The Get Down (2016) s01e02 Episode Script
Seek Those Who Fan Your Flames
1 Click, boom, that's what I heard Then crash Ungh, ungh Listen up To what my soul conjures up My tear ducts dry, can't cry I conceal it, I die My index finger and thumb Push the pen to the drum You ask where I've been New York City, BX where I'm from No figment of my imagination Sad situation for my dad Killer came to my pad And started spraying Father laying on the floor He breathing no more Shot to death, the reaper came Like a thief through the door Shaolin, he helps me He wealthy in street knowledge He deep in the path of drug dealing And violence Day in and day out Drama, we couldn't stay out Living in my aunt house Music the only way out 'Cause we was in the broke down belly Of a hungry beast We stayed true Then we made up a crew Shaolin gave me the name "Book" I became a raging bull Back when I was first enchanted By Grandmaster Flash You had to be there Imagine him scratching wax Up in his habitat in the Bronx He got it on The birth of a new group is spawned Do you remember that day we met our very own Grandmaster Flash? Osu, Grasshopper.
Osu, Grandmaster.
- You're here early.
- No, I'm here right on time.
- Yo, how did he get in here? - Um, this is the Fantastic Four Plus One.
Uh, yeah, this is the crew.
Uh, this is my wordsmith.
He's the dude that rocked the mic at your jam.
Uh, Osu, Grandmaster.
Over here, I got the system set up.
Organized just like yours, man.
Matching Technics SL-23 turntables, just like yours.
If I could just show you Woo-hoo.
All right, everyone sit zazen in front of me.
Sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night, you're gonna get grounded.
But I know this is not how you wanted to spend your summer.
It's fine.
Five days a week in a soup kitchen might be the best thing for me.
Look at you.
My baby's becoming a woman.
What happened to your friend Ezekiel? Huh? Papi said he's not playing piano for us no more.
I don't know.
What a shame.
That boy never missed a beat.
Buenos dÃas.
- Cisco.
I'm surprised to see you here.
- One for you.
The punished girl can have a treat, right? My savior.
Live out your sentence with dignity, and you shall soon be free.
Until then head high.
Universal DJ rule 17, Grasshopper.
"In order to fly, a DJ must trust his wings.
" - And are these your wings? - Yes, Grandmaster.
Then you must learn to trust them.
I have, in my hand, the key to my Quick Mix theory.
- A crayon, Grandmaster? - What's the crayon for? Nice.
- You're not messing with me? - No.
Well, what about the get-down? You were supposed to show me how to do what you do.
Do not underestimate the crayon.
I promised you the secret, not the answer, Grasshopper.
To earn the answer, you must solve the mystery as one.
And when you unlock the gate, we will walk through it together as one.
Put your hand out in the position of Sun Tzu's offering.
I hand you the magic, the mystery, the opening, Grasshopper.
You have 24 hours, or my offer expires.
Osu.
Twenty-four hours.
- Fixing Jesus, huh? - SÃ.
I thought he was supposed to be fixing us.
A little bit to the left there.
Eso, eso, eso.
I brought you an Icee.
Lemon-cherry.
- I'm not hungry.
- It ain't steak, bro.
Why you here, Francisco? So, a little pajarito in the tree tells me you're struggling to fill seats here.
As it happens, I see a bunch of sinners on my walk over - I tell them about Sunday service.
- Oh, is that so? Seguro que sÃ.
Bro, you gonna have about a dozen more Boricuas here just looking to see the light.
You better bring out the secret weapon.
Secret weapon? - Oh.
You mean Mylene? - That's why everybody comes here, right? I mean, of course and you're great, too.
Just trying to help.
If you want me to tell them not to come No, no, no.
You did the right thing.
Oye Myle, she, uh she came to me the other night pretty rattled.
- Because she defied me.
- Defied you? She's a teenager.
That's what they do.
They defy.
Yes, but my job is to protect her from herself.
Esta bien, and I support that.
But your grip, man, it's too tight.
You gotta loosen up a little bit.
She's not your daughter.
She's my daughter.
You You're lucky I don't cut her off from you.
- Cut her off? - Ramon? - ¿Todo bien? - Jesus' pin-up girl.
- Diablo.
- We're just finishing here, Lydia.
Okay.
Take your time.
Cut me off? Then cut me off, man.
Are you threatening me? You're a bad influence.
She sees your lifestyle.
She sees it.
- Easy come, easy go.
- The The money.
Yeah, the money that paid for the fucking opera house that you had to have? I can go back to street preaching if I have to.
I answer to Christ our Savior.
You know, you need to get off of your high, proud horse, Ramon.
I need you to speak to me of pride? I know where that sin leads.
And no daughter of mine is going to go where I have been.
Now you stay - Man - Oh.
Keep away from her, Francisco.
I apologize, hermano.
Forgive me for trying to talk sense into His Holiness.
There you are.
Inspector Mooch.
Annie, most days I can tolerate Sonny Boy here and his charming, mirthful disposition.
- This is not one of those days.
- Get lost a while, Clarence.
But if this concerns the shooting, this concerns business.
And if this concerns business, this concerns me.
- Say it walking, Clarence.
- Better obey Mommy.
Devil.
Yeah, I know.
The drug business.
I'm shutting everything down until this thing calms down.
- Good.
- Look, I'm losing money here.
- Who's behind shooting up my club? - Don't know yet.
But make no mistake, this was a hit.
A hit on you.
And what I can tell you for certain is the dead assassin was a Savage Warlord, El Viejo.
He was their chief.
So, whoever paid them to do this, the Warlords took the gig serious.
- Think Harlem paid them to take me out? - Maybe.
I want more for my money than maybes, Moran.
You and me both.
Look, I'm neck-deep in this myself.
I will get to the bottom of this.
In the meantime, I'd love for your boys at Bronx homicide to get off my back and get my club reopened.
I can handle the rest.
El Viejo had a little brother in the gang.
Napoleon.
Have Wolf and Sonny Boy find him.
- Bring him in.
- I can do that.
And please no more dead bodies, or we will have a problem that even I can't solve.
"I hand you the magic, Grasshopper.
" "Do not underestimate the crayon.
" Look at Dizzee.
"You must solve the mystery as one.
" What the fuck are you looking at it like that, bro? It's just so elegant.
A hip, a hop A hip, a hip, a hop, a hip, a hop This nigga started singing.
I don't know what this thing is for But I know this This is for you, Mylene.
Bitch can diss, but one day It's me she gonna miss Right? - No, you get it.
You got it.
- I get it.
Yo.
Be serious, nigga.
We only got like 20 hours left.
"Twenty-four hours, or my offer expires.
" Hey, qué tal, Cisco? You wanted to see me? This is such bullshit, man.
The house is white.
The picket fence is white.
But do all the model people have to be white? These motherfuckers.
They can't even conceive of brown people, black people owning homes, man.
That's messed up.
Yo, what is all this? That's the future, man.
- That's 'cause you're a visionary, man.
- And I'm building it.
Lopez can you bring us a couple of Yoo-hoo's? - So how's the music biz, huh, maestro? - I need a vacation.
I'm producing three albums by two top-20 artists.
On top of which, I sold these up-tempo ballads to Diana Ross and Tony Orlando.
Did you get those, uh, the record albums? And the, and the Tangier Records satin jackets that I left for you? - I did.
- Huh? That's not the package I was looking for, Jackie.
Cisco, I know I'm I know I'm behind.
You know, from the poker games, you know, that I owe you.
Twenty-five grand, music man.
It's not to me.
The good brothers of Hijos Boricuas.
The house, I know that, and I got the money, but, you know, it's not liquid.
It's currently, temporarily It's accounting, Cisco.
You know, it's like these snafus, you know? Jackie, your payment is long past due, man.
And the Hijos Boricuas, they're not patient like I am.
And their club bylaws, the bylaws are very clear.
¡La violencia! Violence is discouraged but not prohibited.
- Cisco, me and you got history.
- Come on, man.
- I mean - Please.
Oh, stop, bro.
I don't know.
I guess, maybe, if you were to do me a favor Absolutely.
Something legal, though, right? Oh, it's better than legal, Jackito.
This shit is spiritual.
Man, what if? What if there ain't no mystery, man? Yo, what you talking about, Ra? Look, man what if what if Flash just straight played us, man? He right.
