The Drop: A Snowfall Saga (2026) s01e06 Episode Script
Exit Wounds
1
Told you I had the deal lined up.
- [grunts]
- [Keith] That's my motherfucking watch.
Strip this nigga.
Bring me the motherfucking chain.
[James] You asked me to protect Lamar.
I can't do that
if he doesn't know the truth.
[Gerty] This conversation probably
should have happened a long time ago.
You don't want me to
do music 'cause of Mom.
I'm seeing on you right now the same thing
I saw in her the night we lost her.
- Maurice, I'm sorry, okay? Maurice. Stop!
- [horn honks]
[Wanda] We're about to push
"Back to the Hood."
Y'all pick your songs?
Who wanna make some extra cash?
Artillery, that's our song.
That's "Back to the Hood."
["Back to the Hood" playing]
[Wanda] You right, cousin.
"Back to the Hood" is connecting.
[song fades]
Smile, cuz. This is huge.
[gunshot]
[Jazz music playing]
[person] Yo, what's good, LA?
It's your boy, DJ Block,
and I got a special treat for you today.
It's been almost a month
since I introduced you
to the hottest sound in hip-hop,
and the band behind two hits,
"Back to the Hood" and "Rydah,"
LA's own, Artillery.
[Artillery] What up, LA?
[DJ Block] Now, "Back to the Hood" has
been out for a month and it's everywhere.
I'm talking about every block,
every car wash,
every beauty shop,
and every car rolling down the Shaw.
[Artillery] That's the city talking back.
[DJ Block] When's the album coming?
[Artillery] Soon. Just waiting
on new music from my producers.
[music continues]
[DJ Block] You can work
with anyone you want. Quik, Cash…
You over here waiting on…
[Artillery] Hey, I got to give
my little homey the chance.
[DJ Block chuckles] Okay, well, tell
your producer the whole city is pumped
for that new album.
The pressure's on. [Chuckles]
It's been a wild ride, homeboy.
Look at these phone lines, man.
They're going crazy.
Let's take one.
[caller] Hey, yeah, what up, Art?
With your slob ass.
You know me, T-Lane, One Eight Crip.
All that banging you been doing on tape?
Nigga, we own you with your market.
[DJ Block] Can't really talk like that
on the air.
All right, just… Next caller, Terry.
[caller 2] Hi, my name is Gina
from Inglewood.
And I just wanna say, Artillery, you fine…
[music continues]
[music stops]
[Theme music playing]
Upsurge in Los Angeles
for rock cocaine or crack.
[reporter] Discussing the jump
in violent crime in Los Angeles
warehouse shooting that claimed over
eight lives including Jerome Saint,
former owner of the popular Inglewood
electronic store, Jammin' Jerome's.
[reporter 2] Officer Gregory Blackman
was laid to rest yesterday.
Mayor Bradley was in attendance
among hundreds of mourners
and held a press conference
later that evening.
[reporter 3] The DEA agent who identified
Franklin Saint
as the shooter in 1984
recanted her testimony
and later went missing.
[reporter 4] Already plagued
by drugs and poverty,
the neighborhood is now the site
of another seemingly random shooting.
[reporter 5] Several teens shot dead
for wearing red baseball caps and rags.
[music stops]
["Droppin' Rhymes On Drums" playing]
Cause a brother like me
Is known to get down ♪
So get up from the rhyme
And you'll find ♪
It's designed to give sight to the blind
And enlighten the mind ♪
And the lines are arranged
In a strange unorthodox style ♪
That knocks you out the box
And blocks the competition ♪
Hey, could you cut that off?
Comin' up blank ♪
[song ends]
Andy, where's the Janet album?
I don't know, man.
Andy, I cannot prepare
for tomorrow's meeting in this chaos.
There's a million songs to sample.
Really? Choose one.
- [sighs]
- Exactly.
Ah, yeah ♪
You get eight seconds of a song
to sample for free.
Which song?
Which eight seconds, or is it four?
That's a random chunk of "More Bounce"
where Roger's just going
cocaine crazy on the keyboards.
Then they loop the synths
from "Funky Worm."
So you're just saying, "Do that"?
Then do that, Andy. Go ahead.
Look, don't turn on me.
Fuck, I'm just trying to get you fired up.
We need to mix live instruments,
live music with these samples.
We need a signature sound.
I need something that feels like
it's coming from inside of me, you know?
["Slipping Into Darkness" playing]
You've been slipping into darkness ♪
I found your sample, nigga.
Not funny.
Pretty soon you gonna pay ♪
[song ends]
[door opens]
Hey, cousin.
[stammers] Can we move some
of this furniture
- out of here so I can get my DX7 in
- [Wanda] No.
- Where are my cups, Negro?
- [Lamar] I moved 'em.
By the sink. It made more sense there.
Not to stress you out, but the sit-down
at Black Banner's tomorrow.
Yeah, I know.
We got to postpone.
You gotta chill, Lamar.
"Back to the Hood" is a hit.
That's how Jenny got her job back.
And nobody's expecting you
to show up tomorrow
with a whole album ready to go.
I haven't made a single song
in three fucking weeks, Wanda.
- [groans]
- [knocks on door]
[Wanda] Maybe moving
back home would help. [Sighs]
Forgot I was bringing these, huh?
[Gentle music playing]
Got the rest of your stuff in the car.
You all right?
Yeah.
So I guess it's real this time, huh?
Yeah, feels weird.
[Wanda sighs]
Well, look at you, Miss A&R. [Chuckling]
That's good, right?
Shit, it'd be better
if you told them people to pay me.
Shit. Maybe I will.
- People be thinking I'm a producer.
- [chuckles]
[chuckles] A walk-in at the clinic tried
to slip me his demo tape this morning.
No, he didn't.
We trying to help this fool
beat a weed charge
and he's rapping
about getting high. [Chuckles]
When you gonna admit this is more
than just a one-off hustle?
It ain't a one-off,
but it's your hustle, not mine.
You know, it was your play
that moved all them units.
Lee, running a clinic ain't your future,
so just…
[sighs]
First, I just want to say
it feels good to be back.
Okay, we all know why we're here.
"Back to the Hood" has picked up
a lot of spins in the last few weeks,
- and it turns out to be a real hit.
- Mmm.
So, we've ordered 250,000 copies
with "Rydah" on the B-side.
[chuckling]
[Wanda] 250,000.
[Jenny] Cali heat means
we'll expand to sister markets.
That's Houston, Detroit, Kansas City.
And now the big news…
They're giving us an album, motherfuckers.
Hell yeah!
[Jenny] The album comes with an advance,
but Darryl will decide how much.
Wanda, I want you to set up
a whole list of producers for Artillery.
- What do you mean?
- Wait, producers?
- Lamar did the music for this.
- No way. That's me.
You are a producer and a gifted one,
but you're also fucking green.
Look, trust me, you want this.
Every artist you love
works with multiple producers, okay?
And we need to work fast.
And these vets will ease off whatever
pressure you're feeling right now.
