01x01 - Back in the Day

[bunniefuu]

[MELLOW JAZZ]

♪ ♪

[RHYTHM PICKS UP]

♪ ♪

[RILEYY] ♪ I'm a hustler, baby
I'm a hustler, baby ♪

[ CENT] ♪ Yeah, I know
heartbreaks, setbacks ♪

♪ Bitch, if I crap out
I'm sure I'ma get back ♪

♪ I been through the ups and
downs, you know I get around ♪

♪ So to me it's all a part of the game ♪

♪ If I ain't the coke man
or the dope man ♪

♪ I'm almost for sure,
man I got to take it ♪

♪ No need to say sh*t I'm gon' take it ♪

♪ Robberies turned homicide
it's nothin' to play with ♪

♪ Make money make, make, make money ♪

♪ When sh*t hit the fan
we'll take money, Southside ♪

♪ Beef with the best of 'em ♪

♪ Done sh*t at the rest of 'em, yeah ♪

♪ Checks, I'm collectin' 'em ♪

♪ Check, boy I'm finessin' 'em ♪

♪ Bag Supreme boy, you f*ck around ♪

♪ Put a big bag on your head ♪

♪ Before the weather break you're dead ♪

♪ Let's get to it, they
don't do it like we do it ♪

♪ Nah, cop it, whip it bag it, flip it ♪

♪ Re-up, we up g'd up, what up? ♪

♪ Runnin' round this bitch
still not givin' a f*ck, hey ♪

♪ When it come to that paper
there'll be no complications ♪

Ha ha. That's right.

♪ Put a hole in a n*gga
right in front of you ♪

♪ Your heartbeat pacin' ♪

[RILEYY AND CENT]
♪ And it's all right ♪

[ CENT] ♪ That's how
we do it on this side ♪

♪ n*gg*s get to it on this side ♪

♪ I know heartbreaks setbacks ♪

♪ Bitch, if I crap out
I'm sure I'ma get back ♪

♪ I been through the ups and
downs, you know I get around ♪

♪ So to me it's all a part of the game ♪

♪ If I ain't the coke man
or the dope man ♪

♪ I'm almost for sure,
man I got to take it ♪

♪ No need to say sh*t I'm gon' take it ♪

♪ Robberies turned homicide
it's nothin' to play with ♪

♪ Hey, hey ♪

[RILEYY VOCALIZING]

[UPBEAT HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYING]

[LL COOL J'S "I CAN'T LIVE
WITHOUT MY RADIO"]

♪ ♪

[LL COOL J] ♪ My radio
believe me, I like it loud ♪

♪ I'm the man with the box
that can rock the crowd ♪

♪ Walkin' down the street
to the hardcore b*at ♪

♪ While my JVC vibrates the concrete ♪

[MAN] Yo. What's up, money?

[LL COOL J] ♪ But I need
a radio inside my hand ♪

♪ Don't mean to offend... ♪

[GROWN KANAN] Y'all seen
how my last fight ended...

this right here is how
my first fight started.

[CROWD CHANTING "FIGHT!"]

Get offa him! Leave him alone!

I told you, stop playin' with us.

[GIRL] He's hurt, let him go.

Leave him alone!

Shut up, Jukebox!

[BOY] I wouldn't do that, yo.

[BULLY] Why don't you
say somethin', bitch?

[CROWD GROANS]

[LAUGHING]

[BULLY] Y'all better recognize.

You already doin' man.
Can't mess with us.

Kanan, you don't have to do this!

[BOY] That fool didn't know
what he was doin'.

[BULLY] Exactly. Let it go. Let it go.

Yo!

[CROWD GROANING AND LAUGHING]

- [BOY] He's cuttin' out.
- Next time, you're gonna

give up that money when I tell you.

Stop playin' with us, man.

Man, let's go, let's do it.

- [JUKEBOX] Get off, let me go.
- [BULLY] Let her go.

Punk-ass!

[LAUGHTER]

[BOY] Hey, nice job.

You okay, Kanan?

[LAUGHTER]

Kanan?

- [BULLY] See this?
- Kanan?

[BULLY] Now everybody's laughing at you.

[JUKEBOX] Kanan?

[GROWN KANAN] The hood got no love

for a m*therf*cker who run.

[KIDS] Bye, Kanan!

Kanan! Get back here!

[DRAMATIC HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYS]

[GROWN KANAN] There I go.

Damn. That sh*t's a bad look.

[WOMAN] You all right, Kanan?

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[MELLOW HIP-HOP]

♪ ♪

[KANAN PANTING]

[MEN GRUNTING]

My mom and her boyfriend, High Post.

[KANAN CRYING]

[RAQ] Where you goin', Kanan?

Look like little Kanan got
in a tussle at the park.

[GROWN KANAN] Post is the one

who really got her in the game.

Hey.

You want me to go talk to him?

Not every kid up for the Southside, Raq.

Mine is.

[GROWN KANAN] Post'll be dead in a year.

Someone lit his ass on fire for tellin'.

I always liked that brother.

Treated my mom right.

[KANAN CRYING]

[RAQ] Why you cryin', Kanan?

What happened?

Tyus and Antoine jumped me for my money.

How they know you had it?

I told you not to show
nobody your money.

Didn't show nothin'.

[RAQ] You talkin' about it, then.

And you gave it up.

They b*at me down.

[RAQ] Where was Jukebox?

They were holdin' her back.

Tyus' stronger than me.

We goin' back to that park.

[DRAMATIC HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYING]

[RUN-DMC'S "CAN YOU ROCK IT LIKE THIS"]

♪ ♪

Hey. Let's go.

[SINGER] ♪ If I eat a little kid ♪

♪ Sticks his finger in my plate ♪

♪ I be signin' autographs
for three months straight ♪

♪ I got jet-set women
who offer me favors ♪

♪ My face is a thousand... ♪

Let's go.

[SINGER] ♪ Need a sip of lemonade... ♪

That them?

Deal with them or deal with me,

but there ain't nowhere to
run when it comes to me.

Get yours, boy.

[SINGER] ♪ I can rock it like that ♪

[SINGER] ♪ Can you rock it like this? ♪

[SINGER] ♪ I can rock it like that ♪

Huh! Huh! Huh! Huh! Huh! Huh! Huh! Huh!

♪ ♪

♪ Your ears are clogged ♪

♪ Your head is hard as a log ♪

[TYUS] You know I can
get tickets to first base.

He can't get tickets.

- Stop...
- Yo.

Yo, so you back for more?

[TYUS GRUNTS]

Oh, my God!

[GAGGING, GROANING]

- [CONTINUES MOANING]
- Yo, Kanan, no...

- [GASPS AND MURMURS]
- Come on, let's go.

[BOY] Damn, payback's a mother fucker.

[GROWN KANAN] Southside,
Jamaica, Queens, .

Kanan messin' these n*gg*s up!

[GROWN KANAN] That was the first time

my name rang out.

And it ain't stopped ringing since.

[SINGER] ♪ But can you
rock it like this? ♪

[SINGER] ♪ I can rock it like that ♪

[LOW BASS INTRO]

[A TRIBE CALLED QUEST'S "BUGGIN' OUT"]

[SCHOOL BELL RINGING]

[PHIFE DAWG] ♪ Yo, microphone check ♪

♪ One, two, what is this? ♪

♪ The five foot assassin
with the roughneck business ♪

That's the bell. Everyone, get to class.

[PHIFE DAWG] ♪ Got more rhymes
than the Winans got family ♪

♪ No need to sweat Arsenio
to gain some type of fame ♪

That's the bell. Didn't you hear me?

My office.

[PHIFE DAWG] ♪ Upon
styles is what I have ♪

♪ You wanna diss the Phifer ♪

♪ But you still don't know the half ♪

♪ I sport New Balance sneakers ♪

♪ To avoid a narrow path... ♪

[PRINCIPAL] This could be
a life-changing opportunity

for you, Kanan.

Stuyvesant is one of the best
high schools in the country.

[RAQ] Now, that's
what I'm talkin' about.

Ma, but I don't wanna change schools.

There isn't enough time
to fully prepare Kanan

for the entrance exam, but I am betting

that just based on what
he already has stored up

in the that ample brain
of his, he'll do quite well.

It's a brand-new school building

with a pool, five gymnasiums,

science labs, and escalators.

Word? Escalators?

[PRINCIPAL] The building
cost $ million.

[LAUGHS] That's some real money.

[PRINCIPAL] The most
expensive high school

ever built in the city

with a top-notch faculty to match.

Stuyvesant ain't playing.

I hope you don't mind
that I took the liberty

of signing Kanan up for
the entrance exam myself.

But there's still paperwork
that requires your signature.

Thank you.

[PRINCIPAL] There's no limit
to your potential, Kanan,

and there's nothing worse
than squandered talent.

[APPREHENSIVE HIP-HOP MUSIC]

♪ ♪

- [GRUNTS]
- What?

- [GIRL] Hey...
- [BOTH GRUNTING]

[CROWD CLAMORING]

You're takin' that test,

and you're goin' to that school.

I like it here.

I'd have to take the bus
all the way down

to Sutphin and take the E.

Ain't nobody tryin' to do all that.

Besides, I'm doin' good here.
Why we gotta go switchin' up?

Because there is a better plan
for you, a bigger world.

Ah.

That's me right there.

It's the only sh*t I
ever liked in school.

My girl Cassiopeia,

she got put up here as punishment.

Rolled up on Poseidon and said

she was finer than his mermaids,

so he threw her up in the sky,

spins around the North
Pole for eternity.

Old girl's just holdin' on,

always about to fall off the throne.

That's real right there.

Look, I got a plan for you, Kanan.

And this new school,
it figures in just right.

So you gonna take that test,

you're gonna get into
that school downtown,

you're gonna go to college,

and you're gonna become
a CEO or some sh*t.

Okay, you about to live a life

that people 'round here
only dream about.

But I'd be away from you, Ma.

Your life is my life.

You fly, I fly.

[PAGER BUZZES]

I gotta go. I love you.

[GENTLE PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]

♪ ♪

♪ For the father ♪

♪ Waits over the way ♪

♪ To prepare us ♪

♪ A dwelling place there ♪

♪ In the sweet... ♪

[GROWN KANAN] You hear that?

You feel that?

My cousin Jukebox can sing.

But that voice gon' fool yo ass

'cause you never knew a
n*gga harder than Jukebox,

and I ain't never loved
nobody harder neither.

Juke, everything.