Give me We're staring at a crayon.
A crayon.
Like we're special ed.
And the only mystery I know is how your ass fell for that shit.
- Oh! - Hey, yo.
Chill out, both of you.
Grandmaster's real.
I'm real.
This crayon, I don't understand it yet, but it's real.
And if you ain't real, it's time to bounce your little midget ass outta here.
Go find Snow White and the rest of the Six Dwarves.
And you, too, nigga.
Shao, breathe man, breathe.
We still got 18 hours.
Oh, shi - I'm sorry.
I was literally just trying - My fucking crayon! Your wall is just bumpy, man! - I'm fucking sorry, bro! - Yo, hey! Hey.
Hey, bro, I'm sorry! - Hey.
- Thought if I drew something on the wall, something would incarnate, like a portal or something, bro.
I'm so fucking sorry, man.
- It's like Harold, man.
- Who the fuck is Harold, Dizzee? - Harold and the goddamn magic crayon.
- Harold, man.
Come on.
Let's go.
Mom making that Rice-A-Roni with that non-federal cheese and that ground-meat chili.
I'm just out, man.
I'm sorry, Shao.
Let's roll, Ra.
Yo, peace, E.
- Yeah.
You can go, too, if you need to.
- No.
No.
If I'm gonna rhyme, I need a beat.
One that don't retire 'cause Ma's making Rice-A-Roni with real cheese - and the chili ground meat.
- You can get yourself dinner.
I need a DJ who spins 1010 WINS and don't give up over no crayon, man.
Here comes the judge and I'm the lawyer.
He Huck Finn and I'm Tom Sawyer.
- I I get it, man.
- If you believe in Flash, then I do, too.
True as the night turns black This ain't no fairy tale Never drawn no moon For a midnight stroll With all them dope fiends to regale But what if you trade one needle For another? Ain't alone no more 'Cause now I'm your brother Don't gotta look through Rose-colored glasses To see you out the shadows Rising out the ashes Me and you Let's spin it in a different mode All we gotta do is crack the code Purple crayon Lock and key From desert sands Through forest trees What could be your mystery? "Let's quit," she said But I won't quit Forget blank pages I wanna live my life Amazing, outrageous, sure But when I step on the stage Whoa, in my head From off the page What more do you want from me? Can't you see what I could be? Purple crayon My possibility - Hey, Mama.
- Mm? When you was my age, what did you wanna be? - I wanted to be a good, obedient daughter.
- No.
Like, if you could've been anything what would it be? I didn't think like that, querida.
Well, I just thought that, maybe, if you had a dream, you could understand.
- Hello.
- Lydia, I need Mylene.
I gotta make her a dress.
It's going to be ivory.
- ¿La niña? ¿Ahora? - Mira, es importante.
- I had a vision from God.
- ¿De verdad? Get her here please, por favor, pronto.
- Okay.
- Ciao, baby.
Señora Lopez wants you to go to her dress shop for measurements.
- She's insisting.
- Me? For what? She said she had a vision from God, and it was you in an ivory dress.
Of course she has a vision when I'm locked in soup jail.
And Dad grounded me.
How am I gonna go to the dress shop? I wanted to be a veterinarian.
- What? - When I was young, that was my dream.
A dream.
Shoot.
You know, I gotta send somebody to the store.
It'll probably take a long time.
It's a big list here.
Tight, right? Ooh, ooh.
Okay, let's see.
Let's get you out here.
Made the coop myself.
All right, Penny meet Zeke.
Zeke, meet Penny.
Careful.
Let her know that you're calm and in control.
She'll settle down.
- Just like the ladies, right? - Yeah.
Dang, this is kind of cool.
All right.
So, you ready for the show? Hold this down.
Hold it down.
Okay, here we go.
- You ready? - Yeah.
Open it up.
Come on.
Come on out.
Come on out, guys.
Come on out.
Come on out.
Come on out.
Come on out.
Come on out.
Come on out.
Come on out.
Come on out.
Come on, come on, come on.
Yeah.
Come on.
Come on, come on, come on.
Whoo! - They do that natural, or they was taught? - They do it natural.
Everything they do, it got a natural purpose.
Nigga got wings, a nigga gotta fly, right? I wish I could fly.
Last night you were writing, weren't you? So? So, it probably means you're smart.
I mean, I ain't dumb.
So, when you're off being all smart and reading and writing and thinking on smart shit, you're flying, man.
Like Flash.
- How he controls the crowd.
- I guess, yeah.
How he moves the crowd, man.
That's That's gonna be my my flying.
Fly, fly - You ever thought of quitting? - What? You talking about the crayon? Man, we gonna get that shit.
No, no, no.
Inferno.
- You talking about hustling? - You're working for drug dealers.
Trigger-happy gangsters, shooting people who don't deserve to die.
Man, that's how I earn my keep.
But I do got some money saved up.
Maybe take a summer holiday, focus on the get-down.
I'll focus on my rhyming.
Throw some parties, get some girls not named Mylene.
A little vacation could be good.
- No bosses.
- Just music.
All day, every day.
Nigga got wings, nigga gotta fly, right? Like these pigeons and shit.
Circling.
Spinning.
Spinning and grinning? Spinning and grinning, Zeke.
Spinning and grinning, man.
Spinning.
Spinning and spinning.
Yo.
The get-down plays on one The key to my Quick Mix theory.
Do not underestimate the crayon.
crayon, crayon, crayon - The crayon.
- It takes two to make it out of sight All right.
Play it again.
Just the get-down.
All right.
All right.
I gotta find it.
See, you say you gotta find it, right? Maybe this shit will help.
- Got it? - All right.
- That's it? - Right there.
It takes two to make a thing go right It All right, now bring it back to the top of the break.
It takes two to make a thing go right Oh That's how Flash finds the get-down so quick.
- It takes two to make a thing go right - You book-smart motherfucker.
I'm calling you "Books" from now on, man.
Whoo! Damn.
It takes two to make a thing go right Coming.
Hi, is Ezekiel home? - Who's asking? - Tell them Jehovahs to get out of here.
I'm his English teacher, Ms.
Green.
- You must be? - His aunt, Wanda.
- Isn't school out? - I just wanted to check in with him.
- He left his essay in my office.
- Oh, okay.
Thank you.
I also I wanted to talk to you.
Your nephew's one of my brightest students, and there's this program run by Francisco Cruz.
You know, from the community center? Ezekiel could go to college.
He can go to an Ivy League college.
- But we really need to start now.
- Ivy League? Yes.
Who's gonna pay? You? That kid spends enough time in the clouds, okay? It's hard as it is to keep him here in the real world.
This is not helping.
Ezekiel knows a whole lot more about the real world than you think.
Why don't you do him a favor? Just read that.
I thought you were gonna help me when you came to church.
- Why you ain't at the dress shop? - I Wait, how did you know about that? Because I'm gonna owe Señora Lopez like an arm for fibbing to your mother.
You set that up? Seguro que yes.
I'm sitting there waiting for you.
Oh.
Now imagine, it's Sunday.
You step forward for your solo in your pretty new dress.
Maybe a flower in your hair.
Nothing too decadent.
A lily.
And in that moment you gonna shine, niña.
I want you to act like it's the last song you ever gonna sing.
Because in the crowd, there's gonna be a man in a fancy suit, not me.
- A music producer.
- I knew it.
I fucking knew it.
- Hey.
Respeta.
- Sorry.
Lo siento.
Hey, this has gotta be a secret.
Your parents cannot know.
Thank you, tÃo.
Ah, ya-ya-ya-ya.
Now get to the dress shop before we both get found out.
Okay.
- Niña.
- SÃ.
You make us all proud, huh? - Oye, it's Francisco.
- Hola.
- Myle's on her way.
- Esta bien.
Remember what I said about the dress.
Make it simple but modest.
Pero que acentúe su cuerpo.
No, no, no.
Don't accentuate nothing, I mean it.
She gotta shine, but she gotta do it in God's house.
Claro, Francisco.
Muy sencillo.
No te preocupes.
Yeah.
"Don't worry.
" "Don't worry," my ass.
Oh Ooh.
That looks lovely.
Sit down and have some with me.
I like my steak well done.
I like my mens well done.
But a good steak's like a prize fight.
It ain't good unless it's bloody.
Check that.
