by Js.One

“Just keep workin’ and we’ll see.” I said. “ He might be workin’ on an arsenal of moves like you… you just got to practice so you can take him out before he does you!”

We had been working all month towards the B-Boy Summit tomorrow and now the work becomes more intense. Reg wanted to have a final showdown with Devine his archrival and each was confident that he could beat the other. There were many other times, of course where the two battled each other. Most ended in a tie, so both dissatisfied, decided to have a “brawl for it all” at the Summit since it’s the big event of the year except of course Hip Hop Anniversary.

“Turn on some dope breaks, I want to get really lose and practice stamina.”, Reg called as he worked profusely.

“Aiight man hold on.” I returned as I put the “Funky Drummer” record on by James Brown. I began to mix and loop the beat for a while.

“Yeah! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” he began to do the six-step on the floor and then break into some windmills. As I stood behind my set , I couldn’t help but feel anticipation for tomorrow as I watched his legs flying and swinging in a circular motion, his movements were almost hypnotical. Reg was always determined, when it came to breakin', he practiced a lot.

We go way back to when he always used to be just chillin' on my block as a shorty. We got down together because we were hip-hop kids. While others would just talk about rappin’ or whatever we represented the forgotten aspects of Hip Hop, so everybody started calling us “Hip Hop Kids” and I guess it stuck. We used to go to school together back in Middle school, but I wanted to go to the school for Art and Music in Manhattan when I went to high school there because I'm really nice in art, he stayed in his district in Harlem. Now that it's senior year we're gonna be done with school, although I might try to get into the art/gallery scene full steam after graduation. It wasn't like the TV shows where we would go to fabulous schools all over the country, two black kids from Uptown, New York would stay here, trying to make a way with Hip Hop, I guess that’s why its so important to us. It's not just some hobby, or something we do to be "cool”, or pass the time it's a way of life, and it has a deep meaning to us.

“Yo we should like, take a break and go downtown for a while, we’ve got all night”, I said as I looked at my watch. When he heard me he finished up with a freeze and came up.

“Ok, let me get my Metro Card”, he said after going to the stairway. “I’ll be back”.

When he left I went back to my set and pushed the button to turn the power off on my turntables and mixer. I took both the records off and put them in the sleeve. I noticed the TV was still on down here, but I figured its ok since he always leaves it on.

“ Ok! Lets be out.” he calls from the top of the stairs.

“Aiight.”, I return as I pick up my Yankees jacket and hat. As we went up the stairs I put my blue “ New York” hat on over my blue du-rag and slipped my arms into my coat.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“Well I was thinkin’ we could hit Pearl Paint for a minute or some other stuff down there, you know, records, tapes…”

“Aiight.” “Bye Ma”, he says when he notices his mother walking around on the first floor.

“You better not come back late tonight cause you know I got to go to work in the morning and I ain’t tryin’ to hear all that noise when you come in!” she says as if remembering past occurrences.

“Ok… I’ll be quiet this time then.” He replies with a smile as if to imply sarcasm. As he reaches the front door, he turns the knob and opens it.

“Bye”, I called to her.

“See you later Quan, and don’t let this boy run all over the city. And don’t get into any trouble, I don’t want the NYPD callin’ my house all times of the night!”

“Ok”, we both said as if making a promise we had no intention to keep. We stepped out of his brownstone. We are instantly immersed in the majesty that's Harlem. Reg’s house is a beautiful brownstone on 139th street in Harlem. His house always reminded me of the TV shows and pictures of Harlem. Always crowded with people walking to stores and work and little kids that would go to project playgrounds and play. My house was on 179th and Southern blvd In the Bronx. It was a three family, but it contained members of my family. Grandmother on the top floor, me, my moms, and my pops in the middle floor, and my big sister in the studio apartment below.

We headed to the nearest train station on 135th street to the two line, which is an underground station like most in Manhattan. As we walked through the streets I remember how much I loved New York, especially in autumn because the leave were turning to all kinds of yellows, oranges, and reds. It was just cold enough to bundle up for comfort, but not the “dead of winter cold”. I always loved the way the trees drew shade in the middle of the day, it was a feeling I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I gazed up to see many uniformed buildings of the same color and build and I can’t help but to wonder what the architect had in mind when he built them.

We crossed an intersection of busy Harlem traffic and walked down the stairs which led to the train, which waited to take us anywhere we wanted to go. Submerged in world where the sounds of screeching steel and electrical shocks ruled, I looked around to see the many people who also waited to board the train. A man with an old acoustic guitar sat by a wall playing to a small crowd who rewarded him with loose change. I thought to myself if that was the result of a dream defered, I had many visualizations of myself in a similar position later on in life. Unaware of my thoughts, Reg also stood silent as he shifted his backpack on his shoulder. As an express train came roaring through the station I caught a glimpse of a girl… one I had seen before, but was not sure from where. She was Puerto Rican with long brown hair and hazel eyes. Then it hit me… it was Dee! I turned to Reg to see if he had seen her and he obviously hadn’t because he kept a steady gaze to the track that the train was going to arrive on.

Memories came flooding back to me of that girl who had done so much and vanished. Dee used to live on my block when I was in Middle School. Her and her family had moved up from Brooklyn and so when I found out that she was a B-Girl, I instantly became interested in her, more so because my boy Reg was a breaker too. He always talked about how it would be dope to have a B-girl for a girlfriend cause they shared a great bond, a common interest. To us it seemed that a girl who could be intrested in the asthetics of Hip Hop culture rather than the glitz and glory of commercialism was a beautiful thing. So I began to tell one about the other and they became interested, so they met. They became friends and everything seemed to go well until Devine, who was at the time a friend of ours too, became interested in her.

