Page 97 of August Lane
Jojo:
Hell yeah, I was shocked. We were all shocked because it came out of nowhere. Big lies like that usually leave breadcrumbs, like whispers or blind items, stuff like that. But it was like he woke up one day and remembered he took credit for something he didn’t do.
Emma:
That’s exactly what that phone call felt like. He was so calm when he told me, though. He must have been thinking about it for a long time.
Jojo:
Weighing on his soul, most likely.
Emma:
Do things like this happen a lot? People taking credit for someone else’s work?
Jojo:
Sure, but it’s usually behind the scenes, wrapped in legalese to help them get away with it. Luke’s problem was that he’d gone on that reality show and lied to the world before he had a record deal.Country Starmade that song part of his story, the Black teenager who cobbled together a massive country hit in his bedroom.
Emma:
Like Lil Nas X.
Jojo:
You know, I didn’t think about that, but yes. Oh, the industry loves that, don’t they? Magical musical negroes. It excuses them from actually nurturing talent and supporting our careers. Anyway, turns out none of it happened.
Emma:
