John Henry (2020) Movie Script
[man] Where do you
want to go, boy?
[man 2] Wherever
you want to take me, Pop.
- I'ma take you for a ride.
- Oh, yeah?
- Are you still filming me?
- [chuckles]
Nah. [chuckles]
Okay, you want
something to film?
- Give me something good.
- Okay, I'm
gonna give you something real good.
Goddamn.
I sure look good
in a Cadillac.
[laughing]
I'm gonna be drowning in so
much pussy driving this beast,
I'm gonna have to
build me an ark.
- [laughing]
- What you laughing at?
Don't laugh in my face.
I'm laughing at you,
old man.
Give me that,
give me that.
Shouldn't have bought you
this shit anyway.
- Now, what you got to say?
- That you lucky you my pops.
Otherwise you would've caught these
hands.
You already know.
Oh! Well, you the best.
You the best, Junior. [chuckles]
You know why
I named you John Henry?
When you was born,
no more than a few minutes
out your mama...
God rest her soul...
the doctor put you
in my arms,
and your brand new little hand
squeezed my finger so hard
I thought it was
gonna snap off.
That day, I said,
"My boy's strong.
My boy's John Henry."
What you gonna do with
all that strength, John?
This motherfucker,
this motherfucker...
- Mr. Bark.
- Wolf tickets.
This motherfucker, this motherfucking
wolf, this motherfucker bark.
[mumbling]
- [gun clicking]
- Whoo!
[man] You about to get your ass
busted in some spades.
- Let's go, man.
- [man] Let's go, John.
[young John Henry]
Quentin Tara-negro.
[man] Watch this.
I'm about to fuck these niggas up.
This, nigga.
- Let's go. Let's go.
- This nigga.
Your hands can be nice all day,
nigga, but if I got heat on you,
what you gonna do?
- That's what he said.
- [man] Uh. Uh.
I second that.
'Cause I keep two.
- [chuckles]
- [man] I want one of these.
[man 2] Let me see
somethin', man.
Let me see what you
look like holding that.
- Get nice with them hands.
- [man] Just
make sure, man, when you pick up one of
them,
you willing to pull
that motherfucking trigger.
["John Henry"
by Hunter Lamar plays]
John Henry
He could hammer
He could whistle
He could sing
He went to the mountain
Early in the morning
Just to hear
His hammer ring, Lord
Just to hear
His hammer ring
Lord
When John Henry
Was a little baby
Sitting on
His daddy's knee
He picked up a hammer
Little piece of steel
Said, "Hammer be
The death of me, Lord"
Said, "Hammer be
The death of me"
Said, "Hammer be
The death of me, Lord"...
- [brakes screech]
- [dog whimpers]
[man] Look at
this shit, man! Shit!
Hell gonna burn my ass
for this, man. Fuck!
You gonna do something about this dent,
old man. I'm talking about immediately.
This disrespectful motherfucker
ain't hear me? Okay.
[gun cocks]
Oh, now you see me.
Yeah, that's what the fuck I thought.
Now, what you gonna do,
old man?
What the fuck you gonna do?
[hip-hop music playing]
What's the procedure
When niggas
Only four blocks down
Pull up with heaters?
You really appreciate the tie
Your old head schooled ya
To the jealous nigga on Maple
Who ganked the Fuja
The game is just as hard as
The ground that you fall on
Shake your little bones Scuff
your hair Put a towel on
Bloods and Crips This
shit will Have you spooked
To come out near sundown
And that's only one town
You ever been run down
And watch your buddy
Get gunned down?
Then the gun is on you Wow,
the hood ain't No fun now
'Cause 14-year-olds going
To 14-year-old funerals
Hit the alley later To pour out
some liquor Shit smell like a urinal
And you regret that
You didn't get killed too
To escape this fucking
Ghetto they built
Then watch your homie's mama
Try to keep a straight face
In this melancholy place
Of guilt
Nigga
This as clear as it gets
The hood is still
With the shits
You want to pull up Extracurricular
I'm full of the clips
So slow down for them dips And put
your
life on the line 'Cause I never
slips
Potholes will
Keep you slowed up
While a nigga come out with
Grenades, get you blowed up
Retire the triple OGs
To the outskirts
Then move The young trappers
in See how the house works
He's John
John Henry
He knows he can do
Anything
He's John
John Henry
Strong as an ox
Gonna cast them shade
Yeah, it's tough on this side
Rough on this side
Niggas die
When they lie, we gotta sly
Do or die, who am I?
Look in the mirror
Dead in the face Stare at him,
nigga It's nothing clearer
Life feel different
With a gun in your hand
God mode, case closed
I can't ruffle no man
I don't know when it's over
I don't know if I'm sober
I just know I can
Feel it getting closer
Change
Change everything
Change
Change everything
Change
Change everything
Change
[song fades]
- Domino, motherfuckers.
- [man] Again.
- Oh, man.
- [men chattering]
- [laughing]
- You always cheating.
One more hand like this, I'ma have
to take little mama to Red Lobster
for them cheddar biscuits,
you feel me?
I can buy my own biscuits,
motherfucker.
And the doctors say you
shouldn't be eating gluten
on account of
your hypertension anyway.
- Don't I get a cheat day, baby?
- Absolutely.
If you want to die by a cheddar
biscuit, have at it.
- Ah, them must be some good biscuits.
- It's fire.
Hell, yeah. I'ma start
selling biscuits and bitches.
[man] That way, you can
hire your sister, nigga,
'cause her pussy
taste like biscuits.
[man 2] How you gonna talk about my
sister like I ain't sittin' here?
[men chattering, indistinct]
[woman] Yo, quit holding
that blunt, motherfucker.
- Pass that shit. Puff, puff, pass.
- Man, fuck you.
- [laughing]
- Fuck you too, nigga.
Anyway, this nigga said Tamika
is a compulsive-ass liar.
That bitch lie about everything.
You can ask anybody.
You can ask her sister,
this nigga.
Everybody know Tamika Lotterberry
is a compulsive motherfucking liar.
You see, this nigga
ain't saying shit.
When the last time this nigga had
his mouth closed about anything?
- Feeding time.
- [all laughing]
Like, this shit is going on
under the table, right?
Oh, nigga,
but am I lying, though, cuz?
- No.
- See? Exactly.
So I take Tamika to
Dockweiler Beach, right?
Nice sunny day and shit.
This bitch start the day off
telling a lie so foul,
if I said the shit right now,
it would open up a new dimension
or some CERN-type shit.
- [all laughing]
- All I'ma say is, this
bitch gonna try and tell me
that I didn't see some shit
I clearly seen her do,
and the reason was because she said it
was a full moon, and motherfuckers see
all kind of crazy shit
during a full moon.
I'm looking up, I'm like,
"But, bitch, it's daytime."
- You know what I'm saying?
- High noon in this motherfucker.
- Exactly.
- [men laughing, chattering]
That's what I mean.
Unnecessary-ass lies.
Now y'all know me.
I'm usually cool, calm,
collected-ass nigga, right?
But this nigga's sister
always bring the beast in me.
So I had to tell that bitch
that day, "Listen, bitch,
you lucky you
my nigga's sister, feel me?
Or I would shoot your ass
where you stand."
This bitch get all hurt feelings
about the shit.
She like, "I'm about to
call my bro right now."
I was like,
"So? Call that nigga."
When she called you and told
you what happened, nigga,
your own flesh and blood, nigga,
what the fuck you say?
Trip. I said, "You lucky you my sister,
or Smoke woulda killed your ass."
I done told her this shit more
than
once, but she coming to my job, she
like,
"Bro, I broke everything
in this fucking house."
I'm like, "What the fuck
you do that for?"
Exactly. Bragging about that
shit like that shit is cool.
Come into my house and broke my
goddamn candle I got from Pottery Barn.
- That fresh-linen smell.
- [laughs]
The nigga got a candle from Pottery
Barn.
What the fuck?
- I don't know what Pottery Barn is.
- Where the fuck you shop at?
- Pottery Barn?
- I just said Pottery Barn.
And then she broke my TV.
Whatcha gotta say about that?
- My TV. Right.
- [man] That's all bad.
My coffee table, nigga.
You know the shit you put your rice in?
Real nigga rule number 303:
Never argue with a bitch
where you live.
You put that bitch out. What the fuck
is wrong? What's on your bird, nigga?
You fucking hear the story?
- We argued, then we fucked like crazy.
- Man, fuck all that.
Domino, motherfucker.
Low man, get up. Dark.
Shit, I don't give
a fuck, man.
Y'all be on some
Jerry Springer shit anyway.
That's why I pay
for my pussy, my nigga.
I nut, nigga, they leave.
Uh, the fuck
you doing?
- [man] Here we go.
- I can't try out the new merchandise?
- Fuck no, nigga. I just got these
bitches clean.
- [man] Baby, hold up.
Let that nigga try
the new merchandise.
It ain't like he gonna stretch the
bitch out. Nigga dick too small.
- [all laughing]
- You wrong for that,
but you kind of right though.
[Dark] Fuck y'all, man.
Shit, y'all niggas
ain't never seen my dick.
- But one of these bitches about to.
- [men laughing]
Fine, but not that one.
Fuck it.
I'll take this one then.
- No!
- [laughing] She's a fighter!
Oh, yeah, I'ma have
some fun tonight.
- Have fun, my nigga.
- [Dark] Come on, bitch.
What?
Y'all motherfuckers
are trash, and you know it.
Oh, nigga.
This bitch...
- Look at this bitch.
- [man] Oh, no.
Hold up, hold up, hold up.
Tiffany, hold the fuck up. When the
last time you wash your fucking feet?
Them shit's black
than a motherfucker.
- Man, I took a bath today.
- Now, Tiffany,
when you got in the bath, did you
get in on your motherfucking hands?
[men laughing]
Kiss my ass.
[woman] Motherfucker, yo!
[laughing]
[silenced gunshot]
You good?
[man in white] Goddamn.
[gunshots]
[grunts]
[speaking Spanish, groans]
[speaking Spanish]
- No, no, no. It's me, it's me. It's me.
- Emilio!
- [gun rattles on floor]
- [speaks Spanish]
- [speaks Spanish]
- S.
[speaks Spanish]
Vmonos.
- Oscar?
- [gunshot]
[screams]
- [siren wails]
- [officer] Police! Open up!
[pounding on door]
- [man] Freeze!
- Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa.
- Hey, drop it, or I'll shoot.
- [speaks Spanish]
- I said drop it, buddy!
- All right.
I'm dropping the gun, all right?
[speaks Spanish]
[siren wails]
[gunshots]
[siren continues]
[helicopter hovers in distance]
[footsteps]
[knocks]
[chatter on police radio]
[door creaks open]
Evening.
We're doing a sweep of the
neighborhood for some kids involved
in a nearby
gang shooting.
Probably illegals.
I'd like to come inside,
take a look around.
[man]
I ain't seen no kids.
[officer]
I wasn't asking.
[man]
You don't have a warrant.
You know
I don't need one.
[man] I ain't seen
no kids, sir.
[siren wails]
[woman on police radio]
Unit Five, identify.
You stay safe, now.
[footsteps retreat]
[door shuts]
[metal scrapes]
[thudding footsteps]
Are you hungry?
[sirens wail in distance]
My name is John Henry.
Okay. Um...
Mi nombre John Henry.
Did I say that right?
I don't know much Spanish.
Berta.
Berta?
- John.
- [man] Shoulda named you
"dumb-ass motherfucker,"
what I shoulda did.
Bringing in gutter bitches
off the street
and feeding them sandwiches
and shit.
BJ. Padre.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Don't tell gutter bitch
my name.
Don't call her that.
[BJ] That's where you found her, ain't
it?
In the gutter?
Ain't a place bitches
usually end up by accident.
- Pops.
- Oh, man, this is ridiculous.
Next thing, you be bringing John
Dillinger in this motherfucker.
Padre... loco.
[chuckles]
You got family?
Uh, padre?
Madre?
Hermanos.
Where?
[speaks Spanish]
I don't understand.
[BJ] Gone.
She says they're gone, John.
[sighs]
I lost someone today too.
[speaking Spanish]
You can stay here
tonight.
Tomorrow,
I'll see what I can do
to get you somewhere safe.
It's the best
I can do. S?
[BJ] Man,
she didn't understand
a goddamn word you said.
I was thinking maybe she could
just get the general tone
of what I was saying.
Tone?
Tone.
[laughing]
Goddamn.
[speaking Spanish]
- What?
- When did you learn Spanish?
1989, night school.
I was getting it on
with this Puerto Rican girl
I met at the swap meet.
She'd talk all this
nasty shit in bed.
I want to know
what she be saying.
- What was she saying?
- I don't know.
She caught me fucking her sister
before I finished the classes.
[door opens]
[John]
Something wrong?
[laughing]
Good luck.
With what?
[exhales]
First time?
[chuckles] Is that...
that you, John Henry?
Tasha, Compton High.
I know I gained a few
in 20 years, but...
No. You haven't changed
at all.
Yes, I have,
and I am proud of every pound.
Put some respect
on this thickness.
- [chuckles]
- Sorry.
No, I was...
I was... I was just
playing with you.
Look, a lot of fathers
come in here all nervous
when their daughters
become women.
I, um... I didn't know
you were one.
Um, a father.
No. Um,
it's for my niece.
Um, she's visiting
from out of town.
I'm not a...
I mean...
I don't have any
of my own.
You don't have to be
embarrassed about that.
I don't have any either.
Really?
So, um,
what do you recommend?
Um, well, if your niece
is anything like me,
then I think she'd like...
this one.
- [R & B music plays]
- [laughing]
You remember this?
Do you remember this?
Yes!
[laughing]
Watch me looking at you
Teasing me, I'm focused
And I'm hoping we could talk
Because you look so sweet
You got me showing off
My posture 'cause I'm cocky
And I'm bangin' 1990s style
It sounds so neat
Thank you, Tasha.
You got the kind of flyness
That no bad comments Could ruin
Don't want to say pursuin'
Wanna look up at you and say
"You're the finest Bird in
the flock That every flew in"
Now, I'm gonna be
Checkin' for you...
- [music ends]
- [engine revving]
[inaudible dialogue]
[young John Henry]
Ooh! Pops' new whip.
[laughs]
I look good next to it,
probably, don't I?
Ah, you see me, Pops?
[man] Say you guys shouldn't
be cool or some shit.
How you, like, if the cops
told you they found a body?
Don't never leave
the bodies.
- Don't ever leave a body?
- No, don't ever leave the bodies.
[man] Where you put it?
That way, you don't never
leave their families to grieve.
They always going to wonder
if they ever out there.
[static crackles]
- [shouts]
- [siren wails]
[breathing heavily]
[lighter clicks]
[Berta coughs]
Shit!
Get out of here! Go!
I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to yell.
You don't
understand me anyway.
Probably for the best.
I never had much to say.
I had a friend
back in school try to help.
She did her best.
But never much helped me
with words or nothin'.
Did get me started drawing.
[speaking Spanish]
[speaking Spanish]
I never did get the hang
of drawing dogs. [sighs]
Talby deserved better.
[speaking Spanish]
[speaking Spanish]
[continues in Spanish]
That's bullshit,
and you know it.
Go to sleep for a few hours
and wake up in Tijuana.
She's from Honduras,
John, not Mexico.
She's also
a goddamn liar.
Okay, slow down.
- What is she lying about, Pops?
- This bitch...
Berta said
that in Honduras,
they got bats
that are white.
And?
And she's full of shit,
that's what.
Been around a long time.
I've seen a lot
of fucking bats in my day.
I ain't never seen
no white bat.
You never been
to Honduras either.
Bats are black or brown,
John.
If she seen a white bat,
it probably 'cause it covered
with motherfucking cocaine.
Damn coked up-bats
probably flying around,
- [singsong] looking for a dick to suck.
- [scoffs] Idiota.
That word I understood.
I don't give a damn
what y'all think.
Bats are black, John.
Berta.
Bats are black.
Too much white in the world
already, if you ask me.
[banging on door]
[banging]
[slaps]
[John] Mi nombre...
Dude, I'm from Reseda.
- Berta said you were her brother. I
thought...
- [Emilio] Yeah, half.
Look, I appreciate all this
hospitality and everything,
but this is a family matter.
I'd like to get my sister
and get out.
Don't look like she wants
to go with you, hotshot.
Yeah, well, she'll get over it.
Vmonos.
No.
Goddamn it. After all this
shit that I just went...
Man, fuck you.
All right.
- What's that for?
- Your gun.
Put it in the napkin.
- Relax. It's not loaded.
- Doesn't matter.
It does to me.
It's my gun.
Inside these walls,
it's my gun.
[whispers in Spanish]
Hey, hey. Don't look to him.
You don't know him. Look to me.
[Emilio speaking Spanish]
[speaking Spanish]
She says
to give you the gun.
That ain't all she said.
[laughs]
Fine.
You satisfied?
[footsteps]
[BJ's voice] I said,
"My boy's strong."
So why is she
so mad at you?
- Because I left him behind.
- Who?
[Emilio] Oscar.
[door shuts, locks]
How 'bout we start
from the beginning?
About six weeks ago,
I got this in the mail.
It's from her
and her brother, Oscar.
She drew the flower
on it herself.
[John]
What does it say?
[BJ] It says
their mother was killed,
so they're coming
to find their father.
Which is you?
When you start fucking,
boy? Nine?
It wasn't meant for me.
It was meant for my father.
He was in the military.
Spent some time stationed
in Honduras in the '90s.
Apparently, he left pieces
of himself behind.
[sighs]
His liver gave out on him
about a year ago.
[scoffs]
Drank himself to death without
anyone even knowing he was drinking.
Fucking Catholics, right?
Anyways, I, uh,
got that postcard.
I just figured
it wasn't my problem.
Just threw it in the drawer
and... and moved on.
And then yesterday...
Listen, whatever you guys are
selling, I don't want it,
but go ahead and pitch it.
I'm bored as fuck.
[speaks Spanish]
[Emilio] These little shits
came all the way from Honduras
based on nothing but a return
address on some letters
my father sent their mother
over the years.
I don't know, man,
but they can't stay here.
Berta said if they would've
stayed, they would've been killed
by the same gangs
that killed their mother.
Four thousand miles packed
like cattle on trains
on the back
of smuggling trucks,
past the cartel and ICE,
just to end up
on my fucking doorstep?
Look, man. I deal pills for a
friend of mine from Hollywood.
He was looking to move
some product in the Valley,
and I know a lot
of junkies, so...
I still barely get by,
you feel me?
I got enough problems already.
I couldn't handle another.
All right, don't be late.
[John] So what did you do?
[Emilio] My friend said there
was a shelter in Hollywood
that helps migrant kids.
[sighs] I was just gonna drop them
there and get high till the guilt faded.
[indistinct]
[Berta screams]
[shouting in Spanish]
Berta! Berta!
Berta!
I've seen
that cross before.
My connect, he used to get
his supply from a Compton gang
led by some dude
with a metal jaw.
All his people, they have
that cross tatted on them,
like some kind of brand
or some shit.
But he stopped fucking with them when
they
went from dealing drugs to dealing
women.
Look, I know I just met her,
but I got her into this shit.
She's family.
I had to do something.
[indistinct chattering]
[John] How many?
[Emilio] How many what?
[John] How many
did you kill?
I think, like, six. Why?
That's how many bodies
you owe.
[electronic music plays]
[light clicks]
The girl.
["Welcome to Hell"
by Maestro plays]
Don't make me ask you again.
I didn't hear
a question.
Shit. Man, what the fuck
is your problem?
You told me to snatch
bitches, so I snatched them.
How the fuck was I supposed to
know her brothers were shooters?
[panting]
Welcome to hell
Yeah, yeah, nigga
Welcome to hell
Man, that little fucker
came out of nowhere, man.
It was an accident, man. You know
that
wasn't my fault. Man, that wasn't
my fault.
Say "ah," motherfucker.
Welcome to hell
[man screams]
[song ends]
[crying]
[faucet running]
[knock at door]
[Emilio speaking Spanish]
[speaking Spanish]
[sniffles]
[John]
Give her space, kid.
I got her into this.
I can get her out.
I think it'd be safer if you
both stay here for a while.
Till things cool down.
Listen, I appreciate it,
but I can manage, all right?
Yeah?
You know anything
about engines?
[starter cranking]
It almost turned over
that time.
Hold on.
I think I got it.
You're a Raiders fan, huh?
Since the days
of Marcus Allen.
Used to sneak into games with my
cousin when I was Berta's age.
My dad was
a big Raiders fan too.
Couldn't believe they
brought two teams to LA,
and neither was a team
that LA fucked with.
[John] Right?
That they built a stadium in
Inglewood was insult to injury.
- Won't let us have nothing.
- For real.
How'd you find her?
Berta?
How did you know
which house she was in?
I went with my connect on a
pickup one time down that block.
I just figured it was
the best place to start.
As luck would have it,
when we got there,
there she was, looking out the
window like she was waiting for us.
- So, good luck.
- Yeah.
Must've been good luck that you
had all those guns ready too.
