“I want to do something with my life man.”

“There’s a lot of things you can do. You just have to find what suits you best.”

“Yeah but…what if I can’t do it right? What if I don’t make it?”

“If you put your mind into something, you will without a doubt make it right. Trust me.”

“I don’t know man, like I wanna be successful in life. Theres so much ahead of us, ain’t no telling where we’d be.”

“I know man. But I can guarantee you there will be nothing we can’t handle. We’re like brother man, we will get through it all.”

“Man, to think we known each other since Kindergarten, you really are the realist friend I got in my life.”

“We are graduating soon man. The world is ours for the taking. Everything will come in its course for us. Just have faith in it.”

“I sure will.”

“You can also count on us meeting again.”

“Oh I will definitely see to that happening.

“No matter what, we’ll always be brothers man.”

“Facts. Really glad we were able to meet.”

After the two young men graduated high school, there lives went separate routes.

Several years later, they kept their word on meeting once again. Their reunion was joyful, but….

“Yoooo! Oh my God bro!”

“Wow! How long has it been man?!”

“Waaay too long I’ll tell you that!”

“Man look at you. You look fresh!”

“Yeah man, gotta stay fly out here! I be rockin Gucci all day.”

“What have you been doing man?”

“So you remember when we had that talk before we graduated?”

“Of course I do.”

“Well I had figured out what I wanted to be. A rapper bro!”

“Oh! Really?” His tone was a rather disappointed one.

“Yeah man, I had got me some connects, built my status up, & yo it has really got me up there.”

“I can see that. Those look really expensive.”

“Bro! This whole outfit is like $50,000 in total bro. Like, I really got Money like that now.”

“Well I am glad you found something you’re passionate about & that it has worked out for you.”

“So whats up bro? What have you been doing?”

“Well I went to college, got my Master’s Degree in Business, Marketing, & Financing.”

“Oh so you be workin in those little….desk areas huh?”

“Cubicle you mean?”

“Yeah that haha.”

“Yeah pretty much man. I am married now too with two children. Own a house together & such.”

“Yoo! You ain’t tell me I been an uncle all this time!”

“Well….I called you before I decided to propose. Wanted you to be my best man. But you never answered.”

“Aw damn. I think I had my number changed at the time man. Was hella busy with this rap stuff.”

“I see. It’s alright though, life has been good for me.”

“I can tell, you dressin like all you know is office life. Aye, have you heard any of my songs?”

“I think I heard one song. The voice had sounded like yours. Wasn’t too sure though.”

“Was it my hit single “Gucci all day”? You know, “Gucci this, Gucci that. One-hunnit kay, gimme dat”!

“Oh yeah that was it.”

“Yeah bro, that jawn hit #20 on the Billboard Hot list!”

“Nice man.”

“You ain’t sound to excited bro. Wassup with that?”

“Oh no I am man. Proud of you for making it big out there.”

“Nahhh man you don’t even sound like you’re excited to see me shinin.”

“What are you talking about man?”

“Like, you were excited to see me but ya whole tone just switched up.”

“Its nothing man.”

“Come on, don’t be like that bro. Don’t hold ya words back on me like that. You always was a real one.”

He sighed. “Look…I just think you could’ve been something more than just a rapper.”

“Whats that suppose to mean?”

“There are enough rappers in the world man.”

“Man but all these rappers weak as hell. They all be tellin me I’m above them.”

“But what are you rapping for?”

“Watchu mean?”

“What is the purpose behind you rapping? What did you really want out of it?”

“To be honest bro, the money & the fame. Like you remember the girls I used to try & talk to back in school that never gave me any attention? Yo, like a whole BUNCH of them have been hitting my line up nonstop. Like, once you get ya bread up they really start flockin around you.”

“You like all that attention?”

“Like it? Bro I LOVE it. Like, I’m finally a somebody out here. People really be bumpin my music, I be gettin all this money, I be driving Bentleys, Wraiths, Ferraris. Been getting the BADDEST chicks. Bro, check out the house I got. Like I’m really livin life.”

He shook his head.

“Yo like, you really not happy for me?”

“You’re rapping for the wrong reason.”