Devine was a kid who lived down here in Harlem with Reg. The both of them used to go out to parties and break, and like take over the show, I wasn’t a breaker so it was something the two of them shared. One night when Reg and Dee were supposed to go out, Dee calls me and says that she can’t go and to tell Reg. Of course he gets mad when I tell him, so I say to Reg, "Don’t worry, lets just go to Rock Steady’s Anniversary.” Since it was a whole weekend affair, we hadn’t planned on going that day, I was gonna work on a new oil painting I started while Reg and Dee did their own thing. When we got to the scene of the Anneversary, in the street where the NYPD would have cut off from traffic so people could walk around or whatever, we noticed that the circle started to form. That is a sure sign that breaking is about to commence. We walk up because I know that Reg is going to want to do something, we look across to see Dee in Devine’s arms. Reg furiously approaches them and Devine says that he didn’t know that Reg and her were supposed to be together. Instead of fighting people in the crowd suggest that they battle later that day when they were indoors, so they did. It was some of the most intense competition the crowd had ever seen they did Superman windmills, flares, headspins, and handglides, each trying to match and capitalize on the others move to gain crowd control. At the end the emcee asked which one won. It was called a tie…Reg never forgot ,and so here we are today. That was two years ago and since Dee was said to leave town. People tried to avoid inviting Reg and Devine to same party because they knew that a fight might occur.

I was now faced with the conflict of: should I tell Reg that Dee is back.. or should I not. Aww forget it. We probably won’t even see her again, it’s a big city …but what if..she’s here for the Summit?!! She probably is! She’d heard about it and decided to come to perform. Now I’ve got to tell him… or do I?

When the train came we boarded it as a sea of people got off into the station. We sat and waited for it to pull out.

We walked out onto Canal Street. Beautiful downtown Manhattan, crisp air and high rises seem to rise up as we ascend the station stairs.

“Yo I want to go to the Graf shop across the street, I want to get that new Easy Roc tape. I’ll meet you over there”, Reg says.

“Aiight, I just need to some paint ”, I replied, unsure if I even had that much money. That stuff is always expensive, and I was never partial to racking. I felt it was stupid to get arrested for something like stealing.

I notice a break in traffic so I cross the street. I look up to see the sign “Pearl Paint”. They advertise it to be one of the biggest art stores in the City. I think it is.. they always have probably almost anything you can think of. Once I find everything I need: a tube of Titanium White, Cadmium Red, and some yellow, I pay for it and go outside to wait for Reg. I look across the street to see people run and scatter.

“What the hell is this??”, I think in a sudden moment of bewilderment. “REG!!” I scream and take off across the street so fast that I didn’t even see the taxi coming. He floors his breaks as I slide over the hood.

“Watch where ya’ goin’ you bum kid!”, the cabby screams.

I just disregard him in an effort to see what’s going down near the store. I look up to see Reg, Devine, and two guys in Devine’s crew emerge from the store fighting, and cops running to the scene. Reg lands a blow to Devine right in the chest sending him backwards onto the pavement. One of Devine’s boys tries to grab Reg, but he flips him. People scream and run as the cops close in on them.

“REEEEGGGG!! OVER HERE SON!!”, I let out a call. “THEY CALLED THE PIGS!”.

They pause their fighting for a minute after hearing what I said as two cops turn the block their on. They all get on their feet and take flight. I start running too as to plan an escape route for Reg up ahead of him.

“YO LET”S LOOSE THEM!! COME ON!”, I call to him as he catches up to me. People scatter out of the way on the crowded street as we’re all running what looks to be a marathon. Still thinking of possible escape routes...hmmm..hmm the train station! Maybe we can lose them in the station.

“YO THE TRAIN!” I declare. There are five cops now chasing us on foot, they are determined to catch us. Since Devine’s crew is behind us, one of his boys gets tackled to the ground, the rest keep running. I see the station up ahead, we bound across the street and two cops disband from the others in an attempt to follow us. When we got to the stairs we literally slid down the handrails. The cops jump down trying to keep us in sight. We search for direction.... THE TRAIN IS IN! We jump the turnstiles and stride towards the car. We could have won the Olympics we were running so fast. All of a sudden we heard the “Ding-Dong” sound, which meant the doors were closing. We were still about 200 feet away. We would have needed rocket packs or something to make it in time but the doors closed and the train slowly pulls out. I feel a deep sense of dispair wash over me.

“NO!! SHIT!” we exclaim.

The only other way out is... to walk the tracks. Since I was a Graf artist, I knew the subway system in and out. “ YO THE TRACKS!” I point down. We jump, making sure that we avoid the third rail on the far right side. Now I’m pretty confident that they wont follow us. As we emerge into the dark tunnel I glance back to see the two cops drop onto the tracks too! We continue down the tracks hoping to get to the lay-up were there was an escape. One thing is for sure.. I PRAYED that a train wouldn’t come. I hear a roar up in the distance, and feel a slight rumble. MY STOMACHE DROPPED.

“TRAIN!!”

