Chapter 195: ### Chapter 193: The Sun's Not Down Yet
After escaping the blunt-talking Christine, Link drove back to the beach villa. With the sun still up, he opened his laptop and started discussing recent work plans with Ivanka, Mandy, and Graham.
By the fifth week of the release of *Keep Moving Forward*, a lot of negative press about Link suddenly surfaced. The source of these negative reports was a recent interview.
On Wednesday, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, and T.I. appeared on a CBS nighttime talk show. During the show, the host brought up the competition between Jay-Z and Link. Lil Wayne stated that Jay-Z had clearly won this contest. When they competed with Link, it was only for the Billboard rap chart's top spot, never for the album chart. After *The Blueprint 3* was released, all its tracks entered the rap chart's Hot 40, while none of Link's rap songs made it. Clearly, Jay-Z had won.
T.I. also made a joke, saying, "Link says he can rap." The host and audience didn't understand the joke, but after T.I. said it, 50 Cent and other rappers laughed heartily. T.I. went on to explain that Link was a pop singer and didn't actually rap; he only sang parts of *I'm The One*. Therefore, strictly speaking, Link wasn't a rapper. T.I. suggested that Link's sudden release of a rap song in May and his claim of competing with rappers for charts was merely a marketing tactic to increase exposure for his second album.
50 Cent shared a fan's experience, saying that the fan, after hearing *I'm The One*, was excited and thought Link's second album would be a rap album. When the fan bought the album and found no rap tracks, he was furious and burned the album, calling Link a fraud. 50 Cent joked that Link's actions amounted to misleading consumers.
Lil Wayne also mentioned Link's amateur boxing matches, calling him a master of self-promotion. He claimed that Link had used trash talk against boxing stars like Chris Byrd, Bernard Hopkins, and Nikolai Valuev to promote himself, earning the nickname "Mr. Trash Talk" from the online community. After entering the music industry, Link continued his promotional tactics by attacking top stars like Kanye, involving in affairs with Amber, and engaging in various controversies to maintain publicity.
After the CBS show aired, it caused significant controversy in the music industry. Previously, rumors about Link's conflicts with East Coast rappers were only media speculations with no official confirmation from the parties involved. However, Lil Wayne and others openly admitted to competing with Link for the rap chart and used derogatory terms like "Mr. Trash Talk" to attack him, turning commercial competition into verbal assaults and making their conflicts public. Such behavior was deemed against industry competition norms.
Additionally, Lil Wayne and others accused Link of relying on self-promotion, claiming that his rise to fame was based on various tactics rather than genuine talent. These attacks, although seemingly absurd, misled the public and significantly damaged Link's reputation.
Online, many discussions emerged questioning whether Link was a star who achieved fame through publicity stunts rather than talent. A popular Yahoo Sports Entertainment forum post titled "Celebrities Who Have Been Disparaged by Link in the Past Two Years" detailed dozens of sports and entertainment stars, including Roy Jones Jr., Tyson, Hopkins, Kanye, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Emma Watson, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and Amber Heard. Although the post was taken down for copyright reasons, it sparked considerable debate. Many began to view Link as someone who leveraged media hype and celebrity associations to gain fame, rather than as a genuine, impressive icon.
In the face of increasing negative press, Link's album sales took a hit, with online sales dropping by over 25% compared to the previous day.
"I know you're enjoying that lollipop, but we're having a meeting," Ivanka said sternly through the video call, dressed in a business suit.
"I know, I'm listening," Link replied, still munching on his lollipop.
Ivanka shook her head. "It's clear Jay-Z's crew, realizing they can't beat us in album sales, started spreading dirt on you. We'll use the media to clarify the rumors and take legal action to protect our interests. Link, you'll be quite busy in the coming days, so plan your time accordingly."
"Got it. Can we dig up dirt on them too? For instance, Jay-Z used to be a drug dealer. That kind of dirt shouldn't be hard to find."
"That's useless. He's changed his ways over a decade ago. Bringing it up now won't have much impact, plus he's a wealthy man in his forties. Even if there's dirt, it won't matter much."
Ivanka said.
Link nodded, understanding. This also explains why many older individuals become morally lax and indulge themselves.
"Cough! Ivanka, I don't think forty-something qualifies as old age. It's more like middle age."
Mandy pointed out.
Ivanka smiled. "Yes, it's middle age. Mandy, please keep an eye on Link and make sure he completes his tasks."
"Don't worry, I won't let Link drive around aimlessly anymore," Mandy replied with a smile.
"Monitor? You're making it sound like you're Ivanka's watchdog."
"Link, the tracks for Lana's first album are recorded. When can you come listen, or should we send the files over?"
Graham asked.
"I'll listen when I get back. The MTV Music Television Awards are next month."
"Alright!"
The video call ended, and Link closed his laptop, stretching. Just then, Taylor appeared quietly at the door.
Wearing a purple polka dot dress with a golden ponytail and silver high-heeled sandals, her figure looked more elongated and elegant.
"When did you get back?"
Taylor startled when she noticed him looking over, and said, "Don't look at me like that. I just got back and saw you in a video meeting. I was hesitating whether to leave, so I heard you're done. I wasn't eavesdropping. I'm not interested in your work."
"I know, I didn't misunderstand. You don't need to explain so much."
Link smiled.
"Who knows? With the way you were looking at me, you must think I'm a petty woman who hides around listening to your conversations with that big-butted woman, right?"
"I didn't think that at all. I heard the car sound. And please don't refer to her as 'big-butted'. It sounds strange."
"It's the truth."
Taylor walked back to the bedroom, took off her dress, and unfastened her bra, ready to change into a loose T-shirt.
Link followed her, hugging her slim waist from behind and kissing her neck. The warmth and softness felt wonderful.
Even as an old couple, it still felt delightful.
"Stop it! I'm all sweaty. I need to shower first."
Taylor pushed him gently with her arm, removing her bra.
"Don't rush, let's sweat a little more and shower together later."
"No! The sun's still up. Don't be so restless."
Over an hour later, as dusk fell, Link emerged from the bathroom in shorts, feeling refreshed. Remembering the negative news, he pulled out his phone and opened Twitter.
After registering his account in March and months of managing it, he now had 8.013 million followers, ranking among the top hundred but not the most-followed. His tweets were infrequent, consisting of song promotions, boxing matches, and lottery numbers, with no political or social news.
Recently, with the surge of negative reports, many haters had been attacking him on his latest tweet about the lottery draw. They claimed he couldn't rap, that his challenge to Jay-Z and Kanye was merely for publicity, and that he was the king of media hype.
Some critics demanded he release another rap track to prove himself and accused him of misleading consumers with his album, suggesting it was a case of commercial fraud.
Aside from the critics, many fans defended Link in the comments, urging him to take legal action against Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, and others. Link and his legal team had discussed this, and while the comments from Lil Wayne and others were aggressive, they didn't constitute defamation, making a lawsuit unlikely to succeed.
To win this battle of public opinion, Link needed to leverage media channels and public support.
Link leaned back on the sofa, contemplating, and then drafted a tweet.
"Link!"
Taylor called from the bathroom.
"Here!"
"You forgot to help me apply the skincare cream."
"Okay!"
Link shrugged, put down his phone, and returned to the bathroom.
(End of Chapter)
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