["High Hopes" playing]
[chuckling]
You've got me like no one has before ♪
[chuckling]
All right. All right.
[Dara] What you smiling at?
[chuckles]
What the fuck is so funny?
[chuckles] Man, I was just thinking,
you know, how…
You know how NASA
sent that record into space?
What if aliens find it,
but they can't listen to it
because they ain't got no ears,
you know what I'm saying?
Bro, what? You hear this nigga?
I told Danny not roll up like that.
Hey, get down.
Get down. Get down. Get down.
- Get inside. Get! Go, go, go. Go.
- [people screaming]
[gunshots]
[person 2 crying]
[person 2 screaming]
[Keith] Motherfuckers.
Damn, nigga. Fuck!
Darryl, the other option,
if we actually like them both,
then what we do is we have
both of them come in here
Let me ask you something.
What the fuck we gotta do
to get this fucking advance?
Artillery is out here exposed.
- Bitch, you walking up in here
- Listen, I wasn't fucking talking to you.
DG, I'm trying to do this shit right.
- [Deon] Like the car wash?
- [Keith] Hold on, nigga.
[choking]
[Darryl] Doing it right as opposed
to what?
The Cobra Clutch?
Let her go or kill us both.
[chocking, panting]
Mind your manners.
[coughing]
- [Keith] Good?
- [Dara] Yeah, I'm good.
Fuck is your name, gangster?
My name?
My name is her family.
Every day that I wake up, I kiss my son
goodbye like I'm never coming home.
Look, y'all might have got
the drop on me, but I ain't afraid to die.
Respect.
What happened to strangling that bitch, D?
DG, look,
I think that I can solve this problem.
Let me explain to you guys how this works.
Now, we can advance you a stipend
until the record starts to earn.
What do you say we start you off at
- $2,000 a month?
- Ten.
- Three.
- Eight.
No.
Come on.
[Leonard clears throat]
[Leonard clears throat]
[door closes]
You paid them $3,000,
and the motherfuckers
didn't even have a gun.
- [Leonard] Paid?
- How was that dope move, Vance?
Paid who? The word was "advance."
Darryl, we just lent them
their own money with interest,
and they think they won.
Now we keep doing this,
and we will train them to come to us.
So even when their record is in the black,
between the weed and the Hennessy
and the strippers, whatever,
they will owe us so much money
that they will have to keep
borrowing money from us
- with interest on top of interest.
- [chuckles]
God, I love this game.
Now that's pimping 101.
[Leonard] Um,
that, uh, thing that I saw on his wrist?
You guys may want to have
a private conversation about that.
- [scoffs]
- [door closes]
The way that motherfucker got my watch.
Keith is wearing it so much
he forgot it ain't his.
[Deon] Mm-hmm.
Get it back, D.
[Dramatic music playing]
[Jenny panting]
Now, step out on this side.
Jenny, the album is already in motion.
- We need to be on the same page.
- [Jenny panting] Yeah, I agree.
You know, yesterday,
when your cousin spoke up,
I had, like, acid flashbacks
of him furiously
trying to rat-fuck us on the masters.
That's why you need to prop me up
in those meetings.
I'd have more juice
to help manage all this.
Okay. Easy, killer. [Panting]
Let's unpack
before we climb the ladder, huh?
I can see two things.
One, we are going to make
some real money with this rap shit.
And two,
my experience with bat-eating rock stars
isn't going to translate with,
like, you guys.
You can say "Black."
Okay, but it's a specific kind
of Blacks, okay?
Because Disco Blacks, that's easy.
You give them a bump of cocaine and
they'll happily sell a million records.
But apparently Street Blacks
like Darryl are so fucking macho,
he's furious I over talked him
at the meeting.
He's a star where we're from.
Having a hit bought us half a hot minute.
That doesn't make any sense.
Look, just because of you, I kept my job,
and I think that deserves a reward.
Like what?
We are the only two women
in this whole boat, okay?
Aside from the mean girl
with the sexy eyes.
I don't trust Darryl any more
than I trust my own dad.
But you… I know you're essential.
I would tend to agree.
I need you, Wanda. Eyes and ears.
Look, we could figure out
a compensation package on the side,
as long as you back me.
Lamar comes first.
You come first to him?
Yep.
- Whose album do you think this is?
- Both of them.
This is Artillery's album, which means
I need a list of experienced producers.
You want me to give you control
over the album, even over DG, right?
- Not like you're saying.
- It's exactly like I'm saying.
Listen, you serve the label,
the label serves Lamar.
You serve the artist,
who the fuck's he gonna serve?
Look, I want you to think about you, okay?
Think about your road to this moment.
Lamar might not be up for this,
but you don't have to go down with him.
I don't know about you,
but I'm not banking my entire career
on your baby cousin.
[Darryl] I'm trying to tell you, Lee.
You ain't in LA
unless you court side at the Lakers.
So what's up man?
What did you want to talk about?
[James] Goddamn.
[Darryl] It's the money
from the swap meet.
You giving it back?
You earned it.
You took it. It's yours.
Just looking for the strings, Lee.
[Darryl laughing]
Hey, shit, I like bags.
Let me hold that motherfucker.
So you got to tell me, man.
How do you help Wanda
move so much product so fast?
I mean, if you put this into a plan
and repeated it nationwide, nigga…
I got all kinds of secrets.
Come on, man. No marketing, no label.
Lace me, man.
Look, I tell you what,
I'll look at your books,
check out a few contracts,
get a sense of how you run your business.
Right.
My new girls will fax you.
You got a knack for this shit, Lee.
What, you over there
making a play? [Laughing]
[scoffs] Clinic is keeping me plenty busy.
Yeah, nah,
it's probably smart you stay out.
You know, plus your ex.
Nigga, as for me, man,
I'm breaking artists
about to be bigger than N.W.A.
[scoffs] Who?
Lamar and that hobo ass Blood? [Chuckles]
They too much alike.
They on their higher calling bullshit.
Nigga. What you know about my artists?
He work for you?
Hey, sure you don't wanna let me
hold this bag right here?
No.
I guess Leon'll let me know
when he can pulls those strings, huh?
- Man, roll the dice. [Chuckles]
- [Darryl laughing]
All right. All right. All right.
All right. I got it. I got it.
Oh!
Come on, you got Art waiting.
Let's just get in there and riff.
I don't work like that.
If I don't figure something out
by this Friday with this album, dude…
[Andy] So you're panicking?
Art. Art. Artillery.
- Artillery. What's up, man?
- I'm looking for you.
[chuckles] Uh…
- So, what-what Jenny said, right
- Fuck Jenny, she's white.
Right, um, but-but you wouldn't do
the album without me, though, right?
Like-Like, you would say that
if they tried to add more people?
I don't understand you.
Last month we split the atom.
This nigga over here
stressing about some bullshit. Let's go.
Relax, Mar.
Yeah. Let's go. I'm ready.
All right, y'all, my producer's fixing
to breathe some fire in this bitch.
Come on, hit it. Let's go.