Reg is just as sweaty and nervous as me. But up in the distance..... another station. Felling the adrenaline start to loosen up on me I become tired and out-of-breath, but wouldn’t stop on my life. We grow closer just as we start to see the train. Maybe it’s a local and it will stop up there. We get to the platform just as the train arrives, we could even feel the hot air of the train’s slipstream, and dive a dive that all our energy, or what was left, was exausted from. We do a roll-land on the platform when we hit the ground. The cops are not in sight. We run down the line in case the conductor saw us and hopped in the last car. We dropped on a long seat begging the conductor to close the doors and pull out. “Ding-Dong”. The doors close and we start to move... amazingly the conductors don’t see the cops and they had just hopped onto the platform too asking people if they saw us. As we re-entered the tunnel that we just risked and saved our lives to go into we looked at each other and smiled. We both wheezed and coughed as people in the car, who saw us running in the station stared at us in confusion.

“Too fast son...tooo fast!” Reg exclaims.

“Can’t mess with tha best! Hip Hop Kids!” I finished.

We decided to get off at the midtown stop…42nd street and chill down there for a while. A couple minutes later the train pulls into a station.

“42nd street... 42nd street” I heard a distorted voice say over an intercom.

“Lets’ go”, I said and we got out. “ YO! YO! Let’s go to Rock and Soul on 45th street. They might have the new Masta Ace record.”

“ Maybe, but you know Beat Street is tha illest!.”

“Yeah I know... but do you want to go all the way to Brooklyn?” I said

“Hell nah man, we gotta get back so I can practice.”

We head up through Times Squre, which is always densely crowed. This is one of the most touristy parts of the CIty and we usually tried to aviod it. We enter the store, walk past the front section, which is the deejay section, and head to the back where the records are. My eyes lock on one familiar face up ahead... it’s her again! Where’s Reg? Had he seen her too? No. His eyes were fixed on the new De La Soul record. He began to sing the salsa part from the record he’s holding... funny part is.. he doesn’t know the words.

“Da da da da dada da da da...” Reg scats.

I laugh as I listen, but then I notice Dee walking up to the counter.

“ Dee mama,.. you gonna rock it at the Summit tomorrow? And where you been at, I ain’t seen you around here in a while”, Lenny, a dude that works there asks her.

“ Yeah you know, I had to go back to the Island for a minute to visit mi abuela but I’m back to stay now.. she’s staying at my house. When we came back to the city I heard about the Summit and Speedy Legs came to get me in it.”

“Oh that’s good. I wondered where you were all that time, you know Reg and Devine are headlinin’ right?”

“Are those two still at it? I could never get back with Reg because he just wouldn’t talk to me anymore...” she states.

“ Why?”

“Don’t you remember? He saw me with Devine. It’s just... I never liked Devine like that, you know? We was just cool.. at least that’s what I wanted. You know how you guys are. I still wanted to be with Reg.”

Listening to all that made me feel sorry for her, for condemming her guilty , but I needed proof it was true. Reg had not heard any of it because the new Michael Jackson song came on the radio “Butterflies” so it was blasting throught the store. I was just close enough to the counter to hear the conversation. Reg was singing and doing spins.. you know, gettinn’ into it.

“OK mama, you break ‘em off a little somethin’-somethin’ for me tomorrow. You should try to get with Reg now that your back. Maybe then him and Devine won’t have to kill each other!” Lenny exclaims.

“I don’t think he’ll want to hear it though... you see Quan lately?”

“ Yeah matter-of-fact, I think I just saw him somewhere a few minutes ago, maybe he left.”

“ Ok, well I’ll go to his house later then”

“ Ok bye!” the Lenny calls as she walks away.

I decide to just try to talk to her there, so I had to think of an alibi to tell Reg. I approach him and say:

“ Yo I’ll be back in a minute I want to go talk to this dime I just saw.”

“Word? A girl? Where’s she at?”

“I think she went outside man, I’ll be back” I said in an attempt to keep him from trying to see who it was.

“ Go handle your business then”

I walked away from Reg and went to the front part of the store where Dee was about to leave.

“Yo Dee! Wait a minute” I call as she walks for the door.

“Hey Quan! What’s up? I was just about to go back uptown to look for you.” She replied

“I heard what you said, is it true?”

“Is what true?” she asked

“About you not really goin’ with Devine.”

“Yeah of course you know I would never try to play Reg. You know how much I was feelin’ that boy” she says giggling.

“Word, well you know, I’ll try to talk to him.” I said, remembering what Dee was really like in the past. I believed her story because of all the time I knew her before the incident, she was always loyal and caring, we always called her “a down sista”. Wait a minute! What happened at the Annversary then?

"Wait, what about that time you peaced him out for Devine, and lied about how you couldn't chill with him the day of the Anneversary?" I inquired.

"Oh yeah, Devine, I felt sorry for him when he lost that battle at the Key. He said 'just the two of us.. your madd cool to talk to, and to break with.', so I went with him. I didn't want to tell Reg the real reason, I really don't know why, maybe it was 'cause he used to always get bent out of shape if he saw me talkin' to dudes!” she says.

"That's only cause he liked you SO MUCH. Ya'll don't know why we do it, I’d say most of us are always jealous because we don't want to loose you."

"I see... you think he would want to talk to me?" she asked

"HELL NO!! WHERE YOU COME FROM?" Reg suddenly appears from the back of the store. I didn't see him coming!

"Reg, just chill she....", I start.

"NO! HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON? MY BOY ‘S TRYIN' TO PLAY ME TOO?" He asks as if discoving some conspiracy against him.

"Stop buggin' man I'm tryin’ to tell you.."

"Aww.. forget it, I'm out. I though we was cool.", he said looking at me as if he was Julius Caesar when his best friend was in line with those who stabbed him in the back. He's soo hard headed when he's defensive.

