Chapter Ten #2
“I think it’s a great idea.” Dex rubbed his hands together. “Baby, we already vibe in the studio, but an album,” he blew out a breath as if it was the best thing he’d ever heard. “We definitely walking away with a Grammy, shit, maybe two.”
“I’m going independent!” Tyler blurted out, unable to live in the fantasy they were trying to create.
“Hallelujah!” Shane pushed his bag up on his forearm and clapped his hands. “Won’t the good Lord do it!”
“Independent?” Darryl’s eyebrows creased, and his eyes rolled, landing on Carla for answers. “What’s going on?”
“She’s just talking, it’s not serious,” Carla explained with a tight smile on her face.
“Tyler just wants to change a few things. Remember, I mentioned last week she wanted to add a few of her own songs to the album. She’s been working with some street producer, so I'm guessing he’s getting in her head.
” She dry snitched, causing Dexter to sit up. This was news to him.
“I don’t want to change a few things, I want to change everything,” Tyler spoke up. “I will not be signing another contract with Oakwood. I'm not in arrears and I want to keep it that way.”
“Tyler, I already explained that the songs you want to add to your album don’t fit the vibe the label is going for. It’s not on track with your brand,” Carla rebutted.
“No.” Tyler shook her head. “The album the label wants me to make doesn’t fit the brand I'm creating for myself.”
“Ok, now, let’s work through this.” Darryl sat up in his chair. “We’re family and we can make this work.”
“I don’t want to make it work.”
“Tyler,” Carla hissed.
“Is she serious?” Darryl released a cynical laugh. “Carla, what’s going on? I thought you said she was on board. I have the signed contract right here.” He pointed to the folder on the table. “The ink is dry, and unless it was signed in some magical disappearing ink, this is legit.”
“I’m standing right here.” Tyler snapped her fingers, bringing his hard gaze back to her. “You can speak directly to me. I never said I was on board and I damn sure didn’t sign anything.”
“Ty, let me holler at you for a minute.” Dex stood up, finding the voice she thought he had lost.
“You can finish up your meeting. I just wanted to let D know what's going on since my manager is incapable of passing a simple message.”
“Tyler,” Carla warned. “Let’s go talk about this outside.”
“Mm, I’d rather not, and I don’t appreciate you signing my name on anything. That might’ve worked when I was seventeen, but I’m grown enough to sign my own name.”
“Plus, that shit is illegal,” Shane added.
“I’m not understanding what’s going on right now. I thought we were good,” Darryl interjected.
“We were, but lately I feel like something is missing.” Tyler turned to face him.
“I want to sing the songs I write without begging to be heard. I need my own identity because I'm drowning trying to keep up with this hot girl image. I’m tired of being what the label needs me to be. I’ve been so wrapped in everyone’s expectations of me that I’m losing sight of the real me.
I’m thankful for everything you’ve done for me, but I’ve completed my end of the deal, and I think it’s time for me to branch off on my own. ”
“This is kinda sudden, don’t you think? I mean I have shows and studio sessions in the works.
You’re the face of the label, how do you think that’ll make us look?
We were just meeting about your next album.
I haven’t spent the last few years investing in you for nothing.
We’re almost at the peak of your career and you want to back out now? ”
“And I understand everything you’re saying, and I’ve followed your lead even when I didn’t want to. I’ve done a lot of things I didn’t want to, but this is for me.”
“Preach!” Shane clapped his hands. “The glow up is personal.”
“I mean come on, you have to give me a chance to fix this,” Darryl groaned, tapping his fingers on the table. “We’ve built a solid foundation here.”
“And that’s on Carla, I made it clear what I wanted. I can’t grow as an artist here. Oakwood has been good to me, but it’s not my forever home.” Tyler stood firm.
“And there’s nothing I can say to talk you out of it?” Darryl peered at her.
“I’m afraid not.”
“Well alright.” He rubbed his jawline before attempting to hug her again. This time Shane wrapped his arm around Tyler’s shoulder, ushering her away from Darryl’s perverted grasp.
“You know what, we do have something to do... celebrate!”
“Take care of yourself, baby girl, and remember if you ever need to come home, we’re here,” Darryl said before taking his seat at the head of the table.
“Thank you for understanding.” Tyler sighed in relief. “Dex, I’ll see you at home. Carla, Aria will reach out to discuss how we’ll move forward.”
“Excuse me?” Carla scoffed. “You cannot make these kinds of decisions without speaking to me first. You’re under contract. So what if the label contract ended, I’m still your manager, and we need to talk about next steps.”