♪ We shall meet ♪

♪ On that beautiful shore ♪

[MELLOW HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYS]

♪ ♪

Thanks.

[DAVINA] Kanan.

What's up, Davina?

I saw your mom in the
hallway earlier today.

She's so pretty.

[GROWN KANAN] Davina Harrison.

To me, Davina was the dopest girl

on the Southside, no question.

See, Davina didn't even
know she was a dime,

which only made her that much finer.

Any time she looked in my direction,

I damn near forgot my own name.

Look at me.

n*gga can't even speak.

And you got them same genes.

Look, I ain't never really seen
a good picture of my pops.

He might be crazy ugly, I don't know.

Look, everybody says he used to, like,

run the hood back in the day,

and they don't let ugly dudes do that.

And you cute already anyway.

[CASHIER] Next!

You up.

- Huh?
- Y-you, uh...

You... yeah.

[LIVELY HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYING]

♪ ♪

[MAN] Yo, what up, Jukebox?

[GROWN KANAN] The crew. My people.

f*ck that food sh*t. Give
me a... give me a b*at.

Oh, word?

[FAMOUS] ♪ Uh ♪

♪ You bitch legs open up
for a n*gga like me ♪

♪ I be sh**t' y'all n*gg*s
like my name Spike Lee ♪

♪ I was voted most likely
to be a champ like Ali ♪

♪ And m*rder any m*therf*cker
who try to slight me ♪

[CHEERS AND LAUGHTER]

You can't teach that sh*t, n*gga!

Come on. That's God-given.

That's touched by a angel.

That's off the dome, n*gga.

[JUKEBOX] I'm not gonna lie, Famous.

That's not the worst
rhyme you've ever spit.

Thanks?

[GROWN KANAN] Sean
"Puerto Rican Famous"

Figueroa.

But we just called him "Famous"

because when he was in the third grade,

he won some contest to
read a poem he wrote

on the radio.

That sh*t was garbage,
but that's my n*gga.

[MELLOW HIP-HOP MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Every school got a Davina Harrison,

and every Davina Harrison
in every school

got a boyfriend like Buck Twenty,

the smoothest, best-dressed dude

around the way.

[SCOFFS] f*ck Buck Twenty.

[MELLOW HIP-HOP CONTINUES]

♪ ♪

How long you been
tryin' to get with her?

[KANAN SCOFFS]

Since second grade?

[JUKEBOX] How long she been
playing you to the left?

First grade.

Maybe you should move on.

Juke, I ain't never movin' on.

♪ ♪

[JUKE SCOFFS]

[RAQ] How the f*ck
did Born Ready get hit?

They savior he cipher
squared wisdom gods.

[GROWN KANAN] There go my Uncle Lou-Lou,

my mom's youngest brother and right hand

up in this muhfucker.

If there sh*t that need doin',

Uncle Lou-Lou'll get it done,
and get it done right.

Up on knowledge, culture power.

[GROWN KANAN] Oh, and
they talkin' in code...

or some type of secret sh*t.

That's why you don't
know what they sayin'.

So mind your own damn bidness.

No one gone to the essence,
but Born Ready, he caught one.

- But where he at?
- He in here.

- [LOU-LOU] What's good?
- [MAN] Yo.

They just ran up on us and blazed.

Four dudes.

E-Z, Trace, and L-Mack got away,

but Ready got hit in the leg.

[EXHALES] sh*t burns.

[RAQ] Marvin, what the f*ck happened?

Got him in the meat.

Ready'll be a'ight.

Where you been?

n*gga hungry.

[GROWN KANAN] Uncle Marvin.

My mom's older brother.

That n*gga never miss a opportunity

to miss a opportunity.

But he loyal.

And tough.

And he always eatin'.

[MARVIN] 'Nique tryin' to muscle his way

onto our corners again.

We need to push back.
He need to feel us.

You want us take it to
the street, it'll be taken.

Nah, we barely comin' out this drought.

We don't need a w*r right now.

It ain't about what we need, sis.

It's about what we got.

We can't let 'em body us,

especially when business so tight.

And we gettin' elbowed down at Lanes.

- Since when?
- [MARVIN] Couple weeks.

Harlem n*gg*s is movin' in.

And I'm just hearin' about it now?

I just heard about it.

It's accurate.

You runnin' distro downtown, right?

Then run it.

Now I gotta go deal with this bullshit.

We got your hospital bill.

Thanks.

Can't sleep on this
hospital apple sauce, yo.

[ENERGETIC MUSIC]

[SINGER] ♪ Whoo ♪

♪ Whoo ♪

♪ Oh... ♪

[JUKEBOX] Oh... come on.

- [FAMOUS] sh**t, sh**t, sh**t.
- [JUKEBOX] Yes!

[JUKEBOX] Come on, come on, come on...

[FAMOUS] Ryu 'bout to f*ck you up!

Chun-Li's making you her bitch.

[FAMOUS] Blocks and weaves,
blocks and weaves...

Ooh... oh!

[JUKEBOX] Ah! Ooh!

Oh! Boy.

My bitch.

That's some bullshit.
You know this sh*t fake.

[FAMOUS] Let's do it again.

[JUKEBOX] Wanna go for round two?

[FAMOUS] Yeah.