"Don't get mad at him, he's just tryin' to help..." Dee starts as she becomes emotional.

"FUCK YOU, AND FUCK YOU" he says looking at us as he stomps toward the front door. He glances back to where Dee and I stand and walks out.

“See! I told you that he wouldn’t want to hear it.” Dee says with an expression that says “I ruined everything”

“Well where is he goin’?” she asked.

“I don’t know probably to his spot. I’ll try to go up there later.. let him cool down, he’s probably just goin’ to practice for tomorrow. Where are you goin’ now?” I asked.

“I guess I’m going home now, I have to get ready for tomorrow too.”

“Come on I’ll roll wit you.. we can talk”

I gaze out onto the cityscape of the South Bronx from the train window. The buildings, the people, the art, both legal and otherwise. For many people it is depressing, but to me it’s an inspiration to work hard at what I do. The train gently rocks side to side as it pull into a station bringing me back to reality. I shift my weight as to avoid falling from the change in momentum.

“Simpson ave… Simpson”, the conductor calls over the intercom.

“You move back up to your old house?” I ask Dee who is sitting in a seat in front of me.

“Yeah my uncle held it down while we were gone.” She replies.

“Aiight. Oh you know what I should try too get to Reg’s crib before his moms starts buggin’ because it’s gonna get late.” I said while looking at my watch. It was now 8:00.

“I guess so… should I come?”

“Nah he’ll probably just bug-out again.. I’ll call you tonight”

“OK” , Dee returns.

The train pulls into another station and I get off so that I can take another train back down to Reg’s house.

“He’s downstairs?” I ask Reg’s mother as she lets me into the house.

“Yeah and he’s at it again…. What happened today?”

“It’s a long story.. put it like this: there was a blast from the past.”

“It was that girl Dee wasn’t it?” she inquires as if she already knows the answer.

“Yep”

“Well you need to go help him cause he’s gonna kill his self tryin’ to win tomorrow”

“Ok” I said as I walked to the stairs of the basement. I could hear music blasting from downstairs when I opened the door. “It’s Just Begun” was playing and I always remembered him saying that that was his favorite song to break to because it was soo intense. I see Reg trying to do a continuous headspin, but he keeps falling out of it in frustration, so I just walked down and sat on the bottom step. The song ended and he got up.

“What you doin’ here, I though you and Dee would be somwhere chillin‘ with Devine laughin about me.” He says sarcastically.

“Man, stop that shit, you know I’m not doin’ nothin’ with that girl. I’ll tell you what you need to do, you need to stop frontin’ and listen cause as it turns out, she wasn’t tryin to play you!” I exclaim.

“What the fuck you talkin’ ‘bout now man?”

“She never went with Devine. She just felt sorry for him. The only reason she lied to you is because she knows how you get.”

“How do I get??”

“…Like you are now” I respond

“Word? Wait, why did she leave town then?” He says as if he wanted to belive the story.

“Her grandmother was sick, so they flew back to the Island. She just got back. Look man, what would I have to gain by lyin’ to you, you my boy. I wouldn’t tell you this if I didn’t believe her.”

“Ok, aiight, so maybe that is what happened, but what did she say about us?”

“She never wanted to break up son!” I exclaim happily.

“Well, yo if your tryin’ to play me, I’ll kill you!” he responds smiling as he gives me dap.

“She’s goin’ to the jam tomorrow, ya’ll can catch up, up there.”

“Nah let’s go now.” He says smiling

“Let’s go then.”

As we walk up to Dee’s house we see her sitting on the stoop in front of her house.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you got this boy to come Quan!” Dee says as she gets up off the stoop. “So what made you see the light?” she asks Reg.

“This dude right here. He convinced me that it wasn’t a conspiracy.”

“You know I shouldn’t take you back after you started actin’ like a fool right?” she says as if Reg blew his chance.

“Yeah I know. What can I do to make it up to you?” he asked

“First come over here and kiss me, second…win tomorrow” she replied.

“Well I guess I got to handle my business then”

“You better, boy”

The next morning I woke up over Reg’s house. I figured it would be easier to get ready for the battle if we went together since I was gonna Deejay Reg’s preformance . We both got up around ten in the morning since the battle wasn’t till seven later on. With Reg and Dee back together, it seemed like Reg had a lot more confidence, even more than he had before! I began to pick out the records I was gonna take.

“Planet Rock…?”

“No doubt!”

“Umm… Rocket in the Pocket?”

“Yup”

“What else…”

“Yo bring that P-Funk Clinton and Parliament old joint!” Reg exclaims as I finish putting the last of my records in the crates. “I know! You put in Rock Creek Park?’”.

“Word! You know I couldn’t leave the house without it.” I respond. “What you wanna do now. It’s almost twelve, I think we can go set up then get your girl, so we can chill before seven.”

“Aiight lets go”

We left his house and traveled again to the 135^th street 2 station. We got on the train, and got off at 149^th and Grand Concourse in the Bronx. After we walked up a few blocks we reached a building with a small sign that said “The Key”, which signified that we were at the building where history would be made today. When we walked in we saw Speedy Legs, Fab 5 Freddie, and who had come to help with the Summit. They were busy setting up and getting things straight for tonight. They were all legendary people to us, except for ...he was a writer I knew. We painted together alot.

“Yo Reg! Quan!” Ecko called

“What’s the deal son ?! “ Reg called back.

