Love and a Gangsta (21 page)

“Niggas be lying,” she said with attitude.

“But you fucking around with them to get quite a name for yourself.”

“It’s my business,” she snapped. “Who are you now, Mr. Jenkins. I thought you was supposed to be this gangsta. Shit, since I met your ass, you’ve been acting scared!”

“Damn, you be acting all nice, but when I start telling you the truth, you spaz the fuck out. Just chill with all that.”

She just looked out the window and kept quiet without saying anything else to me.

“You want me to take you home first?”

“No, I wanna roll. I wanna have some fun tonight, with or without you,” she said scornfully.

That’s when I should have taken her ass home. It was out the way, and I didn’t want to stray too far with twenty thousand in a trunk. I pulled up to the Shack and it was poppin’. There were many cars and people hanging about, and I felt inside me that there was trouble in the air tonight. I parked the ride somewhere safe then Cindy and I headed for the entrance.

It was close to midnight and I knew I needed to call home and let America know that I was okay and would be home soon. I had gotten so wrapped up with Greasy and his foolishness that the time was flying by. I navigated my way through the thick crowd that was lingering outside and got
through the bouncers with no problem this time.

I walked into the club, and it was definitely live. The dance floor was cramped with sweaty revelers, and the DJ was spinning Biggie mixes. Cindy’s face said that she was open. I noticed her catching the attention of males in the place. She was eating it up, flirting and smiling back. I had to shove a few knuckleheads out the way as I walked to the back. Cindy stayed close behind me.

One of Omega’s men was standing outside the roped off VIP room. It was a room the club rented for private parties. The guard knew my face and let me through without hassle. Word around town was that I was home, and soon the face came with the name. He nodded as I walked by him.

The room was filled with beautiful women, and a handful of Omega’s notorious crew. The music was loud, and so was some of the jewelry and platinum niggas were sporting. I knew a few in the room and they gave me respect, and the ones that I didn’t know, minded their business.

I spotted Omega at a table with a woman seated on his lap. Bottles of Moet, Cristal, and Grey Goose cluttered the table. Omega saw me.

“Soul, what’s poppin’ my nigga?” He greeted me with dap and a hug.

“I see you’re doing it big,” I said returning his greeting.

“Always, my nigga. I almost thought you forgot about your peoples,” he said.

“Nah, just doin’ things differently,” I replied.

“Yeah, whatever… You slowing your roll for a minute, I understand. You know Kemistry, right?”

“What up,” I said, giving Kemistry a head nod.

He nodded, lounging and clutching a bottle of Moet. I’ve seen him around when he was younger, and remember Kemistry being some young wannabe gangsta, now turned rapper.

“Yo, my boy is about to perform tonight, I’m sponsoring my nigga. And I’m glad you came through. Yo, Kemistry, you think you can fuck wit’ my nigga Soul in a freestyle battle?” Omega asked, putting me in the spotlight.

I didn’t come there for that, but Omega was always instigating something in the hood, either it being a fight, or a freestyle battle that he was
always pushing me into.

“I ain’t come here for that,” I said.

“I want you to school this nigga real quick, Soul. You nice nigga, and Kemistry gotta go against the best to be the best,” Omega said.

Kemistry was sizing me up, with this cock-sure smug look on his face.

“Yo Omega, what your man here like a retro Run DMC,” he joked.

“Ooh-wee,” a few people shouted.

“Soul, he callin’ you out my nigga. School this nigga, son. He my boy, but show him what you working with on your lyrics.” Omega exclaimed, he was hyped.

“C’mon, Omega, I’ll bury this dude. Don’t have him get embarrassed up in here tonight,” Kemistry boasted.

A small crowd gathered trying to see what the buzz was about. I was now getting hyped, because this nigga Kemistry was coming out of his mouth like he was Jay Z or some shit. And I knew he wasn’t at all. He was a small time studio gangsta.

“Nigga, you talkin’. C’mon, the only thing hard you will ever see in your lifetime is your teeth hittin’ the concrete, after I put your bitch ass down,” I spat.

I was into this now. And hated to turn down a battle, especially from niggas that thought they were the next icon in Hip Hop.

“Yo, them sound like fighting words to me. Fuck that, we takin’ this shit up on stage. Y’all niggas better bring it,” Omega stated.