Mm.
- Can I talk to you a minute? - Hm? - I got an opportunity, Annie.
- Opportunity? It's nothing that competes with what's going on here.
- You leaving here? - Just for a while.
I mean, yes.
Yes, I'm leaving here.
Can I have your blessing? I've invested in you.
I've been grooming you.
I was about to promote you.
I'm disappointed.
It's something good for me, Annie, and I'm good at it.
- A music thing, you know? - You got the gift for graft, boy.
- And you wanna go blow a horn? - It's not a horn.
It - It's - It doesn't matter what it is.
You overestimate yourself.
Another ghetto clown thinks he's Miles Davis.
Ends up miles from putting food on the table, a roof overhead.
Okay.
Hm.
When you need the other half of this, you come see Annie.
But it ain't gonna be so easy here for you the next time.
Well done.
You unlocked the secret of the crayon, but that's only the first step.
Now once you've marked the get-down part, you must dig.
Dig, dig, dig a tunnel where the get-down sits.
All right, now pay attention and listen to this.
- Don't go breaking my heart - Now you hear that? That is a void of useless nothing.
The wackness.
But here we go.
That is life and destiny.
That is the get-down beat.
That is what the B-boys get down to.
Now, because he possesses two turntables, a DJ exists in two time zones, all right? One turntable plays music that the dancers are partying to right now, and the other is playing music that they will be partying to in the imminent future.
Now Future.
All right? Check this out.
Now pay attention, and watch my hands.
Remember, Grasshopper, it's all about math.
Watch the mark.
- So, be in the moment, yes.
- But give the future your attention.
Exactly, wordsmith.
Making sure the get-down part is ready to depart, all right? One, two, three, four One, two, three, four.
Check.
Under the needle.
Wait.
What is What does "under the needle" mean? That means the beat is locked, loaded and ready to go.
Now that beat is fresh, right? But you're racing against the imminent wackness.
So, remember it's all about math, Grasshopper.
Two, three, four.
Check.
Under the needle.
One, two, three, four.
- Ooh.
You see that? - Two, three, four.
Check.
Under the needle.
One, two, three, four.
You must be like Bruce Lee, young Grasshopper.
Flow like water.
It must be zen, in the moment.
It's a sonic and physical fight.
Whoo.
Look at him go, Books.
Never in disarray.
Every time.
Arrive, depart.
Arrive, depart.
Now first you must master one record.
Manifest one single, infinite beat.
And, Grasshopper choose one you can live with for a looonnnng time.
So choose wisely, or madness be thy name.
- Madness? - You'll see.
Excruciating torment, Chinese water-torture madness.
How did you do that, Grandmaster? I know time.
- You fucking see that, man? - He walked around the whole room.
Oh, man.
I fucking told you.
I told you.
- And he came back on the beat.
Man.
- On the beat.
That was I told you, didn't I? Your uncle got a hot record producer coming to hear you sing in church? Listen, you gotta sing better than Donna and Gloria and Thelma put together.
Yeah.
Some next-level shit.
What you gonna sing? You ready? Okay.
Mylene, no.
You can't sing that crusty Jesus shit to some hotshot music man.
Hello? Are you forgetting where I'm singing? At least the song shows my range.
Please tell me you're joking.
Oh, fuck.
You're not.
You're right.
There's no way a producer's gonna be like: "Yo, that girl right there praising Jesus, she's the next disco star of America.
" - What the fuck do I do? - This is my joint right here.
No.
That's what you gotta do.
- You gotta turn that beat around.
- Mylene.
- Listen to Vicki.
- What? Oh, my God.
It's like a sign.
Turn the beat around Love to hear percussion You gotta take that holy beat and switch it up.
- Turn it around, girl! - Oh, my God.
Love to hear it Flute player, play your flute 'cause I know that You wanna get your thing off But you see I made up my mind about it Got to be the rhythm No doubt about it, whoo, oh When the guitar player starts playing With the syncopated rhythm With the scratch, scratch, scratch Makes me wanna move my body Yeah, yeah, yeah And when the drummer Starts beating that beat He nails that beat To the syncopated rhythm With the rat tat tat tat On the drums Hey Turn the beat around Love to hear percussion Turn it upside down Love to hear percussion Love to hear it Love to hear it Love to hear it Love to hear it Hey.
Yo, Vicki is right.
I gotta turn this shit around.
And if you had the right backup, like on the piano Oh, my God.
Don't tell me it's that old mothballs lady - who forgets the song halfway through? - Right.
- She don't know disco.
- You fucked.
Only one person I know who could turn this crusty beat around.
It takes two to make a thing go right It takes two to make a thing go Fantastic man With the fluid hands Shao sounds so nice Shao, play it twice He's almost nice But not quite twice - Go find Ezekiel! - I can't ask him.
You gotta.
This is your one shot.
He'd want you to take it.
Turn the beat around Love to hear percussion - All right.
- Go and ask him.
Okay.
I'm gonna ask him.
I'm going to.
Okay.
Love to hear percussion Don't say it's easy Don't say it's easy Don't say it's easy You know, Obi-Wan Kenobi says a Jedi can feel the Force moving through him.
Arrive.
Depart.
Your eyes can deceive you.
Let your conscious self depart and arrive on instinct.
It takes two to make a thing go right Please no more! Don't say it's easy I kind of dig it.
- Man, can't you try something else? - Look If you were here, chump, you would've heard the Grandmaster.
I gotta master one continuous beat.
Yo.
Y'all didn't tell nobody where my crib is, right? - No.
- It's Mylene.
- Who? - Shit.
It's only Zeke's butter pecan praline queen.
- Yo, you told that bitch? - Don't call her a bitch.
- Man, how the fuck did she get here? - I don't know.
- Yo - Yo, chill.
Yo, chill.
- I might've told my sister.
- What, Boo? - You know how she is.
- The dojo is a sacred place.
Sorry, Shao.
Why are you here, Mylene? I never thanked you for the other night.
For getting me out of Les Inferno, and for getting me my favorite record.
And that dance.
Yo, I thought we don't do this no more, you and me.
Just because we don't got a thing no more don't mean we're losing our friendship.
I don't wanna be your friend.
But we go together.
And you always said that.
Like pancakes and syrup.
And pancakes ain't as good without syrup.
Oh, my God, Mylene.
Sometimes I wish I never fucking met you.
Don't say that shit.
No matter what, we've always been there for each other.
Through everything.
How could we just lose that? Pancakes don't just get syrup whenever they want.
Syrup's got standards.
I gotta ask you something.
I'm singing a hymn on Sunday.
You know the one that goes: What about it? Well, I need to dust it off.
You know? Shake it up.
Turn it upside down.
Nail that beat to the syncopated rhythm With a rat tat tat Wait, for serious? Yeah.
I need an Ezekiel Special.
What are you up to? - I'm not up to anything.
- Come on.
Let's hear it.
Okay.
There's a record guy coming to see me, and I really, really, really wanna impress him, you know? That's what this is about.
Fuck you, Mylene.
I wouldn't have asked you if it wasn't truly important to me.
You know that, right? Yo, what was all that, man? She wanted me to help her with some song 'cause she's got some music guy coming.
Yeah, and what'd you tell her? - "Fuck, no" is what I told her.
- Good for you, man.
- Sometimes you just gotta teach these - Don't.
Come here, yo.
Don't say it's easy It takes two to make a thing go That was the dumbest shit you ever did in your life, Zeke.
Look you was the one who said she was in shock at Les Inferno.
Now she's out of shock.
Now she's reassessing the landscape.
You've been playing the "now we kiss, now we don't" game since eighth grade.
She's just trying to use me right now.
The way I see it all of us here on this planet and we're on a journey.
And it is a mystery.
Who knows who's gonna end up where with who.
Right? It's just sad to lose a friend, though.
'Cause like that's the hardest thing to come by.
Go right, go right, go right Go right, go right, go right You're gonna make Your fortune by and by But if you lose Don't ask no questions why The only game you know is do or die Ah-ha-ha Hard to understand What a hell of a man But a weakness was shown 'Cause his hustle was wrong His mind was his own But the man lived alone Ooh Superfly Yeah, man.
But if you lose Don't ask no questions why Ow! Come here, baby.
Come on.
See, I was under the impression that it was a Saturday night.