“I know you ‘bout to turn it out tonight man, word?” asked

“Ain’t nothin’ to it, but to do it”

“I heard that. Oh, Quan, I seen what you did on the two’s and the five’s lately. You been getting’ up. “ says. “You’re quite the artist.”

“Word, you know how I do!’ I reply with dry modesty.

“You should like, go into galleries and whatnot, you know? You could make some of that paper! I know this guy from a museum downtown…maybe ya’ll could meet?”

“Word, cool. “

“Well what ya’ll gonna do now, the battle ain’t till seven?”

“I’ll think of somethin’” I replied

After we finished setting up, we decided to go up to Dee’s house to pick her up. One short train ride to 174^th st. and Southern blvd. and we were at her house.

“Reg! Quan!” Dee calls, as she runs down the stairs of her building and up the sidewalk. “Yo I heard that Devine said he was gonna fuck you up tonight!” she says with a worried expression.

“Nah. Ain’t nobody worried about that cat! He just tryin’ to get me shook.” Reg counters.

“Well what are we gonna do if he brings heat?” I ask.

“We’ll have heat of our own” Reg confirms with a solem expression.

“No. No! I don’t want to see another person I love get killed for stupid shit” Dee says sobbing.

“Girl, don’t cry… nothin’ is gonna happen. I have to go tonight. I'm gonna win if it does kill me.” Reg confirms again, but this time with a look of strong conviction.

“You know I got your back.” I added as he turned to me.

“I know you got soul…. ‘cause if you didn’t you wouldn’t be…be..be.be in here..” James Brown’s joints were in rotation as we made our grand entrance into the Summit. Earlier today this place looked like a ghost town, with everybody fixing electrical wiring and painting the backdrops, but now it was packed with people. Lights were flashing as the room was calmly dim. There were the Hip-Hoppers of the city and those who had come from all around the country to watch, or perform in the Summit. We made our way through the crowd and were greeted by people who knew us.

“Yo Quan, I just finished that outline we were workin on... you wanna get up soon?” My boy asked as we passed by.

“Yo, how about tomorrow?”

“Aiight then, One tunnel?”

“Bet!” We said in unison as the three of us left to get set up.

Dee‘s preformance was next. We decided not to come at the beginning because we wanted to “get our game faces on” and stay in the battling mind-state that we were in at least until we were done and then we could wild-out. She would perform in the girls’ showcase, where the B-girls would just come out and freestyle.

“Ok baby, you wait right there, I got to tear it up!” Dee says to Reg as she kisses him. She goes up the back of the stage area and the music stops. The deejay then turns to put on another break.

“Come…come on baby…come… come on baby!” A new break is thrown on and the crowd goes wild as the first B-girl comes out to break. She does an L-kick , some foot work, and ends with the baby freeze.

Then as the first B-girl leaves the stage, Dee comes out. The record shifts to “Diamond Girl”. I watch as Dee starts with some toprock, and then hits the floor into some swipes. The crowd roars,” Go Dee Dee…Go Dee Dee” as she begins to do windmills.

“YEAH! DO IT GIRL!” Reg calls to the stage. She does a couple of V-Kicks, and then comes up. She starts to up-rock, then finishes with her freshest pose.

The crowd roars again when she bows and leaves the stage. She come out the back way off the stage and comes up to us again.

“Girl, you took tha show!” I proclaim.

“Yeah my baby’s the illest!” Reg confirms.

“It’s almost time for ya’ll” She says, still worried for Reg’s safety.

“OK, Quan can go and get your set straight.” Reg tells me.

“Aiight, Yo, you better win man. I’ll throw something dope on for you.”

“Aiight. Yo Dee, girl don’t worry, I’m gonna go serve this cat and it’s over, aiight?”

“Ok, but be careful, I love you”

“You know I love you too girl!” Reg says and she giggles.

“Yo!! There goes Devine’s crew! Let’s serve these dudes.”

Reg jumped on the stage; I went behind my set to pick out a record. Devine’s crew jumped on the stage too. Reg and Devine circled each other waiting for a beat to drop. The emcee announces the battle.

“And now we got what ya’ll came for this year! Two of the best up and commers in the City.. Reg Hip Hop Kids, and Devine from the White Stripe Breakers!”

After searching through the crates, I finally got the right record “Don’t Sweat the Technique” by Rakim. The crowd errupts in “Ohhh!” in remembrance of the bass intro. When the beat dropped, Reg and Devine started uprockin’ . Reg leapt into the air and did “the Hammer” on Devine, while Devine countered with a jab to the stomach. They trade moves for a while, and Devine’s crew tries to gain crowd control. Then Devine move out of the circle so that they can do downrock. Reg stays out and goes first. He started toprockin’ , doing various poses and freezes in between his “foot shuffling”. He does a backflip, then lands and goes into the six-step. From that he makes a smooth transition to a couple windmills, and kicks up to spin on one hand vertically for a 90, after a few revolutions he slides back into one windmill so that he can do a backspin and come out with a dead freeze. The crowd chants “Reggie Reg is rockin’ tha house!!!” as was Reg’s popular line.

Devine decided he would change dynamics by jumpin’ in with some of his best moves. I put on “Planet Rock” and when the “BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOOM” came on, he threw his leg back and rolled into windmills. He then topped Reg by kicking into a 90, but going on one finger. He put both hands down (he is in a handstand), goes into a hollow back. He does a couple of mid-air freezes and flips to his feet for the b-boy pose. Reg comes back out for some poppin’. He does the wave with his arm facing down, and does a little bit of King Tut style.