He made his way into the party and on the stage, grabbing the mike then announcing to the crowd that it was about to be on.

“I didn’t know you could rhyme.” Cindy was so excited, she gushed. But she didn’t know the half.

If I hadn’t been so involved into the streets, I knew I would have been the next Jay Z or Fifty. Shit, I knew I was up there with them or better. I even had a few labels willing to sign me back in the days. But the choices I made in life, fucked everything up.

The crowd in the club was hyped when Omega announced that Kemistry was about to battle. Some folks in the crowd knew me and what I
was about and some were clueless to who the fuck I was.

Kemistry made his way toward the stage first, followed by his little entourage of young wannabes. He took the mike from Omega and announced, “Y’all wanna see a nigga get his ass chewed out tonight. Y’all know who I be, right.”

The crowd went bananas, shouting and screaming and waiting for the battle to happen. I made my way toward the stage and jumped on there and grabbed the mike from Kemistry and said, “He ain’t ready for this. I’m ‘bout to school this Fabolous wannabe.”

The crowd roared, and the DJ started playing the instrumental to Mobb Deep’s
Survival Of The Fittest,
I was hyped.

“Who’s first?” Omega asked.

I stared at Kemistry and said, “Lady’s first.”

“Ooh,” the crowd chanted.

“Fuck this! I’m a finish it before it even begins,” Kemistry returned, grabbing the mike from Omega.

He nodded to the beat and began.

“Yo, yo, yo… Take a look at this dude, his gangsta is retro, like tokens on the muthafuckin’ metro, how you gonna come up against a king, when I heard you was someone’s bitch up north, stayed goin’ south up north, your rep is soft son, like the tits on my bitch, this nigga is so pussy, I’m ready to fuck this bitch, nah let me get a rubber and protect this bitch, look at this nigga, thinkin’ he flossin’, what are those, boss jeans he’s in, c’mon now, I’ll bury you like dirt, shit on you like earth, then spit you out like birth, cuz mixin’ wit’ Kemistry is toxic and you don’t wanna get it poppin…

Now peep this scene and know who I be, that nigga that ends it before it starts, so don’t envy me, player hate me, even come against me, cuz you need to be on your knees and applaud this king, because your bitch be loving it, to her your just another itch, and with me, I be having her scratching when she sees the dick, have her cry out…aye papi! Makin’ the little winch flinch when she sees the twelve-inch, having her jump on my dick, run up all in her shit, making sure she feels the dick. Then when she’s finish, she can kiss on my dick, then go home and kiss you on the lips and have you come back over here and tell me how sweet my shit is…”

The crowd went berserk. He had skills. Omega took the mike from him.

“Oh shit, Soul, I think it’s on. You got competition son. He brought it kinda hard, yo. You ready?”

“Yo, give me the fuckin’ mike,” I said, staring at Kemistry.

The same beat played, and I had everyone waiting. Gripping the microphone, I was going in.

“Okay, you finish screaming my son…? Shouting over the mike like you really bussin’ guns, like your rhyme is on point… Now stand still, don’t run, take this ass whooping like a man and let me oust this punk. Omega why you put me against this fool, him and his weak crew lookin’ like Blues Clues, bunch of dykes, who’s fuckin’ who? Now I’m gonna stand here, and break down the Kemistry in you. You’re soft like baby shit, you watered down like liquid mist, all that huffing and puffing, nigga you still full of shit, so nigga don’t stand here vex, you tryin’ to be creative I give you that at best. Let me breathe a rhyme in your face and now you overzealous… You dare stand before a king and now I’m a have my words shake up your rap career, make you mock more than laugh in here… You and your bitch kids running around town wit’ water guns, and you still ain’t wetting shit, you come up in here talkin’ hard, and rhyming about drama, when none of your beefs don’t even exists. Now what you gonna do when I bring the streets to you, look at him, I got him cringing n’ flinching son, acting like a fool, he wanna stand tall, but this dude ain’t cool… even got your boys asking…
what’s up with you
… nigga so pussy, I ready to get money n’ pimp this bitch…look at him sweating, tryin’ to come up here and run a mile on my dick n’ play wit’ the big boys toys… he tryin’ to hold it down in his mother’s costume jewels… You a straight character, holding props like an amateur, disgrace fool, now it’s lights out for you and your pussy ass crew. Nigga let me recollect you to back to my words in VIP… The only hit you’ll ever see in existence is your face hittin’ the floor, after I lay your bitch ass down faster than the towers came down, then I’m gonna go over and hug and fuck your bitch and have her know what a true man is.”