But not a single fine-ass bird in this joint.
Anybody here got a notion why that might be? Let's make these motherfuckers think we gonna kill their asses.
No fucking snitching.
Tryin' to get over Tryin' to get over Tryin' to get over Ooh Superfly I would ask your brother, little man, where everybody is, but he don't seem to be doing much talking these days.
Motherfucker left a stain on my disco ball.
Well, look at it.
Ooh Superfly Look at it.
You're gonna make your fortune By and by But if you lose Don't ask no questions why The only game you know Is do or die Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Each passing beat now approaches the end of the get-down part.
The wackness.
Now future.
All right? You arrive on time.
Madness be thy name.
The game he plays He plays for keeps Don't say it's easy Arrive, depart.
Never in disarray.
Arrive.
Depart.
Yo.
You just arrive and depart? - Right on time? - It takes two to make a thing go right Yo, yo! Yo! Hey, hey! Hey, wake up.
Come on, come on.
We spinning and grinning now, motherfuckers.
Yeah.
Yo, he got it.
- Yo! Come on! - Yeah, he got it.
Hard to understand What a hell of a man Yes, yes, y'all To the beat, y'all Yes, yes You don't stop I rock the rhythm That I rock today So I can make my mark We are on our way But along the way Encountered so much dark Just yesterday Did I parlay With one headless gorilla They Dr.
Doom you To your fate out here Skin you like chinchilla The odds of fate Trying to get over Trying to get over Hey, man.
Easy.
That shit is loaded.
Arrive on time No master plan Just who I am Depart Quick smart Now, who paid you to shoot up my motherfucking club? From this night forth And on and on Fantastic Four Plus One - Man - Stop! I'll just tell you! Stop it! Use the Force like Obi-Wan And stay marching to Shao's drum - I'll tell you! - Come on! I'll tell you! What the fuck, man? You was the one waving this shit around all careless and shit.
- It just went off.
- The motherfucker was gonna squeal.
I was being careful.
I said we were just gonna scare them, not kill them, and you - It was just an accident.
- You big dumb, fat candy-ass motherfucker.
Now we in real trouble, thanks to you.
I'm gonna figure out how to keep my mom from killing us.
You clean up this motherfucking dead kid on my motherfucking floor.
Now what we do with this other mother? Motherfucker! Boom That's what I heard Then there was crash The shattering of glass What did that bullet do? It came so fast It was so loud If someone cared about the Bronx This shouldn't be allowed Boom Life would never be the same My word is my bond And my bond with you is gone But I'll carry on It's like a dream.
You finally cracked the code, Shao.
Tonight, you earned that holiday, nigga.
- Yeah, you did.
- Your hands was lightning flashy shit.
But where you gonna go? - Cooling it here.
- I'd go to Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Man, what you gonna do down there, Boo? In my kingdom I motorboat big-ass Jamaican titties on a motorboat.
And I wanna No, forget Jamaica.
France is where it's at.
Man, I hear French girls go topless in their motorboats.
- I hear that, too.
- For real? Yeah.
Yeah.
How Mylene look topless? - Shut up, Boo.
- Yo.
Yo.
He don't know.
You don't.
Man Stop.
Hey, we're gonna get to that topless yacht in France one day, though.
All right? And we gonna sail to Montego Bay.
- There we go.
- Mark my words.
I got big plans.
Fantastic Four Plus One.
You guys keep practicing.
All right, we gonna promote.
All right? We'll have a party.
Shao's gonna spin.
Books is gonna rhyme.
Boo-Boo's our record boy.
Dizz can make some fly-ass fliers.
And we gonna charge.
Whoo Yeah.
I don't know, man.
It doesn't seem like Napoleon to skip out on a job.
- One word: pussy.
- So, who's this for, anyway? A guy who claims to be helping the South Bronx when he's paying us to burn it.
Damn.
You know landlords be paying kids good money for burning.
Cash.
I know.
- I never get why.
- Collect the insurance money.
If it's more than they're making in rent, it's profitable, I guess.
Yo, is that our spot? How would that be our spot when we live over there? - Shao! - My fucking records! Hey, they didn't What about the rest of the gear? - I got the turntable.
- You left the records? Yo, Shao! Shao! Shao, wait up! Hey! Shao, wait up.
Shao.
Shao.
At least Dizz got a turntable, you see that? I mean, it's kind of crispy, but right? You okay, Shao? Never better, B.
Never better.
You tender-hearted, Books.
I like that about you.
But that shit back there ain't nothing more than supply and demand.
Now we the ones in need of supply of cash for our new equipment.
And we gotta go out there and demand it.
Shaolin, I should've known you was already on - to masterminding a new master plan.
- So, what you think? Tomorrow, go to Les Infernos, see Fat Annie.
She give us some work, we make crazy loot.
Quick fast, in a hurry.
I don't like that place.
Definitely don't like that motherfucker, Cadillac.
Yo, it ain't about what you like.
You down for the cause or not? I'm down by law, B.
Fantastic Four Plus One all day, but yo I mean, my uncle, he he's a handyman, you know? He's always hustling.
He could hire us for some extra help.
We could make money, replace everything we lost without selling our asses - to Fat Annie and - "Selling our ass"? Yo, who the fuck is selling they ass? Not me.
- No, I'm saying - Not me, nigga.
I'm saying let's go see my uncle.
I ain't counting pennies with your damn uncle.
- Well, I ain't working for Fat Annie.
- Then get out my way.
Step aside, nigga.
No, I can't.
'Cause you and me, we a team, remember? I got your back.
And not in that fake, corny, "wherever you go, I go," mack-bullshit kind of way.
No, I mean for real.
Me, you and the crew.
Tonight, Shao, man, we were the fucking Fantastic Four Plus One.
And I quote my DJ when I say one day we're gonna be bigger than the Yankees, biggest thing in the whole Bronx, biggest thing in the whole world.
Fantastic Four Plus One has our own plan of attack.
We don't need to sell out to no gangster motherfuckers Shut the fuck up, man! I'm Shaolin Fantastic, B.
I make magic, you make excuses.
This ain't Disneyland, this shit is the fucking Bronx.
Either you be strong, or you be gone.
All I find, all I keep.
Either you beat the world, or you get beat.
Yo you ever see me again nigga, cross the street.
Fucking wordsmith.
Wonderbread ass.
A pious man and his gal They had a child Raised in the Bronx In a place so wild And year after year The girl has to hear The do's The don'ts And the dears SÃ, we all love Mrs.
Carmela but, well, the church needs more people like you, Ezekiel.
Talented and lively and bright.
We'd be happy to have you play for us today.
Gracias, Señora Cruz.
Mylene, ven aca.
I have examined my soul.
I have made a mistake.
I realize it now.
I have nurtured in you the cardinal sin of pride.
What do you mean? They come to hear you sing, es la verdad.
I put you in the spotlight because I want to fill the seats, to save souls.
Ignoring the damage to my own daughter's soul.
From now on, you will sing at the back of the chorus.
What? - Papi, my solo.
- No, no, no.
No more solos.
- Por favor, Papi - I am sorry.
I wish I had come to it sooner.
And may the Lord forgive us both.
Now you go.
Praise him! A nuestro senor.
See the truth.
La verdad.
Praise him, sister.
Praise him, sister.
Yes.
Yes.
Thank you, Jesus.
Praise him.
A nuestro Señor.
Buenos dÃas.
¿Cuál es tu nombre? - Jackie.
- Jackie.
Welcome, Jackie.
Jackie, the Lord has a message for you.
Paciencia y fe.
Paciencia y fe.
Paciencia y fe.
Praise him.
Praise God.
¡Porque murió Jesús Cristo! Gracias Señor.
¡Porque murió Jesús Cristo! By whose grace do we walk? Praise him.
Praise him! Let him fill you with conviccion profunda.
Praise him.
Praise God.
Let him fill you with the Holy Spirit.
EspÃritu Santo.
EspÃritu Santo.
Hallelujah! Yo veo la maldad.
I see the evil in your eyes.
You have many talents.
Why do you throw them away? ¡Ante la gloria de Dios! ¡Ante la gloria de Dios! ¡Ahà voy yo! Christo.
EspÃritu Santo, EspÃritu Santo.
