Let Me Hear a Rhyme

On the tape of Steph that Jarrell stole from Fast Pace, one song mentions that Rashad was killed likely by someone nicknamed “Bumpy.” The kids don’t know who Bumpy is, though. The newer recording of this same song doesn’t contain this verse about Bumpy, so the kids think maybe Kaven took it out because he knows Bumpy. They need to ask him about it, but it could be dangerous, so Jarrell searches for his gun to take, but he can’t find it. He thinks Steph probably took it.

Jasmine calls the detective from Steph’s business card. He’s happy she called because he’s been looking for Steph, who contacted him the previous August after getting his number “from a friend” (327). They only learned he was dead when the police beat up Jarrell, Quadir, and Dante a while back. The police didn’t notice Steph’s death because his birth name is Michael Stephon.

The boys approach Kaven’s studio unarmed, and when they’re confronted by a large group of men, they say that they’re just about to leave. One man says this change implies that they were planning to kill Kaven until they realized how many people were around. The boys say they just want Steph’s songs that he recorded with Kaven and Jarrell accuses Kaven of having Steph killed. Quadir attempts to defuse the tension when Kaven asks the other men to handle them.

Someone knocks on Jasmine’s apartment door at 3:00 am. Jasmine assumes it’s the Guerillas and tells her mom to hide. It’s actually Pierce, who barges in, yelling and complaining that the Architect didn’t show up to his rap battle. Jasmine’s mom slaps him, asking who he is and why he’s at her home speaking to her daughter like this. Pierce calms down and apologizes. Jasmine admits that she disobeyed her mom and continued to sell Steph’s CDs, which has resulted in him nearly being signed by Red Starr. Pierce was just fired from the label because the Architect didn’t show at the rap battle. Jasmine’s mom tells Pierce that Steph is dead. Pierce and Mom both take the news about the CDs and Steph’s death better than Jasmine was expecting. Mom seems to understand they were trying to get the word out about Steph’s talent, and so does Pierce.

Quadir and Jarrell haven’t seen Steph for nearly a day, which is unusual. Police arrive and the boys assume it’s routine patrolling. However, they get out of their car and enter B-Voort. Dante approaches Quadir and Jarrell, saying he came right when he heard Steph got killed. The boys assume he means a different Steph, but he clarifies that he means their best friend. They still don’t believe him until they hear screams from the building.

Kaven’s friends beat up Quadir and Jarrell pretty badly, so Quadir can’t play basketball for the remainder of the season. They hang out near the bodega, and Dante appears, asking if they got beat up by police again. They say it wasn’t the police. He tells them to be careful and not slip up, because maybe if Steph didn’t slip with the police, he’d still be alive. Jarrell asks Dante to repeat what he said, and Dante runs away, realizing he’s said too much.

Jasmine appears with Pierce. Even though Steph is dead, and Pierce was fired by Red Starr, Pierce wants to start his own record label and help the kids.

Pierce accompanies the kids to Kaven’s studio. Fletch pretends to be a lawyer, then coerces Kaven into cooperating by pointing out that he hasn’t paid taxes in years and stole money from a previous employer. Kaven reveals that Steph visited his studio the previous summer to record. Kaven thought Steph’s music was great, so he sent it to Fast Pace, hoping he could help Steph get connections in the industry. Fast Pace told Kaven to cut the track calling out Bumpy, who is a friend of Fast Pace’s. Kaven didn’t delete the whole song, just the verse mentioning Bumpy. Steph didn’t like that Kaven edited the song, and Kaven warned Steph to stop sharing details that could get him hurt. Steph argued it was the morally right thing to do. He was supposed to come back for another session, but never did.

Quadir asks Kaven to tell the police the same story, and that it’s not snitching, but helping to minimize future harm. Pierce suggests Kaven could just share the camera footage and not get involved. Kaven still thinks snitching is against the code. When Kaven mentions that Steph made more tracks, Pierce and Kaven make an EP for Steph.

Sergeant Vasquez meets Jasmine, Mom, Quadir, and Jarrell at Jasmine’s apartment. Vasquez originally gave the business card to Steph’s father, who was a police informant. Steph first contacted Vasquez to share that he heard a young guy with braids and acne say he killed Rashad. Vasquez gave Steph a pager and kept in contact. This is how Steph got money for Kaven’s studio, not by working at a shipping company or by selling crack cocaine. He helped them solve some cases, then wanted to discuss the Guerillas, but Vasquez didn’t know a lot about them. Steph met up with Vasquez to tell him where he last saw Bumpy, a.k.a. Fernando Ramirez, the person who killed Rashad. Vasquez dropped Steph off a few blocks from home but never saw or heard from him again. The police caught Bumpy but needed Steph to identify him, which is why they were searching for Steph before they realized he was dead. They had to release Bumpy with no identification, but Vasquez thinks Bumpy is working under someone else.

They review the security footage from Kaven’s studio. Steph walks in, records, draws his symbol, argues with Kaven, and leaves. The camera is partially obscured by a bush, but someone gets out of a car parked outside and speaks to Steph. They can’t see the person’s face or the full license plate number, but Vasquez asks if anyone recognizes the car. Jarrell does—it’s a black Range Rover, like Mack’s.

The kids are invited on a radio show with a famous host named Angie Martinez. Pierce is there, too, and they tell Steph’s story. Pierce is signing the Architect to his new, independent record label, Home Court, even though the Architect is dead. His friends and sister have been selling and marketing his music to keep his memory alive although his life was tragically cut short. Pierce invites everyone to an event the following day to celebrate Steph’s music.

At the event, they sell and play Steph’s music while the radio station gives away swag and snacks. Reporters cover the event and want to learn about Steph. The Brooklyn Borough president says it’s time to stop violence and embrace bright futures.

The kids attend another party at E. Rocque’s, and DJ Cash plays mostly music by Steph. They now know the truth about Steph’s and Rashad’s murders. Rashad was selling drugs on Mack’s territory, and Dante told Mack. Mack had Bumpy kill Rashad, and Steph heard Bumpy talking about killing Rashad. Steph then called it out on his song and told the police. Fast Pace heard Steph’s song, and wasn’t okay with Bumpy’s name being dropped because he’s friends with Bumpy. This led to Mack directing Bumpy to kill Steph. Jarrell thinks it’s ironic that people discourage snitching, yet Steph and Rashad died because they did it anyway.

Jarrell now realizes Steph was risking his own life for the benefit of his community. He thinks the best way to repay Steph and make him proud is to make the most of life.

Jasmine’s mom signs the paperwork for Steph to be on Pierce’s new label, Home Court. Pierce signs Jasmine to the label as well.

Quadir reflects that “thinking outside the box” (373) was beneficial in terms of their scheme with Steph’s music. He’s decided not to go to Bishop or leave home.

School’s out for summer break and Steph’s friends ask for a rhyme. In the rap, Steph hopes he can be immortalized in some way once he’s dead.