𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘 & 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞 𝗧𝗢 𝗠𝗘

one

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄

' 𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟑, 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟐 '
Uptown Records ━━━━
𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒 , 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒
New York, NY .ᐟ

❛ WELCOME   TO UPTOWN
  RECORDS. ❜

A pen has never felt heavier than the one that was held in Imani's hands. It felt dragging, unnerving knowing that—that pen also held the key to her future. A contract was placed in front of her and across from her the founder of uptown Records himself, Andre Harrell, and his A&R the very man who discovered her demo, Sean Combs sat next to him.

You'd think she'd be more nervous during final exams but this was a whole different level.

"Imani, I can assure you that you'll be taken care of if you choose to sign with us at uptown. not only that the world will be able to hear your voice—you'll also be a force that nobody can stop." The older man's words echoed throughout her mind as a mantra causing her reluctant brown eyes to stay glued to the pen and the paper.

There was another presence that sat next to her, the presence in question being her older sister Eve. After begging her to accompany her to New York she was the same one who was watching her on behalf of their parents.

You're probably wondering how did she end up sitting inside the office with the very man himself right? Long story short Imani was simply tired of spending hours upon hours studying for a degree she wasn't so sure if it would make her happy in the long run. It felt hopeless. She was beyond sick and tired of working her ass off to receive hardly anything at the end so by the stoned-upon push Eve gave her much to her parent's dismay to send in that demo she's held close to her for almost three years to two big labels that she wanted to join. The two being Uptown Records and LaFace Records.

If you're someone who's uncultured you probably also don't know what Uptown records are right? Well, Uptown Records is a record label that was founded by Andre Harrell in '86. Since then with the help of A&R Sean Combs, they've managed to fuse R&B and Hip-Hop together and create hits. With the artists Al B. Sure!, Guy, Heavy D & The Boyz, Jodeci, and Mary J. Blige they made incredible hits and found their way on the charts.

And if you're still uncultured you probably don't know who or what Laface Records are right? Well, LaFace Records was a joint venture made by Antonio 'L.A' Reid, Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds, and Arista Records. They were the hottest label in Atlanta with artists such as TLC, Goodie Mobb, Outkast, and supposedly an upcoming female artist from Maryland that went by the name Toni Braxton.

With LaFace Records, it didn't take long for them to reject her demo claiming that she didn't fit the image they wanted and Sean Combs who was always looking for new talent came across Imani's demo and asked her to fly in to officially meet the boss and hopefully discuss in getting a contract.

Two hours later after a surprisingly great conversation and meeting Imani now sat with a contract in front of her very eyes.

"Imani, are you okay?" The whisper of Eve's voice brought Imani's mind back to where she was. With a nod, she looked back at the contract.

"Imani I can tell you're reluctant and it's normal I would too if I were in your shoes." Sean's voice began causing her to look up at him "But if you sign this contract, your life will change just like that. the amount of privacy you once held will now be reduced to less, eyes and ears are on you at all times, you can't hang out with your friends in public like you used to, not to mention you'll have people that hate you for no reason, try to get under your skin with senseless words and cash grabs for the press. create lies to taint your character. You have to have thick skin or else this industry will chew you up and spit you out."

Sean's blunt yet truthful words said nothing but facts. Imani's heard the number of crazy things that have happened to women within the industry and how they disappeared within a year of dropping their single or when their label threw them away because they didn't need them anymore. And she knew that it wouldn't be her.

"So the main question here is, are you ready for this?" Was Imani ready for this? or was she wasting her and their time?

"I'm ready." Her voice came out determined opposite from the nervous wreck it was a couple of minutes prior. In a swift motion, the contract was signed and passed back to Andre.

The two men smiled at each other before standing up, the two women following along. putting out a hand with Andre saying the words that sealed the deal "Welcome to Uptown Records Imani." He smiled to which she accepted his handshake.

"Pleasure to be here." She smiled. Imani couldn't wait to hopefully work with Teddy Riley, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis as she's admired their work for years now and she had an idea of what she wanted her sound to be like.

Eve, who smoothed down her pantsuit opposite to her younger sister's laid-back yet eye-catching attire "Sean, I trust that you keep me updated regarding Imani's music and Mr. Harrell contact me regarding the business side of things." Her tone came out sophisticated and not one to be played with which didn't surprise Imani due to her sister having a degree in business and since her younger sister wanted in on the music industry she had to make sure that no one was trying to exploit her.

"Will do." Both men said at the same time causing the woman to hum in satisfaction. soon after the sound of a knock on the door followed by the door opening afterward followed.

Only to reveal two young men wearing all-black attire with boots. One was slightly shorter than the other but appeared to have the most energy as he quickly apologized "Oh my bad—I didn't know you had company."

The other one who stood next to him wore dark shades and looked equally embarrassed for interrupting something that appeared to be very important.

"K-Ci, Jojo it's okay we were just finished—but since you're here already I want y'all to meet Imani she just signed to uptown, and Imani I'm sure you know the members of Jodeci." At this point who didn't? They were changing the game with their sound and sounded like nobody else not to mention breaking the cookie-cutter mold that most boy bands of that generation were in. Their stage presence was amazing and the hits they created were incredible.

"It's a pleasure to meet y'all both I'm Imani—oh and this is my sister Eve." she greeted walking over to them to shake their hands "By the way Come & Talk To Me is a tight record," she adds with a compliment.

Eve shook their hands with a wide smile "Pleasure to meet you both."

"Nice meeting you both." the brothers say with a smile "And thanks for the compliment we appreciate it."

K-Ci then looked at Andre at Sean "Y'all don't mind us giving them to the studio to meet the others right?" He questions to which Andre answers with a not at all.

"After you." Jojo opens the door allowing the ladies to walk out with them following behind.

As they walked down the lobby Imani couldn't help but feel a leap of faith. She felt in her soul that she made a good decision and hopefully, it'll stay that way.