They continued for a while, trading, and matching moves. While I switched the records and cut back and forth, as I glanced up I noticed some cat in the upper balcony. He was in a black hoodie, it’s the type of thing that sticks in your mind because in an atmosphere where everyone is cheering and having fun, but this dude stood stiller than a statue. Ah.. forget it. That’s just his style I guess. I focused my attention back to the stage for a minute and I could feel the momentum building, so I knew it was time. Devine was just doing some wild air-attacks , and Reg looked like he was spent.

“ITS JUST BEGUNNNNNNN!!!” I dropped the needle. The crowd goes wild again, and Reg gets hyped. He walks around the circle, in a circle. He slides his feet across the stage. Then he goes into the six-step once again and gets into a headstand position. He kicks off and starts to spin. All you could see is a blur of colors. Everybody is amazed as he completes 30 revolutions! He falls out of it and lands wrong. Dee screams out. I try not to get worried and instead of rushing the stage, I try to use the record to lift him. I scratch and mix the record hopping that he will get up. In the blink of an eye he started to move! It was planned! He began to start poppin’ on the floor from where he laid until he could make a smooth transition to his feet. He started doing Electric Boogie , the way he moved it looked like he was possessed by the music! His arms flowed and his feet slid smoothly to match his upper body actions. Now I thought would be the perfect time to put on the last record. He had just got back in the game and I was determined to help him win it.

I dug through my record-filled milk crates until I found “Rock Creek Park” by the Blackbyrds which is like an ode to Hip Hop, or at least that’s what we thought about it. It reminded us of the true school days where dudes would go out and bring their sets to the parks at night and hook them into lampposts for power which ConEd hated! There would be jams in the parks and b-boys would come do their thing. I loved those days because I was just a shorty maybe 5 or so when my older cousins would take me down there. It was a simpler time... Back to the present. I pulled the record out the sleeve and placed it on the turntable, with the other record still rockin’. I turned the power on and it began to turn. I pulled the crossfader over to channel two, from channel one and then its started.

“Doin’ it in the park…. Doin’ it after dark… oh yeah..” Reg glanced over towards me as if to say “it’s over, son!”... The funny part was instinctively I knew it was. Devine was doing some flares when the song came on, he finished and got up. The smooth bongo break made Reg do some intense footwork and does the same flares that Devine did. Then he rolls into the Superman windmills! He gains the crowd control again. He just lets himself spin out and does a freeze-pose laying horizontally, facing Devine and his crew and looks at them like they were nothing! The crowd chants again!. Devine comes out, does the footwork and tries to start to Superman windmill in an attempt to match wits. When he spins, he lands hard on his face and just lays there, everybody knew he wasn’t hurt, just embarrassed. He crawls out of the way. Reg jumps out, literally, and starts clapping his hands over the crowd to get them to clap to the beat. “Ahhhhh…..Doin’ it in the park…” Reg makes sure that his du-rag is slick, then starts to move forward, dives toward the floor with his head!! He keeps one hand down, but not touching the ground for balance. He is sliding across the floor on the front oh his head!! It all happens in a split second which seems to be an eternity, but he kicks his feet to swing clockwise and lands on his feet!! The crowd goes berserk! It’s over!! It’s over! The crowd chants “Reg….Reg…Reg”, Dee jumps onto the stage towards him. As I start to hear screams look up towards the second balcony to see the hoodie cat again… HE’S GOT A GUN!!!

“REEEEEEEGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!” I scream. I start to run toward him. Even though the music was blasting I heard shots ring out. Reg stood with his arms around Dee, both of them still, the crowd in disarray. When I finally get to Reg he looks at me weakly while Dee falls to the ground. She is covered in blood. He screams:

“NOOOOOOOOO!!” and looks for where the shots came from. Devine and his crew leaves with the hoodie cat running towards the door. Reg kneels with Dee and she says something I will never forget.

“I knew you would win.”

“Your gonna be aiight” Reg consoles her in his arms rocking back and forth, both of them crying. I get filled with rage in light of when happened to us. Then…..both are silent as Dee lays still.

“YO IM GONNA KILL THAT CAT!!!” He gets up and runs for the door. comes up on the stage.

“Yo hold her till the ambulance comes!” I called to .

Running down the streets of the South Bronx I see Reg is already fighting with Devine. His boys are gone. Devine gets up and runs into the train station a few blocks away. When I get down there they’re fighting on the platform.

“Bam!” Reg lands a right hook and sends Devine falling backwards towards the tracks. “Bzzzz zzzz zp” I see Devine’s body jolting with the electricity untill it lays still and lifeless. Reg stands above him with a remorseless expression. The booth worker had called the cops when Devine and Reg first entered the station which gave them time to arrive.

“Yo! Let’s get the FUCK OUTTA HERE!” I screamed to Reg. What I didn’t see was the two transit cops running from the opposite end of the platform... Reg begins to run towards me.

“STOP!! YOU FUCKIN’ PUNK WE’LL BLOW YOU TO HELL” the cops bellow . Reg turns to them clamly, then turns back to me.

“THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING ASSHOLE..GET ON THE GROUND NOW’ the cops continue their threats. Reg keeps walking slowly towards me... then I hear a sudden blast. I see Reg fall to the ground in slow motion.

“FUCK MAN! It just went off..” One of the cops tells the other.