Ante la gloria de dios! A pious man and his gal They had a child Raised in the Bronx In a place so wild And year after year The girl has to hear The do's, the don'ts And the dears And when she starts to grow She finds a sound of her own But Papi bans it from the home But for the grace of God There go I I There but for the grace of God There go I, I, I, I, I And when she's sweet 16 She packs her things And she leaves With a man Who will let her dream Let's find a place to stay Somewhere far away Where they do and play And sing as they may There but for the grace of God Grace of God Yeah, yeah, yeah There but for the grace of God There go I, I, I, I I, I, I, I, I Hallelujah, hallelujah.
Osu, Grandmaster.
- You're here early.
- No, I'm here right on time.
- Yo, how did he get in here? - Um, this is the Fantastic Four Plus One.
Uh, yeah, this is the crew.
Uh, this is my wordsmith.
He's the dude that rocked the mic at your jam.
Uh, Osu, Grandmaster.
Over here, I got the system set up.
Organized just like yours, man.
Matching Technics SL-23 turntables, just like yours.
If I could just show you Woo-hoo.
All right, everyone sit zazen in front of me.
Sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night, you're gonna get grounded.
But I know this is not how you wanted to spend your summer.
It's fine.
Five days a week in a soup kitchen might be the best thing for me.
Look at you.
My baby's becoming a woman.
What happened to your friend Ezekiel? Huh? Papi said he's not playing piano for us no more.
I don't know.
What a shame.
That boy never missed a beat.
Buenos dÃas.
- Cisco.
I'm surprised to see you here.
- One for you.
The punished girl can have a treat, right? My savior.
Live out your sentence with dignity, and you shall soon be free.
Until then head high.
Universal DJ rule 17, Grasshopper.
"In order to fly, a DJ must trust his wings.
" - And are these your wings? - Yes, Grandmaster.
Then you must learn to trust them.
I have, in my hand, the key to my Quick Mix theory.
- A crayon, Grandmaster? - What's the crayon for? Nice.
- You're not messing with me? - No.
Well, what about the get-down? You were supposed to show me how to do what you do.
Do not underestimate the crayon.
I promised you the secret, not the answer, Grasshopper.
To earn the answer, you must solve the mystery as one.
And when you unlock the gate, we will walk through it together as one.
Put your hand out in the position of Sun Tzu's offering.
I hand you the magic, the mystery, the opening, Grasshopper.
You have 24 hours, or my offer expires.
Osu.
Twenty-four hours.
- Fixing Jesus, huh? - SÃ.
I thought he was supposed to be fixing us.
A little bit to the left there.
Eso, eso, eso.
I brought you an Icee.
Lemon-cherry.
- I'm not hungry.
- It ain't steak, bro.
Why you here, Francisco? So, a little pajarito in the tree tells me you're struggling to fill seats here.
As it happens, I see a bunch of sinners on my walk over - I tell them about Sunday service.
- Oh, is that so? Seguro que sÃ.
Bro, you gonna have about a dozen more Boricuas here just looking to see the light.
You better bring out the secret weapon.
Secret weapon? - Oh.
You mean Mylene? - That's why everybody comes here, right? I mean, of course and you're great, too.
Just trying to help.
If you want me to tell them not to come No, no, no.
You did the right thing.
Oye Myle, she, uh she came to me the other night pretty rattled.
- Because she defied me.
- Defied you? She's a teenager.
That's what they do.
They defy.
Yes, but my job is to protect her from herself.
Esta bien, and I support that.
But your grip, man, it's too tight.
You gotta loosen up a little bit.
She's not your daughter.
She's my daughter.
You You're lucky I don't cut her off from you.
- Cut her off? - Ramon? - ¿Todo bien? - Jesus' pin-up girl.
- Diablo.
- We're just finishing here, Lydia.
Okay.
Take your time.
Cut me off? Then cut me off, man.
Are you threatening me? You're a bad influence.
She sees your lifestyle.
She sees it.
- Easy come, easy go.
- The The money.
Yeah, the money that paid for the fucking opera house that you had to have? I can go back to street preaching if I have to.
I answer to Christ our Savior.
You know, you need to get off of your high, proud horse, Ramon.
I need you to speak to me of pride? I know where that sin leads.
And no daughter of mine is going to go where I have been.
Now you stay - Man - Oh.
Keep away from her, Francisco.
I apologize, hermano.
Forgive me for trying to talk sense into His Holiness.
There you are.
Inspector Mooch.
Annie, most days I can tolerate Sonny Boy here and his charming, mirthful disposition.
- This is not one of those days.
- Get lost a while, Clarence.
But if this concerns the shooting, this concerns business.
And if this concerns business, this concerns me.
- Say it walking, Clarence.
- Better obey Mommy.
Devil.
Yeah, I know.
The drug business.
I'm shutting everything down until this thing calms down.
- Good.
- Look, I'm losing money here.
- Who's behind shooting up my club? - Don't know yet.
But make no mistake, this was a hit.
A hit on you.
And what I can tell you for certain is the dead assassin was a Savage Warlord, El Viejo.
He was their chief.
So, whoever paid them to do this, the Warlords took the gig serious.
- Think Harlem paid them to take me out? - Maybe.
I want more for my money than maybes, Moran.
You and me both.
Look, I'm neck-deep in this myself.
I will get to the bottom of this.
In the meantime, I'd love for your boys at Bronx homicide to get off my back and get my club reopened.
I can handle the rest.
El Viejo had a little brother in the gang.
Napoleon.
Have Wolf and Sonny Boy find him.
- Bring him in.
- I can do that.
And please no more dead bodies, or we will have a problem that even I can't solve.
"I hand you the magic, Grasshopper.
" "Do not underestimate the crayon.
" Look at Dizzee.
"You must solve the mystery as one.
" What the fuck are you looking at it like that, bro? It's just so elegant.
A hip, a hop A hip, a hip, a hop, a hip, a hop This nigga started singing.
I don't know what this thing is for But I know this This is for you, Mylene.
Bitch can diss, but one day It's me she gonna miss Right? - No, you get it.
You got it.
- I get it.
Yo.
Be serious, nigga.
We only got like 20 hours left.
"Twenty-four hours, or my offer expires.
" Hey, qué tal, Cisco? You wanted to see me? This is such bullshit, man.
The house is white.
The picket fence is white.
But do all the model people have to be white? These motherfuckers.
They can't even conceive of brown people, black people owning homes, man.
That's messed up.
Yo, what is all this? That's the future, man.
- That's 'cause you're a visionary, man.
- And I'm building it.
Lopez can you bring us a couple of Yoo-hoo's? - So how's the music biz, huh, maestro? - I need a vacation.
I'm producing three albums by two top-20 artists.
On top of which, I sold these up-tempo ballads to Diana Ross and Tony Orlando.
Did you get those, uh, the record albums? And the, and the Tangier Records satin jackets that I left for you? - I did.
- Huh? That's not the package I was looking for, Jackie.
Cisco, I know I'm I know I'm behind.
You know, from the poker games, you know, that I owe you.
Twenty-five grand, music man.
It's not to me.
The good brothers of Hijos Boricuas.
The house, I know that, and I got the money, but, you know, it's not liquid.
It's currently, temporarily It's accounting, Cisco.
You know, it's like these snafus, you know? Jackie, your payment is long past due, man.
And the Hijos Boricuas, they're not patient like I am.
And their club bylaws, the bylaws are very clear.
¡La violencia! Violence is discouraged but not prohibited.
- Cisco, me and you got history.
- Come on, man.
- I mean - Please.
Oh, stop, bro.
I don't know.
I guess, maybe, if you were to do me a favor Absolutely.
Something legal, though, right? Oh, it's better than legal, Jackito.
This shit is spiritual.
Man, what if? What if there ain't no mystery, man? Yo, what you talking about, Ra? Look, man what if what if Flash just straight played us, man? He right.
Give me We're staring at a crayon.
A crayon.
Like we're special ed.
And the only mystery I know is how your ass fell for that shit.
- Oh! - Hey, yo.
Chill out, both of you.
Grandmaster's real.
I'm real.
This crayon, I don't understand it yet, but it's real.
And if you ain't real, it's time to bounce your little midget ass outta here.
Go find Snow White and the rest of the Six Dwarves.
And you, too, nigga.
Shao, breathe man, breathe.
We still got 18 hours.
Oh, shi - I'm sorry.