Uh, yo, you think you could just
ask them to leave
so we can work on this in private?
This is how you work.
If the hood don't feel it, it ain't felt.
Can you play a beat?
All right.
[Gentle music playing]
[Artillery] No, yeah, play another one.
That shit whack.
[Upbeat music playing]
[Artillery] Well, that ain't it.
[Rock music playing]
[Artillery] Hey, ladies,
what y'all think about the beat?
[ladies] No.
[Artillery echoing] No, that's trash.
I don't like that either. Try again.
That's whack, too. Hell no.
Play some hard shit.
Where the Blood shit at?
That beat sound too light-skinned.
Play some gangster shit, nigga.
You been kicking with them Crips too long.
[Gentle music playing]
You feel too good to be true ♪
- [Jenny echoing] Who the fuck are you?
- [Lamar echoing]The producer for "Rydah."
[James echoing] You ain't got no goddamn
business in the rap game.
Hey, you know you're gonna
have to start from scratch, right?
Here, see what this do for you. Look.
[chuckles] "Exit Wounds."
Shit sounds kind of dope, huh? [Chuckles]
I feel like that shit represent
all the gangbangers
that got out the hood, you know?
I didn't know
that that's what you wanted to do.
Okay. Now you do.
Right.
Oh, yeah, right. I-I feel that.
And… [stutters] …I'm in this place too.
It's powerful.
It's fucking me up, if I'm being honest.
I feel like it has to be about my mom.
The fuck your mama got to do with this?
No, she was, um, a singer,
but she was… she was always…
Controlled.
It's gotta…
It's gotta have her spirit. You know?
I'm doing a really bad job
at explaining this right now.
Look, man, the-the label loves you.
Just buy me some time.
Buy me a little bit of time
to figure out the music side, [stutters]
and I can tell you what we need to do.
Hold on.
You can tell me? Like it's your album?
[stammers] I didn't mean it like that.
What you mean then, nigga?
[stammers] It's my sound.
You-You didn't even wanna listen
to… [chuckles] … "Back to the Hood"
when I tried to play it for you.
I was in them apartments
running from crash.
Cops trying to kill me,
whole hood, nigga
No, I'm sick and tired
of people always acting
like cops and murder
is the only stress there is.
Oh, I don't live up
to some insane level of Blackness
because I've never survived a gun battle?
Nigga, my mom is a photograph.
How many gunshot wounds add up
to your missing mommy, Lamar?
'Cause I got more.
You know what I don't got, homeboy?
A picture of my mom.
Nigga, move.
You see your name anywhere on here, nigga?
Where your name at?
I don't see that shit, nigga.
You can't rap.
And as of right now, nigga,
you can't produce either.
All that shit is wack!
Fuck you.
[door closes]
[James] Got a meeting with Leon.
[Leon] You sure?
[lawyer] Definitely.
[Leon] I asked about you
when you was in the streets.
Your file A-1.
For better or for worse.
That's real.
But you got down
'cause they took out your homeboy.
That's family.
And your real family over here
with DG and a bunch of Bloods.
My crazy-ass ex ain't enough.
I was hoping
him getting socked in the face
would help him grow up a little bit.
Ain't your whole deal with Mr. Kinsey
is that he wants you to step up for him?
What you think
I beat Trig's punk ass up for?
[both chuckling]
Fucked him up. [Chuckling]
[chuckling] True. That's true.
What's up, Lee? What's this all about?
Hey, check this out.
People have been asking me
to jump in the music game,
but I hate looking at the same old faces
from the streets.
It make legit money feel dirty
even when it ain't.
And unfortunately, your family in
the same room with these dirty faces.
I got a hold of DG's contracts,
and they're harder to read
than Chinese arithmetic.
When they was out there
slanging them tapes,
I gave DG that money
'cause I wanted to see his reaction.
Money's like crack
to motherfuckers like him.
Exactly.
When he saw that bag,
he was just trying to play it cool,
but for him to straight up
ask me how we did it,
that lets me know what we did is valuable.
Yeah.
We can't let Lamar
and Wanda be in there solo.
All right.
I think I get you.
Like I said,
I need to keep up
on that little nigga anyways.
Might as well keep up
on everything else too.
["Touch Me I'm Sick" playing]
I've been bad ♪
I've been worse ♪
I'm a creep ♪
Yeah, I'm a jerk ♪
C'mon ♪
- What the fuck?
- [Lamar] Wanda, Wanda,
- Wanda, Wanda, we gotta talk.
- I see that.
I completely figured out
exactly what the album is gonna be.
- Lamar, I'm not fucking…
- It's gonna do fucking amazing.
Turn that off!
I need more time.
Slow down and fix this.
I've been here 24-7, every day, locked in,
trying to figure out this album,
and everybody hates me.
Goddamn it, Lamar. I heard what happened.
You need to learn to trust your people.
You…
You think I could do this?
You think I could pull this off?
Yes? But not alone.
Having experienced producers
to back you up might not be a bad idea.
Wanda, you, James, Leon,
you have names in the streets.
Shit, you can have mine.
No, you don't get it, Wanda.
Androids like DG and Jenny,
they don't give a fuck about art.
All they see is packaging.
I didn't come to them as-as J Loco
or-or Easy E or Big Deon or Artillery.
I came as fucking Lamar.
Lamar, this is what the fuck
it feels like making a name,
so step the fuck up
and stop shrinking, nigga.
[Upbeat music playing]
You know, I was thinking
about what you said the other day.
That shit was kinda deep.
About never seeing your son again.
What was that about?
That's the deal.
But you've been slowing down for years.
Why not just hang up the rag?
No.
It's two dudes I gotta kill first,
then I'm moving to Oakland.
So, what's that?
The jacker that killed your brother and…
Who makes number two?
Man, there's some bitch ass nigga
over in the Gates who…
Used to beat the shit out of his daughter
every time the bus dropped her off.
That motherfucker gotta go.
And, shit, if you want,
we get ole boy who choked you.
But you know that motherfucker owes us
some money, though.
[Dara] Hopefully,
this rap shit comes together.
[Keith] True that.
Man, ain't not one of us is getting out.
What y'all talking about?
Stop.
Dara, you a manager
that babysit gang members.
I'm a Blood, and I don't even bang.
Lamar a producer,
and that nigga cannot make music.
This shit going nowhere
at the speed of bullshit.
[James] What up?
What's up?
Never brought these back. [Sighs]
Thanks.
[James] You left them at the house.
Wanda tells me you can't make music.
[sighs] Unfortunately, not that I like.
It's because you be trying too hard, cuz.
You gotta, like, just chill.
You know, sometimes music is…
Classical, and sometimes it's jazz,
you know what I mean?
Yeah. I-I write songs. I don't improvise.
[chuckles]
Nigga, you just be
saying shit sometimes, cuz. [Chuckles]
[sighs] Look…
All great players, they can, like…
They can get down in a moment, man.
All right? That's what Artillery needs.
Like that night that you was at the house,
and he was, like, all shot up.