Look, man, I already know where
you're headed with that shit,
and I ain't even like that.
I deal some pills
to some friends.
That's as deep as I get
in that crime shit.
Just asking.
No judgment.
So why you helping us?
Why wouldn't I?
'Cause we're strangers.
Because just by having us here,
you're putting yourself in danger.
You have no reason to help us.
[slams hood]
Try it now.
[starter cranks, engine starts]
["Straight to the City"
by DJ Quik and Problem plays]
Check a check And go
straight To the city with it
High enough to see
My whole city's limits
Silly gimmicks, ain't
Too many in my city with it
My city with it If you doubt
it, nigga Come and get it
Everything you niggas mimic
Bruh, my city did it
Lost so many to them semis
Over Philly fitteds
The city hot Pray the Lord
come And chilly chitted
Let one knee hit the floor
So you really feel it
Check a check Then go
straight To the city with it
105 East
Let's see who really with it
Nigga, it's like
That shit's the 105 East
Let's see who's Really with it
Shit, didn't I
Check a check Then go
straight To the city with it
High enough to see
My whole city's limits
Silly gimmicks Ain't too
many In my city with it
My city with it If you doubt
it, nigga Come and get it
[voice echoing]
[man vocalizing]
[people vocalizing]
Shit
If you from the city
Then I know you get it
Every list ever written
Has my city in it
Good to bad, many hats
Yeah, my city fit it
Niggas' heads go crack
When that billy hit it
The police on the loose
The police on the loose...
[song fades]
[hip-hop music plays]
Young hell
In this motherfucker
Running this shit for the 92
You know how we do
Oh, South LA niggas
Stand up
[man] What's up, Hell?
[rap music continues
on stereo]
[laughing] John motherfucking Henry.
What's good, boy?
Hey, yo, I was just telling
shorty about my cousin,
the motherfucking killer
with the hands of steel.
I bet they still cleanin' that
nigga brains off the pavement.
My nigga, you stomped
his shit into spaghetti.
Whole hood talkin'
about that shit.
I've been calling you all day, though.
Where the fuck you been at?
Hey, yo, bitches, leave.
[music turns off]
What's good, nigga?
You straight?
Yeah, I'm good.
Nah. Feel like you came here
to say something.
Say it.
I just...
Let me guess.
The nigga you stomped out
got you a little fucked up?
It's understandable.
Hey, first body gets everybody, man.
You should've seen me
after my shit, man.
The first two days,
nigga, I ain't leave my room.
Couldn't eat. Couldn't shit.
Couldn't sleep.
Real shit.
You know, I don't be telling niggas
shit like this, but you family, right?
You ain't got no reason to be
embarrassed.
You did good, and...
my nigga, I got
the footage to prove it.
Nigga, check this shit out.
Whoo! [chuckles]
[tape machine humming]
[tape machine stops, rewinds]
[Hell] Nigga, I went back and snatched
the security footage last night,
just in case
anybody try to snitch.
Yo, my nigga,
this shit is so raw!
I bet you I could sell
this shit at the swap meet!
But, hey.
Real shit,
you saved my life.
I ain't gonna
forget that.
I'm out.
[chuckles] You know,
you my cousin and shit,
and I love you, but you acting
like a real bitch right now.
What, nigga?
What I'm supposed to be scared of?
Come on, nigga. You want to stop
banging after your first body?
What? You know that nigga got
people, right?
You know his people
gonna come for us, right?
So if you scared of that
shit, yeah, you a bitch.
- I don't give a fuck if you are family.
- So they come. Then what?
Huh? We kill them?
More come, we kill them?
More come, we kill them?
Huh? When do it stop?
It stop when I'm on
the fucking throne,
and you right next to me
cracking heads, nigga.
We were talking about this shit since
second grade. There ain't no plan B.
Ain't no way out.
Nigga, I'm not gonna be
a statistic.
I'ma be a fucking king.
- There's other ways to make money.
- Man, fuck that.
It ain't about money, nigga.
It's about respect.
[scoffs] All right?
You got bullets for hands, nigga,
and if you don't make
niggas respect that,
then, shit, you might not make it to
your next birthday, nigga, real talk.
Is that a threat?
It's a prediction.
You know what?
Hold on.
I got something
that gonna change your mind.
Relax, nigga.
It ain't gonna sting.
I know.
- [pistol clicks]
- Go ahead.
Take it.
Take that shit, man.
Take the shit. Take it.
- [man's voice echoes] John! John!
- [gunshot]
[phone ringing]
[ringing continues]
[machine clicks, beeps]
[man] He hanged himself,
boy, I said,
with his body on the tree,
that we might die to sin
and live to righteousness.
By his wounds,
you have been healed.
Peter 2 and 24.
- Do you like it?
- He'll be right there by himself.
[machine beeps]
[man] We going everywhere now.
It ain't no sections no more.
We going
wherever we want to go.
We go somewhere else,
we see somebody on
the corner selling dope
that shouldn't be selling dope,
'cause he don't work for us.
[man] So you gonna kill
me to get the paper?
[man 2] You didn't see that
nigga burn that nigga. I did.
Nigga, I don't want to
be on the end of that.
- [door opens]
- [man] What's that?
[man 3]
You don't remember me, bro?
[man] Where you from?
What's happening?
[pistol clicks, fires]
[overlapping conversations]
[siren wails]
[man 4] We got to get off the block,
or there's gonna be hell to pay.
- [siren continues]
- [man 5 shouting]
[gunshots]
[overlapping conversations]
[gunshot]
[man on answer machine] With
your right hand, you saved me.
Psalms 138 and 7.
[machine beeps]
[Hell's voice] I'm not
gonna be a statistic.
[lighter clicks]
Nearly broke my back trying
to get that stain out.
Gram.
Where is he?
They don't tell me where
he go or when he coming.
[John]
When's he coming back?
There's no way to know, sugar.
Like I said, he don't tell me nothing.
If you want,
I can call you next time I see him.
I'll wait.
Figured as much.
[chuckles]
["Straight to the City" plays]
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, shit
Check a check Then go
straight To the city with it
High enough to see
My whole city's limits
My whole city's limits
Shit, the whole city
Feel it
Shit, nigga
Who really with it?
Hear that Punk-ass talk,
nigga Who really did it?
[continues, indistinct]
[song fades]
[engine roaring]
[man] Deliver the bodies
in 24 hours...
or burn with 'em.
[BJ] No, no, no.
This ain't a rap video.
Point the gun like you mean it.
Good.
Now, when you aim,
look down the end of the barrel.
Keep your hand steady
like you got a hand
on a titty.
Steady, steady.
Good.
You know something?
You gonna be the next
Cleopatra Jones.
You'll be shooting bad guys
all over the place.
[gun clicks]
[laughing]
Hey. Oh, so I have to give my gun to
John, and you give her your gun?
Hardly fair.
Was it fair...
that I had a stroke
at 52
and lost all practical
use of my penis?
My dick
was legendary, son.
Legendary.
Every fine piece of ass
from Inglewood to Alhambra
had a taste
of BJ's hammer.
Then boom.
Soft for the rest
of time.
Ain't nothing never,
ever gonna be fair
in your whole
motherfucking life, kid.
Get used to it now.
I am.
Well,
you don't got
to worry about John.
He can't even touch a gun without
having a fucking conniption.
Is that what that
napkin thing was about?
He had
an accident...
when he was young,
with a gun.
What kind of accident?
He shot the devil.
[footsteps approach]
[door opens]
- Everything cool?
- [door shuts]
Why is she smiling
like that?
I don't know.
Fuck he doing in there?
John!
Can someone in this motherfucker
tell me what is going on?
[John] I never could
get Talby right.
But she did.
Thank you, Berta.
[speaks Spanish]
[speaks Spanish]
Dad, take Berta.
I need Emilio's help
with the engine.
Yeah.
It's not the car.
We need to talk.
What's up?
What's this?
Your way out.
Where did this come from?
Doesn't matter.
Take it, take Berta,
and get as far away from
here as you can, tonight.
No, man. I can't take money
if I don't know the source.
Especially if it comes in a bag full
of cash. How much money is in here?
Fifty thousand. It's better
you not ask me where I got it.
Shit, I'm not.
Where'd you get
this money from, John?
You bounce out,
then come back with a bag full of cash?
What kind of shit
you into, man?
All right. The bad-ass
with the metal jaw?
- Yeah?
- He's my cousin.
We've got a history,
but he's willing to look the other way
as long as you leave town
in the next 24 hours.
Wait, hold up.
Your cousin Hell gave you
a bag full of cash
to give to me?
You expect me
to believe that shit?
I expect you
to take the money,
take your sister,
and start fresh.
No, fuck that.
Why'd he give you this money?
I need you
to trust me.
Please.
[speaking Spanish]
Uh, Berta would like
to say grace.
Please.
[speaking Spanish]
Amen.
Amen.
How come you never make no
food like this for me, son?
'Cause you never drew my dog.
[BJ] Mmm.
I'll paint the ceiling
of the Sistine Chapel
if I can get food like this
served every night.
[chuckles]
Was her mother an artist?
I don't know.
I never thought to ask.
Before you decided to get rid of
her, you mean.
Your sister.
Before bringing her
to the shelter.
Mm. Like I said.
You didn't want to have
her disrupt your lifestyle.
Pills, right?
Pops.
Don't disturb me, son.
I'm talking.
It's cool.
Fine. He's right.
[speaking Spanish]
- What's she saying about Oscar?
- Nothing.
[speaking Spanish]
She wants to know when
they're gonna save Oscar.
She says
he's still alive.
Is he?
[Berta speaking English]
Not dead.
[John]
How do you know?
I...
I feel him.
Oscar.
Not dead.
You see?
What am I supposed to do?
She's not gonna listen to me.
Tell her the truth.
The truth?
The truth.
[speaking Spanish]
The truth.
[sniffling]
[faucet running]
[sobbing]
[faucet stops]
[dog barking]
[engine revving]
[car door shuts]
[gunshot]
Emilio!
[gunshots]
Still got it.
- Let's go.
- No! No!
La pistola!
[speaks Spanish]
[shouting indistinctly]
How are you
standing?
Adrenaline's
a hell of a drug, son.
Now, don't worry
about my legs.
Worry about how we get
the fuck out of here.
They got shooters
at both doors.
[panting]
The A/C.
You know we can't fit
through that hole.
She could.
Hell, no. Berta can shoot.
You can't. I need her.
It's the only way
she's gonna make it.
Get out of here.
I'll hold the door.
Go, then. Come on.
Go, son, go.
Go ahead.
[BJ shouting] You want in here?
Well, this is BJ Henry's house,
motherfucker!