[GAME SOUNDS, MUSIC IN BACKGROUND]

[FOREBODING MUSIC PLAYING]

[GROWN KANAN] That's Unique.

Biggest drug dealer on the Southside.

n*gg*s wanna be him or be down with him.

[MAN] That sh*t's bulletproof.

Unique's got a dude
in Utah who armors up

all his rides for him.

♪ ♪

I didn't know Unique put Buck on.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]

♪ ♪

[BACKGROUND CHATTER]

[LOU-LOU] Yo, we lookin' for Hugo.

Uh, not here.

Any idea when he'll be back?

Hugo's taking a mental health day.

I told you, I'm done with green apples.

My nutritionist says only citrus

for the rest of the year.
Where are my tangerines?

[SIGHS]

And who are you?

My sister and I, we got
bidness with, uh, Hugo.

Oh, Hugo's business is my business.

I'm the club's new publicist.

[RAQ] Well, this ain't about publicity.

Everything's about publicity.

[DOG BARKING]

Wait, I know who you are.

You're the drug dealer.

You're the one who made a deal with Hugo

to sell your blow here.

Your coke's all stepped on
and dirty... ghetto sh*t.

It's a bad look for the club.

Going forward, we're gonna
be using my source.

I bet you won't.

Let me get at her for a sec, Raq.

Yeah, this bitch doesn't know
who she's f*ckin' with.

Who you calling a bitch?

- You, bitch.
- [LOU-LOU] Raq.

- Let me handle it.
- [DOG BARKING]

I'm not the one.

Know this.

[PUBLICIST] Your sister
needs to chill the f*ck out.

She needs to know I'm not

some scared-ass white girl, honey.

[LOU-LOU] Let me
holler at you for a sec.

[PAGER BUZZING]

She's the worst.

Well, she 'bout to get her ass b*at.

Tears will not be shed.

Symphony Bosket.

That's a hell of a name.

Well, I'm a hell of a guy.

Raquel Thomas. People call me Raq.

You new?

I'm just working here
Tuesdays and Thursday nights.

Got class all the others.

Oh, what you learnin', Symphony?

I'm getting my masters
up at City College.

- Urban planning.
- Well, I'm urban.

I like plans.

Might just have some
sh*t to talk about, then.

Yo, Raq.

We're gonna get at Hugo later.

I'll see you 'round, Symphony.

I'm gonna look forward to that.

[SOFT LOUNGE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[GROWN KANAN] Lamont's Diner.

That's our spot.

Dinner every Wednesday night
for as long as I can remember.

Best memories I got.

- [RAQ] Okay, Lou-Lou.
- [LOU-LOU] He's not?

- [RAQ] No.
- [LOU-LOU] Who funnier?

[MARTIN] I mean, the bald one.

[LAUGHTER, CHATTER]

Oh, we not even talkin' about that.

- [KANAN] Like I said...
- [LOU-LOU] Just saying...

Look, look, I'm-I'm
just telling you all,

though, for real, Juke,

you was killin' at choir
practice today, for real.

- For real.
- My girl's a star.

Yo, Juke ain't no joke,
baby. That's right, B.

- Oh, that was a good one.
- [LAUGHTER]

Well, your ma's been tellin' me
about this Stuyvesant test.

That's dope. It's good.
New building, what?

It's a new building where...
Got a bunch of labs,

pools, escalators.

Who got labs?

Look, the principal
over at the high school

wants him to take that test

to get into the school downtown.

Now, it's supposed to
be the best high school

- in the city.
- What city?

How come, uh, the principal
never stepped to you

- about this, Juke?
- [JUKEBOX] She did.

But you said it was gonna
be a waste of time,

that all them white folks down there

was never gon' give me a real chance.

I mean, that sounds some sh*t I'd say.

- [LAUGHTER, CHATTER]
- Yeah, exactly.

Look, okay, well, take
the test now, then.

I'm too old.

f*ck it, then. I mean, arts and science

is good enough for us,
good enough for my daughter.

That sh*t wasn't good
enough for us, Marvin.

- That's the point.
- [MARVIN] Whatever.

[GROWN KANAN] That's us.

Whole fam.

- Hey, yo!
- Doin' our thing.

- Yo, Fame!
- Thomases.

- [JUKEBOX] What up?
- [KENAN] What's goin' on, man?

[FAMOUS] Hey, hey, what's
the word, Thomas family?

Yo, so how much you payin'
this fine-lookin' woman

to walk around with you, Famous?

'Cause I know she ain't
kickin' it with you for free.

That's my sister, Jessica.

[MARVIN] Oh, didn't even
know you had a sister.

I've been livin' with
my father in Baltimore.

Up here now to work and go to school.

Oh, nothing I love more
than a working girl.

Somehow, it doesn't surprise
me that you love working girls.

Oh, sh...

Thirty seconds in, and she
already out your league.

Pull up a couple seats. I got dinner.

No, we cool, we was just
passing through, Mrs. Raq.

- I just wanted to say "hi".
- [KANAN] Famous.

You really gonna sit here and
act like it's a coincidence

- that you showed up?
- For real.

You know this our spot and time.

- Sit down.
- [KANAN] Right.

I mean, if y'all insisting.

[MARVIN] Hey, no one
insisting on sh*t, n*gga.

Are you eatin' or not?

I'm eatin'.

[KANAN] Whoa, whoa.

