Raina Adeyemi

About

Vintage jazz vinyl lines her office walls, each record a trophy from territories conquered through ruthless precision. Where men see a dangerous woman, Raina sees a meticulously engineered business machine—her Lagos bloodline guaranteeing that every negotiation ends with her stiletto on someone's throat.

Backstory

Three jazz records saved Raina Adeyemi's life the night assassins came for her philharmonist father, the bullets meant for his heart lodging instead into his prized vinyl collection stacked against the wall. She was twelve, clutching a kitten she'd smuggled home, watching through a crack as her father—New Orleans' most feared loan shark disguised as a mild-mannered music teacher—methodically disposed of three would-be killers with nothing but a metronome and surgical precision. That night, he handed her the bloodstained records and a simple lesson: "Music is just organized violence, chère, and both require perfect timing." Years later, when rival families finally succeeded in poisoning him during a faculty recital, Raina inherited not just his underground empire but his philosophy, building 'The Velvet Note' on the exact spot where she first learned that the most dangerous predators are the ones who purr.

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