You weren't controlling shit then,
was you?
So I gotta create with a gun to my head?
I'm not doing that. Fuck that.
That's what Mom was dealing with, right?
Hey, cuz. Don't do that, bro.
[James sighs]
How come you hid it from me?
- Seriously.
- [sighs]
'Cause when I found out,
I reacted like you.
Except with pistols involved.
When they told me, man…
[sighs]
I, like, really lost faith in Big Daddy.
You know, as, like, a kid,
that was… [chuckles]
Shit was like losing faith in God.
Don't be like me, Mar.
Don't stay gone too long, man.
[James sighs]
[Gentle music playing]
What?
Stop playing.
You should've been up in this rap game.
This album is causing tension.
So?
So,
what we got going
don't mean I inherit your beef.
DG?
[scoffs]
Please.
Look, I'm not like little Ms. Wanda.
I wanna learn, build…
And fuck.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah.
[kisses]
- [door opens]
- Sorry, we're closed.
- [Andy] Church ain't never closed for us.
- Aye.
Been looking for you, brother.
Me too.
I'm sorry I've been, uh,
so out of pocket. Um…
You think you'd be down
to go to the studio with me?
You talked to Wanda or Artillery?
[sighs]
Try to grasp the amount of pressure
I'm under, okay?
If I don't figure this album out
before they take it from me,
my entire career is stamped.
That sounds terrible, Lamar.
And I'm talking about being with you
in that state of mind in the studio.
[sighs]
You know,
it's time to lose your virginity.
It's time you witness Blur in action.
[Jazz music playing]
Lookout's job is simple.
You see blue or hear whoop,
just whistle quick.
[helicopter whirring]
Oh, fuck.
It starts with a name.
[Lamar] I already have a name.
DJ Lamar.
Man, you think Artillery is a star
if he's "Emcee Arthur"?
[Andy whispering] Lamar.
Oven cleaner? The fuck are we doing?
Stock nozzles flare like crazy.
[Andy] Graffiti is sacred shit.
Four pillars of hip-hop.
Respect my shit and make a name tonight.
["Running" playing]
Check this out, check this out
Check this out, yeah ♪
One-two, one-two, one-two
One-two, one-two ♪
Check this out, check this out
Check this out, yeah ♪
One-two, one-two, one-two
One-two, one-two ♪
Check this out, check this out
Check this out, yeah ♪
One-two, one-two, one-two
One-two, one-two ♪
Can't keep running away ♪
Can't keep running away ♪
[Andy] This crew right here
made their name in the streets.
And those names can be seen
all over the city.
There comes a time in every man's life ♪
When he's gotta handle shit up
On his own ♪
Can't depend on friends
To help you in a squeeze ♪
Please, they got problems of they own ♪
Down for the count on seven chickenshits
Don't get to heaven ♪
Till they faced these fears
In these fear zones ♪
Can't keep running away ♪
Can't keep running away ♪
[Lamar] "Artis."
One of your crew, huh?
Dude could really burn.
First of us to go all-city too.
Gone way too soon.
- I think I smell an "Andy-ism" coming.
- [chuckles]
- You smelling immortality, my nigga.
- [chuckles]
I've been waiting for this moment.
Know when we were slinging tapes
and you said that you were
"strangers-asking-for-autographs" famous?
Fame is when your name…
Your name lets people know who you are
before they ever even meet you,
including those record execs.
This right here, 12 ounces of pure soul
that can make you live forever.
Lamar is you now.
But the question is,
do you know who the fuck you wanna be?
I got it.
Well, let 'em know then, playboy.
[Lamar] The album is all about rebirth
and return, like the prodigal son.
It's me and Artillery's journey
through LA leading up to now.
The songs will capture the-the voice
of LA.
That, we think, is a city of lost people
searching through danger,
drugs, parties, broken homes.
These are songs that have stories
you tell, to quote a great woman,
"Over Hennessy
and a card game." [chuckles]
After the journey comes the awakening.
What happens…
When everything is destroyed?
[Uplifting music playing]
You are reborn.
[music stops]
Sorry, are you done?
It just… it sounded like
a whole lot of unspecific ideas.
What about the list of producers?
That would be me.
But me now.
As Nex, aka, DJ Nex.
Right. So I don't really want to be
the only bad cop in the room,
so the floor is open.
But… no.
I already got a whole list of producers
who can put the whole thing together.
Wanda.
He's been right since the beginning,
every call.
Unless you wanna share
your vision for the album.
This conversation is not over.
Hell of a play, cousin.
You didn't even stutter. [Chuckles]
I'ma let y'all keep going.
But keep me up to speed.
- I need to know what's going on.
- Will do. Will do, yeah.
[Darryl] 'Cause if you can't finish
this joint,
I need to keep this train
moving without you.
Let's go.
You seem like you're finally learning
how good money feels.
You keep it that way, we're cool,
all right?
[Upbeat music playing]
[kids chuckling]
He was making fun of me earlier.
- Hey, come here, come here. Move.
- Gotta get out the road.
[man] Quit playing, bro.
You almost got that.
- Slow ass car. [Chuckling]
- [chuckling]
Nigga, what the fuck is you doing
pissing around these kids?
The fuck is you cussing around 'em?
Hey, come on, y'all,
I gotta use the bathroom.
[lighter clicks]
[Deon] You know he don't like
you working high.
[man 3] I ain't high yet.
[Deon] The kids are moving.
Hey, bro, I'm posted or you coming in?
I'ma be right there with you.
- Need some of that cake before it melts.
- [man 2] All right then.
I'll be over there.
[Keith] Nigga, hurry up.
[Dramatic music playing]
- [gunshots]
- [grunting]
- [man 3] Hey, let's go. Let's go.
- Hey, hold on.
[man 3] Are you crazy, man?
Deon, let's go.
That's a real nigga right here.
[Keith groaning]
[man 3] Let's go.
You should die with your gun in your hand.
[Keith groaning]
[Deon] You show off, nigga.
["NineFive" playing]
Now most of us
Could waste a whole lifetime ♪
Doin' shit we don't believe in
So I'm retrieving words ♪
Of gold to expose my soul
On the sheets ♪
Combined with the beat of song
Complete to compete ♪
Nah, 'cause most of y'all
Won't understand it ♪
Takin' this existence for granted ♪
Never going after what you really want ♪
'Cause you ain't got the heart ♪
So your life never starts
To have meaning ♪
Fiending for something
To fill that void ♪
Annoyed with the surroundings
You picked ♪
'Cause they don't seem
To fit your person ♪
Rehearsing what they said would
Make you happy ♪
Until you realize one day
Damn, they trapped me ♪
But who are they anyway?
To tell you how to live ♪
A college degree then a career
The only decent way to raise kids ♪
But I disagree
See I wasn't put here to make a living ♪
My living makes me
So even if it takes me a lifetime ♪
I'ma write rhymes that I feel ♪
Some shit for when I'm fired
That shit for when I'm chill ♪
And even if I never make
That ticket to a meal ♪
I'll still be a success
Cause my purpose will have been filled ♪
Told you I had the deal lined up.
