She's Gotta Have It

Yo, what up, Martians? Everybody else.

I'mma take y'all into this room real quick and show you some shit that's a bit deep.

Yo, hurry up though. A'ight? Hurry up.

'Cause I'm trying to keep my crazy-ass sister out this room.

Fort Greene project lock. Keep the crazy motherfuckers out.

Here's my safe. I'm "di-slip-tic."

Shit keeps slippin', so I keep it open.

All right.

Y'all ready for this?

Real quick. My dad died when I was a kid.

And one of the best moments I ever had with him...

I'm about to share with you, right now.

Boom, baby!

April 18th, 1997.

Madison Square Garden.

New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls.

Yo, my dad took me to see...

the orange and blue skies.

My New York Knicks versus my main man Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls.

Me and my dad waited all night.

Yo, at least two hours outside, for MJ.

And he came out...

and signed his 13s.

"Game on" 13s! What? What?

My man had 'em hanging off his shoulders.

My dad told me-- I didn't remember too well,

but my pops was like, "Yo, you asked him for them kicks."

If there's any confirmation he's the greatest dude on Earth,

it's that right there.

That was one of the best nights of my life

and that was one of the best moments I ever had with my late father.

I love you, Pops.

But it's getting a little deep up in here.

You ain't gotta go home, but you gotta get the fuck up out of here, a'ight?

I got places to go, I got people to see, I'm, like, making moves, so...

Love you. See you later.

Sayonara.

Thanks for comin'. Love you, Martians.

M-A-R to the S out.

Busted your ass puttin' up some strong-ass political artwork,

and then some bitch-ass Onyx come behind you,

tryin' to piggyback off your hard work?

Get the fuck outta here!

I tell you this, Martians. Fall back on your back and back on your fall.

That's the first thing you gotta get back up from.

Dyslexia got a brother bouncin', but I ain't trippin'.

Dyslexia is my superpower.

So, there's a damsel in distress, so I gotta de-stress my damsel.

Do you know? Do you know? Do you know?

- What's taking so long? -They'll be here any minute.

You're cutting it too close, but don't panic.

Nobody's panicking.

Even if it was supposed to be set up days ago.

-Clo, I told you, it wasn't ready yet. -

-Hey, lady! -

You the one that ordered this freak show?

-Okay, now I'm panicking. - What is it, Nola?

I'll be there in a minute, okay?

What-What the hell is this? I thought you said you got a cargo van.

No, cargo bike. Girl, you know I ain't got my license.

-Fuck! -Language, language. Yo, these is nice!

Okay. Okay, just help me load these in the thing, all right?

Whoa, whoa. You ain't said nothin' about no-no-no "breaking my back" labor, girl.

-I gotta go back to the shop. -Please? Please?

Look, I can't wear this. I can't ride all the way to Dumbo.

-A'ight. -Thank you.

It's only 'cause I fucks wit' you, Nola. Like, really hard.

-Like, really, really hard. -I get it.

I'll text you the address, okay?

-I'mma catch a cab. -A'ight.

Just... don't come inside when you get there, though.

-"Don't come inside"? -Don't come inside.

You buggin'. I'm comin' inside. I'm comin' all the way inside.

Girl, I'mma have my jimmy hat on, so we gonna be good.

- -Mars Blackmon here!

- You want that paper? -

You want that Bugatti lease?

- -You better shake that...

This fuckin' She Ass'd For It commercial everywhere. How do they get air time?

Shake it, shake it!

- Yes! - I see you on that show.

She Ass'd For It. You weren't first winner?

No, sir. I was not the fuckin' first winner.

Why you curse? I no curse at you.

-Yo. -What's goin' on with stuff?

Very good. Tonight's my night. Yeah!

Your night?

Yeah, my show's tonight.

You know, my show? I'm making my debut tonight. You don't remember?

No! Hold the fuck up. Your debut's tonight and you didn't tell me?

Whatever. I told you that shit last week. So, what's up? You comin' through?

No. No, I mean, I can't. My-My show's tonight, too.

Damn, I guess that means you ain't comin'.

I really kinda wanted you there. Like, I'm lightweight nervous about it.

When did you book your show? I know told you

-this opening's tonight. - Pretty lips.

-Motherfucker is crazy. - You have pretty lips.