[FAMOUS] Ha.

- [KANAN] Dude, we know you.
- [FAMOUS] Ain't no time

to be poor, right? It's cool to be poor.

[KANAN] Cool?

- Hey.
- Hey.

- [LOU-LOU] I'm Lou.
- [JESSICA] Jessica.

[RAQ] What's the day's mathematics?

[MARVIN SIGHS]

[MARVIN] Power understanding
off the corners.

Wisdom and knowledge
from the other spots.

We down.

The price of jumbos dropped.

Had to keep up with the Joneses.

[CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY]

You not cold?

Yo.

Yo. What up?

Yo, I don't want your uncle
messin' with my sister, man.

- Fame.
- She not built for this sh*t.

Yo, you been wantin' to
be a part of our family

since you was, like,
four years old, Famous.

Hey, maybe this is finally your way in.

- You know what I mean?
- [KANAN] Word.

- Love, marriage.
- Yeah, maybe.

- [JUKEBOX] In-laws.
- [FAMOUS] Exactly, Juke.

[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]

- Down!
- [g*nsh*t]

[g*nshots]

[HIP-HOP PLAYING IN CAR]

♪ ♪

You okay?

- Yeah.
- You okay?

- [KANAN] I'm good.
- You two?

- [JUKEBOX] Yeah.
- Lou-Lou, good?

[LOU-LOU] We good. I'm good.

Yo, you all right?

That's probably the bravest thing

any dude's ever done for me.

You hangin' with the wrong dudes.

- Clearly.
- [SIREN WAILS]

Yo. That's Five-O. Let's be out.

[RAQ] Yo, Famous, get in the car.

[SIRENS APPROACHING]

You okay?

[KANAN] Yeah.

I know who sh*t at us tonight.

[RAQ] You don't know
what you know, Kanan.

Hmph. Yeah, I know more
than you think I do.

I'm handling it.

We good.

That secret language you talk
with Uncle Marv and Lou-Lou,

all that wisdom, cipher,
understanding stuff,

it's Supreme mathematics and alphabet.

I heard some Five Percenters using it.

You always talkin' numbers
outside of Lamont's.

"Power understanding" is .

"Wisdom knowledge", .

Ma, I'm telling you, I know stuff.

Look, you need to stay out
grown folks' business.

Okay, I told you, I'ma deal
with what happened tonight.

Okay, you just focus
on this test and school.

You handle your job, I'll handle mine.

No, but what if something
happens to you?

That was just a message.
They weren't tryin' to hit me.

But what if they did and you were gone?

- What happens to me?
- [SIGHS]

You'd go live with your grandmother.

- [SCOFFS]
- That's one of the reasons

I rented her that house.

So you always have a place to go.

I don't want you to die.

[SOMBER MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Go to bed.

I seen my life flash in front
of my eyes last night.

Well, that's not much to see.

[FAMOUS] f*ck you, Juke.

[JUKEBOX] Hey, what was
Raq talkin' about last night

when you got home?

She say she wanna fix it.

Then she gonna fix it.

[SIREN WAILING]

Guess you won't have to worry
about this sh*t no more.

You gonna be at your fancy school

next year downtown.

Test tomorrow.

[FAMOUS] Yo, if it was me,

I'd f*ck up that special
test sh*t on purpose.

I ain't goin' to school
with them f*ckin' crackers.

[JUKEBOX] n*gga, the only special test

you ever gonna take
is the one to make sure

you ain't got that HIV
from Toya Hutchinson.

[FAMOUS] I used a jimmy hat, a'ight?

Word?

I pulled out early, n*gga! Damn!

[LAUGHING] You just stupid,
Famous. That's all.

[FAMOUS] I guess.

You came at me and my
family last night, 'Nique.

Wasn't tryin' to hurt nobody, Raq.

n*gg*s are just buckin' off in the air,

tryin' to get your attention

to motivate this parley right here.

Your brother would've
never done sh*t like that.

[UNIQUE] Yeah, maybe not.

You see, Ronnie's upstate for the rest

of his natural life,

and I'm runnin' the show right now,

so I do what I wanna do.

You also bum rushed my dudes on th.

Listen, my n*gg*s got a little wild,

but they've been checked.

But look, Raq,

High Post and my brother
had an agreement

that those blocks above th
is a demilitarized zone.

No man's land.

Then when your little
peoples ran in there,

snatched that up without checkin' in.

'Sup with that?

Post's deals ain't my deals.

[SMALL LAUGH]

You know, you must really miss Post.

Bein' that you two were just
so madly in love and sh*t.

Post used to say,

"Once you're on your knees,
it's damn near impossible

to get back on your feet".

I ain't gettin' on my knees, 'Nique.

Not for you or no man.

You take to ,

I get to Sutphin.

- Why you get the extra block?
- Look.

We can go head up in
this m*therf*cker, 'Nique.

No matter where you were aimin',

you took a sh*t at me
and mines last night.

My peoples are ready
to throw the f*ck down.

You can't afford the w*r right now, Raq.

You hurtin' just like me.

Well, outta my pain
comes strength, n*gga.

to .

Word is bond.

You know, that's a fly-ass
jacket right there, B.

You bring that to shop, and we can

- tighten that up for you.
- [RAQ] Mm-hmm.

