Backstage: Street Chronicles Page 25

  The preacher spoke from the pulpit while Larceny came in, but after a few more words, Larceny grabbed Tameek and Syasia’s hands and led them up on stage. He walked right up to the preacher in mid-sermon and interrupted, “I need to say something.”

  The preacher looked at him like he was crazy, but after he looked at Sheena and she nodded subtly, he relented. Larceny stepped to the mic and said, “Who is all ya’ll? What you here for? Ya’ll ain’t know my man! Half of ya’ll glad he dead, because you fake muh”—he caught himself—”fake suckas couldn’t stand to see a real cat come through! You wanted to see him dead, probably wanna see me dead, too, but it’s all good, see me when you see me. For now, just know, you don’t belong here!

  “The only people in this room that ‘posed to be is the sister over there.” He pointed to Sheena. “Baby girl, that nigga loved you. You rode for my dog and you deserved every moment you got wit him. Know in your heart, I’ll always ride for my dog’s family.”

  Larceny turned his attention back to the crowd. “But as for ya’ll, you think it’s over? You think you safe just ‘cause Crook gone? It’s a million other Crooks out there, waitin’ to make you famous. And if the streets don’t eat, mark a day on every month for sad songs and eulogies, ‘cause that’s how we sendin’ you! Gun music … If you ain’t heard it, pray you don’t.” Larceny lifted his eyes to the ceiling and repeated a line from Crook’s song:

  “‘Cause that’s how it is when you tired of livin’ … Death is parole when your world is a prison. You free, dog, you free,” he whispered through his tears.

  Faith Evans stood up to comfort him, then sang her peoples from Newark home.

  Larceny and T-Beats got together and put out Crook’s album a month after his funeral. The album sold ten million plus, registering it as certified diamond, just like the nigga who made it. Because it takes a lot of heart, time, and pressure to turn black carbon into diamonds, the rest that can’t take the pressure end up fuel for the fire.

  Crook was a diamond nigga who wouldn’t take no for an answer and changed the game. He had let the world feel his pain and they gave him nothing but love in return.

  Larceny, on the other hand, had to go hard for his man. Even after his death, but that … is another story altogether.

  OUTRO

  Everyone wants to be backstage but most people don’t fully understand what being there really means. I can only give you the perspective of a young black kid who never had anything but a dream that ultimately landed me a spot backstage amongst the stars who are now my peers. What I didn’t know then was that that dream would be both a blessing and a curse.

  It’s a blessing and a curse to have a one hundred, five hundred, ten, twenty, fifty or hundreds of thousands of people chanting your name, showing crazy respect, love, and hate all at the same time. Family and friends asking for tickets to your concerts because they want to see you shine and do your thang because they were there when you were struggling with nothing but a dream, and other family members and so-called friends that just want to be associated with the glitz and the glamour, the fame and fortune, but were nowhere to be found when you were broke and hungry.

  I never get comfortable with being backstage because I know that every time I step to the front of that stage and do my thang it could be my last time there—if I don’t give a stellar performance, or if the crowd doesn’t like me, I may no longer be relevant. I could leave a show and get hit by a car, struck by lightning, or shot. You may ask what’s the odds of a nigga getting struck by lightning? With all due respect the odds are probably better than you ripping a performance for over fifty thousand people at the same spot you grew up watching your favorite football team play on Sunday afternoons (Giants Stadium for me), or the same place Jordan scored a double nickel against the Knicks (Madison Square Garden). I don’t know much about mind-altering drugs, but I do know that experiences like those have been said to be the greatest high in the world. I can’t imagine anything that could compare to the lights, the screams, the love, the music, and the admiration of a packed venue with fans chanting your name in unison.

  Backstage is where it all begins and the faces back there are forever changing. The last time I was backstage I didn’t see the faces that were there just a few years prior—they weren’t even in the building. When you’re backstage you may not have everything you think you deserve for the work you put out, but you know there are at least a million other people who wish they were in your position because you are living a dream, your dream. Everybody back there is happy to be there. But if you allow yourself a few extra seconds to take a deep breath and really pay attention to what’s going on around you then you will quickly see the snakes, the rats, the knifers, and the sharks of the business. You realize that some of the people who you thought were happy for you really don’t give a shit about you. They’re just happy that a backstage exists. Backstage can be a mutha fucka.