- [man shouting]
- [glass shatters]
- [gunshots]
- [BJ groans]
[gunshots]
No!
[inaudible dialogue]
[gunshot]
[screams]
[screaming] No!
I'm BJ Henry,
and my dick is legendary!
[high-pitched ringing]
[sobbing]
[John]
Twenty-four hours?
Damn.
That's my mistake.
We all owed at least...
at least one mistake.
Right, John?
Why?
Respect.
[screaming]
[woman] What?
[Hell] I told you
not to shoot him.
- [woman] But he was...
- [Hell] He was supposed to see this.
[BJ's voice] You know why
I named you John Henry?
[John's voice] No.
[woman gasps]
[groaning]
[panting]
What are you doing here?
I... I came to pick up
the kids like you asked.
I... I guess I was too late.
What... What happened here?
Hell.
- [Tasha] Where...
- He leaves no bodies.
Then why did he leave you?
So I'd feel it.
[groans]
Okay, we need to get you
to the hospital,
or you're not gonna be feeling
anything pretty soon.
Don't worry about me.
There's something
I gotta do.
Something fucking stupid,
I bet.
All that talk in school about how
you're not about this life, and now...
now look at you.
You should go.
Yeah, and you should go
to the hospital.
So I guess we both
ain't doing what we should.
[kettle whistling]
[woman chuckles]
Here you go.
Do you still
like it sweet?
- Sweet's just fine, Gram.
- Yeah. [chuckles]
It's my birthday today.
Did you know that?
I wouldn't remember if it
wasn't printed on my ID.
I never liked birthdays.
Always felt
if you know your age,
you live that age.
Want to know
how old I am today?
Eighty-two.
[chuckles]
Eighty-two years old.
[lighter clicks]
Still smoking cigarettes
and waiting to die.
[chuckles]
They say these things
will kill you,
but they sure is taking
their sweet-ass time with me.
[chuckles]
Where is he?
Yeah, Helen's daddy was the
first of my sons to pass.
Your daddy was the last.
Good thing you never had any
children, John Henry.
You never got the chance
to outlive 'em.
Hmm.
Gram.
Where is he?
You know
I can't tell you that.
- He...
- I knowed what he done.
I know everything
that boy's done
since the first time he
walked through my front door
looking for a roof
to sleep under.
My mama said even the darkest
soul can still see the light.
I tried.
[crying]
It's my birthday today.
It's all right, Gram.
It's all right.
Eighty-two years old...
and all I ever seen
was violence.
It ain't ever
gonna stop, is it?
It ain't never
gonna stop.
Thanks for the tea, Gram.
Don't go, John Henry. You're not like
him.
You don't have to do this.
You really believe that?
Second drawer,
left of the sink.
He still gets his mail forwarded
from them houses he run.
Bills and such.
As he don't trust the
people working for him.
I think he just don't want nobody
to see his name on them envelopes.
If you see the gas bill,
could you carry it to him?
It's past due.
John Henry.
Nearly split
his mama in two.
Black man, black man You got
the world On your shoulders
And they thought
They could destroy us all
Black man, black man They hate
to
employ us, but They love to enjoy us,
oh
Black man, black man You got so much
power In your goddamn hands, whoa
Black man, black man We built this
world Now it's time to destroy it
Y'all just love
The music
Y'all just love
The clothes
Y'all love to learn
The dances
Y'all love
To come to shows
And scream "nigga"
At the top of your lungs
- Goddamn, you big.
- [music continues on headphones]
Hey, hold up.
I got some questions.
Like, how'd you get
so fucking big?
Protein shakes?
Red meat?
Man, I'm trying to
get big like you.
My mom say I'm in for a growth
spurt,
but she been saying that for
three years.
You don't talk much, huh?
That's how my Uncle Kenny is, at least
till you get a bit of Henny in him.
So what you doing on this block?
You with Hell?
You gotta be
if you're on this block.
I ain't with Hell.
Then what you doing over here
with that big-ass hammer?
You gonna get murked,
my guy.
- What's your name?
- Deydey.
My name is John Henry.
[inhaling]
Fuck that vape shit, nigga. This
job
would be so much better if we could
smoke.
Real talk, my nigga.
I want to smoke bad as a motherfucker
too, but you know the rules.
No smoking on the job.
Orwellian-ass rule,
if you ask me.
Shit. I, for one,
work better when I'm high.
All right, "I, for one,"
go ahead and smoke yours.
Hell find out you been chiefing
that monkey fur on the job,
he gonna burn your ass.
Watch.
You gonna snitch?
You gonna tell?
- Fuck you, nigga.
- "If Hell find out," man.
I fucking...
use this motherfucking car
lighter so goddamn fast, nigga.
All right, nigga.
Whatever.
Light it up, light it up.
Front,
middle or back?
What the fuck
you talking about now? What?
Like Human Centipede, nigga.
If you was in a human centipede,
where would you rather be, nigga...
the front, the middle or the back?
Freak-ass nigga.
I told you to stop sex-playing me, man.
I ain't with that shit!
How am I sex-playing you?
I just ask you, like...
- You ain't never seen The Human
Centipede?
- What? Uh, what?
The Human Centipede, nigga.
This German scientist,
the nigga sewed together three
motherfuckers, ass to mouth.
It's on Netflix.
What the fuck
he do that for?
I don't know. White people be
doing all kind of wild shit.
Your ass go to jail
too much.
See, you keep contributing
to that recidivism rate, man.
Stay your ass out of jail.
Quit looking for that boy pussy.
There's plenty of women
out here for you, man.
I'm not looking for
any boy pussy, nigga.
I'm trying to put you up on game,
nigga, and letting you know,
like, what they doing out
there in fucking Germany.
Man, I don't want to know
about fucking Germany
or no fucking centipedes
or no goddamn salamanders
or nothing, man.
I just want this fucking bread.
Corey, what's wrong with you, man?
- Just making conversation.
- What kind
of conversation is that, though?
I don't know, nigga. You the one up here
using words like "recidivism" and shit.
What does that mean?
That mean when niggas
go to jail,
and-and they keep going back,
to go to jail, nigga.
I know what the fuck
I'm talk...
What the fuck?
He went to the mountain
Early in the morning
Just to hear
You picked the wrong day
to go 5150, bro.
[John grunts]
[woman] So this the scary
room where y'all kill niggas?
[scoffs]
So who we waiting on?
Yo, Hell.
What's up with your man?
Y'all fucking
with me, right?
Shit.
- [woman] How the fuck...
- It's what I do, bitch.
Yo, it ain't gotta go
this way. Please.
I'm ride or die with you, Hell.
This all I got.
Bitch, the ride is over.
This about that big nigga?
That what this is about?
Yo, I was just trying
to help you.
[thud]
[thud]
[groaning]
Kill him.
Kill him?
You want me to kill him
for you?
Five minutes ago, you was gonna
kill me for some nothing-ass shit.
Now you expect me to do what you say?
Fuck outta here.
You fucking
with the wrong one today.
Really?
[Hell]
So what you gonna do?
[woman whimpering]
- [woman] Come on, man! Don't do this!
- [hammer clatters]
Yo, I don't even know
this nigga!
[woman groaning]
Ah, shit!
No!
[BJ's voice] You know why
I named you John Henry?
[people clamoring]
[man] Motherfucker's
beating that car up!
[grunts]
Damn.
BJ sure did love that car.
Keep my father's name
out your mouth.
Ooh. [scoffs]
So aggressive, John.
- [clapping]
- Always knew you had it in you.
Then you should know
I'm not done.
You know, you could tear
my empire down brick by brick.
Doesn't change the fact that we got the
same blood coursing through our veins.
Nigga, we family.
Not anymore.
Is that a threat?
A prediction.
You ready?
[gunshot]
[groaning, shouting]
- [gunshot]
- [groans]
Lay down, John.
You know, I don't use
a gun either.
But not 'cause of no PTSD shit
or nothing like that.
Nah.
I don't use a gun
because I don't have to.
It ain't enough to just
kill niggas anymore.
Nah.
Now you've got to kill
what they believe in.
[woman gasps]
[grunts]
[muffled cries]
This is Oscar?
You know, you asked me
once before,
"When does it end?"
Truth is...
it never ends.
Heavy lies the crown.
Watch how I keep it.
[gunshot]
Deydey, what the fuck
you think you doing?
Get your ass over here!
[body thuds]
Savage, shoot him!
Nah.
John, I know you.
Don't do this.
We family, John!
I know you!
You ain't no killer!
You know
you ain't no killer!
I'm not a killer.
I'm John Henry.
[exclaiming]
[splat]
[body thuds]
[BJ's voice] I said...
"My boy's strong.
My boy's John Henry."
What you gonna do
with all that strength, John?
[sirens wail]
[speaking Spanish]
[in English] Thank you, John.
Well, John Henry drove
Into the mountain
His hammer
Was striking fire
He drove so hard
He broke his poor heart
And he laid down
His hammer
And he died, Lord
He laid down his hammer
And he died
He laid down his hammer
And he died, Lord
He laid down
His hammer, and...
["Straight to the City" plays]
Yo
Yo, put 'em up
Check a check Then go
straight To the city with it
High enough to see
My whole city's limits
Silly gimmicks Ain't too
many In my city with it
My city with it If you doubt
it, nigga Come and get it
Everything you niggas mimic
Bruh, my city did it
Lost so many to them semis
Over Philly fitteds
The city hot Pray the Lord
come And chilly chitted
Let one knee hit the floor
So you really feel it
Check a check Then go
straight To the city with it
105 East, let's see
Who really with it
Nigga, it's like
Let's hit the 105 East
Let's see who really with it
Check a check Then go
straight To the city with it
High enough to see
My whole city's limits
Silly gimmicks Ain't too
many In my city with it
My city with it If you doubt
it, nigga Come and get it
[voice echoing]
[man vocalizing]
[people vocalizing]
If you from the city
Then I know you get it
Every list ever written
Has my city in it
Good to bad, many hats
Yeah, my city fitted
Niggas' heads go crack
When that billy hit it
The police on the loose
The police on the loose
These police Shoot your
tooth Right there on the news
Allowing you to hang
Then they toss a noose
Pop one in they heads
Till they call a truce
Pick up a bitch then go
Straight to the city with it
Kiss her neck Then go
straight To the titty with it
Kiss her neck Then go
straight To the kitty with it
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, shit
Check a check Then go
straight To the city with it
High enough to see
My whole city's limits
My whole city's limits
The whole city feel it
Shit, nigga
Who really with it?
Hear that Punk-ass talk,
nigga Who really did it?
That mirror man, so fuck it Over and
out, man I got to chill out
Shit, what?