The crowd was loud, going berserk after I destroyed Kemistry on the mike. I shut him down where he stood.

“Yo-o-o, that’s my nigga, Soul. Oh shit, Kemistry, I don’t know… Nigga brought it,” Omega shouted through the mike. “I don’t think you ready.”

“Yo, fuck that nigga, I’m the one with the record deal,” Kemistry retorted, and walked off the stage.

“Oh, shit, do I detect some hate in my boy,” Omega said, always instigating.

I stood there proud with anther notch on my belt for destroying the competition. Omega gave me dap and hugged me.

“You definitely got skills my nigga. I watched Kemistry shut down many rappers, and in one night, you came up in here and shut him down like it was nothing,” he said.

“That’s because it was nothing,” I returned.

“That’s my dude, though. I got money invested into that nigga. I got his album dropping in a few months. You down to do a few tracks wit’ him and get your name out there,” Omega offered.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Do that.”

Omega and I walked to the bar and he treated me with drinks. I told him about Greasy and the money I had for him in the trunk of my cousin’s car. He wanted to get that later. Right now he just wanted to have a good time.

I got a lot of love that night for my verbal battle with Kemistry. It bothered me that Cindy was playing it really close to Omega. I wanted to take her home, but she insisted on staying and continued having a good time.

It was after one in the morning when Omega told me he wanted to talk to me privately. Cindy was sitting on his lap, tipsy as fuck. It was getting late and I knew America would be worried about me. Omega and I walked into the club’s back office, and when the door shut, Omega handed me a black Glock 17.

“Hold this, Soul. It’s yours,” he said.

“I ain’t got no use for that, Mega.” I was annoyed.

“I got beef wit’ these Jamaicans and I feel that everyone close to me needs to be strap,” he informed.

“Nigga, I ain’t in the game anymore… You know this, Mega. I’m a married man, workin’ a legit job,” I told him harshly with my eyes fixed on his.

“Yeah, and you think Demetrius gives a fuck about that, him and Tiny knows how close you and I be. I ain’t sayin’ that he’s gonna come at you, but you never know. And I want you to be armed just in case.”

“Mega, I’m on parole, I get caught wit’ a gat on me, I’m back upstate, plus more years added to my time.”

“Nigga, I rather you be judge by twelve than be carried by six. Take the joint and stash it, Soul. You say you out the game, but you still got enemies out there that don’t like you. And they might use you to get at me.”

I thought about it. There were the pros and cons. I was running around naked without protection. Knowing my past, who is to say that someone I did wrong to won’t hesitate to come up on me and put a bullet in my head?

Omega told me he was watching my back, but maybe he had other motives. He wanted me back in the game with him. My life now was cool. I had a legit job. It was slow money coming in, but I finally had peace of mind. It was something I haven’t had since I was five or six.

Reluctantly, I took the gun from Omega. This nigga done put so many thoughts and worries into my head that it felt like I shot a nigga yesterday. I concealed the Glock in my waistband and we continued to talk for a moment. He was telling me about business being good. He was making crazy Arab type money, and flaunted his riches.

After our talk, we went back out into the club and I ran into a stunning looking Alexis. She was in a sexy red halter style neckline dress and a pair of four-inch sandals. Her long hair fell gracefully down her shoulders, as she sipped a drink.

“I see you still got talent, Soul,” she seductively smiled. “So when are you gonna use some of that talent on me, baby?”

“I ain’t in the game anymore, Alexis. I’m straight, and you was always the type to be wit’ a nigga wit’ a lot of money.”

“There’s always that one exception. The way you used to do me, I’m ready to bend the rules just for you Soul.”

Her hand was pressed against my chest and she was close enough
for me to smell her perfume.

“You know I need to chill. I’m not wit’ that anymore.”

She smiled at me and said, “So, you really have changed or think you fuckin’ changed. I must admit that I’m still jealous of her, Soul. You and I should have been an item not that bitch. I heard that you married her, is it true?”