On The Come Up

Winning the battle, I'm overjoyed. People are clapping. It was an unforgettable moment, and I would give anything to see the look on Milz's face again when he lost. A reasonably high-class-looking fella is cutting through the crowd like a knife through butter. Wearing a $700 pair of sneakers and sunglasses, a sufficiently large gold chain with a massive cross in the center. I become still as he comes up to me, face to face, and he greets me with a smile.

"Pretty brave, someone like you coming to a hood like this," I say with confidence.

"You don't know who I am, do you?" he responds.

He introduces himself, and I have to pick my jaw off the floor. So embarrassed, he precedes to ask me for a record deal, surprised because of my first impression. However, when the words come out of his mouth , it is as if my body is floating on air. So hyped for this opportunity that I responded “yes” a thousand times. This opportunity is a chance for me to express myself through my music and help mom with the bills.

Mom and I are walking through the recording studio about a week later. This place is next-level fancy and hard to see where I belong. Stepping into the recording studio, to the left me a bass player and to the right, threw the microphone,

"Ready, Bri," Nathan says.

"As I'll ever be," I responded.

Nathan counts to three then the bass starts. I like this beat…. Wait, this is about gangs and crappy booze. This is not real and sure as hell, not me. I asked Nathan where the script I wanted to record went. Nathan believed it was too real; What does that mean! How can something be too honest? Rap is supposed to tell a real story. Apparently, raps about what people want to hear, w

hat will sell, not what is real.

"I Can't say any of this. It's not me. It's fake," I say to Nathan.

"Kid, if you want to be famous, this is the way to go; if you don't want to be famous, you can write what you want."

Do I really want to become known for writing these things? If this is how I become famous, is it even worth going against what I believe in? Would I still be

my dream or someone else's?

Reflection

In my reflection of On The Come Up, written by Harper Collins, I use Limited first-person narration to reflect who Bri is and how she wants to become known for her rap style. An example of how the first person is “this is not real and sure as hell, not me,” using this quote for the readers to come across how Brie is against the “typical rapper” she wants to become different, someone known for something real. We can also notice how Nathan has come across as more of a negative person. He wants to make Bri famous, but he just wants the money and does not care about what Bri as an artist wants . Another example is when Nathan the producer states, “Kid, this is the way if you want to be famous. If you don’t wanna be famous, then you can write what you wanna write”. This statement shows the readers he cares more about money than what his artists want to achieve, creating the image that it is his way or the highway, There is only one way to be known, only one way to succeed in the music industry. We can see this response of Bri now doubting herself “ If this is how I become famous, is it even worth going against what I believe in?” I chose this quote to allow the readers to see Bri doubts her songs, and is reevaluating, is this the lifestyle for her if she has no voice in her own music. Bri pours her heart into her lyrics because they are connected to real life. If Bri goes ahead and does what writes what Nathan wants, Bri would be deceiving herself and her audience.