[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]

♪ ♪

[MOANING]

- What the f*ck is that?
- Come here, baby.

[CONTINUES MOANING]

Ah...

[MOANING, SNIFFING]

What the f*ck is that smell?

How you just gonna stop?

[SNIFFING] Bella?

Did you go poopy?

[SNIFFS]

Hey, get me some water, yo.

Where are you, Bella, baby?

[FOREBODING MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[SCREAMING]

[RAQ] They said you got
a break halfway through.

[KANAN] Thanks.

You're gonna crush this, baby.

You have three hours
to complete the exam.

You may open your test
booklets and begin the exam...

Now.

Good luck.

[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[GROWN KANAN] n*gg*s defined
by the choices they make.

And my choice has always
been clear as hell.

My moms over everything.

Especially some downtown school

with a bunch of white n*gg*s.

[PUNCHY MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Medium well.

No doubt.

[FAMOUS] Test went quick.

Knew the answers before I even sat down.

Hey, uh...

saw Buck on your mom's
corner on the way over.

th.

Damn, this n*gga takin'
sh*ts at us at the diner,

now he takin' corners too?

I thought you told Juke
your mom was gonna fix that.

We gonna handle it.

[TENSE MUSIC]

My brother got some gats
hidden around the crib.

[GROWN KANAN] D-Wiz.

D the one givin' Famous
the b*at on the table

back in my old school.

Lot of fake tough guys around the way.

n*gg*s who act like they got heart,

but bitch up when sh*t get hot.

That wasn't D-Wiz.

D always with whatever, whenever.

That's my man.

Let's do this.

[SINGER] ♪ Back to life,
back to reality ♪

♪ Back to life, back to reality ♪

♪ Back to life, back to reality ♪

♪ Back to the here and now, oh yeah ♪

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

♪ Tell me maybe I
could be there for you ♪

[VOCALIZING]

♪ However do you want me ♪

♪ However do you need me, how ♪

♪ However do... ♪ [CLICK, MUSIC STOPS]

[GIRL] He got caught by his parents.

- with a girl in his room.
- No way. Are you kidding?

What's up?

Can we help you?

Oh, sh*t, uh, this is Laverne.

We met at the choir competition
at City Center last week.

[GIRL] You go to Spence, right?

You're, uh, you're in
my friend Alex's class.

Nah.

Where do you go to school?

Jamaica.

The island, Jamaica?

Oh, my God. Um, Queens.

Jamaica, Queens.

Laverne and I are working
on a duet together

for the Deb Ball.

It's like a...

exchange program thingy.

[SOFT MUSIC]

I'll call you guys later.

♪ ♪

- What the heck was that?
- I don't know.

God, the Deb Ball's this thing

that happens every year

for rich white girls to be, like,

presented to rich white guys.

[JUKEBOX] Rich Black
people have that too.

Jack and Jill or some sh*t.

Not that I've ever been invited.

Come with me to mine, then.

Nobody want me there.

I want you there.

♪ ♪

[HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYING ON BOOM BOX]

♪ ♪

[MAN] Come on, come on, come on.

[MARVIN] Yo, um,
what's up with the mutt?

[MAN] Tumor in his spine.

Can't use his rear legs no more.

Yo, well, never give up on family.

[MAN] No doubt.

Yo, uh, Hugo say we good.

Back up at Lanes again. Own a spot.

[CAR ALARM CHIRPS]

He also was talkin' some crazy sh*t

about the new white girl up in there.

And, uh, and a dog in
a f*ckin' microwave.

What white girl?

You're so pretty.

- Yeah.
- [CHUCKLES]

You're shaking.

[ROMANTIC MUSIC PLAYING]

I get it. I get it.

♪ ♪

[UPBEAT HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYING]

[SINGER] ♪ And this is
how the story goes ♪

♪ Brothers are amused
by other brothers' reps ♪

♪ But the thing they know best
is where the g*n is kept ♪

♪ 'Cause in the night
you'll feel fright... ♪

[MAN] Let me get five red caps, yo.

[SINGER] ♪ Wanna do a dance or two ♪

♪ 'Cause they could
maybe bust you for self ♪

♪ Or with a crew ♪

[DEALER] Let me see cash.

[SINGER] ♪ He could pop you and jet ♪

♪ Without a getaway car ♪

♪ And some might say that he's a dummy ♪

♪ But he's stickin' you and
takin' all of your money ♪

♪ It's a daily operation ♪

♪ He might be loose in the park ♪

♪ Or lurkin' at the train station ♪

♪ Mad brothers know his name ♪

♪ So he thinks he got a little fame... ♪

Look at this.

Postin' up on my mom's corner?
That's straight-up disrespect.

Let me get the strap.

[D-WIZ] I'm using the other one.

I don't know what the
f*ck you n*gg*s is holdin'.

[FAMOUS] Mm-mm.

I ain't goin' out there naked, man.

f*ck that... what am I gonna do

when they start sh**t'
back at us, huh?

Yell at them?

Man, look, y'all lay back.

Me and D'll do this.

[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]

♪ ♪

[EXHALES]

[KANAN] Wait here.

[BUCK TWENTY] Hmph.

The f*ck you want, Kanan?

Oh, sh*t!

[g*nshots]

Oh...

- [GRUNTING]
- [D-WIZ] Who sh*t him?

Me or you?

n*gga tryin' to speak.

