Hi. This is Amahle. Leave a message, and I'll get you back.
Good afternoon, Ms. Edwards.
This is Principal Denkins at North Detroit High School.
Unfortunately, Cole was involved in another fight today
and had to be physically restrained by school police officers.
Ms. Edwards, I'm not sure that we have the resources here to help your son.
At this point, we are recommending him for expulsion.
I am so sorry about the incident today.
I'm very, very sorry...
I ain't do nothin', aight?
It ain't my fault.
Why you got my clothes in bags?
Where you taking me?
You're gonna stay with your father for the summer.
What?
With my father?
Nah, fuck that! I ain't spendin' nothin' with that nigga.
Stop! Stop actin' like you know!
This life... isn't working, Cole.
You are drowning out here. You are going to drown!
I've literally done everything I could think of for you.
And still, here I am again, leaving work,
trying to convince another principal and another police officer
that my son knows better.
And you don't.
And neither do I anymore.
Hey, where you at? We're here.
- What're you doing? - He'll be here in five minutes.
- Those are my clothes. - Just wait here.
I ain't stayin' here.
Ma, open the door.
Mama, open the door.
- Mama, I'm not playing. Open the door. - Cole.
Mama, open the door!
I'm not playing, Mama!
Mama, please, don't leave me here. Mommy, please. Mama, wait...
Hey.
I'm talkin' to you. Come over here.
You all grown up.
Do I know you?
I know you.
You Harp's boy.
- Where he at? - Stables.
The what?
Oh, come on, now.
Stables.
I don't know no stables.
I don't know you.
Fletcher Street Stables.
Around the corner. You'll smell it when you get close.
And, Cole...
I'm Nessie.
Welcome back.
- Yeah, that what I'm saying. - Wait. Where you ever seen one?
- Saw one yesterday. - Where?
- The step. - Praying mantis?
You shouldn't kill anything with the word "praying" in its name. Like...
This is gonna be a dry summer.
All this shit's cardboard! You ain't got nothing of a saddle.
That's all you're thinking.
"I just saw that you might've been asleep."
I said, "Nah, you..."
"You was watchin' me sleep. How you gon..."
Yo, where that boy going? To a laundromat somewhere?
- Where'd he come from? - Who that?
Hold up. Hold on.
Let me get your bag. Let's go.
No, I'm good.
I'll see y'all later.
- Come on. - All right.
- Hmm. - Hit the door.
Yo! Shit.
This Chuck.
He ain't makin' no friends, so watch your hands.
There's a horse... in your house.
Well, this you, right here.
I ain't stayin' here.
Aight.
I'mma hit it, though.
Once you step out, that door stays locked till morning.
I'll leave in the morning.
Shit.
What you doing? Come back.
Oh!
Get over here.
That's it.
Aight, come on.
Come on, Esha. Listen... come on. Bring him over here.
Keep bringing him over here.
You have... You have a phone? I just need to call my mom real quick.
Excuse me, ma'am. Can I use your phone? I'm trying to call my mom.
- I don't have a phone. - I'm just trying... You don't have a phone?
- Hey, excuse me. Can I... - I got a kid. Nah.
Fuck.
Cole!
What's good with you, young boul?
I heard you was back.
Smush?
Yeah, Smush.
It's me, man.
Why you look like you're staring at a ghost?
The fuck you doing on the curb for?
- Yo. - Fucking get up, man.
Hey. Shit.
- What's up, man? - Damn. I'm chillin', man.
Man, let's get you outta here, man.
You don't even know how good it is to see you right now.
When's the last time I seen your ass?
Shit. What's it been? Like, ten years?
Know what I remember?
I used to be like, "Cole, let's go play with the water guns."
You'd be like, "Aight."
Then I'd go to the bathroom, and I'd piss in the water gun
and spray your ass.
- That's nasty. - You ain't even know it was piss.
You was like, "Ma! Ma, Smush pissed on me!"
Yo, that's fucked up, man. For real.
- Yeah, you kinda still smell like piss. - No. Shut the fuck up.
Damn. It's been a minute, man.
