Chapter 52: I Don't Care

[Chapter 52: I Don't Care]

"I guess I'm leaving now." Abigail slid into her car, and Ryan leaned in for a kiss goodbye.

"Ryan, are you hiding something from me?" Abigail suddenly asked just as they were parting.

Did she forget about their late-night phone call? Ryan's mind raced.

He sighed, trying to sound heavy-hearted. "I didn't want to make you worry. I actually went to the studio to pick up Taylor yesterday. Her dad's friend helped me wrap up the contract. We were supposed to catch up, but then her mom called, so I just offered to drive Taylor home."

Abigail shot him a side glance just before starting the engine.

As he watched her drive away, Ryan let out a breath. That hadn't been easy.

...

Turning around, he spotted Taylor sneaking up. Ryan asked her which car she'd come in, and Taylor explained with a laugh that she had borrowed a ride from one of the studio staff.

"You hugged her for so long!" Taylor teased, eyes sparkling with a hint of jealousy.

"Not even half as long as how we hugged in the car last night!" Ryan protested, shaking his head.

"You've never hugged me like that," Taylor countered, stepping closer and focusing her gaze on the floor.

In response, Ryan lifted her up, her feet dangling as he carried her inside the house.

...

Trey was clearing the table when Taylor gingerly greeted her.

"Hey, Taylor, you should know -- this isn't very fair for Abigail," Trey cautioned upon noticing the two of them being close. She hadn't realized Taylor was being serious this time.

"The world is just unfair," Taylor replied matter-of-factly.

"You might end up losing your best friend," Trey warned, concern lacing her voice.

"I Don't Care," Taylor declared defiantly.

Trey sighed and chose to exit the scene.

Ryan prepared another plate for Taylor, but she ate distractedly, obviously not as unaffected as she claimed to be.

"Give me another serving," Taylor said, barely lifting her gaze.

...

"Yo, welcome back! This is the Aphilliates crew bringing you our live hip-hop show every Friday night, as always broadcasting on Hot 107.9, Sirius satellite radio's Atlanta channel, and Eminem's Shade 45 channel! Alright folks, it's time to put down the deals, get up from the ladies, lock the trap house door tight to keep those rival foes from rolling in to pull a sneak attack! We've got some big topics to tackle today!" The host boomed energetically as if he were rapping, his style unashamedly braggadocious.

Ryan found himself in a radio studio, the air thick with smoke, nearly affecting visibility. The host and two resident DJs were puffing clouds of smoke that made Ryan feel nauseous.

Despite his earlier protests, Scooter had insisted on bringing Ryan to Atlanta.

Sitting across from Ryan was a light-skinned mixed-race DJ nicknamed DJ Drama, dressed like a hip-hop artist in an oversized black T-shirt, sporting four chains, and wearing a tilted baseball cap.

Next to him was Don Cannon, a hulking figure standing six feet six inches tall and weighing around 250 pounds, serving as the comic relief.

"Guess who we have today -- hailing from Nashville, Dr. Ray! Wooh!" the host exclaimed, making wild noises.

"His Harlem Shake went viral on YouTube, blowing up from Miami to Seattle. Not sure about that nickname, though," Don cut in.

The comment had the other two cracking up.

To be honest, Ryan thought, his stage name wasn't the greatest. But it had to be better than "Don," right? he chuckled to himself.

Ryan leaned into the mic, intentionally dropping his voice lower to make it sound more profound. "When people hear 'Ray' today, they might think of 'Dre,' but in the future, they'll only think of 'Ray.' When they think of 'Dre,' they'll think of 'Ray' too."

Essentially, Ryan believed his future fame would eclipse Dre's.

In the East, a rookie saying something like this would typically get laughed at for being delusional. Yet in the West, especially in the context of trap radio's bravado, it had a completely different effect. "Cool!" Don and DJ Drama exchanged glances, both intrigued by Ryan's boldness.

"So, Ray, let's talk about this EDM thing. What made this track blow up?" Don further prompted.

"This song blends pop, hip-hop, and trap elements..." Ryan started explaining.

Trap, a popular term originally referring to the places where drug deals happened, had transformed into a subgenre of hip-hop; it was gradually becoming mainstream within the culture. From a production standpoint, trap was letting go of the reliance on just the iconic 808 drum machine and was moving towards more electronic sounds, making it a sort of hybrid genre.

Sitting across from Ryan was DJ Drama, a driving force behind the promotion of trap music and mix tapes, having collaborated with various artists and co-founding the Aphilliates alliance, which had significant influence throughout the South. That's why the show aired on three channels simultaneously -- a perfect opportunity for Ryan to market his music in the South.

Yet, the stench in the studio started to overwhelm him.

However, Ryan kept his cool, and soon the conversation heated up, flowing from discussions about crime culture to current politics, before circling back to music and fame.

"Like you said, things can get out of control real fast. Just the other day, when I opened iTunes, guess what? All I saw were fakes, pretending to be the original artists! I mean, these tracks..." Ryan casually mentioned.

Before he could finish his statement, he noticed the shift in expressions among the three, the host especially.

Drama made a dismissive sound, his demeanor suddenly frosty.

Realizing he had misspoken, Ryan sensed that these guys were familiar with the illicit side of things.

Last year, in fact, the Aphilliates headquarters had been raided by police, seizing over 80,000 mixtapes, four cars, and some recording equipment. Drama and Don had also been detained under RICO charges, as the mixtapes they sold hovered in a gray legal zone. Drama had posted a bond of $100,000, and the case was still ongoing.

"...These remixes are now part of the music industry, and I've always held an open attitude about this," Ryan quickly turned the conversation around.

Not only did he defend the practice of remixing, but Ryan also generously mentioned that he wouldn't hold any grudges against older Harlem Shake remixes -- but put his foot down on future remixes needing proper authorization.

It might seem like a loss over royalties at first, but the reality was these remixes would need to secure licensing if they wanted to keep being sold. In this way, Ryan's income would likely grow.

Drama's smile returned, appreciative of Ryan's acknowledgment.

The radio show ended on a light note, with Drama reminding listeners to check out Ryan's two new singles -- which was precisely why he was there.

...

Over the next two weeks, orchestrated by Scooter, Ryan hopped from city to city, mainly across the southeastern U.S., participating in about fifteen radio shows. Ultimately, their efforts paid off, as more and more bars, nightclubs, and strip clubs started playing the Harlem Shake, helping it break into the top ten of club charts by early May and debuting at number 79 on the Hot 100.

At the same time, Tremor was climbing the sales charts on Beatport, consistently staying in the top tier, with overall sales surpassing 100,000 units. This track was significantly more popular in Europe than in North America, even hitting the top of the UK charts and ranking seventh in the UK Dance Singles and Albums Charts. Additionally, Tremor successfully appeared on charts in non-English speaking European countries like Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Belgium.

After its official release two months prior, Tremor quietly gained traction, with the primary reason being that younger Europeans were more receptive to electronic music in comparison to their American counterparts. Plus, with no lyrics, it made it easier to spread across non-English speaking nations.

Given the traction from the various charts, Ryan knew Tremor's sales were only going to rise.

...

After wrapping up his radio tour, Ryan touched down in Nashville, and as Trey drove him home, he immediately switched on his computer.

Upon seeing a slew of numbers on his YouTube dashboard, he excitedly hugged Trey, causing her to flinch and immediately push him away.

"Are you trying to get killed?" Trey scolded him.

Ryan shrugged it off, just as his phone buzzed with an email alert. He had upgraded to the same model smartphone as Joel.

"Is that collaboration agreement we talked about still in play?" The sender was Elizabeth Olsen.

*****

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