© 2017 D.S. Little

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the author, except as permitted by U.S. Copyright law.

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Jericho

"Run that back." I told my engineer Brendan Powell and producer, Richie Beats. "I need to hear that one again." I closed my eyes as the track began to play with my raw lyrics laced over the driving beat. Something was missing but I couldn't figure out if it was something in the actual track or if it was my hook or my lyrics in general.

"It's not there yet." I said when the song finished playing.

"I think the hook needs something.'" Richie said into my headphones. Richie had been with me since I started rapping and produced most of my beats. I loved working with him because he was just as hungry as I was. He was from the Bronx and girls found his mix of Puerto Rican and Black to be irresistible.

With my pad in front of me I began to go over what I felt was missing. As we began to change some of the lyrics I looked up when I heard other voices in the studio. When I saw Nas, I immediately removed my headphones and stepped out of the booth.

"Yo!" I said giving the legendary rapper and my mentor, dap and a hug.

"I heard you was making some fire in here and I came to check it out." He told me.

"Trying to." I told him sitting down in one of the open chairs. "Aye, start that over."

Brendan pressed a few buttons and then we all began to nod our heads as the new song I was working on began to play. I looked over at Nas. His eyes were closed as if he was trying to fully digest every lyric in the song.

Nas was my favorite emcee of all time and to be discovered by him was still a dream I couldn't believe came true. To have his stamp of approval meant more than any amount of record sales I had.

When the song finished Nas opened his eyes. "Son, that's it right there."

"I feel like it's not there yet." I told him rubbing my beard.

"Lyrically, you killed it." Nas said with a nod. "The only thing I can see you messin with is that hook, but leave the rest of it alone." He began to laugh. "Shit, I might have to jump on that track with a verse."

"You already know!" I told him not trying to get too excited about it.

No matter how hard you were, when you were in the same room with someone you looked up to, you couldn't help but turn into a kid. If he wanted a verse on every song on my record I would be cool with that. That's how much my love for Nas was!

"How's the rest of the album?" He asked nodding at the board.

"I wanna add bout four more tracks, but it's pretty much done."

"Let me hear something else." Nas said leaning his standing body against the long table. Brendan began to play track after track for Nas and he gave me notes after each one.

"What you thinking for the title?" Nas asked sitting down in the chair next to me.

"I was thinking Jaren vs. Jericho." I told him plainly.

"Aite, explain to me what that means to you. You know you're not the first to do an album like that."

"To me, Jericho is the lyrical genius who made it and Jaren is that ballplayer and hustler who is still grinding to make it." I explained.

I actually first got the idea while talking to Courtney when she was trying to come up with a screen-name for me while creating my account on that WriteNow app she had gotten me addicted to. Courtney felt like lately I was torn between two worlds, and in a way, I was.

The hunger was somewhat slipping away because of my success out the gate and I had to get it back. I didn't wanna be like the mumbling emcees dominating the radio these days. My music was classic New York, Brooklyn hard, but socially conscious of the world we lived in.

"Aite. I see where you going with it." Nas nodded with a grin. "I like it."

Jaren Young had a unique path. I played ball all my life and was recruited by Division I colleges all across the country. I chose Syracuse to stay on the East close to home. To this day I regret that decision.

My sophomore year at Syracuse, I got into a pushing match with my coach in the middle of a nationally-televised game. We had been butting heads since I stepped on campus. He said some out-of-pocket stuff to me that night and I snapped. I didn't care what his title was, he wasn't about to call me out of my name. I am a man first before anything!

After cussing him out right there on the sideline, he pushed me in the chest. I reflexively pushed him right back sending him flying into the chairs and that was the end of my career. I got kicked off the team and was black-balled from transferring to any other team to play ball. I had no direction after that because my plan was to go pro.

It was then that I turned to my gift of writing poetry. It was only meant to be fun, it wasn't meant to be my plan B. I started putting my poetry to music and worked on my lyrical style. My love for music was instant but becoming an emcee was not what I spent my life dreaming about. And I didn't know if I was good enough to take my music to the next level.

I anonymously started making mixed tapes and each one became bigger than the last. When the man himself, Nas, got a hold of one of them he reached out to me and the rest was history.