Missed your ass.
Can't believe your moms dragged you down from Detroit like that.
- That shit crazy. - Shit.
Yeah, I know, man. Tryna get home now.
It don't look like you got a home to go back to, nigga.
- What home I got here? - Fuck you talkin' about?
Home ain't a place, dummy. It's fam, aight? You got fam here.
What fam, man?
I don't even know that nigga, man.
Plus... he living with some nasty-ass horse.
Aight, let me rap at you, my nigga.
Your moms ain't coming back, aight?
I seen plenty niggas get dropped off at the stoop,
and that summertime shit becomes years, so...
...I suggest you cozy up
with them nasty-ass fuckin' horses.
It ain't funny. I'm serious, man.
- Aight. - Think you can give me money for a bus?
Yo, just give me, like, 20 bucks.
Easy. Simple.
Oh, oh, okay, nigga.
You sound desperate as fuck right now.
Oh, I know what it is.
Yeah. You got a girl back home.
Uh-uh.
- Nah? - Nah.
Oh, hold on, hold on, hold on.
♪ Now, what's your name What's your game, what's your time, huh? ♪
♪ Is you gon change, be the same as... ♪
Aight, yo. Wait here, aight?
♪ Put on a show Till they know that it's my name ♪
♪ Now, what's your name What's your game, what's your time, huh? ♪
Fellas, fellas, fellas.
- Yo, you stay safe, aight? - All right, 202.
Zero-two. Copy.
Eat up.
Yo, what was that?
It was a business opportunity.
Look, man, I got your back... from here on out, aight?
I'm all the family you gon need.
And hey, you ain't no little-ass boy no more,
so, shit, we goin' out tonight.
And we ain't sleeping. I'mma show you how Philly pop off.
♪ Young niggas can't pay With no doubt about it ♪
♪ Bad bitches Walk on past 'em and toss 'em out ♪
♪ If there's beef, no poppin' off ♪
♪ Think it's sweet My niggas do and they bout it, bout it ♪
♪ Phone poppin', bitches callin' ♪
♪ See me stuntin', competition No, I don't see it like Stevie Wonder ♪
- Man, that was crazy. - Shit, man.
I gotta sleep. I'm fuckin' tired.
Nah, you good. I got some shit to handle anyway, so.
Look, bro. Through the night, you can stay with me at my sister's crib.
Yo! Yo, what are you doin'?
- You ridin' with Smush, you can't be here. - What you care about it?
You're gonna put yourself in a hole you can't crawl out of.
You know you're not welcome here, bringing that bullshit.
- Bullshit? - Yeah.
What about your bullshit?
Leavin' your son out here and shit.
- Yeah, well, you need to get the fuck on. - Cool.
There you go.
- Tough-Love Harp, throwin' bags and shit. - Get tougher if you don't get outta here.
Go on.
Aight, I'll go on.
I'll go on.
You wanna ride the street life, you can't be in my house.
Aight?
You wanna wise up, you say your goodbyes to Smush, you're welcome back.
Welcome back to what?
Old beer and sliced cheeses? I ain't got no home here.
That's your choice.
Whatever you do, go ahead!
Just get the fuck outta my house with your Black ass and don't come back!
Trena?
Smush... Smush told me to meet him here.
I don't give a fuck what he said. This is my house.
Come on. I'm your fam.
I already told Smush
we ain't no motherfuckin' orphanage for stray cats like your sorry ass.
Now get from in front of my door. I'm not playin'.
- Trena, come on. I'm... - No! Get! No, uh-uh. Bye. Goodbye.
Fuck.
Shit, man.
Shit.
Fuck.
Who's makin' all that noise?
Who is that? Who's down there?
- Nessie, I need your help. - Oh, no.
I got nowhere to stay.
Uh-uh. You can't come at me with that.
Now, your daddy got rules that you not abiding by.
Guess what? I got rules too.
I told the same thing to Smush when he was comin' round.
Oh, come on. Y'all don't care about nothin' but y'all selves.
Lookit here. I'm on my knees at 4:00 a.m. every morning,
praying for every boy on this block.