[people vocalizing]
want to go, boy?
[man 2] Wherever
you want to take me, Pop.
- I'ma take you for a ride.
- Oh, yeah?
- Are you still filming me?
- [chuckles]
Nah. [chuckles]
Okay, you want
something to film?
- Give me something good.
- Okay, I'm
gonna give you something real good.
Goddamn.
I sure look good
in a Cadillac.
[laughing]
I'm gonna be drowning in so
much pussy driving this beast,
I'm gonna have to
build me an ark.
- [laughing]
- What you laughing at?
Don't laugh in my face.
I'm laughing at you,
old man.
Give me that,
give me that.
Shouldn't have bought you
this shit anyway.
- Now, what you got to say?
- That you lucky you my pops.
Otherwise you would've caught these
hands.
You already know.
Oh! Well, you the best.
You the best, Junior. [chuckles]
You know why
I named you John Henry?
When you was born,
no more than a few minutes
out your mama...
God rest her soul...
the doctor put you
in my arms,
and your brand new little hand
squeezed my finger so hard
I thought it was
gonna snap off.
That day, I said,
"My boy's strong.
My boy's John Henry."
What you gonna do with
all that strength, John?
This motherfucker,
this motherfucker...
- Mr. Bark.
- Wolf tickets.
This motherfucker, this motherfucking
wolf, this motherfucker bark.
[mumbling]
- [gun clicking]
- Whoo!
[man] You about to get your ass
busted in some spades.
- Let's go, man.
- [man] Let's go, John.
[young John Henry]
Quentin Tara-negro.
[man] Watch this.
I'm about to fuck these niggas up.
This, nigga.
- Let's go. Let's go.
- This nigga.
Your hands can be nice all day,
nigga, but if I got heat on you,
what you gonna do?
- That's what he said.
- [man] Uh. Uh.
I second that.
'Cause I keep two.
- [chuckles]
- [man] I want one of these.
[man 2] Let me see
somethin', man.
Let me see what you
look like holding that.
- Get nice with them hands.
- [man] Just
make sure, man, when you pick up one of
them,
you willing to pull
that motherfucking trigger.
["John Henry"
by Hunter Lamar plays]
John Henry
He could hammer
He could whistle
He could sing
He went to the mountain
Early in the morning
Just to hear
His hammer ring, Lord
Just to hear
His hammer ring
Lord
When John Henry
Was a little baby
Sitting on
His daddy's knee
He picked up a hammer
Little piece of steel
Said, "Hammer be
The death of me, Lord"
Said, "Hammer be
The death of me"
Said, "Hammer be
The death of me, Lord"...
- [brakes screech]
- [dog whimpers]
[man] Look at
this shit, man! Shit!
Hell gonna burn my ass
for this, man. Fuck!
You gonna do something about this dent,
old man. I'm talking about immediately.
This disrespectful motherfucker
ain't hear me? Okay.
[gun cocks]
Oh, now you see me.
Yeah, that's what the fuck I thought.
Now, what you gonna do,
old man?
What the fuck you gonna do?
[hip-hop music playing]
What's the procedure
When niggas
Only four blocks down
Pull up with heaters?
You really appreciate the tie
Your old head schooled ya
To the jealous nigga on Maple
Who ganked the Fuja
The game is just as hard as
The ground that you fall on
Shake your little bones Scuff
your hair Put a towel on
Bloods and Crips This
shit will Have you spooked
To come out near sundown
And that's only one town
You ever been run down
And watch your buddy
Get gunned down?
Then the gun is on you Wow,
the hood ain't No fun now
'Cause 14-year-olds going
To 14-year-old funerals
Hit the alley later To pour out
some liquor Shit smell like a urinal
And you regret that
You didn't get killed too
To escape this fucking
Ghetto they built
Then watch your homie's mama
Try to keep a straight face
In this melancholy place
Of guilt
Nigga
This as clear as it gets
The hood is still
With the shits
You want to pull up Extracurricular
I'm full of the clips
So slow down for them dips And put
your
life on the line 'Cause I never
slips
Potholes will
Keep you slowed up
While a nigga come out with
Grenades, get you blowed up
Retire the triple OGs
To the outskirts
Then move The young trappers
in See how the house works
He's John
John Henry
He knows he can do
Anything
He's John
John Henry
Strong as an ox
Gonna cast them shade
Yeah, it's tough on this side
Rough on this side
Niggas die
When they lie, we gotta sly
Do or die, who am I?
Look in the mirror
Dead in the face Stare at him,
nigga It's nothing clearer
Life feel different
With a gun in your hand
God mode, case closed
I can't ruffle no man
I don't know when it's over
I don't know if I'm sober
I just know I can
Feel it getting closer
Change
Change everything
Change
Change everything
Change
Change everything
Change
[song fades]
- Domino, motherfuckers.
- [man] Again.
- Oh, man.
- [men chattering]
- [laughing]
- You always cheating.
One more hand like this, I'ma have
to take little mama to Red Lobster
for them cheddar biscuits,
you feel me?
I can buy my own biscuits,
motherfucker.
And the doctors say you
shouldn't be eating gluten
on account of
your hypertension anyway.
- Don't I get a cheat day, baby?
- Absolutely.
If you want to die by a cheddar
biscuit, have at it.
- Ah, them must be some good biscuits.
- It's fire.
Hell, yeah. I'ma start
selling biscuits and bitches.
[man] That way, you can
hire your sister, nigga,
'cause her pussy
taste like biscuits.
[man 2] How you gonna talk about my
sister like I ain't sittin' here?
[men chattering, indistinct]
[woman] Yo, quit holding
that blunt, motherfucker.
- Pass that shit. Puff, puff, pass.
- Man, fuck you.
- [laughing]
- Fuck you too, nigga.
Anyway, this nigga said Tamika
is a compulsive-ass liar.
That bitch lie about everything.
You can ask anybody.
You can ask her sister,
this nigga.
Everybody know Tamika Lotterberry
is a compulsive motherfucking liar.
You see, this nigga
ain't saying shit.
When the last time this nigga had
his mouth closed about anything?
- Feeding time.
- [all laughing]
Like, this shit is going on
under the table, right?
Oh, nigga,
but am I lying, though, cuz?
- No.
- See? Exactly.
So I take Tamika to
Dockweiler Beach, right?
Nice sunny day and shit.
This bitch start the day off
telling a lie so foul,
if I said the shit right now,
it would open up a new dimension
or some CERN-type shit.
- [all laughing]
- All I'ma say is, this
bitch gonna try and tell me
that I didn't see some shit
I clearly seen her do,
and the reason was because she said it
was a full moon, and motherfuckers see
all kind of crazy shit
during a full moon.
I'm looking up, I'm like,
"But, bitch, it's daytime."
- You know what I'm saying?
- High noon in this motherfucker.
- Exactly.
- [men laughing, chattering]
That's what I mean.
Unnecessary-ass lies.
Now y'all know me.
I'm usually cool, calm,
collected-ass nigga, right?
But this nigga's sister
always bring the beast in me.
So I had to tell that bitch
that day, "Listen, bitch,
you lucky you
my nigga's sister, feel me?
Or I would shoot your ass
where you stand."
This bitch get all hurt feelings
about the shit.
She like, "I'm about to
call my bro right now."
I was like,
"So? Call that nigga."
When she called you and told
you what happened, nigga,
your own flesh and blood, nigga,
what the fuck you say?
Trip. I said, "You lucky you my sister,
or Smoke woulda killed your ass."
I done told her this shit more
than
once, but she coming to my job, she
like,
"Bro, I broke everything
in this fucking house."
I'm like, "What the fuck
you do that for?"
Exactly. Bragging about that
shit like that shit is cool.
Come into my house and broke my
goddamn candle I got from Pottery Barn.
- That fresh-linen smell.
- [laughs]
The nigga got a candle from Pottery
Barn.
What the fuck?
- I don't know what Pottery Barn is.
- Where the fuck you shop at?
- Pottery Barn?
- I just said Pottery Barn.
And then she broke my TV.
Whatcha gotta say about that?
- My TV. Right.
- [man] That's all bad.
My coffee table, nigga.
You know the shit you put your rice in?
Real nigga rule number 303:
Never argue with a bitch
where you live.
You put that bitch out. What the fuck
is wrong? What's on your bird, nigga?
You fucking hear the story?
- We argued, then we fucked like crazy.
- Man, fuck all that.
Domino, motherfucker.
Low man, get up. Dark.
Shit, I don't give
a fuck, man.
Y'all be on some
Jerry Springer shit anyway.
That's why I pay
for my pussy, my nigga.
I nut, nigga, they leave.
Uh, the fuck
you doing?
- [man] Here we go.
- I can't try out the new merchandise?
- Fuck no, nigga. I just got these
bitches clean.
- [man] Baby, hold up.
Let that nigga try
the new merchandise.
It ain't like he gonna stretch the
bitch out. Nigga dick too small.
- [all laughing]
- You wrong for that,
but you kind of right though.
[Dark] Fuck y'all, man.
Shit, y'all niggas
ain't never seen my dick.
- But one of these bitches about to.
- [men laughing]
Fine, but not that one.
Fuck it.
I'll take this one then.
- No!
- [laughing] She's a fighter!
Oh, yeah, I'ma have
some fun tonight.
- Have fun, my nigga.
- [Dark] Come on, bitch.
What?
Y'all motherfuckers
are trash, and you know it.
Oh, nigga.
This bitch...
- Look at this bitch.
- [man] Oh, no.
Hold up, hold up, hold up.
Tiffany, hold the fuck up. When the
last time you wash your fucking feet?
Them shit's black
than a motherfucker.
- Man, I took a bath today.
- Now, Tiffany,
when you got in the bath, did you
get in on your motherfucking hands?
[men laughing]
Kiss my ass.
[woman] Motherfucker, yo!
[laughing]
[silenced gunshot]
You good?
[man in white] Goddamn.
[gunshots]
[grunts]
[speaking Spanish, groans]
[speaking Spanish]
- No, no, no. It's me, it's me. It's me.
- Emilio!
- [gun rattles on floor]
- [speaks Spanish]
- [speaks Spanish]
- S.
[speaks Spanish]
Vmonos.
- Oscar?
- [gunshot]
[screams]
- [siren wails]
- [officer] Police! Open up!
[pounding on door]
- [man] Freeze!
- Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa.
- Hey, drop it, or I'll shoot.
- [speaks Spanish]
- I said drop it, buddy!
- All right.
I'm dropping the gun, all right?
[speaks Spanish]
[siren wails]
[gunshots]
[siren continues]
[helicopter hovers in distance]
[footsteps]
[knocks]
[chatter on police radio]
[door creaks open]
Evening.