It was a hard three-year grind to get to that point and during that time I was doing everything and anything to hustle and make money. Jaren was hungry, Jericho was living lavish. I wanted to explore those two sides of myself with this album.

"I know whatever I put out has to go hard cause that first album was bigger than what we all thought it would be." I continued to explain.

"I went through the same thing." Nas nodded. "Don't think about that other album while you're working on this one. It will fuck you up."

"I can't even walk down the street without niggas asking about the new music." I sighed. "I gotta deliver."

"Don't focus on what the streets want." Nas countered smacking a hand on my chest. "Why do you call yourself Jericho? What did you tell me when I first asked you that question?"

I thought about the question and remembered the reason I came up with that name.

When I was young a Sunday School Teacher was telling us the story of Jericho. She said that God gave us that story because he wanted to break down the walls of our hearts so that we could learn to let him in. I chose that name because that is how I wanted people to look at my music. I didn't want them to think about what they know or think they know about me. I wanted my music to speak to them. I wanted my lyrics to break down the walls just like God did with Jericho.

"Get back to that." He said with a smirk. "Forget all that other shit."

Once Nas left, I rocked out in the studio until almost 3AM. In the middle of smoking a blunt to relax, I got an alert that Yara had updated her story. I welcomed the distraction from my music and clicked on it to see what my character was about to do next.

In her story Jericho left the NBA to start a rap career. He started off as a nice guy in the story but she was turning him into an asshole. I wondered if that's really how she viewed me which is why I sent her the first message a few weeks ago. Since then we had traded a few messages here and there debating about the book. Whoever this Yara person was, she was funny and I liked how she thought.

In the new chapter Yara had just posted, my childhood friend, Lisa, showed up at my studio out of the blue in the middle of the night to tell me not to get married. Surprising even me, Yara had me smashing her right on the equipment board...and raw! Lisa and I had chemistry the entire story but when our paths sent us in different directions we grew apart. It was in the previous chapter, when my character's model girlfriend, Porsha, announced on her social media pages that we were engaged that Lisa finally realized she had to tell me how she felt. It was a really good and emotionally steamy chapter if I had to say so myself.

Most people would wonder why someone like me would read something like this, but it was a really good story and the fact my name was all in it made me want to know what happened next.

I began to read some of the comments on her story. Courtney was right they were just as important and entertaining as the actual story.

RhiannaisBae: Why am I screaming!
MSpecial: you can tell he was not ready
Caillou789: He went in raw? Anybody else catch that?
XXXInTheJunhkeXXX: As soon as he picked me up and put me on that table I woulda been callin 911 in advance to come get me.
LovelyZinZeether: Yasssssss finally get your dick girl. Fuck Porsha fahhreal!
PerfektChik: I'm officially going to church tomorrow.
LeakMo4Me: Puttin holy water on my eyes after reading this
WarriorsRMyChamps: OMG Daddy dick me down then
GoAgentBecky: I can be his breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert!
ConttapieOne: spreads legs quickly😌
Articlessa41: dammmmmnnnnn Zaddy
Chosenxili: don't have a choice but to take it. Mama ain't raise no punk!
FinestXOEasy: Ohhhhhhhhh Myyyyyyyy GAWD! My heart!💖
KlayIsMine11: My heart is pumping so fast. I've been waiting for this the entire book!
Fusionry2011: Porsha who? Gon and drop that airhead Jericho!
LovesNothingButJericho: I bet his sex be so aggressive like this too! Call me Jaren I can handle it!
Kassine: Jaren Young issa whole meal
------IslandSanta: you really think he readin this?
------LovesNothingButJericho: you never kno
-----IslandSanta: Lisa ain't never takin her ass back to Minnesota
-----LovesNothingButJericho: I know that's right
RapheetoMo: I'm glad he cheatin on Porsha. I can't stand that bitch.
Janssicon: I feel like I'm watching a porno!
InLaLaLand: I learn all my sex tricks from you @YaraThe Writer thank you girl! 💁🏽
PerfectManiac: Please let them finally be together!
JerichosWifey: Yara, please tag me in! Girl I'm ready!

When my driver reached my condo I got out laughing. The comments on this story were a hundred times worse than the comments I got on my IG page. I opened up the messages and sent Yara a direct message.