I keep a warm meal and a clean bed for when the prodigals return.
Fine, fine. Fine.
Then I'm a prodigal.
No, you're not.
No, you still runnin' out there. You ain't ate that pig slop yet.
What does that even mean?
Mm-hmm. You think about what I just said.
I gotta get up early. My prayer list just got longer.
Nessie!
Hey.
Okay. Okay. What is it?
Hey.
I see you met Boo.
Your bunkmate last night.
Harp just bought Boo at the auction.
Took four of us to get him in the trailer.
Just shook up, scared,
dangerous to even the roughest of these riders.
You shoulda got your head bashed in.
What do I find?
Daniel layin' there in the lions' den, snuggled up side by side.
What that mean?
Means that Boo's yours.
Nah.
Mm, nah.
- He won't let anyone else near him. - Nah, nah. Nah, fuck that.
Ooh, you got a mouth like your daddy.
Well, that's the only thing I got from him.
Listen to me.
The past is not the present.
All right?
What, you too dumb to play by some rules?
Well...
aight.
But you not gonna get to sleep in my stables.
I'll be done with Smush, and...
...I'll be ready to ride horses or whatever.
You wanna ride a horse?
You gotta work the stables.
Yeah, these cats should be here any minute.
Yo, what's shakin' up in your head, man?
Harp said I'm not allowed to ride with you no more or... or he'll kick me out.
So, we... we gotta keep it chill or whatever.
Yeah. I got you.
Mm.
Yeah, I got a surprise for you, nigga.
- What is it? - They in there.
Oh, damn. These motherfuckers clean.
Yessir.
Shit, you thought I was gonna let you ride with banged-up jawns on your feet?
- Hey... - You got some Chewbacca-ass feet.
You're so dumb.
Ooh, yeah. This is gonna be good.
Come on, now.
Start with this stall right here.
When you're finished, call one of us and we'll move the next horse.
Just... goin' down the line, just like that.
Haul everything out to the shit pit.
What's the shit pit?
Dumpster full of shit.
When you're finished, I'll tell you what's next.
Hard things come before good things.
Ooh.
- Where's your wheelbarrow? - What you talking about?
He'll be out there shoveling all day long. Goddamn.
What the hell? This his idea of doin' a stall?
One shovel at a time, huh?
- Damn! - Fuck!
Shit.
Oh, he done dropped shit on his shoes.
Yo, Esha, right?
They got you shoveling shit too?
Hard things come before good things.
- This some cult life, for real. - What was that you mumbled?
How long I gotta be doing this... this shit-pit duty?
As long as it takes.
For what?
Horses ain't the only thing that need breaking around here.
What are you talkin' about?
What the fuck is wrong with these people?
Wheelbarrow it.
Hold up. Hold up, man. Hold up. Hold up, y'all. Hold up, y'all.
Hold up, y'all. I got him. I got him.
Hold up. Hold up. Hold up. Yo. Yo, hold up.
A shovel at a time will take you all day.
I'm Paris.
Cole.
I know who you is.
Grab that jawn right there and meet me in the stable.
Ain't gonna be green broke no more. I'mma break your ass in.
You gonna be doing all the stalls.
You gonna be my new mucker.
First, put that down.
Get this pitchfork.
Start from the back. Get all that shitty hay and all that.
Get all that shit outta there.
- All of that? - Get that shit.
Go on. Get in there. You ain't rakin' no leaves, man.
See how that's cuttin' through? Like a cake. There you go.
- Oh, shit. - Try not to make a mess. Goddamn.
Now put that down, man.
Get that shovel.
Get big scoops. Big scoops, man.
You outta breath already? You just started.
- This shit heavy. - Come on. You gotta hurry up.
Tryna be in here all day?
No one told me I had to do all this shit.
Yeah. No one told me I was gonna have a lazy-ass young boul here.
Gonna fix your attitude today.
You got more stalls to do. You better get this shit done. Come on.
That's... That's white and tan. That's good. Get the brown and green shit.
Go ahead. Keep on pickin'.
