Leon did a rough calculation. With the sales and gig revenue from Take Me to Church recently, plus the already received sales dividends from Cardi B's debut EP...
Adding his previous savings, his current liquid assets had reached $700,000.
If this sum were in the hands of a Black rapper, it would be blown in a few days.
Luxury cars, beautiful women, high-end goods...
Endless orgies, handouts to gang brothers...
Obviously, Leon couldn't be so profligate, but the fact remained that money is just a pile of waste paper if you don't spend it.
The elite class has a classic brainwashing tactic for the lower class: save your money in the bank... to resist risk.
Leon always remained highly skeptical of this claim.
Given the current economic situation in the US, in ten years, maybe oil and housing prices would double...
Could the deposit interest rate outrun inflation?
Based on these considerations, Leon chose to "spend" all the money.
Money sitting in a vault doesn't breed money by itself.
Those Wall Street elites worth hundreds of millions probably have less than a tenth of their net worth in savings compared to their invested assets.
The most cost-effective investment he could think of right now was to take advantage of the sluggish US real estate market and expand Apocalypse Music's office area as soon as possible.
The company currently had only one bathroom, unisex.
That old geezer Phil would sometimes deliberately hog the toilet and refuse to come out, leaving Aisha clutching her stomach outside, forced to relieve herself in the alley downstairs.
Regarding the location issue, Leon struggled for a long time, getting dizzy over the pile of documents Bonnie handed him.
In the end, he could only sigh: "New York rent is ridiculous."
In all of Brooklyn, aside from Black neighborhoods like Brownsville, you couldn't find many cheap places.
In the core location of Brooklyn Heights, it was outrageously expensive.
In comparison, although Apocalypse Music was currently located on Bond Street, adjacent to the red-light district...
It was surprisingly cost-effective.
When Old Phil rented this place, the monthly rent for 1,500 square feet was a mere $5,000.
If it were a commercial space in the core of Brooklyn Heights, this price would at least triple.
After comprehensive consideration, Leon decided to take over the adjacent 2,000-square-foot commercial space and connect them.
The old space would be completely renovated into a professional recording studio, and the newly acquired area would be used entirely for office work.
"Fxxk... why is my office space so small?" Phil couldn't sit still while it was still in the planning stage, bursting into Leon's office first thing in the morning.
Leon crossed his legs and said, "You are an independent manager. theoretically, your business has nothing to do with me. Leaving you a desk is already very generous of me."
Phil wanted to spout some rebuttals, but after thinking about it, he swallowed them back. "Actually, you're right... I can totally do without my own office. Just let me work together with Miss Aisha."
Aisha had only been at the company for one day, and the old geezer was already having wicked thoughts about her.
Now Phil's biggest hobby was betting with Davis on what color thong Aisha was wearing under her tight hip-hugging skirt.
Or whether the tattoo on Aisha's lower abdomen was actually some lewd script...
Leon rolled his eyes at the old man, then quickly switched to a serious expression. "I want to establish a personal brand. What do you think about that?"
"Don't do it, man... you'll lose your shirt."
"Why do you say that?"
"I won't stop you from playing with women or buying luxury cars, but don't touch investments."
Phil had been in the record industry for over twenty years. He had seen too many singers go on revenge spending sprees as soon as they got a little famous.
Especially rappers who grew up in the slums and even paid for tattoos in installments... of course, they couldn't suppress the desire to consume after getting rich suddenly.
Simple squandering wouldn't necessarily cause a singer to go bankrupt suddenly, but investment was a different story.
It's like how first-generation wealthy people might indulge their children's desire to spend, but would definitely warn them: Don't you dare try to start a business!
Phil continued to explain, "Man, I know there are many people in this circle who make a killing by harvesting fans with personal brands... but first, you have to reach that level."
He was actually putting it very euphemistically. The implication was: you're just a B-list celebrity who debuted not long ago. Who would spend money on your high value-added products?
Leon shook his head and said, "I understand what you mean. To be precise, I'm not establishing a personal brand in my name."
"Then whose name do you want to use? Who else is in the company besides you..." Phil paused here. "You mean Cardi?"
Snap—
Leon snapped his fingers.
Just as Phil said, Leon's current influence wasn't enough to support a personal brand.
His fan base wasn't large to begin with, and it was hard to say how many were willing to pay a premium for their idol.
But Cardi B was different... her influence was skyrocketing right now.
Besides her singer identity, the media had even crowned her with the title of "Black Civil Rights Leader."
Not only that, but she was also very influential among feminists; many viewed her as a leading figure in the "Second Sexual Liberation Movement."
"My idea is that I can first establish an Apocalypse Culture brand..."
"Under it, there will be several distinct personal brands..."
This idea wasn't hard to understand.
Just like a record company has countless labels under it.
As the helmsman of Apocalypse Culture, Leon would have Cardi B's personal brand under his umbrella.
Cardi didn't have to do anything except promote her brand vigorously and wait for the generous returns to flow into her pocket.
"That might actually be a good idea..."
"So what kind of brand do you plan for Cardi? Choosing the right lane is important."
No matter what you do, the profession must match.
Cardi B blew up based on dirty lyrics and her gangsta identity. You couldn't have her start a stationery brand, right?
Leon revealed a cunning smile. "Lingerie."
"Lingerie?"
"Yes, specifically those little toys between adults."
Phil's pupils dilated instantly. That sounded like a brilliant idea.
Since the new millennium, American women's clothing concepts have become increasingly open, leading to a rapid decline in the one-piece swimsuit market.
Even those slightly chubby older women would choose bikinis without hesitation.
Most young women, aside from those inconvenient few days a month, would choose thongs for the vast majority of the time!
Thongs of all colors!
This lane seemed tailor-made for Cardi B.
"I've already had Bonnie contact a contract manufacturer in a big Eastern country..."
"Can you imagine a county-level city having thousands of factories producing lingerie? It's practically an adult cultural art museum there."
"A city full of artistic atmosphere!"
The factory's quote for a thong was 6 yuan, which calculated to less than one US dollar...
Even counting the high tariffs, shipping across the ocean to America, plus the boost from Cardi B's celebrity aura... earning a tenfold profit wouldn't be excessive, right?
"I chatted with Cardi for a long time last night about the name of the personal brand."
"What do you think of Evil Angel?"