Yungblood On Top

It was a tale as old as time.

One real shot at this.

The biggest stage he’s ever been on.

Dante was in the bathroom, not sure if he should throw up or shit himself. Both would be better options than what he’s feeling right now. The bathroom was the typical grimy little place littered with markings and unknown stains. The sickly green was the perfect backlight to his emotions.

A combination of sickness, anxiety, and fear of failing. The curse of success was hitting the man like a truck. Another hurdle to leap over. Realistically, this is do or die. This was the Comeup Tour, every summer they have new performers and locals across the Midwest to perform for them. It’s free, meaning you’ll get paid in clout or embarrassment. This isn’t 2005, where you can screw up, wait a few months, and come back. It’s one recording and you’re a meme for life. He rubbed his face. His mom, dad, Imani and about 150 people showed up. He rubbed his face, attempting to have his soul come back into his body. Feeling so stressed, Dante felt like he was watching himself, like he was detached from his body.

Flu stepped in, with the background bumping of the base and cheering getting louder as he opened the door. “Miro? You in here?”

Miro groaned, slightly opening the stall to reveal his tired face. “Yeah.”

“Shit, bro. You look like ass.”

A weak smile slowly formed as he leaned against the wall. “Yeah.”

“You good?”

Miro wanted to lie, but he looked into Flu’s concerned eyes and decided he couldn’t deceive him. Besides, he knew him, there was no way he could just tell a bold falsehood to him like that. “Nah. It’s getting to me, like bad. I’m freaking out, dude.”

Flu put his hands on his hips, knowing how dire the situation was. “We all are, bro. You ain’t alone. I threw up this morning, I’m starving. My moms took a sick day to see me. That’s… Pressure. We all feel it. Hindrixx got his grandma over here, Flu got his mom and cousins over here, we feel it. We need you, Miro. Yungblood sounds better with four.”

Miro calmed a bit and nodded. “Yeah. We all know the risks. We all gonna show out.”

With a dap up, Flu and Miro head out of the bathroom and backstage, where the crowd chants and cheers another newcomer on the scene. Yin and Hindrixx watch as she tears the house down, making the building shake with her energy. It was clear that the two men are nervous out of their minds, with Yin biting his nonexistent nails, and Hindrixx playing with his hair. The once unmovable nerves of Yungblood suddenly vanish in an instant, with them having second thoughts about performing at Comeup Tour. They felt in over their heads, only not quitting sooner due to their mistakes of telling their parents they were in a concert for the first time.

Miro stepped up and rallied the group together. “Look y’all. I know. Trust me, I’m terrified too. But we ain’t work our asses off all spring to let ourselves fall here. Hell, We’ve been grinding for years. Yin, you got hard drives of beats. Hindrixx, you’ve been singing till you strained your voice. Flu, you’ve been rapping even though yo moms hates it. We all sacrificed. We all killed to get to this. And it will only get bigger from here. I refuse to let Yungblood die here.”

The group looked at each other, sinking in the man’s words. The energy slowly rises within them. Yin put his hand in the middle. “Let’s take it down.”

The rest of Yungblood did the same, happy to meet their teammate in the middle. Miro smirked. “Yungblood on three. 1, 2, 3!”

“Yungblood!” The crew yells out.

The set finishes up, and the MC steps out. “Wow, man wow. We got some crazy talent in Milwaukee huh? Now this next performance is a group, rapping as a team, that’s hot. Give it up for Yungblood!”

As the crowd cheers, the group walks out, mics in their hands. Miro, hands shaking, steps up. “Aye! How we feelin tonight?!”

The crowd cheers in response, making Miro smile, but still feels three seconds away from throwing up. The spotlight was on them. Yin slinked to the back, grabbing his laptop from his bookbag to start a beat. It was Never Enuff, a track they made last year. Miro remembered those lines the most since that was his favorite song. The soulful sample begins, it was Bill Wither’s Lovely Day.

When I wake up in the morning, love
And the sunlight hurts my eyes
And something without warning, love
Bears heavy on my mind…

Miro nodded his head slowly, the crowd drowning out, with a muffle. It was just him and Bill. The singer and the rapper. A classic pairing.

Just one look at you
And I know it's gonna be
A lovely day-

The beat begins, forcing Miro to speak.

Yung Miro on the scene
Everybody look at me
I’m the best on the beat
But it’s never enough.

And I’m skating on this beat
Call me Tony Hawk
You can’t cross the boss
Without taking a loss.

Uh, This rap game, shit easy as cake
Got my opps sneaking around
Like they Solid Snake.

And Yungblood, we on top of the chain
So remember that before you and take our fame
Yung Miro.

The crowd went crazy as Miro’s verse ended. Everybody returned to Miro’s vision as Flu and Hindrixx started rapping and singing respectively. With the power of Yin’s beat-making and Bill’s incredible song, Never Enuff looked to be a hit as the people in attendance chanted and sang along to the sample, as the entire place turned into a pure vibe that only could be described as bliss. Miro nodded his head along as Hindrixx sang. His eyes wandered over to Imani, as she shot him a wink and a thumbs up. Miro was a sweaty mess, he needed all the positivity he could get.

Yungblood experienced fame, real fame for the first time.