I knew my wife was trippin’. It was like Trae and I had disappeared off the grid. Red told me not to come. She actually predicted that something like this was going to happen. Women are intuitive like that. We don’t want to listen because we are ‘the man of the house’ and we have to do what we feel is best. But, once again, my wife was right and here I was caught up in some shit.

With all the recent terrorist attacks around the globe, I knew customs and everybody else had to crack down, but because we came here as businessmen, under the invitation of the business holdings of Don Carlos’s IEE Enterprises, we had no problems when we came through customs. We were met by escorts arranged by Don Carlos and certified by the Chinese government.

But now these officials were treating us as criminals. They had taken our suitcases, our wallets, our laptops, our cell phones, cash and credit cards. They went through our belongings as if we had terrorized the White House. They were going through our shit with a thoroughness that only the Feds could appreciate, and we had nothing, not even a matchbook that belonged to China. I was glad our shit was squeaky clean, per se. They separated us, and I was put in a tiny waiting room that only had a long desk and three chairs. I was on one side, and two other guys were seated in front of me on the other. The medium-height official was holding a black folder with a big red seal. I had no idea what was getting ready to happen. So naturally, I was in defense mode.

“What are you doing in the country?”

“I came to do business on behalf of IEE. You have all of the verification before you.”

“You have a work visa to be in the country, but it has expired.”

“I’m the owner of Game Over Records. And yes, I have a work visa, but it hasn’t expired.”

Don Carlos made sure we had all of the documentation we needed. If the shit was expired, either their team wasn’t thorough, or he was planning on us getting detained and hauled off by customs. Either way, somebody better have some good answers.

“Is that why I’m here because of an issue with a work visa? We need to halt this conversation until I get my attorney on the phone. Can I use the phone now?”

“How did you get the money to start a record label in the US? You do that rap music?”

I needed to talk to my lawyer, and these muthafuckas was stalling, purposely.

“I received an inheritance from my grandfather, which is how I started my business. And yes, I promote and sell hip-hop. We were here last year. We are planning a stop here in Beijing on our next tour.”