I was literally just trying - My fucking crayon! Your wall is just bumpy, man! - I'm fucking sorry, bro! - Yo, hey! Hey.
Hey, bro, I'm sorry! - Hey.
- Thought if I drew something on the wall, something would incarnate, like a portal or something, bro.
I'm so fucking sorry, man.
- It's like Harold, man.
- Who the fuck is Harold, Dizzee? - Harold and the goddamn magic crayon.
- Harold, man.
Come on.
Let's go.
Mom making that Rice-A-Roni with that non-federal cheese and that ground-meat chili.
I'm just out, man.
I'm sorry, Shao.
Let's roll, Ra.
Yo, peace, E.
- Yeah.
You can go, too, if you need to.
- No.
No.
If I'm gonna rhyme, I need a beat.
One that don't retire 'cause Ma's making Rice-A-Roni with real cheese - and the chili ground meat.
- You can get yourself dinner.
I need a DJ who spins 1010 WINS and don't give up over no crayon, man.
Here comes the judge and I'm the lawyer.
He Huck Finn and I'm Tom Sawyer.
- I I get it, man.
- If you believe in Flash, then I do, too.
True as the night turns black This ain't no fairy tale Never drawn no moon For a midnight stroll With all them dope fiends to regale But what if you trade one needle For another? Ain't alone no more 'Cause now I'm your brother Don't gotta look through Rose-colored glasses To see you out the shadows Rising out the ashes Me and you Let's spin it in a different mode All we gotta do is crack the code Purple crayon Lock and key From desert sands Through forest trees What could be your mystery? "Let's quit," she said But I won't quit Forget blank pages I wanna live my life Amazing, outrageous, sure But when I step on the stage Whoa, in my head From off the page What more do you want from me? Can't you see what I could be? Purple crayon My possibility - Hey, Mama.
- Mm? When you was my age, what did you wanna be? - I wanted to be a good, obedient daughter.
- No.
Like, if you could've been anything what would it be? I didn't think like that, querida.
Well, I just thought that, maybe, if you had a dream, you could understand.
- Hello.
- Lydia, I need Mylene.
I gotta make her a dress.
It's going to be ivory.
- ¿La niña? ¿Ahora? - Mira, es importante.
- I had a vision from God.
- ¿De verdad? Get her here please, por favor, pronto.
- Okay.
- Ciao, baby.
Señora Lopez wants you to go to her dress shop for measurements.
- She's insisting.
- Me? For what? She said she had a vision from God, and it was you in an ivory dress.
Of course she has a vision when I'm locked in soup jail.
And Dad grounded me.
How am I gonna go to the dress shop? I wanted to be a veterinarian.
- What? - When I was young, that was my dream.
A dream.
Shoot.
You know, I gotta send somebody to the store.
It'll probably take a long time.
It's a big list here.
Tight, right? Ooh, ooh.
Okay, let's see.
Let's get you out here.
Made the coop myself.
All right, Penny meet Zeke.
Zeke, meet Penny.
Careful.
Let her know that you're calm and in control.
She'll settle down.
- Just like the ladies, right? - Yeah.
Dang, this is kind of cool.
All right.
So, you ready for the show? Hold this down.
Hold it down.
Okay, here we go.
- You ready? - Yeah.
Open it up.
Come on.
Come on out.
Come on out, guys.
Come on out.
Come on out.
Come on out.
Come on out.
Come on out.
Come on out.
Come on out.
Come on out.
Come on, come on, come on.
Yeah.
Come on.
Come on, come on, come on.
Whoo! - They do that natural, or they was taught? - They do it natural.
Everything they do, it got a natural purpose.
Nigga got wings, a nigga gotta fly, right? I wish I could fly.
Last night you were writing, weren't you? So? So, it probably means you're smart.
I mean, I ain't dumb.
So, when you're off being all smart and reading and writing and thinking on smart shit, you're flying, man.
Like Flash.
- How he controls the crowd.
- I guess, yeah.
How he moves the crowd, man.
That's That's gonna be my my flying.
Fly, fly - You ever thought of quitting? - What? You talking about the crayon? Man, we gonna get that shit.
No, no, no.
Inferno.
- You talking about hustling? - You're working for drug dealers.
Trigger-happy gangsters, shooting people who don't deserve to die.
Man, that's how I earn my keep.
But I do got some money saved up.
Maybe take a summer holiday, focus on the get-down.
I'll focus on my rhyming.
Throw some parties, get some girls not named Mylene.
A little vacation could be good.
- No bosses.
- Just music.
All day, every day.
Nigga got wings, nigga gotta fly, right? Like these pigeons and shit.
Circling.
Spinning.
Spinning and grinning? Spinning and grinning, Zeke.
Spinning and grinning, man.
Spinning.
Spinning and spinning.
Yo.
The get-down plays on one The key to my Quick Mix theory.
Do not underestimate the crayon.
crayon, crayon, crayon - The crayon.
- It takes two to make it out of sight All right.
Play it again.
Just the get-down.
All right.
All right.
I gotta find it.
See, you say you gotta find it, right? Maybe this shit will help.
- Got it? - All right.
- That's it? - Right there.
It takes two to make a thing go right It All right, now bring it back to the top of the break.
It takes two to make a thing go right Oh That's how Flash finds the get-down so quick.
- It takes two to make a thing go right - You book-smart motherfucker.
I'm calling you "Books" from now on, man.
Whoo! Damn.
It takes two to make a thing go right Coming.
Hi, is Ezekiel home? - Who's asking? - Tell them Jehovahs to get out of here.
I'm his English teacher, Ms.
Green.
- You must be? - His aunt, Wanda.
- Isn't school out? - I just wanted to check in with him.
- He left his essay in my office.
- Oh, okay.
Thank you.
I also I wanted to talk to you.
Your nephew's one of my brightest students, and there's this program run by Francisco Cruz.
You know, from the community center? Ezekiel could go to college.
He can go to an Ivy League college.
- But we really need to start now.
- Ivy League? Yes.
Who's gonna pay? You? That kid spends enough time in the clouds, okay? It's hard as it is to keep him here in the real world.
This is not helping.
Ezekiel knows a whole lot more about the real world than you think.
Why don't you do him a favor? Just read that.
I thought you were gonna help me when you came to church.
- Why you ain't at the dress shop? - I Wait, how did you know about that? Because I'm gonna owe Señora Lopez like an arm for fibbing to your mother.
You set that up? Seguro que yes.
I'm sitting there waiting for you.
Oh.
Now imagine, it's Sunday.
You step forward for your solo in your pretty new dress.
Maybe a flower in your hair.
Nothing too decadent.
A lily.
And in that moment you gonna shine, niña.
I want you to act like it's the last song you ever gonna sing.
Because in the crowd, there's gonna be a man in a fancy suit, not me.
- A music producer.
- I knew it.
I fucking knew it.
- Hey.
Respeta.
- Sorry.
Lo siento.
Hey, this has gotta be a secret.
Your parents cannot know.
Thank you, tÃo.
Ah, ya-ya-ya-ya.
Now get to the dress shop before we both get found out.
Okay.
- Niña.
- SÃ.
You make us all proud, huh? - Oye, it's Francisco.
- Hola.
- Myle's on her way.
- Esta bien.
Remember what I said about the dress.
Make it simple but modest.
Pero que acentúe su cuerpo.
No, no, no.
Don't accentuate nothing, I mean it.
She gotta shine, but she gotta do it in God's house.
Claro, Francisco.
Muy sencillo.
No te preocupes.
Yeah.
"Don't worry.
" "Don't worry," my ass.
Oh Ooh.
That looks lovely.
Sit down and have some with me.
I like my steak well done.
I like my mens well done.
But a good steak's like a prize fight.
It ain't good unless it's bloody.
Check that.
Mm.
- Can I talk to you a minute? - Hm? - I got an opportunity, Annie.
- Opportunity? It's nothing that competes with what's going on here.
- You leaving here? - Just for a while.
I mean, yes.
Yes, I'm leaving here.
Can I have your blessing? I've invested in you.
I've been grooming you.
I was about to promote you.
I'm disappointed.
It's something good for me, Annie, and I'm good at it.
- A music thing, you know? - You got the gift for graft, boy.
- And you wanna go blow a horn? - It's not a horn.
