She smirked and shook her head. “No, do you?”
He chuckled at her arrogance, letting B-Syde know they were good to go after Fyre finished her round. When he walked away, Asao leaned against the wall away from the crowd, legs spread wide enough to bring Samari between them into his chest. With an arm loosely around her neck and the other tight around her waist, he relaxed, sending his focus to the ring where two young guys were going at it.
“You’re looking for people to sign.”
“Not people, just a female artist. When we start dropping, I want to make sure we fully represent the best our city has to offer.”
She nodded in understanding. “So this is the world you wanted to show me?”
He smirked and dropped his eyes to hers. “Yeah, this isn’t what you expected.”
“I didn’t expect anything. I was choosing to go with the flow.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I bet.” His lips brushed over the curve of her jaw before they fully touched her temple with a kiss.
“This was me not that long ago. I was hungry and wanted to prove I deserved to wear the crown. No matter how good I was, there was always somebody ready to prove they were better and that kept me grinding. You want to see what someone is made of, throw them in a den with lions and see if they make it out alive.”
“You miss this?” she asked, placing her hand over the arm around her waist.
“Yeah I do. The industry is full of bullshit and politics. Down here, it’s all about pure talent and sometimes not even just talent. If you have heart, you can make a name for yourself.”
She leaned her head back and smiled, watching him admire the two in the ring.
When they finished and a winner was selected, Asao nodded toward the ring. “What do you think?”
“The only reason he won is because he had the crowd.” Samari pointed to the guy who’d lost. “He was more focused on timing and delivery. He has a better cadence and flow but ol’ boy dropped lines that had the crowd hype. ‘Trying to play me, sweet talking like you wanna bae me. That’s not my thing, I’m checking for soft bodies outside the ring’.” Samari grinned after she repeated the lyrics he’d delivered as a diss.
“Coming for someone’s character is a crowd pleaser. But you’re right, if I was considering either of them, I would have gone with ol’ boy. Down here you win based on hype, if you’re selling records you have to consider talent and how marketable someone is. Industry beefs will only get you so far and that’s what he’s bringing by assassinating someone’s character.”
“So you know something?” she teased.
He smiled arrogantly. “You better hope I do since you’re putting your career in my hands.”
“Aight, y’all. You know what time it is. The champ is here. Who’s trying to step up?” B-Syde announced when Fyre ducked under the rope to enter the ring.
“Man, nobody is trying to get embarrassed tonight. She has the crown, fam. Who’s next?” someone yelled from the crowd.
“For real though. She’s out here breaking muthafuckers down,” someone else yelled.
“Y’all scared?” B-Syde asked.
“Hell yeah. The only thing that allows me to sleep at night is having my pride in check. I’m not about to compromise that by getting in the ring with her.”
“Damn, they’re scared to step up. She must be nice,” Asao said, nodding.
“We’re about to find out?” Samari pushed away from him but Asao caught her wrist.
“I know you’re feeling yourself but that’s not a good look.” He tossed his chin toward the ring, offering a cocky grin. Samari was talented as hell but Fyre wasn’t singing songs. She was dropping bars.
“I’m not about to compete against her, I’m going to sing with her. If she’s on your label, that means she’s on my album. You might as well get a test run.” She blew him a kiss and pushed through the crowd, climbing into the ring. He watched Samari speaking to Fyre who looked confused at first but then she smiled, nodding before she dapped Samari.
After Fyre dropped her hand, Samari reached for the mic B-Syde held and said something to him. He shot a glance in Asao’s direction, smiling smugly, and reached for the mic, which Samari handed over.
“Since the ladies got y’all running scared. I’m going to let this be the last round before we clear out to let them set up for the fights. Step up if you’re trying to be in the cypher.” He circled his finger in the air and a track started.
Asao watched as Fyre dropped her head, bobbing it in time to the beat. When she was ready, the mic lifted to her mouth and she went in.
Hand to hand número uno I’m like BIG prime