[GROANING]

[CONTINUES GROANING]

[HEAVY MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[GROWN KANAN] Buck
Twenty the first n*gga

I ever pointed a g*n at.

You never forget that sh*t.

- [SIREN WAILING]
- It stay with you.

It live with you.

Yo! Five-O!

Kanan, let's go, man!

[SOFT PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]

♪ ♪

[RAQ] It's been a minute since anybody

asked me out on a date.

I know I'm not the kind of brother

you probably mess with.

I'm in a...

specific line of work, Symphony.

Not everybody can get down.

If it's not a problem for you,
it's not a problem for me.

So urban planning?

What do I need to know?

Oh, man. How much time you got?

How 'bout when Robert Moses

built the Cross Bronx in the ' s,

he moved out , low-income families?

Just threw them in the street.

But if he'd run the expressway
along Crotona Park

like a lot of people told him to,

only, like, families
would have had to go.

I've never even heard of Robert Moses.

Pretty much the architect
of the whole damn city

and Westchester and Long
Island and Rockland County.

Lotta people, including me,

think he destroyed those spots.

But I tell you all that

because that right there
is urban planning.

It's where policy and design intersect.

[SMALL LAUGH]

- Look what you done started.
- [CHUCKLES]

I like brothers with
bigger ideas than me.

Kanan.

I'm sorry. I gotta go.

- For dinner.
- No, but I asked you out.

[RAQ] I had squashed it, Kanan.

It was done. Over. We made that peace.

Ma, he tried to k*ll you!

Then they was just on your corner,

disrespectin' you? Hell no!

I gave him those corners.

Why-why would you do that?

- Great question.
- Here we go.

[RAQ] You wanna start your own sh*t?

Make your own calls? Have at it, n*gga.

But if the past taught us anything,

it's that you not made
to sit in this seat,

to walk in these f*ckin' shoes.

So how 'bout you shut the f*ck up

and let me speak to my son?

That your blood?

No, it's the other kid.

Yeah. The dead kid.

So just so we clear,

you and your friends k*lled that boy

for a corner I already gave up.

- I didn't know you gave it up.
- [RAQ] Exactly.

You don't know, but you think you do.

You all do.

And where the f*ck was you at

when all this stupidness was goin' down?

Choir practice.

[SCOFFS] Singing.

She was singin'.

Ma, I wanna help you.

- [RAQ] You wanna help me?
- Yes!

Go to that school and get
the f*ck up outta here!

You coulda sent me
to live with grandmoms

a long time ago!

Schools out there is safe, is
good, but you ain't do that.

You kept me right here next to you

'cause this is all we got.

I'm here because you wanted me here!

And now you tryin' to send me
to some spot downtown, right?

So I can go to college,
get some corny-ass job,

and raise up off the block forever?

Leave you here alone?

Which one is it, Ma?

Am I stayin' here, or am I goin'?

For real, you need to make up your mind.

Go to your room.

I'm grown.

I don't think you can tell
me to do that no more.

[LAUGHS] You must be out your damn mind.

Somebody gotta fly that
flag and have your back.

That's what I did.

Ma, that's who I am!

No, no, no, I tell you
who you are, Kanan,

not the other way around!

I am your mother!

That sweatshirt gotta go, Raq.

Go take it off.

Yo, you gotta burn that sh*t.

[FOREBODING MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[LOU-LOU] Come on.

'Nique gonna hit us back.

Sh...

[BREATHING HARD]

[g*nshots]

Look, Ma...

[RAQ] Not nearly that time yet, Kanan.

Not even close.

Go take out the garbage and
get back up to your room.

Gonna take you to your grandmother's.

Maybe you were right.

Maybe I should've sent
you out there from the rip.

[TENSE MUSIC]

[SCOFFS]

[MAN] Yo, Kanan!

[g*nf*re]

[TIRES SQUEAL]

Kanan!

[KANAN PANTING]

I'm good, I'm good.

I'm not hit.

[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]

[GROWN KANAN] Every hood
got a cop like Malcolm Howard.

Act like he own the streets.

Like we all answer to his ass.

Like he the biggest
gangster around the way.

But it ain't that simple.

It ain't never that simple.

Looks like baby boy's balls dropped.

The block's the same, him and his boys,

they got prices on their heads.

Yeah, well...

block's got it wrong.

Maybe you should, uh, get
out while you still can.

They hit the wrong house.

Just a f*cked up mistake.

Hmm. That's your story.
You're stickin' to it?

That's the one.

You spinnin' that same sh*t?

My son don't got nothing to say to you.

Watch your back, Raquel.

And keep them eyes open, B.

[MARVIN] Yo, let us
through, man, we family.

Yo, Raq.

[MARVIN] You a'ight?

g*ns wasn't pointed
in the air this time.

It's your first crime scene, Burke.

What do you got?

[SIGHS] Nine-millimeter shell casings.

Some sort of SMG.

Gonna run ballistics,
see if we can match it.

Ah, you all sleuthing up
in this m*therf*cker, huh?

Just doin' my job.

[HOWARD] Yeah, well, I hope
you're a good swimmer.

The gat that squeezed that sh*t out

it's already at the bottom
of Baisley Pond.

[JUKEBOX] sh*t's scary, right?

Psh. sh*t's so scary, I didn't
even have time to be scared.