Me: So he's cheatin on his girl now?

Since it was so late in the morning I didn't expect her to reply back. I took the elevator to my floor and then walked inside of my empty condo. Brandy was back in Toronto and Courtney was at her own spot. Even though it was late, I still wasn't tired because I always did my best work while the rest of the world was sleeping. I considered rolling another blunt but my phone began to vibrate interrupting that thought.

"Yo." I answered when I realized it was my boy, Tai Holmes. We grew up together playing ball and he was now in the NBA playing for the Utah Jazz.

"Whas up bruh, " Tai said. "I just got around to listening to that track you sent me. Nigga what!"

"I'm tryna cook up a lil something in the studio." I told him.

"Everybody is waiting on this album to drop!"

"I still got some more work to do on it. I'm tryna get it ready for the summer." I told him. "Y'all win that game tonight against Denver?"

"Yeah. We barely pulled that win out though." He sighed. "I warmed up to your new joint tonight, it had me about to jump out the gym."

We made small talk about his upcoming wedding that summer and things going on with our other boys we grew up with.

"What happened with you and Brandy?" He asked me suddenly. "Y'all still kicking it?"

"I'm still holding that down." I replied. "She's in Toronto shooting some movie with that kid from those sports movies."

"That's whas up." He responded. "Man, let me take my ass to bed. I just called to tell you that song is nice. I'll holla at you."

"Preciate that." I told him before hanging up.

I checked some other new messages and responded to a few when I received a notification of a new message on WriteNow. I went to it and realized that Yara had hit me back.

@YaraTheWriter: Are you the moral police now?

Me: just curious

@YaraTheWriter: This chapter was more about her than him. She needed this.

Me: so just fuck him in the process? Turn him into a fuckboy.

@YaraTheWriter: But he's not a fuckboy. He has feelings for her too!

Me: then why is he engaged to somebody else?

@YaraTheWriter: Because if you can't be with the one you want, you gotta love the one you're with.

Me: nah Jericho ain't like that

@YaraTheWriter: And how do you know that?

Me: I'm a big fan

It was something about talking with someone anonymously that had me hooked. I felt like I was getting the real in somebody and not none of the Hollywood-shit that came with this fame. I had been laying low while working on my new album, so it was also a nice distraction from recording.

@YaraTheWriter: What do you think Jericho would do?

Me: he would have never have asked that girl to marry him in the first place

@YaraTheWriter: Do you think he really loves Brandy Moore? Or do you think they are another media couple?

Me: you can see it's real

@YaraTheWriter: How? He never posts anything about her and he doesn't talk about her in interviews.

Me: that's how you know it's real

@YaraTheWriter: Do you think it's real to her?

I thought about this for a minute before responding. You could never fully know what was in somebody's heart but I felt that Brandy was giving me her all.

Me: I do.
Me: you think it's real with your man?

There was a pause before she finally responded.

@YaraTheWriter: Absolutely

Me: do you think your man would cheat on you?

@YaraTheWriter: He knows better
@YaraTheWriter: Why do you cheat?

We had already established that I was a male reader and it was that fact that our discussions went on and on. She said she liked hearing the male point-of-view.

Me: I have before

@YaraTheWriter: Typical! Your girl know that?

Me: she knows bout my past

@YaraTheWriter: You don't cheat anymore?

Me: I'm older. I believe in karma.

@YaraTheWriter: You and me both.

Me: out of all the celebrities out here, why did you choose to write about Jericho?

@YaraTheWriter: Since I can't have him, I guess I'm living a fantasy through my book.

Me: your man know that?

@YaraTheWriter: He doesn't know I write.

Me: why not? Your stuff is good.

@YaraTheWriter: It's complicated.

Me: you can't share your passion with your man? What kinda relationship you got?

@YaraTheWriter: None of my friends or family know.

Me: why not

@YaraTheWriter: They all want me to be a doctor.

Me: what do you want

@YaraTheWriter: To make my parents proud.

Me: what about you

@YaraTheWriter: I'll just keep writing on WriteNow and doing both.

Me: a silenced gift helps no one

When she didn't respond, I sent one last message before calling it a night.

Me: what you want matters too, think about that.