- [grunts]
- [Keith] That's my motherfucking watch.
Strip this nigga.
Bring me the motherfucking chain.
[James] You asked me to protect Lamar.
I can't do that
if he doesn't know the truth.
[Gerty] This conversation probably
should have happened a long time ago.
You don't want me to
do music 'cause of Mom.
I'm seeing on you right now the same thing
I saw in her the night we lost her.
- Maurice, I'm sorry, okay? Maurice. Stop!
- [horn honks]
[Wanda] We're about to push
"Back to the Hood."
Y'all pick your songs?
Who wanna make some extra cash?
Artillery, that's our song.
That's "Back to the Hood."
["Back to the Hood" playing]
[Wanda] You right, cousin.
"Back to the Hood" is connecting.
[song fades]
Smile, cuz. This is huge.
[gunshot]
[Jazz music playing]
[person] Yo, what's good, LA?
It's your boy, DJ Block,
and I got a special treat for you today.
It's been almost a month
since I introduced you
to the hottest sound in hip-hop,
and the band behind two hits,
"Back to the Hood" and "Rydah,"
LA's own, Artillery.
[Artillery] What up, LA?
[DJ Block] Now, "Back to the Hood" has
been out for a month and it's everywhere.
I'm talking about every block,
every car wash,
every beauty shop,
and every car rolling down the Shaw.
[Artillery] That's the city talking back.
[DJ Block] When's the album coming?
[Artillery] Soon. Just waiting
on new music from my producers.
[music continues]
[DJ Block] You can work
with anyone you want. Quik, Cash…
You over here waiting on…
[Artillery] Hey, I got to give
my little homey the chance.
[DJ Block chuckles] Okay, well, tell
your producer the whole city is pumped
for that new album.
The pressure's on. [Chuckles]
It's been a wild ride, homeboy.
Look at these phone lines, man.
They're going crazy.
Let's take one.
[caller] Hey, yeah, what up, Art?
With your slob ass.
You know me, T-Lane, One Eight Crip.
All that banging you been doing on tape?
Nigga, we own you with your market.
[DJ Block] Can't really talk like that
on the air.
All right, just… Next caller, Terry.
[caller 2] Hi, my name is Gina
from Inglewood.
And I just wanna say, Artillery, you fine…
[music continues]
[music stops]
[Theme music playing]
Upsurge in Los Angeles
for rock cocaine or crack.
[reporter] Discussing the jump
in violent crime in Los Angeles
warehouse shooting that claimed over
eight lives including Jerome Saint,
former owner of the popular Inglewood
electronic store, Jammin' Jerome's.
[reporter 2] Officer Gregory Blackman
was laid to rest yesterday.
Mayor Bradley was in attendance
among hundreds of mourners
and held a press conference
later that evening.
[reporter 3] The DEA agent who identified
Franklin Saint
as the shooter in 1984
recanted her testimony
and later went missing.
[reporter 4] Already plagued
by drugs and poverty,
the neighborhood is now the site
of another seemingly random shooting.
[reporter 5] Several teens shot dead
for wearing red baseball caps and rags.
[music stops]
["Droppin' Rhymes On Drums" playing]
Cause a brother like me
Is known to get down ♪
So get up from the rhyme
And you'll find ♪
It's designed to give sight to the blind
And enlighten the mind ♪
And the lines are arranged
In a strange unorthodox style ♪
That knocks you out the box
And blocks the competition ♪
Hey, could you cut that off?
Comin' up blank ♪
[song ends]
Andy, where's the Janet album?
I don't know, man.
Andy, I cannot prepare
for tomorrow's meeting in this chaos.
There's a million songs to sample.
Really? Choose one.
- [sighs]
- Exactly.
Ah, yeah ♪
You get eight seconds of a song
to sample for free.
Which song?
Which eight seconds, or is it four?
That's a random chunk of "More Bounce"
where Roger's just going
cocaine crazy on the keyboards.
Then they loop the synths
from "Funky Worm."
So you're just saying, "Do that"?
Then do that, Andy. Go ahead.
Look, don't turn on me.
Fuck, I'm just trying to get you fired up.
We need to mix live instruments,
live music with these samples.
We need a signature sound.
I need something that feels like
it's coming from inside of me, you know?
["Slipping Into Darkness" playing]
You've been slipping into darkness ♪
I found your sample, nigga.
Not funny.
Pretty soon you gonna pay ♪
[song ends]
[door opens]
Hey, cousin.
[stammers] Can we move some
of this furniture
- out of here so I can get my DX7 in
- [Wanda] No.
- Where are my cups, Negro?
- [Lamar] I moved 'em.
By the sink. It made more sense there.
Not to stress you out, but the sit-down
at Black Banner's tomorrow.
Yeah, I know.
We got to postpone.
You gotta chill, Lamar.
"Back to the Hood" is a hit.
That's how Jenny got her job back.
And nobody's expecting you
to show up tomorrow
with a whole album ready to go.
I haven't made a single song
in three fucking weeks, Wanda.
- [groans]
- [knocks on door]
[Wanda] Maybe moving
back home would help. [Sighs]
Forgot I was bringing these, huh?
[Gentle music playing]
Got the rest of your stuff in the car.
You all right?
Yeah.
So I guess it's real this time, huh?
Yeah, feels weird.
[Wanda sighs]
Well, look at you, Miss A&R. [Chuckling]
That's good, right?
Shit, it'd be better
if you told them people to pay me.
Shit. Maybe I will.
- People be thinking I'm a producer.
- [chuckles]
[chuckles] A walk-in at the clinic tried
to slip me his demo tape this morning.
No, he didn't.
We trying to help this fool
beat a weed charge
and he's rapping
about getting high. [Chuckles]
When you gonna admit this is more
than just a one-off hustle?
It ain't a one-off,
but it's your hustle, not mine.
You know, it was your play
that moved all them units.
Lee, running a clinic ain't your future,
so just…
[sighs]
First, I just want to say
it feels good to be back.
Okay, we all know why we're here.
"Back to the Hood" has picked up
a lot of spins in the last few weeks,
- and it turns out to be a real hit.
- Mmm.
So, we've ordered 250,000 copies
with "Rydah" on the B-side.
[chuckling]
[Wanda] 250,000.
[Jenny] Cali heat means
we'll expand to sister markets.
That's Houston, Detroit, Kansas City.
And now the big news…
They're giving us an album, motherfuckers.
Hell yeah!
[Jenny] The album comes with an advance,
but Darryl will decide how much.
Wanda, I want you to set up
a whole list of producers for Artillery.
- What do you mean?
- Wait, producers?
- Lamar did the music for this.
- No way. That's me.
You are a producer and a gifted one,
but you're also fucking green.
Look, trust me, you want this.
Every artist you love
works with multiple producers, okay?
And we need to work fast.
And these vets will ease off whatever
pressure you're feeling right now.
["High Hopes" playing]
[chuckling]
You've got me like no one has before ♪
[chuckling]
All right. All right.