[POLICE RADIO CHATTER]

I'm glad they missed.

Yeah, me too.

Yo.

Where was you at earlier?

White girl?

You know I'd never tell you
how to raise your son, Raq.

[TENSE MUSIC]

But them fools is comin' for Kanan.

And no escalator in no school
is gonna save him from that.

Neither is his mama.

♪ ♪

[RAQ] For Buck's family.

Sss.

We had a truce, Raq.

that your boy and his crew violated.

Now, you think a clip of
cash for Buck's family

gonna nearly fix that, Raq?

If our word don't count,
this whole sh*t falls apart.

You know that.

Speakin' on violations.

You came after my son last night...

where we stay at.

And we gonna keep comin', Raq.

You see, I got money on
all them n*gg*s' heads

until you and I come to an agreement.

Or until we don't need to no more.

Now, look.

I want all them corners.

No compromise, no split,

no nothing.

They all comin' to me now.

See, look.

My crew's lookin' at me like...

if I don't brin' something
back real for Buck,

they gonna start wantin'
answers to questions

people in our position don't
ever wanna be asked, Raq.

Kanan's not to be touched.

I'll dead the bounty.

But you gotta understand this:

I can only control what I can control.

See, Buck's got a lot of people
on the Southside, Raq.

And I can't be held responsible

for random n*gg*s
wantin' to take matters

into they own hands.

Kanan's not in this.

Kanan's you and Def Con's boy, Raq.

That n*gga been in the sh*t

before he was even in this sh*t.

That's why I always say
this hustle right here

ain't for the broads, Raq. [CHUCKLES]

'Cause you see, in this sh*t,

you can't give a f*ck
about nobody or nothing

more than your business.

Distractions make you
weak. Make you blink.

You don't care about your son

any less than I care about Kanan.

Listen.

Jerome's my heart,

but he ain't live inside of me.

He didn't come out of me, Raq.

You see, you and Kanan
connected in a way

me and Jerome just never will be, Raq.

You can't f*ck with that chemistry.

It's biology.

[CHUCKLES] Even worse, Raq.

Listen.

[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]

All them corners is mine now.

♪ ♪

I'm not blinkin', 'Nique.

My eyes are wide f*ckin' open.

[FOREBODING MUSIC PLAYING]

♪ ♪

[RAQ] Kanan.

[WHISPERING] Get dressed. We're goin'.

Goin' where?

Just get dressed.

Thought you were takin' me to Grandma's.

How'd that test go?

For real.

Don't lie to me.

If there was a lot of answers
in that B column,

I might be a'ight.

[EXHALES] You threw it.

Kanan went hard on them Bs.

You see those four stars? Right there.

That rectangle.

With those diagonal stars
right in the middle of them.

That's Orion the Hunter.

That's us, Kanan.

Orion.

Always the hunter, never the hunted.

Go ahead. Take it.

Point it straight out there.

[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING]

Hold that sh*t with two hands.

Strong hand on top.

Extend your arms.

Aim straight out there.

Squeeze one off.

That b*llet's out there now.

Circlin' the world with your name on it.

Now you gonna be runnin'
from it for forever.

You wanted to be in it?

You in it.

♪ ♪

[PUNCHY PERCUSSIVE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[g*nsh*t]

[GROWN KANAN] You already
know how my sh*t ended.

And now you know how it started.

[g*nsh*t]

But the real story is what
happened in between.

This is that story.

This is my story.

This is a Southside,
Jamaica, Queens story.

[MAIN SOURCE'S "JUST HANGIN' OUT"]

[SINGER] ♪ I'm just hangin' out ♪

♪ I'm mainly known for the rough raps ♪

♪ But kids steal my
lyrics like hubcaps ♪

♪ And eat 'em like stacks
of flapjacks like Rugrats ♪

♪ Hey, and I get busy
over unknown tracks ♪

♪ While the next man flaps
his lids like Parkay ♪

♪ I'm skilled in the field,
so slide to the side ♪

♪ I'll make a rapper cry ♪

♪ 'Cause I can get some shut-eye ♪

♪ While he's havin' hard
times writin' rhymes ♪

♪ So he gnaws on my metaphors
and dines on my lines ♪

♪ Which is the reason
why I like to hang out ♪

♪ And hustle with my friends
to get away from pens ♪

♪ And copiers so I'm Corona bound ♪

♪ To check Drew AKA Doc the Butcher ♪

♪ And what's goin' down ♪

♪ And Joe with the Jetta ♪

♪ Enables us to get around town ♪

♪ He's a clown ♪

♪ Other than that, I'm with Joe Burgos ♪

♪ Watch an old Black
Caesar flick for kicks ♪

♪ Jump in the wagon
and we're outta here ♪

♪ Without an idea of where ♪

♪ But usually we wind up there ♪

♪ I go over K-Cut's block ♪

♪ 'Cause rock cuts is what he blends ♪

[SINGER VOCALIZING]

♪ ♪

[LAUGHTER]

First day back at school
since all that went down.

It's gonna still be hot out there.

You need to watch yourself.

I've been hearing that
maybe you and your friends

had to be put up.

Don't listen to that.
It's just not real.

Only one king can rule
the kingdom, 'Nique.

Betting on you.

You know what time it is.

***

Kenan!

[g*nsh*t]