“I had a whole speech planned to express my gratitude for the way y’all have supported me—” My heart stuttered as the voice registered. It sounded deeper and filled with more weight, butit was . . . familiar. The moment I turned my head toward the stage, all the air seemed to leave my body. My eyes blinked a few times to make sure that my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me. This had to be some kind of sick joke or something.
The familiar stranger continued to address his fans, and I stood there trying to hold it together.
“I’ve been through a lot of shit in life, but music has always been the one thing that brought me peace. It feels good to know that y’all fuck with my music the way you do because I put my soul in that shit. Tonight, I’ll be giving y’all early access to my first official album,From The Bottom. I still can’t believe this shit is real, but I wouldn’t have even made it this far without y’all. Now enough of that soft shit. I hope y’all ready to turn up!”
A pair of arms wrapped around me, and when I looked over my shoulder, Nova gave me a sympathetic glance. I couldn’t adequately express the emotions running through me, because they were all coming at once and too many to truly identify. On one hand, I was happy to see that he made his dreams a reality, but there were so many underlying questions that I wasn’t sure if I even wanted the answers to. A part of me expected him to be in prison living a shell of a life, but the person commanding that stage was far from what I imagined.
“If you want to leave, we can. All you have to do is say the word,” Nova assured me. She was the only person who could truly understand how I was feeling because she had been there through all of it.
When Keynauri got arrested, she stayed with me for several days. My mother couldn’t take time off work, so Nova made sure someone was always with me. The pain I felt in my heart refused to ease up, and things only went from bad to worse after his sentence. Keynauri was facing up to fifteen years in prison for murder. We were all devastated, but I refused to leave himhanging. I made a vow that I would be there for him until he was free; however, we weren’t on the same page.
The last time I went to visit him in prison, he broke up with me and removed me from his visitation list. I had never experienced heartbreak until that moment, and I wouldn’t have wished it on my worst enemy.
It took months for me to get to a place where I could function, and even then, it was robotic. I managed to graduate from high school, but I felt so lost. All my plans seemed pointless without the person I thought I would be spending my life with. A few months after graduation, my mom and I decided to get out of state. She got a better job opportunity with more benefits, and she thought the change would be good for me. Life had shifted so fast for me, and there were so many unknowns, but I decided to go with her and try to make something of myself.
“Best friend, you are scaring me. I need you to tell me something.” The concern in Nova’s voice caused me to break from my trance.
“I’m sorry. No, we don’t need to leave. I’m fine.”
I didn’t know if I was trying to convince her or myself, but the look she gave me told me that she wasn’t buying it either.
“Umm, can someone tell me what’s going on. I don’t like feeling left out.” Dominique fussed as he moved closer to us. I zoned out for a moment as Nova gave a quick synopsis of my past.
“Damn, bitch. What are the odds of that happening?” I giggled when I saw the baffled expression on his face. It was exactly what I was feeling at the moment. I would never have predicted Keynauri would turn out to be the mystery rapper.
“Here, babe. We all need to drink. This is too much for me.” Nova grabbed the bottle of tequila, pouring a double shot for everybody. I wasted no time taking the shot to the head andrequesting a refill. I would need to be drunk off my ass in order to get through the night.
“Well, at least he exceeded my expectations. That man is fine as hell. Was he always that fine, or is this a glow up?” Dom questioned. He had a way of making me laugh even when I wanted to cry.
“Umm, he still looks the same. Of course, he’s more mature looking with way more tattoos.” I wanted to look anywhere but at Keynauri, but the task wasn’t as easy as I thought. The way he commanded the stage, you would have never known it was his first performance. The crowd was going crazy, even though they didn’t know the words to the songs yet. No one cared as they vibed from one track to the other. I would be a hater if I said his music wasn’t good. Rap wasn’t my preferred genre, but I found myself bobbing my head to his songs. His voice was deep, raspy, and powerful. You could tell that the lyrics in his songs resonated with him. I wanted to be angry with him, but the pride in my heart wouldn’t allow it in that moment. Regardless of our past, it made me proud to see that he became everything I knew he could be.
“This song right here is personal to me. Have y’all ever been in love before?” Keynauri posed a question to the crowd.
“Yes!” Everyone shouted in unison.
“That love shit is crazy as hell. It can make you lose your mind, but it can also make you a better person depending on who you choose.”
My stomach grew as I thought about him being in love with someone else. Of course, it wouldn’t be unreasonable, given the fact that it had been seven years. However, it felt like a punch to the gut because he promised he would never love anyone the way he loved me.
“This song is dedicated to the woman who will always have my heart. My pops used to tell me that it was better to love andlose it than to never experience love at all. I’m still on the fence about how true it is, but she definitely made me a better man. I’m single, but if I had the opportunity, I would give anything to make her mine again.” After Keynauri finished talking, another song started up.
As he performed the song, I found myself locked in on the lyrics. I wanted to know about this woman who had left such an impact on his life. Keynauri painted a picture through his lyrics, and it only took a few lines to realize who he was talking about. I glanced over at Nova who was standing on the seat with her phone recording.
“Bitch! Do you hear this?” She yelled over my head. I wasn’t even sure what to say. I needed someone to pinch me and wake me up from this crazy dream. I wondered if maybe I imagined myself going to the lounge with Que. Was it possible that I was still at home in my bed? That was the only plausible explanation for what was unfolding in front of me.
“Yassss! I can’t wait to stream this album. It’s all gas, no skips!” Dom cheered as he recorded videos of himself vibing to the music. Keynauri performed a few more songs from his album. The crowd remained on their feet the entire time, hyping him up after every track.
After he finished, he thanked everyone for coming out and handed the mic back to the emcee. They continued to play more of his music throughout the night, and the crowd rapped along to the ones they knew. According to Nova, he had three mixtapes which was how he blew up in his career. I wondered how any of this was possible when he was supposed to be locked up.
“I know damn well that’s not who I think it is,” Nova fussed.
“Who are you talking about now? I can’t take any more surprises.” It was a joke, but there was truth to it.
Instead of answering, Nova ran out of the section and into the crowd. I followed her as she pushed past the sea of people inthe middle of the room. She tapped a man on the shoulder, and when he turned around, recognition settled in. Logic.
Nova’s hands were flailing as she gave him a piece of her mind. From my understanding, the two of them hadn’t spoken since college.
“Should we go over there? She looks like she’s about to fight that man.” Dominique shrieked, watching Nova put her finger against Logic’s temple. The smirk on his face told me there was no need to worry about her.
