On the Come Up

As the news coverage continues, the reporter claims that the lyrics from Bri’s song “seemed to have encouraged students to violently take matters into their own hands” (266). Jay confronts Bri, demanding to know why Bri kept this song from her. She scolds her daughter for “saying stuff [she] had no business saying” (268) and for playing into people’s assumptions about her. She tells Bri that “people only jump on what you give them” (268), and Bri fires back about Jay’s drug addiction and how people assume she is still a drug addict. Jay forbids Bri from continuing to rap, declaring that she “refuse[s] to stand by and let [Bri] end up like [her] daddy” (269). Bri decides to go behind her mother’s back, and she meets with Supreme the next day. He surprises her with a pair of brand-new Timbs. Supreme tells Bri that the media loves to make rappers the villains and blame them for people’s actions, just like the media is blaming the song “On the Come Up” for the riot at the school, but he states that “publicity is publicity” (274), and all that matters is that her song is growing in popularity. Supreme tells Bri that she needs a real manager to “make sure this doesn’t get outta control and that it works to [Bri’s] advantage” (275).