[Dara] What you smiling at?
[chuckles]
What the fuck is so funny?
[chuckles] Man, I was just thinking,
you know, how…
You know how NASA
sent that record into space?
What if aliens find it,
but they can't listen to it
because they ain't got no ears,
you know what I'm saying?
Bro, what? You hear this nigga?
I told Danny not roll up like that.
Hey, get down.
Get down. Get down. Get down.
- Get inside. Get! Go, go, go. Go.
- [people screaming]
[gunshots]
[person 2 crying]
[person 2 screaming]
[Keith] Motherfuckers.
Damn, nigga. Fuck!
Darryl, the other option,
if we actually like them both,
then what we do is we have
both of them come in here
Let me ask you something.
What the fuck we gotta do
to get this fucking advance?
Artillery is out here exposed.
- Bitch, you walking up in here
- Listen, I wasn't fucking talking to you.
DG, I'm trying to do this shit right.
- [Deon] Like the car wash?
- [Keith] Hold on, nigga.
[choking]
[Darryl] Doing it right as opposed
to what?
The Cobra Clutch?
Let her go or kill us both.
[chocking, panting]
Mind your manners.
[coughing]
- [Keith] Good?
- [Dara] Yeah, I'm good.
Fuck is your name, gangster?
My name?
My name is her family.
Every day that I wake up, I kiss my son
goodbye like I'm never coming home.
Look, y'all might have got
the drop on me, but I ain't afraid to die.
Respect.
What happened to strangling that bitch, D?
DG, look,
I think that I can solve this problem.
Let me explain to you guys how this works.
Now, we can advance you a stipend
until the record starts to earn.
What do you say we start you off at
- $2,000 a month?
- Ten.
- Three.
- Eight.
No.
Come on.
[Leonard clears throat]
[Leonard clears throat]
[door closes]
You paid them $3,000,
and the motherfuckers
didn't even have a gun.
- [Leonard] Paid?
- How was that dope move, Vance?
Paid who? The word was "advance."
Darryl, we just lent them
their own money with interest,
and they think they won.
Now we keep doing this,
and we will train them to come to us.
So even when their record is in the black,
between the weed and the Hennessy
and the strippers, whatever,
they will owe us so much money
that they will have to keep
borrowing money from us
- with interest on top of interest.
- [chuckles]
God, I love this game.
Now that's pimping 101.
[Leonard] Um,
that, uh, thing that I saw on his wrist?
You guys may want to have
a private conversation about that.
- [scoffs]
- [door closes]
The way that motherfucker got my watch.
Keith is wearing it so much
he forgot it ain't his.
[Deon] Mm-hmm.
Get it back, D.
[Dramatic music playing]
[Jenny panting]
Now, step out on this side.
Jenny, the album is already in motion.
- We need to be on the same page.
- [Jenny panting] Yeah, I agree.
You know, yesterday,
when your cousin spoke up,
I had, like, acid flashbacks
of him furiously
trying to rat-fuck us on the masters.
That's why you need to prop me up
in those meetings.
I'd have more juice
to help manage all this.
Okay. Easy, killer. [Panting]
Let's unpack
before we climb the ladder, huh?
I can see two things.
One, we are going to make
some real money with this rap shit.
And two,
my experience with bat-eating rock stars
isn't going to translate with,
like, you guys.
You can say "Black."
Okay, but it's a specific kind
of Blacks, okay?
Because Disco Blacks, that's easy.
You give them a bump of cocaine and
they'll happily sell a million records.
But apparently Street Blacks
like Darryl are so fucking macho,
he's furious I over talked him
at the meeting.
He's a star where we're from.
Having a hit bought us half a hot minute.
That doesn't make any sense.
Look, just because of you, I kept my job,
and I think that deserves a reward.
Like what?
We are the only two women
in this whole boat, okay?
Aside from the mean girl
with the sexy eyes.
I don't trust Darryl any more
than I trust my own dad.
But you… I know you're essential.
I would tend to agree.
I need you, Wanda. Eyes and ears.
Look, we could figure out
a compensation package on the side,
as long as you back me.
Lamar comes first.
You come first to him?
Yep.
- Whose album do you think this is?
- Both of them.
This is Artillery's album, which means
I need a list of experienced producers.
You want me to give you control
over the album, even over DG, right?
- Not like you're saying.
- It's exactly like I'm saying.
Listen, you serve the label,
the label serves Lamar.
You serve the artist,
who the fuck's he gonna serve?
Look, I want you to think about you, okay?
Think about your road to this moment.
Lamar might not be up for this,
but you don't have to go down with him.
I don't know about you,
but I'm not banking my entire career
on your baby cousin.
[Darryl] I'm trying to tell you, Lee.
You ain't in LA
unless you court side at the Lakers.
So what's up man?
What did you want to talk about?
[James] Goddamn.
[Darryl] It's the money
from the swap meet.
You giving it back?
You earned it.
You took it. It's yours.
Just looking for the strings, Lee.
[Darryl laughing]
Hey, shit, I like bags.
Let me hold that motherfucker.
So you got to tell me, man.
How do you help Wanda
move so much product so fast?
I mean, if you put this into a plan
and repeated it nationwide, nigga…
I got all kinds of secrets.
Come on, man. No marketing, no label.
Lace me, man.
Look, I tell you what,
I'll look at your books,
check out a few contracts,
get a sense of how you run your business.
Right.
My new girls will fax you.
You got a knack for this shit, Lee.
What, you over there
making a play? [Laughing]
[scoffs] Clinic is keeping me plenty busy.
Yeah, nah,
it's probably smart you stay out.
You know, plus your ex.
Nigga, as for me, man,
I'm breaking artists
about to be bigger than N.W.A.
[scoffs] Who?
Lamar and that hobo ass Blood? [Chuckles]
They too much alike.
They on their higher calling bullshit.
Nigga. What you know about my artists?
He work for you?
Hey, sure you don't wanna let me
hold this bag right here?
No.
I guess Leon'll let me know
when he can pulls those strings, huh?
- Man, roll the dice. [Chuckles]
- [Darryl laughing]
All right. All right. All right.
All right. I got it. I got it.
Oh!
Come on, you got Art waiting.
Let's just get in there and riff.
I don't work like that.
If I don't figure something out
by this Friday with this album, dude…
[Andy] So you're panicking?
Art. Art. Artillery.
- Artillery. What's up, man?
- I'm looking for you.
[chuckles] Uh…
- So, what-what Jenny said, right
- Fuck Jenny, she's white.
Right, um, but-but you wouldn't do
the album without me, though, right?
Like-Like, you would say that
if they tried to add more people?
I don't understand you.
Last month we split the atom.
This nigga over here
stressing about some bullshit. Let's go.
Relax, Mar.
Yeah. Let's go. I'm ready.
All right, y'all, my producer's fixing
to breathe some fire in this bitch.
Come on, hit it. Let's go.
Uh, yo, you think you could just
ask them to leave
so we can work on this in private?