“Wrong reasons? Nah you trippin. You need money to live, & I got plenty of it. I wasn’t gonna live my life being a nobody, so I put my mind into something like you said I should & got recognition.”

“But just listen to your hit single. All you’re talking about is “Gucci”. There’s nothing to recognize about that but just the brand you’re advertising.”

“Bro, what is it that you tryna say?”

“I’m saying exactly what you said. You’re only rapping for the money & fame. You’re not even rapping for its true culture. Not even delivering powerful & encouraging messages to everyone all over the world. You’re just showing off man.”

“Bro, as real as you are & been to me, you sound like a hater.”

“What? You’re ridiculous.”

“Nah man how you gonna say I’m just showing off? You don’t even know all the shit I had to go through to get to where I’m at. I had to hustle & grind hard. Ain’t nobody have faith in me that I’d come up like this. Now everyone wanna ride my wave. Everybody that doubted me now wants something from me. You suppose to be my bro man, where the love & support at?”

“Dude I said I was proud of you, that doesn’t mean I can’t give my insight on the route that you took for the rest of your life.”

“Man your insight or whatever is straight what the haters been saying.”

“I’m not hating on you. Get that out of your head.”

“Nah man you are. You criticizing what I chose to do with my life & the success I made from it. Like are you mad that you not up there like me?”

“See don’t start this.”

“Nah man you are. All these haters are always low life people that be mad to see someone come up & never wanna show love or support. Like, why can’t you just be happy that I’m living good?”

“So people are wrong for giving their own opinion?”

“Y’all opinion don’t matter to me cuz I’ma still do me regardless. I’ma continue to make money & live the lavish life these haters wish they could live.”

“Everyone doesn’t “wish” to live that life.”

“But I know you do.”

“No I don’t. Stop trying to act like you know how I think.”

“Nah stop tryna act like you never wanted to be this poppin. We would sit & talk about those dreams all the time back in the day. Now you might have just looked at it as just a dream, but I wanted to make it a reality for me & I did. Now you can either be happy for me that I made it, or you can criticize how I made it & hate me for making it. Unlike you, I damn sure wasn’t gonna be spending the rest of my life sitting down in an office.”

“How dare you try talking down at me like I haven’t done jack shit in my life. I worked just as hard as you did to get to where I am. I have a family to provide for & take care of. Everything I got was on my own. I never need handouts or anyone’s approval to keep going. You’re right. Maybe at one time I did want to become rich & famous, maybe I did want to do all the things you been doing, maybe I did want to have all the women in the world talking to me. But what you’re not understanding is that everyone is not meant to live that life. You don’t see the value of life. You don’t realize the cost of becoming rich & famous is. You don’t realize that your status in the rap game is based off what the people say. One minute they can say you’re music is at the top. Then can switch & say its mediocre which gives others a chance to come up & top you, & then make you look like you were never any good. You can be happy that you made it all you want & enjoy the results, but the way you’re choosing to carry yourself affects you heavily in the long run. All people will see is you flexing with the brand you carry on your body, hardly putting any effort into making your music better than it ever was.”

“Man look, fuck all that philosophical shit. I don’t need to hear it. I know what I’m doing & I’ma always shine regardless of what a hater says. Can’t believe my own bro being just like them.”

“You say I’m your bro when you never bothered to give me a call all these years! Just the other day I was looking at our graduating pictures & wondered what the hell happened to you. The way you’re acting right now makes me wonder what happened to the person you once were in that picture. All that money got your brain corrupted man.”

“Ain’t shit corrupted. Like I said, I’ma shine regardless. I’ma always be on top. You ain’t ever gonna reach the heights I’m at to understand. At the end of the day, you just mad cuz you living a basic boring ass life.”

“Don’t you ever disrespect me like that.”

“Oh, you can dish it out but can’t take it huh? Watchu be working 9 to 5’s on a daily? Makin slow money? Yo whole year’s salary probably couldn’t even match my net worth.”

“Fuck you.”

“Yeah you mad now. You gon always be mad that I’m on top just like them. I see them true colors now.”

“Whatever.”

“I’m outta here.” He walked off, got into his fancy Ferrari. He rolled his window down looking at him one more time. “Didn’t you once say you wish you had a Ferrari? Hahaha.” He drove away laughing.

– Blighted Reunion