It - It's - It doesn't matter what it is.
You overestimate yourself.
Another ghetto clown thinks he's Miles Davis.
Ends up miles from putting food on the table, a roof overhead.
Okay.
Hm.
When you need the other half of this, you come see Annie.
But it ain't gonna be so easy here for you the next time.
Well done.
You unlocked the secret of the crayon, but that's only the first step.
Now once you've marked the get-down part, you must dig.
Dig, dig, dig a tunnel where the get-down sits.
All right, now pay attention and listen to this.
- Don't go breaking my heart - Now you hear that? That is a void of useless nothing.
The wackness.
But here we go.
That is life and destiny.
That is the get-down beat.
That is what the B-boys get down to.
Now, because he possesses two turntables, a DJ exists in two time zones, all right? One turntable plays music that the dancers are partying to right now, and the other is playing music that they will be partying to in the imminent future.
Now Future.
All right? Check this out.
Now pay attention, and watch my hands.
Remember, Grasshopper, it's all about math.
Watch the mark.
- So, be in the moment, yes.
- But give the future your attention.
Exactly, wordsmith.
Making sure the get-down part is ready to depart, all right? One, two, three, four One, two, three, four.
Check.
Under the needle.
Wait.
What is What does "under the needle" mean? That means the beat is locked, loaded and ready to go.
Now that beat is fresh, right? But you're racing against the imminent wackness.
So, remember it's all about math, Grasshopper.
Two, three, four.
Check.
Under the needle.
One, two, three, four.
- Ooh.
You see that? - Two, three, four.
Check.
Under the needle.
One, two, three, four.
You must be like Bruce Lee, young Grasshopper.
Flow like water.
It must be zen, in the moment.
It's a sonic and physical fight.
Whoo.
Look at him go, Books.
Never in disarray.
Every time.
Arrive, depart.
Arrive, depart.
Now first you must master one record.
Manifest one single, infinite beat.
And, Grasshopper choose one you can live with for a looonnnng time.
So choose wisely, or madness be thy name.
- Madness? - You'll see.
Excruciating torment, Chinese water-torture madness.
How did you do that, Grandmaster? I know time.
- You fucking see that, man? - He walked around the whole room.
Oh, man.
I fucking told you.
I told you.
- And he came back on the beat.
Man.
- On the beat.
That was I told you, didn't I? Your uncle got a hot record producer coming to hear you sing in church? Listen, you gotta sing better than Donna and Gloria and Thelma put together.
Yeah.
Some next-level shit.
What you gonna sing? You ready? Okay.
Mylene, no.
You can't sing that crusty Jesus shit to some hotshot music man.
Hello? Are you forgetting where I'm singing? At least the song shows my range.
Please tell me you're joking.
Oh, fuck.
You're not.
You're right.
There's no way a producer's gonna be like: "Yo, that girl right there praising Jesus, she's the next disco star of America.
" - What the fuck do I do? - This is my joint right here.
No.
That's what you gotta do.
- You gotta turn that beat around.
- Mylene.
- Listen to Vicki.
- What? Oh, my God.
It's like a sign.
Turn the beat around Love to hear percussion You gotta take that holy beat and switch it up.
- Turn it around, girl! - Oh, my God.
Love to hear it Flute player, play your flute 'cause I know that You wanna get your thing off But you see I made up my mind about it Got to be the rhythm No doubt about it, whoo, oh When the guitar player starts playing With the syncopated rhythm With the scratch, scratch, scratch Makes me wanna move my body Yeah, yeah, yeah And when the drummer Starts beating that beat He nails that beat To the syncopated rhythm With the rat tat tat tat On the drums Hey Turn the beat around Love to hear percussion Turn it upside down Love to hear percussion Love to hear it Love to hear it Love to hear it Love to hear it Hey.
Yo, Vicki is right.
I gotta turn this shit around.
And if you had the right backup, like on the piano Oh, my God.
Don't tell me it's that old mothballs lady - who forgets the song halfway through? - Right.
- She don't know disco.
- You fucked.
Only one person I know who could turn this crusty beat around.
It takes two to make a thing go right It takes two to make a thing go Fantastic man With the fluid hands Shao sounds so nice Shao, play it twice He's almost nice But not quite twice - Go find Ezekiel! - I can't ask him.
You gotta.
This is your one shot.
He'd want you to take it.
Turn the beat around Love to hear percussion - All right.
- Go and ask him.
Okay.
I'm gonna ask him.
I'm going to.
Okay.
Love to hear percussion Don't say it's easy Don't say it's easy Don't say it's easy You know, Obi-Wan Kenobi says a Jedi can feel the Force moving through him.
Arrive.
Depart.
Your eyes can deceive you.
Let your conscious self depart and arrive on instinct.
It takes two to make a thing go right Please no more! Don't say it's easy I kind of dig it.
- Man, can't you try something else? - Look If you were here, chump, you would've heard the Grandmaster.
I gotta master one continuous beat.
Yo.
Y'all didn't tell nobody where my crib is, right? - No.
- It's Mylene.
- Who? - Shit.
It's only Zeke's butter pecan praline queen.
- Yo, you told that bitch? - Don't call her a bitch.
- Man, how the fuck did she get here? - I don't know.
- Yo - Yo, chill.
Yo, chill.
- I might've told my sister.
- What, Boo? - You know how she is.
- The dojo is a sacred place.
Sorry, Shao.
Why are you here, Mylene? I never thanked you for the other night.
For getting me out of Les Inferno, and for getting me my favorite record.
And that dance.
Yo, I thought we don't do this no more, you and me.
Just because we don't got a thing no more don't mean we're losing our friendship.
I don't wanna be your friend.
But we go together.
And you always said that.
Like pancakes and syrup.
And pancakes ain't as good without syrup.
Oh, my God, Mylene.
Sometimes I wish I never fucking met you.
Don't say that shit.
No matter what, we've always been there for each other.
Through everything.
How could we just lose that? Pancakes don't just get syrup whenever they want.
Syrup's got standards.
I gotta ask you something.
I'm singing a hymn on Sunday.
You know the one that goes: What about it? Well, I need to dust it off.
You know? Shake it up.
Turn it upside down.
Nail that beat to the syncopated rhythm With a rat tat tat Wait, for serious? Yeah.
I need an Ezekiel Special.
What are you up to? - I'm not up to anything.
- Come on.
Let's hear it.
Okay.
There's a record guy coming to see me, and I really, really, really wanna impress him, you know? That's what this is about.
Fuck you, Mylene.
I wouldn't have asked you if it wasn't truly important to me.
You know that, right? Yo, what was all that, man? She wanted me to help her with some song 'cause she's got some music guy coming.
Yeah, and what'd you tell her? - "Fuck, no" is what I told her.
- Good for you, man.
- Sometimes you just gotta teach these - Don't.
Come here, yo.
Don't say it's easy It takes two to make a thing go That was the dumbest shit you ever did in your life, Zeke.
Look you was the one who said she was in shock at Les Inferno.
Now she's out of shock.
Now she's reassessing the landscape.
You've been playing the "now we kiss, now we don't" game since eighth grade.
She's just trying to use me right now.
The way I see it all of us here on this planet and we're on a journey.
And it is a mystery.
Who knows who's gonna end up where with who.
Right? It's just sad to lose a friend, though.
'Cause like that's the hardest thing to come by.
Go right, go right, go right Go right, go right, go right You're gonna make Your fortune by and by But if you lose Don't ask no questions why The only game you know is do or die Ah-ha-ha Hard to understand What a hell of a man But a weakness was shown 'Cause his hustle was wrong His mind was his own But the man lived alone Ooh Superfly Yeah, man.
But if you lose Don't ask no questions why Ow! Come here, baby.
Come on.
See, I was under the impression that it was a Saturday night.
But not a single fine-ass bird in this joint.
Anybody here got a notion why that might be? Let's make these motherfuckers think we gonna kill their asses.
No fucking snitching.
Tryin' to get over Tryin' to get over Tryin' to get over Ooh Superfly I would ask your brother, little man, where everybody is, but he don't seem to be doing much talking these days.
Motherfucker left a stain on my disco ball.
Well, look at it.
Ooh Superfly Look at it.
You're gonna make your fortune By and by But if you lose Don't ask no questions why The only game you know Is do or die Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Each passing beat now approaches the end of the get-down part.