  So the next time you dream about being backstage, think about what that really means. You have to take the backstage seriously in every aspect of life. You gotta be backstage before you can get to the front of the stage. You feel me? Every dream or goal in life begins backstage. So don’t be afraid to dream, but don’t forget that every dream ain’t peaceful.

  Peace!

  —Styles P

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Krista Johns

  With God, all things are possible. Thank you, Nikki Turner, for opening up the door for me. Thank you, Ron Slay, for the motivation and the positivity you bring in my life. Thank you, my brothers: Elton, One, and Tank for everything. My kids: Here’s to us! Tawuainya (RIP), Tisa, G, and Yummie … look at me!

  Harold L. Turley II

  First, I want to thank God for blessing me with the gift of expression through written word. Through Him, all my blessings are possible. I want to thank Nikki Turner for the opportunity to grace the pages of her blazing hot project. You are a true diva and a valued friend! And finally, I give thanks to my kids, Harold, RaShawn, Malik, and Yhanae. I work so hard now so you won’t have to in the future. And to the woman who I will one day call my wife, Tyreasa Sharp. You are my backbone and the beat within my heart. Thanks for standing by my side and supporting me in all that I do. Your love makes my life complete.

  Allah Adams

  I would first like to thank God for blessing me with a gift, a gift that I want to give to the world! I want to thank Nikki Turner for giving me the opportunity to share my gift with the world. I want to thank my team: Chareice “Cheese” Simpson and Amos Pierre for sticking with me through the bad, knowing that one day things will be good. To all the independent entrepreneurs that I affiliate with, Real Knot Ent., Prolyfic Ent., Street Heat Potent TV. Let’s all get together and form a Conglomerate! And last but not least I want to thank all the readers who ever supported me.

  Lana Ave

  God is good all the time. My aunt Judy and uncle Jon are my examples. My late parents Joe and Irene are my drive. My husband Bryant is my blessing, and my sister Jonay is my inspiration. I love you Cassie, Mariesa, Wade, Deidra, Raven, Rhen, Tiff, and Tam and all uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, and friends. Thank you to Nikki Turner for the guidance, opportunity, and friendship.

  LINER NOTES

  KRISTA JOHNS is the author of I’m Good and she is currently putting the final touches on Impressions. She lives in Cali while raising her two children.

  ALLAH ADAMS is a new and upcoming author that currently calls the Big Apple home. Banana Pudding and The Legend of Cagney are his two self-published novels.

  LANA AVE was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She is driven by her passion to write the stories she envisions. She is currently working on her first full-length novel.

  HAROLD L. TURLEY II is an author and performance poet who thrilled readers with his critically acclaimed novels, Love’s Game, Confessions of a Lonely Soul, and Born Dying. He lives with his wife and children in Brandywine, Maryland. Visit the author at www.myspace.com/haroldlturley2.


  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  NIKKI TURNER is a gutsy, gifted, courageous voice taking the urban literary community by storm. Having ascended from the “Princess” of Hip-Hop Lit to “Queen,” she is the bestselling author of the novels Ghetto Superstar, Black Widow, Forever a Hustler’s Wife, Riding Dirty on I-95, The Glamorous Life, A Project Chick, and A Hustler’s Wife, and is the editor of and a contributing author in her Street Chronicles series. She is also the editor of the Nikki Turner Presents line, featuring novels from fresh voices in the urban literary scene. Visit her website at nikkiturner.com or write her at P.O. Box 28694, Richmond, VA 23228.

  Backstage is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A One World Trade Paperback Original

  Copyright © 2009 by Nikki Turner

  Street Chronicles copyright © 2007 by Nikki Turner

  Introduction (“The Day I Signed …”) copyright © 2009 by Dana Dane

  “I’m Good” copyright © 2009 by Krista Johns

  “Chasing the Ring” copyright © 2009 by Harold L. Turley II

  “Stolen Legacy” copyright © 2009 by Allah Adams

  “Lose to Win” copyright © 2009 by Lana Ave

  “Gun Music” copyright © 2009 by Nikki Turner

  “Outro” copyright © 2009 by Styles P

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by One World Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  ONE WORLD is a registered trademark and the One World colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

  eISBN: 978-0-345-51725-8

  www.oneworldbooks.net

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