angel. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity for me, and this is also an opportunity for you to make some serious money."

Bob Johnson had dark hair, shaped into an afro, and a moustache which he had styled into 'Handlebars'. Strangely this suited his tough attitude, and Nathaniel knew very well not to mess with someone who had this much reputation. It appeared as if Nathaniel was in fact slightly intimidated by Johnson. "Of course. Jasper, what do you think? You wanna' sign with this label?" Nathaniel asked his son, which woke him from a daydream.

"Sure thing!" Jasper replied, as Nathaniel signed his signature onto a parchment Johnson slid over to him. Johnson took it back once he had signed it, and stored it in the folder. "Next thing I need from you is to get Jasper in the studio, get him singing some songs. Don't worry, we have a song-writer who will prepare the songs for him. All he has to do is sing." 

"How much do we get for each song?" Nathaniel asked cautiously.

"You get 30% of the profits that are made." replied Johnson.

Nathaniel's face beamed a little upon hearing this. This was more than he thought they'd receive. Jasper was too young to understand, of course, and too young to make a decision, so it was left to Nathaniel to do the business at this moment in time. 

Once they had finished their conversation, Bob stood up and gestured to the door for them to leave, with a smile on his face. He seemed pleased that he'd signed perhaps the latest 'prodigy', but appeared to mask his emotions, not wanting to seem to kind (as it may affect his reputation for being tough). Jasper and Nathaniel walked out of the door, and were immediately taken to the studio by the woman who met them at the door. 

"This is where you'll be singing, and hopefully making hits," she said with a warm smile. "My name's Michelle, and if you ever have any problems, contact me and I'll see what I can do." 

"Gee, thanks," said Jasper, as he poked his head around the door, observing the inside of the studio. The walls were smothered with soundproof padding, and different types of musical equipment were stashed in the corner of the room. There was a wall, with glass panelling, and behind it was all the DJ equipment to produce the music. Opposite this wall was the booth, which had a standing microphone and headphones. "This looks neat," said Jasper, as he looked around.

"I would hope so. It's state of the art equipment," replied Michelle. At that moment, a small black man entered the room, wearing a suit and tie. He immediately waddled up to Nathaniel, and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, my friend. My name is Terrance Green, and I'm the studio producer here," He then turned his head to Jasper, who surprisingly was not much smaller than Terrance, and said "You must be Jasper."

"Sure am." Jasper replied. 

"If you'd like to take your position in the booth, while Michelle and..." He looked at Nathaniel as if to ask his name. 

"Nathaniel Smith."

"Ah. While Michelle and Nathaniel come with me back here." The three of them went through the door, and around to the DJ equipment. Nathaniel took a seat, while Terrance began to set up the equipment. Jasper moved into the booth, and placed on the headphones. He looked at the microphone, and began to tap it, but soon stopped as the sound echoed through his headphones, which made him jump. 

"Whenever you're ready, Jasper. You've got the lyrics in front of you, just sing them out." 

It was fortunate that Jasper was one of the smartest in his class, as some of the words on the sheet were quite complicated to read. As Jasper began to sing, a smile appeared on Terrance's face, and he began to tap his foot to the rhythm. "He's great," Terrance said to Nathaniel over his shoulder. Nathaniel just nodded, beaming proudly as his son sang beautifully once again. 

Once Jasper was finished, he took off the headphones, and placed the lyric sheet back onto the table beside him. As he exited the booth, he saw Terrance put his thumbs up to him, while Nathaniel beamed. Jasper began to realise that his singing really did have an impact on the feelings and emotions that would be created within the audience. On the way home from the studio, Nathaniel began to laugh suddenly. Jasper looked at his father, puzzled. "That was great, Jasp'. Unbelievable," He then suddenly stopped laughing, and kneeled down to his son. "But you listen here, Jasper. Now that you've made that song, they're going to release it to the world. If it becomes a hit, yes, we make a lot of money, but a lot of attention is on you. I don't want you to be lost in a world of papparazi, and lose your childhood just like that."

"I'll be fine, dad. I promise," replied Jasper, with the most serious face he could pull. Little did he know how much of an impact this decision will have on his life.