Mark woke up the next morning feeling enthusiastic and a bit agitated about today's activities. He looked through his window, the early morning sun was much brighter than usual. He got up from his bed, went straight to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and took his bath. Ate his breakfast of some slices of bread and coffee which he was meant to eat as dinner, but couldn't because his minds were filled up with thoughts.
He dressed up immediately after finishing his breakfast and took off from his apartment. His studio album was supposed to be completed and finalized by him and his producer today, so they could release it exactly the time and day they had planned to do so within the week. He got to the studio, but producer Ben wasn't there yet, so he sat down and began using the music-producing equipment in the studio to make new beats and sounds.
Mark wasn't much of a music producer, he wasn't that good at producing beats and songs as a whole. Most of his songs were produced by music producers while very few of his songs were produced by himself. He just wanted to use the music-producing equipment to pass time while waiting for Ben. He produced some beats which he knew weren't much of a good beat and vibe to listen to because he didn't put his whole mind and heart into making those beats. He checked the watch on his wrist, the time was about 9:50 Am.
"Why isn't Ben here yet, is he busy or what?" he asked himself.
He waited a few minutes more but got impatient and took his phone to call him. Ben arrived at the studio before he could do so,
"Did I kept you waiting? I am sorry if I did". Ben said in an apologetic tone voice.
"Yh, you did, a bit, but no probs, am cool, I even used the opportunity to produce some beats". Mark answered trying to let the matter pass by.
"Ok, that's nice of you". Ben said smiling.
Ben sat close to Mark, and they began working immediately on the completion of the album. They found a nice cover photo for the album and it was added up to the album, the seven-track singles in the album were all checked and arranged well. The album didn't feature any artiste in it for certain reasons, Mark wasn't a big artiste in the music industry so he hasn't gotten to the level and stage for his studio albums to have guest artiste in it. The album was completed and was saved up in the studio's music and statistic computer waiting for it to be released at the already planned date and time.
"Finally, it is done and completed". Ben muttered.
"I just hope my wishes of becoming a big and famous artiste in the industry would become a reality soon, I hope this album would make that possible, I need to prove some people wrong". Mark said.
"Who are some of those people you wanna prove wrong"? Ben asked.
"My label boss, two of my very good friends, John and Henry who are now big artiste in the music industry, some people who looked down on me when I go for shows and concerts to perform, and lastly, my mum". Mark said with an unshaken voice.
"You've added your mum to the list, why"? Ben asked with curiosity written all over his face.
"The conversation between my mum and I led to a disagreement yesterday, she asked me to quit music and dive into a business she already had in store for me, but I refused her offer, she got angry and told me to get out of her house and told me never to come back to her regarding securing a new career for me". Mark replied him satisfying his curiosity.
"Wow! that's not good at all, maybe you should go plead with her and make her understand why you made a decision not to quit music". Ben said.
"She won't listen to whatever explanation I have to say, her point is that am ain't that successful in my music career, so what's the need of continuing with it". Mark said trying to make his point clear.
"Wow! is she like that, but you've got to...
"Let's throw that topic aside and focus on another". Mark said cutting Ben's words short, he didn't want the matter to be prolonged.
"Ok, if you say so". Ben muttered
The studio room was filled with silence for some minutes, then Mark broke the silence saying,
"I am going to be performing at the VIP CITY GATHERING today".
"Since when have you been booked for the show"? Ben asked.
"Since yesterday I guess, my manager called me yesterday night and told me about it, my record label boss is fully aware of it also". Mark retorted.
"That's nice, you gonna shake that show with your performance on stage". Ben said with enthusiasm in his voice.
Mark looked at Ben and smiled a little, he knew Ben was trying to boost his morale once again. Mark's performances on stages were always as shallow as ever, he doesn't have a large fanbase that does cheer his name and boost his morale whenever he was performing on stage, and ben also knew that, so Ben always tries his best to motivate and boost Mark's morale anytime he knew Mark was going to be performing on stage.
"How am I going to shake the stage and show with my performance when I don't even have one hit song". Mark muttered to himself.
"I am gonna go to my apartment now to do a few things and get fully prepared for the show and my performance on stage". Mark said
"Yh, you should go now, it's gonna be lit". Ben said with a voice of affirmation.
"Are you going to be at the show"? Mark asked.
"No, my schedule is really tight". Ben answered.
Mark nodded his head in understanding and departed from the studio.
The venue for the show was really blazing hot, the whole place was crowded with people. The VIP CITY GATHERING wasn't a show meant for the VIPs(very important people)only, it was also meant for the everyday average person. The show was created to entertain people with good music from various artistes with their live performances on stage, and also to entertain them with some funny jokes. Lots of comedians would be cracking the ribs out of some people with their funny jokes today. Each person paid different amount of money to get tickets which will gain them access into the main building of the event.
The show began with a lot of laughing, smiling, and happiness. The comedians did their job very well, they cracked very funny jokes that kept the audience laughing throughout. The comedians played their part well, it came about time for various musicians to entertain people and their fans with their live performance on stage. The very first artiste to perform on stage happens to be a very popular and famous artiste in the music industry, he goes by the stage name 'Drip'. His name was cheered and called on as he performed one of his hit songs on stage, the crowd sang along with him as they kept on cheering his name. His performance on stage was filled with so much energy and vibe, he performed three of his songs before leaving the stage for other artiste. Lots more other artiste performed on stage, both the upcoming musicians, the underground musicians, and the big and famous musicians were all given a chance to keep the stage blazing with their performances.
Mark waited with his manager for his turn to perform on stage at the backstage of the event. He watched as other artiste performed on stage with so much energy, he watched as the names of big artistes in the industry were praised and cheered by the crowd. He also noticed some upcoming artiste performances on stage, they performed with so much energy but didn't receive the energy back from the crowd because they were barely known. Mark couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Henry mounting the stage to perform, it's been years since he last saw Henry and John after they blew up in the music industry. The crowd cheered and sang along as Henry performed on stage, he happens to be one of the famous artiste in the globe as of now.
Henry came down from the stage after his performance and immediately his eyes met with Mark's own, he came up to Mark on seeing him to make fun of him a little bit,
"Wow! Mark, it's been long I saw you, how are you doing, are you still an upcoming artiste, it's been years now, you should have upgraded at least from an upcoming artiste to an underground own". Henry said scornfully.
Anger and hatred filled Mark's mind as he heard those words from Henry, he couldn't believe Henry and John would later turn out to be like this towards him. He looked directly into Henry's eyes with a voice full of anger and said,
"After you and John turned your backs on me when things went well for both of you, you still dare to make fun of me after we made a promise to each other".
Mark walked away from Henry, he knew if he stood there to listen to Henry's scornful words some more, he could lose control and begin a fight, the anger in him was burning really hot. It was his turn for his performance on stage, he calmed down, mounted the stage, and began performing. He wasn't cheered by the crowds, his name wasn't praised and called upon, as he sang, none out of the crowd sang along with him.
"I am used to this, I won't get discouraged, at least, I would be paid my money". He said to himself.
He did his best on stage and came down off it, he sighted Henry laughing scornfully at him,
"How did these guys turn out to be like this towards me, I really hate them". He thought to himself.
The show ended with a lot of happiness on the faces of people, they were really entertained and they enjoyed themselves. The time was about 1:pm in the midnight,
"Let's go home". Mark said to his manager.
"What the heck! it is too late and dangerous, I had already booked a hotel ahead of time around this place where we would spend the night". His manager told him.
They went to the hotel and were given their rooms, they purchased some fast food which they ate before going to sleep.