“I never signed anything. You’re my manager by default, and from the way things are going, it won’t be for long.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard her.” Shane pursed his lips. “I. N. D. E. P. E. N. D. E. N. T. Do you know what that mean man?” he rapped. “I mean ma’am. You can get away with either though.”
“Boy, come on,” Tyler laughed. “Can’t take your ass nowhere.” She pushed him out of the door.
The silence in the room spoke volumes. Tyler was the bread and butter at Oakwood.
Sure, there were other artists on their roster, but none of them compared to Tyler.
Stumbling on her talent was like striking oil.
She was a fresh face and pure. With the help of Dex and Carla, Darryl molded her into the perfect sex symbol, and she was his.
The plans Darryl had for Tyler exceeded singing.
Oakwood invested in Tyler. She was the face of his company and there was no way he was about to let her slip through his fingers.
“Everyone except Carla, please excuse yourself,” Darryl spoke while hitting a button under the table to turn the glass windows in the boardroom into a one-way mirror.
“Don’t sweat it, big dog. I’ll holla at her,” Dex assured him. “These chicks be PMSing hard as hell. Imma holla at her,” he promised.
Carla dropped her head and let out a loud, deep breath when the door closed.
She wanted to wring Tyler’s neck for her little stunt, and from the look on Darryl’s face, he wanted to wring hers.
They had a deal. Carla's only job was to make sure Tyler went along with the plan they had for her career. It was much easier to do when she was younger, but now that she was coming into her own, Tyler couldn’t be controlled.
“Baby,” she sighed, standing to her feet.
“No.” Darryl stopped Carla from approaching him. “You had one fucking job,” he barked. “One!”
“I told you she’s been acting funny. Dex even said she told him she wanted to stop popping pills, so I guess her conscious is kicking in.”
“Then you force feed them to the lil bitch,” he snapped, making Carla jump. “Do you know how much I make off her? How much you make off her? Give her what she’s asking for.”
“I tried! I said she could have a couple of them boring ass songs on the next album.”
“Have you ever listened to them?” Darryl inquired.
“What?” Carla frowned.
“The songs. Have you listened to any of the songs she wants to put on the album?” he roared, making her jump.”
“No,” Carla mumbled.
“Then how do you know they’re boring? You’re not a music exec, you don’t have an ear for music. Shit, you’re barely a fucking manager.”
“I-I-
“You don’t know shit. Tyler has been writing songs for everybody on the label. Do you think she wanna keep giving her songs away and not sing them herself?”
“I didn’t know,” Carla whispered.
“That’s because you’re not a real manager. All you do is wear nice ass clothes and spout bullshit out of those pretty little lips. Tyler is valuable to me, and I want her back.”
“Ok.”
“Strip her. Cut her off at the fucking knees and make her beg to come back.”
“Ok, I’ll fix it.”
“I know you will because your lifestyle is contingent upon her. Shit, you and Dex need her. If I don’t have a signed contract, you can kiss your little cushy life goodbye.”
“I got it,” Carla mumbled, pulling out her phone to call Dexter.
???
“What’s the hold up?” Rahlo questioned, standing against the lockers in the dressing room.
After Logic signed his deal, things started to move fast. Terry set him up with a lawyer, an assistant, and a content creator.
Since Al was already his manager, Terry suggested they legalize the position because even when they weren’t seeing eye to eye, the contract would bind them together, forcing them both to hold up their end of the deal.
The assistant and content creator was Rahlo’s idea.
He wanted to make sure Logic stayed on schedule without feeling overwhelmed, and the content creator was to capture footage of his journey.
Not only would Rahlo use the footage, but Logic would need it to post on all the social media accounts his assistant set up for him.
While Logic wasn’t thrilled with the idea of being plastered all over the internet, he understood that it came with the territory.
Besides all the legal shit, Rahlo had Logic in and out of studio sessions and pulling up to underground rap battles to study crowd habits and different styles of artist engagement.
Logic made it a point of listening whenever Rahlo spoke because he was always dropping gems. When they weren’t talking about the layout for his future, Rahlo was giving Logic breathing exercises to control his voice without sounding like he was about to pass out.
“This nigga got stage fright.” Al laughed, peering over at Logic, who was sitting on the bench with his head between his legs. Joe, the content creator, zoomed in on Logic's face but quickly pointed the camera elsewhere when Logic glared at him.