We're doing a sweep of the
neighborhood for some kids involved
in a nearby
gang shooting.
Probably illegals.
I'd like to come inside,
take a look around.
[man]
I ain't seen no kids.
[officer]
I wasn't asking.
[man]
You don't have a warrant.
You know
I don't need one.
[man] I ain't seen
no kids, sir.
[siren wails]
[woman on police radio]
Unit Five, identify.
You stay safe, now.
[footsteps retreat]
[door shuts]
[metal scrapes]
[thudding footsteps]
Are you hungry?
[sirens wail in distance]
My name is John Henry.
Okay. Um...
Mi nombre John Henry.
Did I say that right?
I don't know much Spanish.
Berta.
Berta?
- John.
- [man] Shoulda named you
"dumb-ass motherfucker,"
what I shoulda did.
Bringing in gutter bitches
off the street
and feeding them sandwiches
and shit.
BJ. Padre.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Don't tell gutter bitch
my name.
Don't call her that.
[BJ] That's where you found her, ain't
it?
In the gutter?
Ain't a place bitches
usually end up by accident.
- Pops.
- Oh, man, this is ridiculous.
Next thing, you be bringing John
Dillinger in this motherfucker.
Padre... loco.
[chuckles]
You got family?
Uh, padre?
Madre?
Hermanos.
Where?
[speaks Spanish]
I don't understand.
[BJ] Gone.
She says they're gone, John.
[sighs]
I lost someone today too.
[speaking Spanish]
You can stay here
tonight.
Tomorrow,
I'll see what I can do
to get you somewhere safe.
It's the best
I can do. S?
[BJ] Man,
she didn't understand
a goddamn word you said.
I was thinking maybe she could
just get the general tone
of what I was saying.
Tone?
Tone.
[laughing]
Goddamn.
[speaking Spanish]
- What?
- When did you learn Spanish?
1989, night school.
I was getting it on
with this Puerto Rican girl
I met at the swap meet.
She'd talk all this
nasty shit in bed.
I want to know
what she be saying.
- What was she saying?
- I don't know.
She caught me fucking her sister
before I finished the classes.
[door opens]
[John]
Something wrong?
[laughing]
Good luck.
With what?
[exhales]
First time?
[chuckles] Is that...
that you, John Henry?
Tasha, Compton High.
I know I gained a few
in 20 years, but...
No. You haven't changed
at all.
Yes, I have,
and I am proud of every pound.
Put some respect
on this thickness.
- [chuckles]
- Sorry.
No, I was...
I was... I was just
playing with you.
Look, a lot of fathers
come in here all nervous
when their daughters
become women.
I, um... I didn't know
you were one.
Um, a father.
No. Um,
it's for my niece.
Um, she's visiting
from out of town.
I'm not a...
I mean...
I don't have any
of my own.
You don't have to be
embarrassed about that.
I don't have any either.
Really?
So, um,
what do you recommend?
Um, well, if your niece
is anything like me,
then I think she'd like...
this one.
- [R & B music plays]
- [laughing]
You remember this?
Do you remember this?
Yes!
[laughing]
Watch me looking at you
Teasing me, I'm focused
And I'm hoping we could talk
Because you look so sweet
You got me showing off
My posture 'cause I'm cocky
And I'm bangin' 1990s style
It sounds so neat
Thank you, Tasha.
You got the kind of flyness
That no bad comments Could ruin
Don't want to say pursuin'
Wanna look up at you and say
"You're the finest Bird in
the flock That every flew in"
Now, I'm gonna be
Checkin' for you...
- [music ends]
- [engine revving]
[inaudible dialogue]
[young John Henry]
Ooh! Pops' new whip.
[laughs]
I look good next to it,
probably, don't I?
Ah, you see me, Pops?
[man] Say you guys shouldn't
be cool or some shit.
How you, like, if the cops
told you they found a body?
Don't never leave
the bodies.
- Don't ever leave a body?
- No, don't ever leave the bodies.
[man] Where you put it?
That way, you don't never
leave their families to grieve.
They always going to wonder
if they ever out there.
[static crackles]
- [shouts]
- [siren wails]
[breathing heavily]
[lighter clicks]
[Berta coughs]
Shit!
Get out of here! Go!
I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to yell.
You don't
understand me anyway.
Probably for the best.
I never had much to say.
I had a friend
back in school try to help.
She did her best.
But never much helped me
with words or nothin'.
Did get me started drawing.
[speaking Spanish]
[speaking Spanish]
I never did get the hang
of drawing dogs. [sighs]
Talby deserved better.
[speaking Spanish]
[speaking Spanish]
[continues in Spanish]
That's bullshit,
and you know it.
Go to sleep for a few hours
and wake up in Tijuana.
She's from Honduras,
John, not Mexico.
She's also
a goddamn liar.
Okay, slow down.
- What is she lying about, Pops?
- This bitch...
Berta said
that in Honduras,
they got bats
that are white.
And?
And she's full of shit,
that's what.
Been around a long time.
I've seen a lot
of fucking bats in my day.
I ain't never seen
no white bat.
You never been
to Honduras either.
Bats are black or brown,
John.
If she seen a white bat,
it probably 'cause it covered
with motherfucking cocaine.
Damn coked up-bats
probably flying around,
- [singsong] looking for a dick to suck.
- [scoffs] Idiota.
That word I understood.
I don't give a damn
what y'all think.
Bats are black, John.
Berta.
Bats are black.
Too much white in the world
already, if you ask me.
[banging on door]
[banging]
[slaps]
[John] Mi nombre...
Dude, I'm from Reseda.
- Berta said you were her brother. I
thought...
- [Emilio] Yeah, half.
Look, I appreciate all this
hospitality and everything,
but this is a family matter.
I'd like to get my sister
and get out.
Don't look like she wants
to go with you, hotshot.
Yeah, well, she'll get over it.
Vmonos.
No.
Goddamn it. After all this
shit that I just went...
Man, fuck you.
All right.
- What's that for?
- Your gun.
Put it in the napkin.
- Relax. It's not loaded.
- Doesn't matter.
It does to me.
It's my gun.
Inside these walls,
it's my gun.
[whispers in Spanish]
Hey, hey. Don't look to him.
You don't know him. Look to me.
[Emilio speaking Spanish]
[speaking Spanish]
She says
to give you the gun.
That ain't all she said.
[laughs]
Fine.
You satisfied?
[footsteps]
[BJ's voice] I said,
"My boy's strong."
So why is she
so mad at you?
- Because I left him behind.
- Who?
[Emilio] Oscar.
[door shuts, locks]
How 'bout we start
from the beginning?
About six weeks ago,
I got this in the mail.
It's from her
and her brother, Oscar.
She drew the flower
on it herself.
[John]
What does it say?
[BJ] It says
their mother was killed,
so they're coming
to find their father.
Which is you?
When you start fucking,
boy? Nine?
It wasn't meant for me.
It was meant for my father.
He was in the military.
Spent some time stationed
in Honduras in the '90s.
Apparently, he left pieces
of himself behind.
[sighs]
His liver gave out on him
about a year ago.
[scoffs]
Drank himself to death without
anyone even knowing he was drinking.
Fucking Catholics, right?
Anyways, I, uh,
got that postcard.
I just figured
it wasn't my problem.
Just threw it in the drawer
and... and moved on.
And then yesterday...
Listen, whatever you guys are
selling, I don't want it,
but go ahead and pitch it.
I'm bored as fuck.
[speaks Spanish]
[Emilio] These little shits
came all the way from Honduras
based on nothing but a return
address on some letters
my father sent their mother
over the years.
I don't know, man,
but they can't stay here.
Berta said if they would've
stayed, they would've been killed
by the same gangs
that killed their mother.
Four thousand miles packed
like cattle on trains
on the back
of smuggling trucks,
past the cartel and ICE,
just to end up
on my fucking doorstep?
Look, man. I deal pills for a
friend of mine from Hollywood.
He was looking to move
some product in the Valley,
and I know a lot
of junkies, so...
I still barely get by,
you feel me?
I got enough problems already.
I couldn't handle another.
All right, don't be late.
[John] So what did you do?
[Emilio] My friend said there
was a shelter in Hollywood
that helps migrant kids.
[sighs] I was just gonna drop them
there and get high till the guilt faded.
[indistinct]
[Berta screams]
[shouting in Spanish]
Berta! Berta!
Berta!
I've seen
that cross before.
My connect, he used to get
his supply from a Compton gang
led by some dude
with a metal jaw.
All his people, they have
that cross tatted on them,
like some kind of brand
or some shit.
But he stopped fucking with them when
they
went from dealing drugs to dealing
women.
Look, I know I just met her,
but I got her into this shit.
She's family.
I had to do something.
[indistinct chattering]
[John] How many?
[Emilio] How many what?
[John] How many
did you kill?
I think, like, six. Why?
That's how many bodies
you owe.
[electronic music plays]
[light clicks]
The girl.
["Welcome to Hell"
by Maestro plays]
Don't make me ask you again.
I didn't hear
a question.
Shit. Man, what the fuck
is your problem?
You told me to snatch
bitches, so I snatched them.
How the fuck was I supposed to
know her brothers were shooters?
[panting]
Welcome to hell
Yeah, yeah, nigga
Welcome to hell
Man, that little fucker
came out of nowhere, man.
It was an accident, man. You know
that
wasn't my fault. Man, that wasn't
my fault.
Say "ah," motherfucker.
Welcome to hell
[man screams]
[song ends]
[crying]
[faucet running]
[knock at door]
[Emilio speaking Spanish]
[speaking Spanish]
[sniffles]
[John]
Give her space, kid.
I got her into this.
I can get her out.
I think it'd be safer if you
both stay here for a while.
Till things cool down.
Listen, I appreciate it,
but I can manage, all right?
Yeah?
You know anything
about engines?
[starter cranking]
It almost turned over
that time.
Hold on.
I think I got it.
You're a Raiders fan, huh?
Since the days
of Marcus Allen.
Used to sneak into games with my
cousin when I was Berta's age.
My dad was
a big Raiders fan too.
Couldn't believe they
brought two teams to LA,
and neither was a team
that LA fucked with.
[John] Right?
That they built a stadium in
Inglewood was insult to injury.
- Won't let us have nothing.
- For real.
How'd you find her?
Berta?
How did you know
which house she was in?
I went with my connect on a
pickup one time down that block.
I just figured it was
the best place to start.
As luck would have it,
when we got there,
there she was, looking out the
window like she was waiting for us.
- So, good luck.
- Yeah.
Must've been good luck that you
had all those guns ready too.