“Shit, Delancy, we’re gonna get fired for this”

“It’s just another dead nigger, what does it matter...I’ll take care of it” the cop coaxes the other. I hadn’t noticed it, but I was the only other person in the station. The cops hadnt even seen me. It all seemed surreal, I didn’t know what to do... if the cops saw me too then I’d be laying there with him... I ran out of the station and through the night.

The next day I called and told him the plan.

“So.. you want to do a whole car dedication” he confirms.

“Yeah, can you get up?”

“Hell Yeah! ”

That night we went to the 2-yard on 180^th street. I brought over 100 cans. I was a man dedicated and possed.. I wanted to create the best memorial ever known. Ecko and I met up on the street then we began our “James Bond mission into the yard” by cutting a hole in the outer fence. We slipped underneath then I began to cut the inner fence while Ecko glanced around for work bums or vandal squad. We slid underneath the fence and into the yard. The rows and lines of cars seemed to stretch on forever, all sparkling silver. We crouched low and made our way between rows. When we got to a good spot I took one end of the car, while he took the other to start with. We dropped our bags and pulled out our paint: Krylon, Red Devil and Rustoleum, our favorite brands. I then pulled out the outline, and started searching for my caps to get ready to paint.

“Yo take the caps..” I said as I reached into my pocket to pull out some caps. “Here..” I tossed them towards him.

There was no more talking after that, only the “ssssssss ss sssssssssssss” of pressurized paint particles being applied to the steel. At times I would have to straddle between the car I painted and the one parallel to achieve a certain height necessary to paint the top parts of the car since it was so high. Occasionally I would pause… and take a couple glances down the line in both directions to look for oncomers… yet nobody invaded. I would go back to work because my insistent right-brain keeps telling me to continue my visual masterpiece. Almost done with the fill-in and time for some background effects before starting the final touches. I traded various colors in my back to add the desired effect, while Ecko did the same. I noticed the lights came on in some cars a few lines over but I didn’t care, I figured we’d be finished in a few, they were just going into service. My feet landed in the gravel, as I went down to get my final can. I pulled out my final color and put on an outline cap. I started painting. I start to hear the gravel crunch off in the distance.

“Yo!” I whispered to Ecko to listen.

FORGET IT!!!!!! I’m too close to bounce with the piece unfinished. I picked the can back up and decided to just sign it: “Quan One…Dedicated to those who die for their art… only to live forever through it“. Then I added “R.I.P. Reggie Hip Hop Kids and Rock Steady Dee”

By now the crunching grew closer and I knew we had to bounce if we didn’t want to get bagged. We packed everything.. and started to crouch out slowly. I looked back to see a guy in a hoodie. Not like the cat from the Summit, this one was taller.

“YO maybe it’s just another writer.” Ecko whispered.

“I don’t think so… I think it’s fuckin’ Vandal Squad!” I whispered back.

Then I noticed that there was more than one crunching sound coming from all over the yard!

“IT’S A RAID!!!!!!!!” I screamed in surprise. We took off down the line trying to think of any alternate means of escape…. I look up to a nearby El pole. What if we climbed the El poles? That would work because the probably didn’t have somebody waiting for us at the station because it was an EL.

“Yo the El’s! I pointed out to Ecko. “We can make it to the top then bounce before we get to the station… there shouldn’t be anybody there.” He agreed.

Just then I guess one of the VS guys ran past our train and when he looked at it he shouted “Guys!! It’s them… the ones we want!! Get these kids!!”

Ecko and I both started running towards opposite El poles to throw the VS off and gain time not having to wait for each other. When we got close enough we jumped… and caught hold of the holes and ridges in the poles. We started to climb up with the VS guys still on our trail.

“Their goin’ on the El’s!! Get some guys on the station!!”

Shit! We’re gonna have to think of another place to go.. but we have to keep climbing because their gonna follow us up. I got to the top finally and reached up the grab the platform. Two guys had been on either of us climbing behind us so we had to move fast. I emerged onto the El tracks and looked desperately for Ecko.

“YO!! C’mon, man.!!!!!” I called. He pulled up and we take to the tracks and start running in the dark of the night, I look ahead to see some uniforms trying to hide from us at the station to take us by surprise.

“Yo..there’s some uniforms” I informed Ecko. “Our only hope is to jump down onto another street.”

“You take that side…I’ll take this side…no use in us both gettin’ bopped…if I don’t make it..throw my name up whenever you paint!”

“Yo stop talkin’ crazy we both are gonna get away..their fuckin‘ clowns” he replied optimistcaly. “But just in case, do the same for me.”

“Aiight.”

As we looked for safe spots to land on the streets below I noticed that the uniforms had made their way on the tracks and were coming for us!

“This is it!.” I called as I swung my arms to get ready to jump. Just then I hear the rumbling of an approaching train in the distance.

“AHHHH!!!!!! I jumped off.”

I saw the rooftop approaching like a freight train until…. BAM! I smashed flat onto it. My body ached in pain but the adrenaline kicked in and I was able to get back onto my feet. I couldn’t see where Ecko landed.. he was on his own in his escape. I looked around and saw the door to the building. I opened it I and made my way down the staircase. Wait! What if the had saw me land here.. the place would be swarmed outside.. I’ll have to go out another way. I looked down a long hall to see an apartment with the door opened. I went inside and looked around. Maybe I should chill in here for a while. Nah! They would probably come up here searching peoples appartments looking for me.. they would scour the neighborhood!! I have to change clothes. Since nobody was home in the apartment I looked around to see if there were any clothes. As I walked the floorboards creaked and I heard:

“Move one step closer and I’ll blow ya’ fuckin’ head off!” I saw a lady kneeling behind a chair…with a revolver.