-Okay. Sir, I'm sorry, I will report you. - No, no, please.

-Like, I will report you. - No, please, don't deport me.

No, "report," not "deport." Sir, why are we stopping?

Congratulations, Nola. Always about you.

No, it's not all about me. That's why I'm calling you.

- This fucking traffic, though. - Oh, why you curse?

Body contouring's good, then?

Yeah. I'm standing on the corner of Central Park South right now,

about to walk into the doctor's office.

Why? What happened?

Nothin' happened. Why somethin' always gotta be happenin'?

Gettin' a little top-off for tonight.

Wow! I thought you was callin' to say good luck and shit with my debut tonight.

You don't even need to be on this street. We're just going to Dumbo.

Quickest way. Quickest way.

Naw, it's cool you ain't comin' through tonight.

I just don't want you judgin' me 'cause that's something Clorinda would do.

Whatever makes you happy.

I am. I'm very happy. I ain't have to rely on three niggas to make that shit happen.

I gotta go.

- Pretty lips. -Yeah, I, uh... I gotta go.

I just woke up.

There you go.

- -Damn!

This shit is futuristical.

-Where's Nola? -How are you?

-Fine. -I didn't come here to start a fight.

-I just came here for my girl Nola. -I don't need to know all that.

What I do need to know is, "Why is there a big-ass Chinese take-out box in here?"

I got Nola's art. She's behind me in a cab.

-I hope it didn't get damaged. -I wouldn't do my girl dirty like that.

Yeah, you say that now.

Damn. You actin' like you got two heads on your shoulder,

and one of them's named Chip.

Ha-ha. You're too fuckin' funny. I'll give you that.

How's that working out for you, huh?

Still livin' at your sister's in the Fort Greene projects?

Let's not beat around the bush. Let's get to it and shove it in.

Ew! You're so uncouth.

Don't be tryin' to throw fancy words at me. You takin' shots at my dysliptia?

If you could say "dyslexia," that wouldn't be your only problem.

And you also mad that I dumped you. And that's the element in the room.

It's "elephant"!

It's an "elephant" in the room, not "element." You know what?

Why don't you just do Nola a solid and just renege on tonight's invite, okay?

-Some other time. Ciao! -Whoa, whoa, whoa.

-Is... Is that what's happenin' here? -Mars?

I asked you nicely to wait for me out front.

You didn't wanna tell me about some shit goin' down here?

That's a perfectly good excuse.

No. I've had a lot on my mind with the show.

-You don't have to take it so personally. -How can you ask me to bring your art over

and not expect me to figure out what the hell is goin' on here?

You think I'm a fucking retard?

-He's got a good point. -Are you tryin' to say I'm imbecilic?

No, no. I'm saying you're reliable, and I knew I could count on you.

-Word? -Yeah, word.

I needed some help at the last minute, after...

the other thing fell through.

-Oh. - Okay.

Enough with the telenovela, Nola. You really need to hang these, now.

Well, I at least hope you had the dick-nity to not invite

the other fuckin' dudes you seein'.

This ain't about a dude, Mars. It's about the art.

I know about art! You spell it A-R-T.

I look at it, I see R-A-T. But I know if you don't feel nothin', it ain't shit.

Art is in the eye of the beholder.

I don't like beholdin' to nobody. You know what I be holdin'? My johnson.

So, you can't tell me that I can't hang

after my ass almost died tryin' to bring your art here.

I'm of the last generation to be hired and the first to be fired.

Lesson of the day...

protect your neck when you sticking it out for other people.

Now you know why I dumped him.

What is up with you two?

What? Nobody told you to screw my ex.

I asked you, and you said you didn't care.

I don't, but fuck a girl code, right?

So... how you feeling about your group show tonight?

Huh. I feel... vulnerable?

My name is actually attached to this work. The street campaign is like my alter ego.

It was created out of my assault, and the thought of being judged on my art

never really crossed my mind with that work.

Would you feel less vulnerable if you had included your street art

in the-- in the group show tonight?

Maybe.

My Name Isn't is what brought me here. Well...

I mean, the assault. But I feel like I've moved on from that pain.

-You feel like you can move forward? -Maybe.

Well, we want to make certain that we can or should.

Your street campaign is powerful.