And all that wet shit. Get that shit outta there.
Just take it out. I wanna see the floor.
Take it all out. I wanna see the floor.
Now grab that sawdust over there near the saddles.
Just like that.
Use the pitchfork.
Make it nice and even.
Come on, young'un, you did good. Come on out, man.
First stall from my end.
You all right?
Yeah.
Let me get a little smile.
Little cheese. Cheese? Little something?
- Nah. - You're too hard for me, huh?
It's all right. I'mma change that, though.
C'mon, no front-dumpin'. Take it all the way up.
Walk that plank.
Get in there.
Whoa. Whoa. Hold it.
Take it up. Go ahead. All the way up.
All the way up. You can do it.
There you go.
All the way up. All the way up.
Now flip it.
There you go.
Yeah, young'un!
- Yeah. - You got it! Good job! Well done!
Yeah. There you go, young'un. Yeah, there you go.
Stand up, junior!
Uh-huh.
- You aight? - Yeah.
All right.
Come on. Let's go get some more shit.
Let's do Boo's stall.
So, you gonna take him out?
Hell no.
- Why not? - That motherfucker crazy.
- So... So, what am I supposed to do? - Shit, you sleep with him.
Clean around him.
Get in there.
Don't be wildin' out on me.
Okay? We boys now.
Get up in there, man.
- Aight. - Hey, back up.
Yeah. Don't let him come out.
- Back up. - He get out, it's over. He gone.
Back up.
All right. Now get up in there.
Ain't nobody been in there with Boo for a minute.
- Clean all that shit outta there. - Right here? Right here?
- Corners, all that. Get it out. - Shit.
So, how much does it cost to take care of a horse?
Could take your whole check.
Sometimes I don't even eat just to feed Little.
Which one of them is Little?
The quarter horse tied up outside.
Why you name him Little?
I named him after my little bro.
Got killed a couple years ago.
Sorry to hear that, man.
So...
So how you ride him, then?
I don't.
Oh.
What you think they gonna do with Boo?
I guess that's up to you.
Come on, man. Get your ass back to work. Stop asking me all these damn questions.
What?
- Yeah. - Oh, okay.
That's 'cause you think all cowboys was white.
That's some Hollywood John Wayne bullshit.
Fifty percent of all cowboys were Black, brown, bronze,
or some other color.
You said 50?
Where you getting them numbers from, nigga?
Look it up! Real rap! Even the Lone Ranger was Black.
- Who's the Lone Ranger? - Get the fuck outta here.
- Really? - Harp, you teachin' this boy?
Man, you doin' a good job.
No, he's right. Look, Hollywood has whitewashed us.
They just deleted us right out of the history books.
They always trying to delete us from history books.
"Cowhand" became "cowboy." Did you know that?
That's what they called us.
"Hey, boy. Hold that cattle down while I brand it."
"Hey, boy. Go break that horse."
You know why we was able to break them horses so good?
- Why? Come on, why? - Why? Tell us.
Come on, Rome, tell us!
Tell them, Nessie. I gotta pee.
People used to believe breaking a horse meant crushin' the will of the animal,
dominating 'em, making 'em believe that the only way it was gonna survive
was to submit, right?
Well, Black folks, we knew that a horse wasn't meant to be dominated.
A horse is meant to be free.
- Yep. - That's right.
Only way you can realize its true spirit, its nature,
is through love.
- Real rap. You feel that? - Become one.
Where'd you guys come from if all the Black cowboys got deleted?
I've been at it since I was nine.
- Ooh! - Right down here.
Ridin' ponies and drivin' horse and wagons.
Oh, man. We here... We all over.
History... The history here is deep.
Everybody, like, used to get their food from wagons.
Horses and carriages, buggies and all that.
Uncle Charlie, like, what we talk about? Back in the day...
What happened with that was, as the years was goin' on,
the city decide they don't need horses no more.
- They was gettin' trucks. - Mm-hmm.
So they said, "Well, we don't need the horses no more."
- But all of us down here, we love horses. - Yes, we do. Yes, we do.
