Sabotage, Inc.

"Sabotage, Inc." is the debut single from urban/soul artist L.E.X, with guest vocals from Butterscotch and Cassie Fox. The song was released on May 10th, 2010, as the lead single from L.E.X's debut album "The Perfect Storm". Despite high predictions, it entered the UK charts at #9, but was certified silver. In the US it was a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, a nice springboard for follow-up releases. L.E.X has since disowned the song due to Butterscotch's involvement.

Background
Lionell was one of several newcomers to put themselves forward for the 2010 Tango Challenge. After a number of hopefuls pulled out of the competition early, and before the heats that would determine the pairings, it was announced that only three acts would miss the cut due to the number of competitors in the heats. Lionell was one of the three who failed to make the grade. It was during this lead-up to the challenge that Lionell developed his rivalry with Kirby L. Avalon; while looking over potential partners, Lionell declared that Kirby would "only hold him back", and when Kirby made the cut and Lionell didn't, the feud escalated, with Lionell writing the song as a direct response to the situation. Lionell eventually played a part in the challenge anyway, featuring on an urban remix of "Worlds Collide" with Tiffany Amber and Kazimiera, who went on to become the challenge runners-up. Lionell crafted "Sabotage, Inc." with producer Swizz Beatz while working on his album, and the finished production came together just as quickly as the lyrics. Lionell was the one who reached out to Butterscotch and Cassie Fox to appear on the song, having written their respective parts specifically for them. It was this collaboration between the three artists that later would lead them to work further together; working on further material with Cassie, and supporting Butterscotch on her headlining debut tour.

Reception
The song was met with moderately positive reactions; a number of the tango challengers gave their support to Lionell, while the established crowd were more reserved with their judgement. Paulo Araujo in particular, however, was supportive of Lionell as an up-and-coming urban artist, and would go on to become somewhat of a mentor to Lionell when they later worked together on Lionell's album. As promotion went on, Lionell slowly and surely won over the public, and when it was released the single went on to be a top 10 hit on both the singles chart and on the airplay chart. Since Lionell had yet to completely win over the buying public, the song was only a minor digital sales hit.

Promo CD

 * 1) Sabotage, Inc. (Radio Edit)
 * 2) Sabotage, Inc. (Instrumental)
 * 3) Sabotage, Inc. (Call-Out Hook)

CD1

 * 1) Sabotage, Inc. (Album Version)
 * 2) Soul Suicide (Original Demo)
 * 3) Cleopatra
 * 4) Sabotage, Inc. (Foxxy Mama's Atomic Bomb Edit)

CD2

 * 1) Sabotage, Inc. (Album Version)
 * 2) Miss Fortune (Live @ Tango Challenge Heat)
 * 3) Sabotage, Inc. (Venomous Shot Edit)
 * 4) Sabotage, Inc. (IP's Meddling Little Kids Scooby Gang Mix)
 * 5) Sabotage, Inc. (Foxxy Mama Is Gonna Dub Ya)

Music Video
The video opens to an empty alley scene - the same alley used in the single covers. We see Lionell wandering the streets out at night, being followed by paparazzi, as well as performance shots of Lionell in front of a white background, showing off his athleticism. Meanwhile, we see Cassie in what appears to be some sort of therapy session, and Butterscotch is partying in a club with friends. As Lionell raps the first verse, we see that he is distracting the paparazzi from pursuing a second blond male wearing a pink t-shirt emblazoned with "I <3 Attention" (clearly an un-subtle dig at rival Kirby L. Avalon). In the alley scene, we see Cassie singing her pre-chorus section while behind the bars of the alley window. Meanwhile, we see an expensive car rolling up at an event; Lionell gets out and walks down the red carpet, once again stealing the spotlight away from the Kirby look-a-like, who is seen fuming in the background. More performance shots of Lionell in front of the white background, but this time we see Butterscotch prowling the streets seeming nonchalant but really seeking out her next victim.

Lionell continues to steal "Kirby's" limelight while Cassie is seen getting up from the couch of her therapy session, revealing she is very much alone in a desert area. The main part of this section, however, is Butterscotch going after her target. At a mini-golf course, her friends point out the presence of a red-head (never seen close-up but implied to be a friendly dig at Butterscotch's friend Sexy Star). Butterscotch changes the direction of her golf swing, knocking her ball into the back of Sexy Star's head and knocking him into the water. Butterscotch and her friends leave laughing. Lionell is seen in the alley during this part. We continue to see Lionell in performance shots throughout the rest of the video, as well as Butterscotch leading some choreography during the bridge. The main focus of the storyline at this part however, is Cassie. She is now facing her target - on a female boxing circuit, Cassie has built her way up through the ranks of a tournament and is now taking on the champion, the goal of course being to sabotage the champion's perfect standing. The fight goes on, but Cassie is knocked down. We never see her get back up, and it's implied that Cassie lost the fight and therefore her mission - which is why she is the one behind bars in the alleyway. Lionell and Butterscotch leave her there, walking out of the alley as the video fades to black.

Chart Performance
Lionell received top 5 projections for "Sabotage, Inc."; but this did not come to fruition, with the single only charting at #9 upon release. The single went on to perform as desired however, with it showing staying power inside the top 20 and reaching silver certification after eight weeks. Digitally the song didn't fare well, only charting for two weeks on the digital chart with sales of 21,500. On radio, the single was a surprise success, achieving a top 10 peak after an apparent failure to launch. In the US, the single reached the top 20 on the Hot 100, with top 15 peaks on urban and rhythmic airplay formats and moderately strong digital sales. "Sabotage, Inc." was not released in Russia.

Chart Run
TOTAL: 133,790
 * Week 1: #9 - 35,426
 * Week 2: #14 - 29,756
 * Week 3: #15 - 20,675
 * Week 4: #17 - 18,897
 * Week 5: #29 - 7,811
 * Week 6: #33 - 7,123
 * Week 7: #26 - 10,000
 * Week 8: #35 - 4,102