This is how you work.
If the hood don't feel it, it ain't felt.
Can you play a beat?
All right.
[Gentle music playing]
[Artillery] No, yeah, play another one.
That shit whack.
[Upbeat music playing]
[Artillery] Well, that ain't it.
[Rock music playing]
[Artillery] Hey, ladies,
what y'all think about the beat?
[ladies] No.
[Artillery echoing] No, that's trash.
I don't like that either. Try again.
That's whack, too. Hell no.
Play some hard shit.
Where the Blood shit at?
That beat sound too light-skinned.
Play some gangster shit, nigga.
You been kicking with them Crips too long.
[Gentle music playing]
You feel too good to be true ♪
- [Jenny echoing] Who the fuck are you?
- [Lamar echoing]The producer for "Rydah."
[James echoing] You ain't got no goddamn
business in the rap game.
Hey, you know you're gonna
have to start from scratch, right?
Here, see what this do for you. Look.
[chuckles] "Exit Wounds."
Shit sounds kind of dope, huh? [Chuckles]
I feel like that shit represent
all the gangbangers
that got out the hood, you know?
I didn't know
that that's what you wanted to do.
Okay. Now you do.
Right.
Oh, yeah, right. I-I feel that.
And… [stutters] …I'm in this place too.
It's powerful.
It's fucking me up, if I'm being honest.
I feel like it has to be about my mom.
The fuck your mama got to do with this?
No, she was, um, a singer,
but she was… she was always…
Controlled.
It's gotta…
It's gotta have her spirit. You know?
I'm doing a really bad job
at explaining this right now.
Look, man, the-the label loves you.
Just buy me some time.
Buy me a little bit of time
to figure out the music side, [stutters]
and I can tell you what we need to do.
Hold on.
You can tell me? Like it's your album?
[stammers] I didn't mean it like that.
What you mean then, nigga?
[stammers] It's my sound.
You-You didn't even wanna listen
to… [chuckles] … "Back to the Hood"
when I tried to play it for you.
I was in them apartments
running from crash.
Cops trying to kill me,
whole hood, nigga
No, I'm sick and tired
of people always acting
like cops and murder
is the only stress there is.
Oh, I don't live up
to some insane level of Blackness
because I've never survived a gun battle?
Nigga, my mom is a photograph.
How many gunshot wounds add up
to your missing mommy, Lamar?
'Cause I got more.
You know what I don't got, homeboy?
A picture of my mom.
Nigga, move.
You see your name anywhere on here, nigga?
Where your name at?
I don't see that shit, nigga.
You can't rap.
And as of right now, nigga,
you can't produce either.
All that shit is wack!
Fuck you.
[door closes]
[James] Got a meeting with Leon.
[Leon] You sure?
[lawyer] Definitely.
[Leon] I asked about you
when you was in the streets.
Your file A-1.
For better or for worse.
That's real.
But you got down
'cause they took out your homeboy.
That's family.
And your real family over here
with DG and a bunch of Bloods.
My crazy-ass ex ain't enough.
I was hoping
him getting socked in the face
would help him grow up a little bit.
Ain't your whole deal with Mr. Kinsey
is that he wants you to step up for him?
What you think
I beat Trig's punk ass up for?
[both chuckling]
Fucked him up. [Chuckling]
[chuckling] True. That's true.
What's up, Lee? What's this all about?
Hey, check this out.
People have been asking me
to jump in the music game,
but I hate looking at the same old faces
from the streets.
It make legit money feel dirty
even when it ain't.
And unfortunately, your family in
the same room with these dirty faces.
I got a hold of DG's contracts,
and they're harder to read
than Chinese arithmetic.
When they was out there
slanging them tapes,
I gave DG that money
'cause I wanted to see his reaction.
Money's like crack
to motherfuckers like him.
Exactly.
When he saw that bag,
he was just trying to play it cool,
but for him to straight up
ask me how we did it,
that lets me know what we did is valuable.
Yeah.
We can't let Lamar
and Wanda be in there solo.
All right.
I think I get you.
Like I said,
I need to keep up
on that little nigga anyways.
Might as well keep up
on everything else too.
["Touch Me I'm Sick" playing]
I've been bad ♪
I've been worse ♪
I'm a creep ♪
Yeah, I'm a jerk ♪
C'mon ♪
- What the fuck?
- [Lamar] Wanda, Wanda,
- Wanda, Wanda, we gotta talk.
- I see that.
I completely figured out
exactly what the album is gonna be.
- Lamar, I'm not fucking…
- It's gonna do fucking amazing.
Turn that off!
I need more time.
Slow down and fix this.
I've been here 24-7, every day, locked in,
trying to figure out this album,
and everybody hates me.
Goddamn it, Lamar. I heard what happened.
You need to learn to trust your people.
You…
You think I could do this?
You think I could pull this off?
Yes? But not alone.
Having experienced producers
to back you up might not be a bad idea.
Wanda, you, James, Leon,
you have names in the streets.
Shit, you can have mine.
No, you don't get it, Wanda.
Androids like DG and Jenny,
they don't give a fuck about art.
All they see is packaging.
I didn't come to them as-as J Loco
or-or Easy E or Big Deon or Artillery.
I came as fucking Lamar.
Lamar, this is what the fuck
it feels like making a name,
so step the fuck up
and stop shrinking, nigga.
[Upbeat music playing]
You know, I was thinking
about what you said the other day.
That shit was kinda deep.
About never seeing your son again.
What was that about?
That's the deal.
But you've been slowing down for years.
Why not just hang up the rag?
No.
It's two dudes I gotta kill first,
then I'm moving to Oakland.
So, what's that?
The jacker that killed your brother and…
Who makes number two?
Man, there's some bitch ass nigga
over in the Gates who…
Used to beat the shit out of his daughter
every time the bus dropped her off.
That motherfucker gotta go.
And, shit, if you want,
we get ole boy who choked you.
But you know that motherfucker owes us
some money, though.
[Dara] Hopefully,
this rap shit comes together.
[Keith] True that.
Man, ain't not one of us is getting out.
What y'all talking about?
Stop.
Dara, you a manager
that babysit gang members.
I'm a Blood, and I don't even bang.
Lamar a producer,
and that nigga cannot make music.
This shit going nowhere
at the speed of bullshit.
[James] What up?
What's up?
Never brought these back. [Sighs]
Thanks.
[James] You left them at the house.
Wanda tells me you can't make music.
[sighs] Unfortunately, not that I like.
It's because you be trying too hard, cuz.
You gotta, like, just chill.
You know, sometimes music is…
Classical, and sometimes it's jazz,
you know what I mean?
Yeah. I-I write songs. I don't improvise.
[chuckles]
Nigga, you just be
saying shit sometimes, cuz. [Chuckles]
[sighs] Look…
All great players, they can, like…
They can get down in a moment, man.
All right? That's what Artillery needs.
Like that night that you was at the house,
and he was, like, all shot up.
You weren't controlling shit then,
was you?
So I gotta create with a gun to my head?