Look, man, I already know where
you're headed with that shit,
and I ain't even like that.
I deal some pills
to some friends.
That's as deep as I get
in that crime shit.
Just asking.
No judgment.
So why you helping us?
Why wouldn't I?
'Cause we're strangers.
Because just by having us here,
you're putting yourself in danger.
You have no reason to help us.
[slams hood]
Try it now.
[starter cranks, engine starts]
["Straight to the City"
by DJ Quik and Problem plays]
Check a check And go
straight To the city with it
High enough to see
My whole city's limits
Silly gimmicks, ain't
Too many in my city with it
My city with it If you doubt
it, nigga Come and get it
Everything you niggas mimic
Bruh, my city did it
Lost so many to them semis
Over Philly fitteds
The city hot Pray the Lord
come And chilly chitted
Let one knee hit the floor
So you really feel it
Check a check Then go
straight To the city with it
105 East
Let's see who really with it
Nigga, it's like
That shit's the 105 East
Let's see who's Really with it
Shit, didn't I
Check a check Then go
straight To the city with it
High enough to see
My whole city's limits
Silly gimmicks Ain't too
many In my city with it
My city with it If you doubt
it, nigga Come and get it
[voice echoing]
[man vocalizing]
[people vocalizing]
Shit
If you from the city
Then I know you get it
Every list ever written
Has my city in it
Good to bad, many hats
Yeah, my city fit it
Niggas' heads go crack
When that billy hit it
The police on the loose
The police on the loose...
[song fades]
[hip-hop music plays]
Young hell
In this motherfucker
Running this shit for the 92
You know how we do
Oh, South LA niggas
Stand up
[man] What's up, Hell?
[rap music continues
on stereo]
[laughing] John motherfucking Henry.
What's good, boy?
Hey, yo, I was just telling
shorty about my cousin,
the motherfucking killer
with the hands of steel.
I bet they still cleanin' that
nigga brains off the pavement.
My nigga, you stomped
his shit into spaghetti.
Whole hood talkin'
about that shit.
I've been calling you all day, though.
Where the fuck you been at?
Hey, yo, bitches, leave.
[music turns off]
What's good, nigga?
You straight?
Yeah, I'm good.
Nah. Feel like you came here
to say something.
Say it.
I just...
Let me guess.
The nigga you stomped out
got you a little fucked up?
It's understandable.
Hey, first body gets everybody, man.
You should've seen me
after my shit, man.
The first two days,
nigga, I ain't leave my room.
Couldn't eat. Couldn't shit.
Couldn't sleep.
Real shit.
You know, I don't be telling niggas
shit like this, but you family, right?
You ain't got no reason to be
embarrassed.
You did good, and...
my nigga, I got
the footage to prove it.
Nigga, check this shit out.
Whoo! [chuckles]
[tape machine humming]
[tape machine stops, rewinds]
[Hell] Nigga, I went back and snatched
the security footage last night,
just in case
anybody try to snitch.
Yo, my nigga,
this shit is so raw!
I bet you I could sell
this shit at the swap meet!
But, hey.
Real shit,
you saved my life.
I ain't gonna
forget that.
I'm out.
[chuckles] You know,
you my cousin and shit,
and I love you, but you acting
like a real bitch right now.
What, nigga?
What I'm supposed to be scared of?
Come on, nigga. You want to stop
banging after your first body?
What? You know that nigga got
people, right?
You know his people
gonna come for us, right?
So if you scared of that
shit, yeah, you a bitch.
- I don't give a fuck if you are family.
- So they come. Then what?
Huh? We kill them?
More come, we kill them?
More come, we kill them?
Huh? When do it stop?
It stop when I'm on
the fucking throne,
and you right next to me
cracking heads, nigga.
We were talking about this shit since
second grade. There ain't no plan B.
Ain't no way out.
Nigga, I'm not gonna be
a statistic.
I'ma be a fucking king.
- There's other ways to make money.
- Man, fuck that.
It ain't about money, nigga.
It's about respect.
[scoffs] All right?
You got bullets for hands, nigga,
and if you don't make
niggas respect that,
then, shit, you might not make it to
your next birthday, nigga, real talk.
Is that a threat?
It's a prediction.
You know what?
Hold on.
I got something
that gonna change your mind.
Relax, nigga.
It ain't gonna sting.
I know.
- [pistol clicks]
- Go ahead.
Take it.
Take that shit, man.
Take the shit. Take it.
- [man's voice echoes] John! John!
- [gunshot]
[phone ringing]
[ringing continues]
[machine clicks, beeps]
[man] He hanged himself,
boy, I said,
with his body on the tree,
that we might die to sin
and live to righteousness.
By his wounds,
you have been healed.
Peter 2 and 24.
- Do you like it?
- He'll be right there by himself.
[machine beeps]
[man] We going everywhere now.
It ain't no sections no more.
We going
wherever we want to go.
We go somewhere else,
we see somebody on
the corner selling dope
that shouldn't be selling dope,
'cause he don't work for us.
[man] So you gonna kill
me to get the paper?
[man 2] You didn't see that
nigga burn that nigga. I did.
Nigga, I don't want to
be on the end of that.
- [door opens]
- [man] What's that?
[man 3]
You don't remember me, bro?
[man] Where you from?
What's happening?
[pistol clicks, fires]
[overlapping conversations]
[siren wails]
[man 4] We got to get off the block,
or there's gonna be hell to pay.
- [siren continues]
- [man 5 shouting]
[gunshots]
[overlapping conversations]
[gunshot]
[man on answer machine] With
your right hand, you saved me.
Psalms 138 and 7.
[machine beeps]
[Hell's voice] I'm not
gonna be a statistic.
[lighter clicks]
Nearly broke my back trying
to get that stain out.
Gram.
Where is he?
They don't tell me where
he go or when he coming.
[John]
When's he coming back?
There's no way to know, sugar.
Like I said, he don't tell me nothing.
If you want,
I can call you next time I see him.
I'll wait.
Figured as much.
[chuckles]
["Straight to the City" plays]
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, shit
Check a check Then go
straight To the city with it
High enough to see
My whole city's limits
My whole city's limits
Shit, the whole city
Feel it
Shit, nigga
Who really with it?
Hear that Punk-ass talk,
nigga Who really did it?
[continues, indistinct]
[song fades]
[engine roaring]
[man] Deliver the bodies
in 24 hours...
or burn with 'em.
[BJ] No, no, no.
This ain't a rap video.
Point the gun like you mean it.
Good.
Now, when you aim,
look down the end of the barrel.
Keep your hand steady
like you got a hand
on a titty.
Steady, steady.
Good.
You know something?
You gonna be the next
Cleopatra Jones.
You'll be shooting bad guys
all over the place.
[gun clicks]
[laughing]
Hey. Oh, so I have to give my gun to
John, and you give her your gun?
Hardly fair.
Was it fair...
that I had a stroke
at 52
and lost all practical
use of my penis?
My dick
was legendary, son.
Legendary.
Every fine piece of ass
from Inglewood to Alhambra
had a taste
of BJ's hammer.
Then boom.
Soft for the rest
of time.
Ain't nothing never,
ever gonna be fair
in your whole
motherfucking life, kid.
Get used to it now.
I am.
Well,
you don't got
to worry about John.
He can't even touch a gun without
having a fucking conniption.
Is that what that
napkin thing was about?
He had
an accident...
when he was young,
with a gun.
What kind of accident?
He shot the devil.
[footsteps approach]
[door opens]
- Everything cool?
- [door shuts]
Why is she smiling
like that?
I don't know.
Fuck he doing in there?
John!
Can someone in this motherfucker
tell me what is going on?
[John] I never could
get Talby right.
But she did.
Thank you, Berta.
[speaks Spanish]
[speaks Spanish]
Dad, take Berta.
I need Emilio's help
with the engine.
Yeah.
It's not the car.
We need to talk.
What's up?
What's this?
Your way out.
Where did this come from?
Doesn't matter.
Take it, take Berta,
and get as far away from
here as you can, tonight.
No, man. I can't take money
if I don't know the source.
Especially if it comes in a bag full
of cash. How much money is in here?
Fifty thousand. It's better
you not ask me where I got it.
Shit, I'm not.
Where'd you get
this money from, John?
You bounce out,
then come back with a bag full of cash?
What kind of shit
you into, man?
All right. The bad-ass
with the metal jaw?
- Yeah?
- He's my cousin.
We've got a history,
but he's willing to look the other way
as long as you leave town
in the next 24 hours.
Wait, hold up.
Your cousin Hell gave you
a bag full of cash
to give to me?
You expect me
to believe that shit?
I expect you
to take the money,
take your sister,
and start fresh.
No, fuck that.
Why'd he give you this money?
I need you
to trust me.
Please.
[speaking Spanish]
Uh, Berta would like
to say grace.
Please.
[speaking Spanish]
Amen.
Amen.
How come you never make no
food like this for me, son?
'Cause you never drew my dog.
[BJ] Mmm.
I'll paint the ceiling
of the Sistine Chapel
if I can get food like this
served every night.
[chuckles]
Was her mother an artist?
I don't know.
I never thought to ask.
Before you decided to get rid of
her, you mean.
Your sister.
Before bringing her
to the shelter.
Mm. Like I said.
You didn't want to have
her disrupt your lifestyle.
Pills, right?
Pops.
Don't disturb me, son.
I'm talking.
It's cool.
Fine. He's right.
[speaking Spanish]
- What's she saying about Oscar?
- Nothing.
[speaking Spanish]
She wants to know when
they're gonna save Oscar.
She says
he's still alive.
Is he?
[Berta speaking English]
Not dead.
[John]
How do you know?
I...
I feel him.
Oscar.
Not dead.
You see?
What am I supposed to do?
She's not gonna listen to me.
Tell her the truth.
The truth?
The truth.
[speaking Spanish]
The truth.
[sniffling]
[faucet running]
[sobbing]
[faucet stops]
[dog barking]
[engine revving]
[car door shuts]
[gunshot]
Emilio!
[gunshots]
Still got it.
- Let's go.
- No! No!
La pistola!
[speaks Spanish]
[shouting indistinctly]
How are you
standing?
Adrenaline's
a hell of a drug, son.
Now, don't worry
about my legs.
Worry about how we get
the fuck out of here.
They got shooters
at both doors.
[panting]
The A/C.
You know we can't fit
through that hole.
She could.
Hell, no. Berta can shoot.
You can't. I need her.
It's the only way
she's gonna make it.
Get out of here.
I'll hold the door.
Go, then. Come on.
Go, son, go.
Go ahead.
[BJ shouting] You want in here?
Well, this is BJ Henry's house,
motherfucker!