“Sorry…I was just lookin’ for…”

“Some stuff to steal… yeah I know…I’m callin’ the cops!!”

“No!! They’re already lookin’ for me… I was just trying to get away.. I jumped off the El’s and landed on your building… I figured they would have it surrounded so I just ducked into here to see if I could use the fire escape.”

“Oh my god… what did you do.?” She ashed in horror.

“I’m Quan.One..the writer and I...”

“YOUR Quan? She asked

“Yeah… I was painting a memorial for my people who got killed and….”

“Got raided.”

“Yeah.” I said, bewildered by her knowledge of the sittuation.
“I'm Marcy….GRS”

“Oh shit….!! For real?” I was taken totally by surprise as I always had seen her paintings around the city. Girl writers always intrigued me.

“I love your whole trains…and those legals you did in Harlem….”

“Thanks, but now ain’t the time…”

“I know, sorry. Since I like you… I’m gonna help you get away. You cant stay here long so……”

She told me the plan. I was to go back to the rooftop and jump to the next building… walk down it and go to the nearest train station.

“What about my clothes... I should change them.”

“I think my man… ex-man left some of his shit here…” she looked around in a closet.. “Here put this on…” she handed me a tee-shirt and some jeans.

I began to de-robe and then I thought about how I would get my clothes back. So I asked her..

“Yo what I gonna do about these clothes?”

“You don’t plan on coming back here when you get away?” she asked with a smile.

“Ohh...Ok.I’ll be back… like Arnold said.” I replied catching on. I finished changing clothes and she handed me a piece of paper…

“Here… call me later…we can get up together.”

“Or get down….” I replied and she giggled.

“Well I gots to bounce girl. I’ll see you later… nice meeting you! Thanks” I called as I climbed onto the fire escape.

“You too!”

I stood back on the top of the roof and started running to jump to the other building. Though the darkness I saw the VS entering the building I just left… it was only two of them now.. I reached the end of the building and jumped. When I hit the rooftop and I rolled then stopped. This building was weird because it had a rooftop here.. but another section of it was like a taller building rising up into the night. I went in the door and began to climb the stairs up to see where to go from there. I looked of a window to see that there was another train line running right by the building! I ran to the top of the building and opened to door only to see… Lieutenant Puercosucio standing on the roof! This guy was the head of the Vandal Squad…he was like the best… when dudes got bagged by him they said it was an honor… being beaten by the best. We met on several other occasions, many in which I escaped within an inch of my life.

“Well…well… well…. If it isn’t Quan.One..” He said. “Give it up… It’s all over…If you surrender peacefully… I will try to drop the burglary charges…oh yeah, and the murder of Reggie”

“What !?!?…. what the fuck are you talkin’ about!!?” I demanded.

“Just turn yourself in… I promise I’ll help you… just tell me where Ecko is.” He said as he started to inch towards me.

I turned around and looked towards the El’s of the train line that ran near the building. I also noticed a rope near the end of the roof. My mind devised a deadly plan. He kept slowly trying to meet up with me… but for every step he took forward… I took one back. I felt a slight rumbling off in the distance followed by the rust screech of metal…the train is coming. On closer inspection I noticed that the rope was tied around a metal beam on the roof for support. I knew what I had to do.

“It’s all over Quan… your done…” he called

“Not yet…” I confirmed as I ran for the rope. He started to chase me. That old adrenaline felling flooded into my veins. I finally got to the rope. It felt like my intestines were being burned with some kind of acid as I climbed the ledge to prepare for the drop… my mouth felt dry. I looked down to watch the train approach from below the edge of the building. It seemed to be about a forty-foot drop, though the rope seemed long enough. As the train began to move in place… I took one look back and climbed up on the ledge with the rope gripped tightly in my grasp. Puercosucio was still running and watched in disbelief that I would go though all this trouble to get away… he thought I was just some punk black kid with nothing to live for…a common criminal… he didn’t know how wrong he was.

“Don’t do it kid! It’s suicide! You‘ll never make it!” He called in a last attempt to apprehend me.

“Well…I’ll die tryin’!” I said as I jumped.

It seemed like I was flying for a while, in slow motion, until I began to soar downward. I kept the rope in a tight grasp as the wind resistance swept across my face. I started to swing in the direction of the train until…my feet touched the top of a car. I let go of the rope and dropped onto the train… once I gained my composure, I looked back up towards to roof in which I just left. Puercosucio just stood there next to the ledge… staring at me. He knew I had got the best of him… and I would not give up. I sat down comfortably, and gave give the old “so long sucker” salute, rocked a sly grin, and laid back as the train gently rocked.

When I got home… I called Ecko’s house… turns out he got away too... but it took a little less dare-devil work than my escape did. Turns out that the Transit Worker who called the cops had seen everything that night...and so did the “eye in the sky” security cameras. They got to away.

Then I called Marcy and made plans to get up with her soon… things were going good with me and her..we related on a deep level.. I myself, planned a Peace Hip Hop jam at the old Wild Style amphitheatre… and I finally got that gallery hook up… Ecko came through with the guy he was telling me about.

One day about two weeks afterwards as I walked the streets of the South Bronx… headed over to Marcy’s spot… I looked up to the El’s… I saw the car running that Ecko and I risked our lives painting, I felt pride sweep over me as I smiled, pulled out my camera, and snapped the flick and continued walking .

The End

Dondi C.I.A