I'm not doing that. Fuck that.
That's what Mom was dealing with, right?
Hey, cuz. Don't do that, bro.
[James sighs]
How come you hid it from me?
- Seriously.
- [sighs]
'Cause when I found out,
I reacted like you.
Except with pistols involved.
When they told me, man…
[sighs]
I, like, really lost faith in Big Daddy.
You know, as, like, a kid,
that was… [chuckles]
Shit was like losing faith in God.
Don't be like me, Mar.
Don't stay gone too long, man.
[James sighs]
[Gentle music playing]
What?
Stop playing.
You should've been up in this rap game.
This album is causing tension.
So?
So,
what we got going
don't mean I inherit your beef.
DG?
[scoffs]
Please.
Look, I'm not like little Ms. Wanda.
I wanna learn, build…
And fuck.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah.
[kisses]
- [door opens]
- Sorry, we're closed.
- [Andy] Church ain't never closed for us.
- Aye.
Been looking for you, brother.
Me too.
I'm sorry I've been, uh,
so out of pocket. Um…
You think you'd be down
to go to the studio with me?
You talked to Wanda or Artillery?
[sighs]
Try to grasp the amount of pressure
I'm under, okay?
If I don't figure this album out
before they take it from me,
my entire career is stamped.
That sounds terrible, Lamar.
And I'm talking about being with you
in that state of mind in the studio.
[sighs]
You know,
it's time to lose your virginity.
It's time you witness Blur in action.
[Jazz music playing]
Lookout's job is simple.
You see blue or hear whoop,
just whistle quick.
[helicopter whirring]
Oh, fuck.
It starts with a name.
[Lamar] I already have a name.
DJ Lamar.
Man, you think Artillery is a star
if he's "Emcee Arthur"?
[Andy whispering] Lamar.
Oven cleaner? The fuck are we doing?
Stock nozzles flare like crazy.
[Andy] Graffiti is sacred shit.
Four pillars of hip-hop.
Respect my shit and make a name tonight.
["Running" playing]
Check this out, check this out
Check this out, yeah ♪
One-two, one-two, one-two
One-two, one-two ♪
Check this out, check this out
Check this out, yeah ♪
One-two, one-two, one-two
One-two, one-two ♪
Check this out, check this out
Check this out, yeah ♪
One-two, one-two, one-two
One-two, one-two ♪
Can't keep running away ♪
Can't keep running away ♪
[Andy] This crew right here
made their name in the streets.
And those names can be seen
all over the city.
There comes a time in every man's life ♪
When he's gotta handle shit up
On his own ♪
Can't depend on friends
To help you in a squeeze ♪
Please, they got problems of they own ♪
Down for the count on seven chickenshits
Don't get to heaven ♪
Till they faced these fears
In these fear zones ♪
Can't keep running away ♪
Can't keep running away ♪
[Lamar] "Artis."
One of your crew, huh?
Dude could really burn.
First of us to go all-city too.
Gone way too soon.
- I think I smell an "Andy-ism" coming.
- [chuckles]
- You smelling immortality, my nigga.
- [chuckles]
I've been waiting for this moment.
Know when we were slinging tapes
and you said that you were
"strangers-asking-for-autographs" famous?
Fame is when your name…
Your name lets people know who you are
before they ever even meet you,
including those record execs.
This right here, 12 ounces of pure soul
that can make you live forever.
Lamar is you now.
But the question is,
do you know who the fuck you wanna be?
I got it.
Well, let 'em know then, playboy.
[Lamar] The album is all about rebirth
and return, like the prodigal son.
It's me and Artillery's journey
through LA leading up to now.
The songs will capture the-the voice
of LA.
That, we think, is a city of lost people
searching through danger,
drugs, parties, broken homes.
These are songs that have stories
you tell, to quote a great woman,
"Over Hennessy
and a card game." [chuckles]
After the journey comes the awakening.
What happens…
When everything is destroyed?
[Uplifting music playing]
You are reborn.
[music stops]
Sorry, are you done?
It just… it sounded like
a whole lot of unspecific ideas.
What about the list of producers?
That would be me.
But me now.
As Nex, aka, DJ Nex.
Right. So I don't really want to be
the only bad cop in the room,
so the floor is open.
But… no.
I already got a whole list of producers
who can put the whole thing together.
Wanda.
He's been right since the beginning,
every call.
Unless you wanna share
your vision for the album.
This conversation is not over.
Hell of a play, cousin.
You didn't even stutter. [Chuckles]
I'ma let y'all keep going.
But keep me up to speed.
- I need to know what's going on.
- Will do. Will do, yeah.
[Darryl] 'Cause if you can't finish
this joint,
I need to keep this train
moving without you.
Let's go.
You seem like you're finally learning
how good money feels.
You keep it that way, we're cool,
all right?
[Upbeat music playing]
[kids chuckling]
He was making fun of me earlier.
- Hey, come here, come here. Move.
- Gotta get out the road.
[man] Quit playing, bro.
You almost got that.
- Slow ass car. [Chuckling]
- [chuckling]
Nigga, what the fuck is you doing
pissing around these kids?
The fuck is you cussing around 'em?
Hey, come on, y'all,
I gotta use the bathroom.
[lighter clicks]
[Deon] You know he don't like
you working high.
[man 3] I ain't high yet.
[Deon] The kids are moving.
Hey, bro, I'm posted or you coming in?
I'ma be right there with you.
- Need some of that cake before it melts.
- [man 2] All right then.
I'll be over there.
[Keith] Nigga, hurry up.
[Dramatic music playing]
- [gunshots]
- [grunting]
- [man 3] Hey, let's go. Let's go.
- Hey, hold on.
[man 3] Are you crazy, man?
Deon, let's go.
That's a real nigga right here.
[Keith groaning]
[man 3] Let's go.
You should die with your gun in your hand.
[Keith groaning]
[Deon] You show off, nigga.
["NineFive" playing]
Now most of us
Could waste a whole lifetime ♪
Doin' shit we don't believe in
So I'm retrieving words ♪
Of gold to expose my soul
On the sheets ♪
Combined with the beat of song
Complete to compete ♪
Nah, 'cause most of y'all
Won't understand it ♪
Takin' this existence for granted ♪
Never going after what you really want ♪
'Cause you ain't got the heart ♪
So your life never starts
To have meaning ♪
Fiending for something
To fill that void ♪
Annoyed with the surroundings
You picked ♪
'Cause they don't seem
To fit your person ♪
Rehearsing what they said would
Make you happy ♪
Until you realize one day
Damn, they trapped me ♪
But who are they anyway?
To tell you how to live ♪
A college degree then a career
The only decent way to raise kids ♪
But I disagree
See I wasn't put here to make a living ♪
My living makes me
So even if it takes me a lifetime ♪
I'ma write rhymes that I feel ♪
Some shit for when I'm fired
That shit for when I'm chill ♪
And even if I never make
That ticket to a meal ♪
I'll still be a success
Cause my purpose will have been filled ♪