- [man shouting]
- [glass shatters]
- [gunshots]
- [BJ groans]
[gunshots]
No!
[inaudible dialogue]
[gunshot]
[screams]
[screaming] No!
I'm BJ Henry,
and my dick is legendary!
[high-pitched ringing]
[sobbing]
[John]
Twenty-four hours?
Damn.
That's my mistake.
We all owed at least...
at least one mistake.
Right, John?
Why?
Respect.
[screaming]
[woman] What?
[Hell] I told you
not to shoot him.
- [woman] But he was...
- [Hell] He was supposed to see this.
[BJ's voice] You know why
I named you John Henry?
[John's voice] No.
[woman gasps]
[groaning]
[panting]
What are you doing here?
I... I came to pick up
the kids like you asked.
I... I guess I was too late.
What... What happened here?
Hell.
- [Tasha] Where...
- He leaves no bodies.
Then why did he leave you?
So I'd feel it.
[groans]
Okay, we need to get you
to the hospital,
or you're not gonna be feeling
anything pretty soon.
Don't worry about me.
There's something
I gotta do.
Something fucking stupid,
I bet.
All that talk in school about how
you're not about this life, and now...
now look at you.
You should go.
Yeah, and you should go
to the hospital.
So I guess we both
ain't doing what we should.
[kettle whistling]
[woman chuckles]
Here you go.
Do you still
like it sweet?
- Sweet's just fine, Gram.
- Yeah. [chuckles]
It's my birthday today.
Did you know that?
I wouldn't remember if it
wasn't printed on my ID.
I never liked birthdays.
Always felt
if you know your age,
you live that age.
Want to know
how old I am today?
Eighty-two.
[chuckles]
Eighty-two years old.
[lighter clicks]
Still smoking cigarettes
and waiting to die.
[chuckles]
They say these things
will kill you,
but they sure is taking
their sweet-ass time with me.
[chuckles]
Where is he?
Yeah, Helen's daddy was the
first of my sons to pass.
Your daddy was the last.
Good thing you never had any
children, John Henry.
You never got the chance
to outlive 'em.
Hmm.
Gram.
Where is he?
You know
I can't tell you that.
- He...
- I knowed what he done.
I know everything
that boy's done
since the first time he
walked through my front door
looking for a roof
to sleep under.
My mama said even the darkest
soul can still see the light.
I tried.
[crying]
It's my birthday today.
It's all right, Gram.
It's all right.
Eighty-two years old...
and all I ever seen
was violence.
It ain't ever
gonna stop, is it?
It ain't never
gonna stop.
Thanks for the tea, Gram.
Don't go, John Henry. You're not like
him.
You don't have to do this.
You really believe that?
Second drawer,
left of the sink.
He still gets his mail forwarded
from them houses he run.
Bills and such.
As he don't trust the
people working for him.
I think he just don't want nobody
to see his name on them envelopes.
If you see the gas bill,
could you carry it to him?
It's past due.
John Henry.
Nearly split
his mama in two.
Black man, black man You got
the world On your shoulders
And they thought
They could destroy us all
Black man, black man They hate
to
employ us, but They love to enjoy us,
oh
Black man, black man You got so much
power In your goddamn hands, whoa
Black man, black man We built this
world Now it's time to destroy it
Y'all just love
The music
Y'all just love
The clothes
Y'all love to learn
The dances
Y'all love
To come to shows
And scream "nigga"
At the top of your lungs
- Goddamn, you big.
- [music continues on headphones]
Hey, hold up.
I got some questions.
Like, how'd you get
so fucking big?
Protein shakes?
Red meat?
Man, I'm trying to
get big like you.
My mom say I'm in for a growth
spurt,
but she been saying that for
three years.
You don't talk much, huh?
That's how my Uncle Kenny is, at least
till you get a bit of Henny in him.
So what you doing on this block?
You with Hell?
You gotta be
if you're on this block.
I ain't with Hell.
Then what you doing over here
with that big-ass hammer?
You gonna get murked,
my guy.
- What's your name?
- Deydey.
My name is John Henry.
[inhaling]
Fuck that vape shit, nigga. This
job
would be so much better if we could
smoke.
Real talk, my nigga.
I want to smoke bad as a motherfucker
too, but you know the rules.
No smoking on the job.
Orwellian-ass rule,
if you ask me.
Shit. I, for one,
work better when I'm high.
All right, "I, for one,"
go ahead and smoke yours.
Hell find out you been chiefing
that monkey fur on the job,
he gonna burn your ass.
Watch.
You gonna snitch?
You gonna tell?
- Fuck you, nigga.
- "If Hell find out," man.
I fucking...
use this motherfucking car
lighter so goddamn fast, nigga.
All right, nigga.
Whatever.
Light it up, light it up.
Front,
middle or back?
What the fuck
you talking about now? What?
Like Human Centipede, nigga.
If you was in a human centipede,
where would you rather be, nigga...
the front, the middle or the back?
Freak-ass nigga.
I told you to stop sex-playing me, man.
I ain't with that shit!
How am I sex-playing you?
I just ask you, like...
- You ain't never seen The Human
Centipede?
- What? Uh, what?
The Human Centipede, nigga.
This German scientist,
the nigga sewed together three
motherfuckers, ass to mouth.
It's on Netflix.
What the fuck
he do that for?
I don't know. White people be
doing all kind of wild shit.
Your ass go to jail
too much.
See, you keep contributing
to that recidivism rate, man.
Stay your ass out of jail.
Quit looking for that boy pussy.
There's plenty of women
out here for you, man.
I'm not looking for
any boy pussy, nigga.
I'm trying to put you up on game,
nigga, and letting you know,
like, what they doing out
there in fucking Germany.
Man, I don't want to know
about fucking Germany
or no fucking centipedes
or no goddamn salamanders
or nothing, man.
I just want this fucking bread.
Corey, what's wrong with you, man?
- Just making conversation.
- What kind
of conversation is that, though?
I don't know, nigga. You the one up here
using words like "recidivism" and shit.
What does that mean?
That mean when niggas
go to jail,
and-and they keep going back,
to go to jail, nigga.
I know what the fuck
I'm talk...
What the fuck?
He went to the mountain
Early in the morning
Just to hear
You picked the wrong day
to go 5150, bro.
[John grunts]
[woman] So this the scary
room where y'all kill niggas?
[scoffs]
So who we waiting on?
Yo, Hell.
What's up with your man?
Y'all fucking
with me, right?
Shit.
- [woman] How the fuck...
- It's what I do, bitch.
Yo, it ain't gotta go
this way. Please.
I'm ride or die with you, Hell.
This all I got.
Bitch, the ride is over.
This about that big nigga?
That what this is about?
Yo, I was just trying
to help you.
[thud]
[thud]
[groaning]
Kill him.
Kill him?
You want me to kill him
for you?
Five minutes ago, you was gonna
kill me for some nothing-ass shit.
Now you expect me to do what you say?
Fuck outta here.
You fucking
with the wrong one today.
Really?
[Hell]
So what you gonna do?
[woman whimpering]
- [woman] Come on, man! Don't do this!
- [hammer clatters]
Yo, I don't even know
this nigga!
[woman groaning]
Ah, shit!
No!
[BJ's voice] You know why
I named you John Henry?
[people clamoring]
[man] Motherfucker's
beating that car up!
[grunts]
Damn.
BJ sure did love that car.
Keep my father's name
out your mouth.
Ooh. [scoffs]
So aggressive, John.
- [clapping]
- Always knew you had it in you.
Then you should know
I'm not done.
You know, you could tear
my empire down brick by brick.
Doesn't change the fact that we got the
same blood coursing through our veins.
Nigga, we family.
Not anymore.
Is that a threat?
A prediction.
You ready?
[gunshot]
[groaning, shouting]
- [gunshot]
- [groans]
Lay down, John.
You know, I don't use
a gun either.
But not 'cause of no PTSD shit
or nothing like that.
Nah.
I don't use a gun
because I don't have to.
It ain't enough to just
kill niggas anymore.
Nah.
Now you've got to kill
what they believe in.
[woman gasps]
[grunts]
[muffled cries]
This is Oscar?
You know, you asked me
once before,
"When does it end?"
Truth is...
it never ends.
Heavy lies the crown.
Watch how I keep it.
[gunshot]
Deydey, what the fuck
you think you doing?
Get your ass over here!
[body thuds]
Savage, shoot him!
Nah.
John, I know you.
Don't do this.
We family, John!
I know you!
You ain't no killer!
You know
you ain't no killer!
I'm not a killer.
I'm John Henry.
[exclaiming]
[splat]
[body thuds]
[BJ's voice] I said...
"My boy's strong.
My boy's John Henry."
What you gonna do
with all that strength, John?
[sirens wail]
[speaking Spanish]
[in English] Thank you, John.
Well, John Henry drove
Into the mountain
His hammer
Was striking fire
He drove so hard
He broke his poor heart
And he laid down
His hammer
And he died, Lord
He laid down his hammer
And he died
He laid down his hammer
And he died, Lord
He laid down
His hammer, and...
["Straight to the City" plays]
Yo
Yo, put 'em up
Check a check Then go
straight To the city with it
High enough to see
My whole city's limits
Silly gimmicks Ain't too
many In my city with it
My city with it If you doubt
it, nigga Come and get it
Everything you niggas mimic
Bruh, my city did it
Lost so many to them semis
Over Philly fitteds
The city hot Pray the Lord
come And chilly chitted
Let one knee hit the floor
So you really feel it
Check a check Then go
straight To the city with it
105 East, let's see
Who really with it
Nigga, it's like
Let's hit the 105 East
Let's see who really with it
Check a check Then go
straight To the city with it
High enough to see
My whole city's limits
Silly gimmicks Ain't too
many In my city with it
My city with it If you doubt
it, nigga Come and get it
[voice echoing]
[man vocalizing]
[people vocalizing]
If you from the city
Then I know you get it
Every list ever written
Has my city in it
Good to bad, many hats
Yeah, my city fitted
Niggas' heads go crack
When that billy hit it
The police on the loose
The police on the loose
These police Shoot your
tooth Right there on the news
Allowing you to hang
Then they toss a noose
Pop one in they heads
Till they call a truce
Pick up a bitch then go
Straight to the city with it
Kiss her neck Then go
straight To the titty with it
Kiss her neck Then go
straight To the kitty with it
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, shit
Check a check Then go
straight To the city with it
High enough to see
My whole city's limits
My whole city's limits
The whole city feel it
Shit, nigga
Who really with it?
Hear that Punk-ass talk,
nigga Who really did it?
That mirror man, so fuck it Over and
out, man I got to chill out
Shit, what?
[people vocalizing]