The wackness.
Now future.
All right? You arrive on time.
Madness be thy name.
The game he plays He plays for keeps Don't say it's easy Arrive, depart.
Never in disarray.
Arrive.
Depart.
Yo.
You just arrive and depart? - Right on time? - It takes two to make a thing go right Yo, yo! Yo! Hey, hey! Hey, wake up.
Come on, come on.
We spinning and grinning now, motherfuckers.
Yeah.
Yo, he got it.
- Yo! Come on! - Yeah, he got it.
Hard to understand What a hell of a man Yes, yes, y'all To the beat, y'all Yes, yes You don't stop I rock the rhythm That I rock today So I can make my mark We are on our way But along the way Encountered so much dark Just yesterday Did I parlay With one headless gorilla They Dr.
Doom you To your fate out here Skin you like chinchilla The odds of fate Trying to get over Trying to get over Hey, man.
Easy.
That shit is loaded.
Arrive on time No master plan Just who I am Depart Quick smart Now, who paid you to shoot up my motherfucking club? From this night forth And on and on Fantastic Four Plus One - Man - Stop! I'll just tell you! Stop it! Use the Force like Obi-Wan And stay marching to Shao's drum - I'll tell you! - Come on! I'll tell you! What the fuck, man? You was the one waving this shit around all careless and shit.
- It just went off.
- The motherfucker was gonna squeal.
I was being careful.
I said we were just gonna scare them, not kill them, and you - It was just an accident.
- You big dumb, fat candy-ass motherfucker.
Now we in real trouble, thanks to you.
I'm gonna figure out how to keep my mom from killing us.
You clean up this motherfucking dead kid on my motherfucking floor.
Now what we do with this other mother? Motherfucker! Boom That's what I heard Then there was crash The shattering of glass What did that bullet do? It came so fast It was so loud If someone cared about the Bronx This shouldn't be allowed Boom Life would never be the same My word is my bond And my bond with you is gone But I'll carry on It's like a dream.
You finally cracked the code, Shao.
Tonight, you earned that holiday, nigga.
- Yeah, you did.
- Your hands was lightning flashy shit.
But where you gonna go? - Cooling it here.
- I'd go to Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Man, what you gonna do down there, Boo? In my kingdom I motorboat big-ass Jamaican titties on a motorboat.
And I wanna No, forget Jamaica.
France is where it's at.
Man, I hear French girls go topless in their motorboats.
- I hear that, too.
- For real? Yeah.
Yeah.
How Mylene look topless? - Shut up, Boo.
- Yo.
Yo.
He don't know.
You don't.
Man Stop.
Hey, we're gonna get to that topless yacht in France one day, though.
All right? And we gonna sail to Montego Bay.
- There we go.
- Mark my words.
I got big plans.
Fantastic Four Plus One.
You guys keep practicing.
All right, we gonna promote.
All right? We'll have a party.
Shao's gonna spin.
Books is gonna rhyme.
Boo-Boo's our record boy.
Dizz can make some fly-ass fliers.
And we gonna charge.
Whoo Yeah.
I don't know, man.
It doesn't seem like Napoleon to skip out on a job.
- One word: pussy.
- So, who's this for, anyway? A guy who claims to be helping the South Bronx when he's paying us to burn it.
Damn.
You know landlords be paying kids good money for burning.
Cash.
I know.
- I never get why.
- Collect the insurance money.
If it's more than they're making in rent, it's profitable, I guess.
Yo, is that our spot? How would that be our spot when we live over there? - Shao! - My fucking records! Hey, they didn't What about the rest of the gear? - I got the turntable.
- You left the records? Yo, Shao! Shao! Shao, wait up! Hey! Shao, wait up.
Shao.
Shao.
At least Dizz got a turntable, you see that? I mean, it's kind of crispy, but right? You okay, Shao? Never better, B.
Never better.
You tender-hearted, Books.
I like that about you.
But that shit back there ain't nothing more than supply and demand.
Now we the ones in need of supply of cash for our new equipment.
And we gotta go out there and demand it.
Shaolin, I should've known you was already on - to masterminding a new master plan.
- So, what you think? Tomorrow, go to Les Infernos, see Fat Annie.
She give us some work, we make crazy loot.
Quick fast, in a hurry.
I don't like that place.
Definitely don't like that motherfucker, Cadillac.
Yo, it ain't about what you like.
You down for the cause or not? I'm down by law, B.
Fantastic Four Plus One all day, but yo I mean, my uncle, he he's a handyman, you know? He's always hustling.
He could hire us for some extra help.
We could make money, replace everything we lost without selling our asses - to Fat Annie and - "Selling our ass"? Yo, who the fuck is selling they ass? Not me.
- No, I'm saying - Not me, nigga.
I'm saying let's go see my uncle.
I ain't counting pennies with your damn uncle.
- Well, I ain't working for Fat Annie.
- Then get out my way.
Step aside, nigga.
No, I can't.
'Cause you and me, we a team, remember? I got your back.
And not in that fake, corny, "wherever you go, I go," mack-bullshit kind of way.
No, I mean for real.
Me, you and the crew.
Tonight, Shao, man, we were the fucking Fantastic Four Plus One.
And I quote my DJ when I say one day we're gonna be bigger than the Yankees, biggest thing in the whole Bronx, biggest thing in the whole world.
Fantastic Four Plus One has our own plan of attack.
We don't need to sell out to no gangster motherfuckers Shut the fuck up, man! I'm Shaolin Fantastic, B.
I make magic, you make excuses.
This ain't Disneyland, this shit is the fucking Bronx.
Either you be strong, or you be gone.
All I find, all I keep.
Either you beat the world, or you get beat.
Yo you ever see me again nigga, cross the street.
Fucking wordsmith.
Wonderbread ass.
A pious man and his gal They had a child Raised in the Bronx In a place so wild And year after year The girl has to hear The do's The don'ts And the dears SÃ, we all love Mrs.
Carmela but, well, the church needs more people like you, Ezekiel.
Talented and lively and bright.
We'd be happy to have you play for us today.
Gracias, Señora Cruz.
Mylene, ven aca.
I have examined my soul.
I have made a mistake.
I realize it now.
I have nurtured in you the cardinal sin of pride.
What do you mean? They come to hear you sing, es la verdad.
I put you in the spotlight because I want to fill the seats, to save souls.
Ignoring the damage to my own daughter's soul.
From now on, you will sing at the back of the chorus.
What? - Papi, my solo.
- No, no, no.
No more solos.
- Por favor, Papi - I am sorry.
I wish I had come to it sooner.
And may the Lord forgive us both.
Now you go.
Praise him! A nuestro senor.
See the truth.
La verdad.
Praise him, sister.
Praise him, sister.
Yes.
Yes.
Thank you, Jesus.
Praise him.
A nuestro Señor.
Buenos dÃas.
¿Cuál es tu nombre? - Jackie.
- Jackie.
Welcome, Jackie.
Jackie, the Lord has a message for you.
Paciencia y fe.
Paciencia y fe.
Paciencia y fe.
Praise him.
Praise God.
¡Porque murió Jesús Cristo! Gracias Señor.
¡Porque murió Jesús Cristo! By whose grace do we walk? Praise him.
Praise him! Let him fill you with conviccion profunda.
Praise him.
Praise God.
Let him fill you with the Holy Spirit.
EspÃritu Santo.
EspÃritu Santo.
Hallelujah! Yo veo la maldad.
I see the evil in your eyes.
You have many talents.
Why do you throw them away? ¡Ante la gloria de Dios! ¡Ante la gloria de Dios! ¡Ahà voy yo! Christo.
EspÃritu Santo, EspÃritu Santo.
Ante la gloria de dios! A pious man and his gal They had a child Raised in the Bronx In a place so wild And year after year The girl has to hear The do's, the don'ts And the dears And when she starts to grow She finds a sound of her own But Papi bans it from the home But for the grace of God There go I I There but for the grace of God There go I, I, I, I, I And when she's sweet 16 She packs her things And she leaves With a man Who will let her dream Let's find a place to stay Somewhere far away Where they do and play And sing as they may There but for the grace of God Grace of God Yeah, yeah, yeah There but for the grace of God There go I, I, I, I I, I, I, I, I Hallelujah, hallelujah.