And that's how all these stables popped up.
See, you got 31st Street, you got 32nd, you got Cobb Creek.
Yup.
- Markoe Street. - White House.
And the number one on that list, 9th and Tioga.
Pfft.
Here we go.
You just gonna forget about us Fletcher Street originals, huh?
I'm talkin' about real riders. Not no bitch-ass horse owners.
Yeah, you right. You know what? I do own all your horses.
Same horses I been whupping your ass with.
Oh!
Time passed and, one by one, they got shut down.
- Yep. - Why?
Real estate.
Developers coming in, they see the horses, they like, "Horses? Pfft. Fuck that."
I mean, a lot of these boys used to own their own stable.
They runnin' up on these boys, like, "Hey, this your land? Let me get that."
Like, Fletcher Street, right here,
we like some cowboy orphans, you know what I'm sayin'?
We like the la... We like the Wild West out here.
The last remainin'.
Yeah.
Ah, shit. Here we go, y'all.
Why you gotta make all that noise, though, man?
- Turn off them damn lights. - Come on, man.
Here come Leroy with his bullshit.
- Here we go. - Here come the sheriff.
Oh, here we go.
Is that marijuana I smell?
That's the fire can burning. The fire can burning.
Evening, gentlemen.
- Nessie. - Leroy.
Esha.
This here is Harp's boy, back from Detroit.
Harp's boy, huh?
Are they tellin' you about how your father was around here in...
Aight, man. You good, L?
You good?
Yeah, I'm good, but I tell you what ain't good.
- What? - Them raggedy-ass stables.
- Aight? They broken. Roof's slanted. - There he goes.
Aight, the stalls is crowded as a motherfucker,
and the neighbors are complainin' about the smell again.
Smell? You smell something?
What you gonna do about that dead horse?
- Dead horse? What? - Johnny got that horse.
- He came and got it. - Yeah.
I saw the city stopped by.
Yeah, well, they been stoppin' by for 15 years, man.
Y'all seen those new condos on Oxford. That's only five blocks from here.
Pfft. Five blocks?
That's a long way
for them skinny, hipster-ass latte motherfuckers to be walkin'.
Developers are comin'.
- Believe it. - Well, let 'em come.
We'll see what the fuck happens.
See what... Okay, that's where I'mma stop you.
See, what happens is you don't own any of this shit.
Y'all just rentin'.
So that brings me to my next question. What are we doin' about it?
- "We"? You speakin' French? - What do you mean, "we," white man?
Man, look. We ain't doin' shit.
You traded in your saddle for your city brass.
History gonna repeat itself, and you all out here,
just another night of drinkin' and smokin'
and lyin' to each other, when you need to be...
Man, L, you know what?
Do me a favor. Drink that, or go write some parking tickets.
All right.
Just... My van over there, so just leave that alone,
but write some parking tickets, man.
Yo, yo, yo. You know what I'mma do?
You're right. I'mma drink this, but then I'mma go give parking tickets.
First person getting a ticket is the nigga in the wheelchair.
Damn.
Hey, Georgie, shut these fools up.
- Talking that shit. - Aw, man.
Come on. Hey, Cole, you gotta hear this. This guy a killer, right here.
Hear this. This guy good. From the '40s, here.
This trap music from the '40s. Hey. Play that. I know you got it on you.
- Aight, aight. Aight. - There it is.
- Don't act like you don't wanna. - Yes.
Okay, then.
♪ Here on my own ♪
Yeah.
♪ Here all alone ♪
♪ I'm here with nobody ♪
♪ I'm out here, and I'm all on my own ♪
♪ With the wind at my side ♪
♪ My horse, I'm astride ♪
♪ Give me a sign ♪
♪ We ain't scared of no po-po ♪
♪ Comin' around, tryna take our stables ♪
♪ I don't care about y'all What y'all wanna say ♪
♪ We hard, we Fletcher Street, all day ♪
Yeehaw!
♪ What y'all wanna do? Take our shit? ♪
Yeah, aight!
Chuck. Chuck, you like cheese?
Want some cheese? Wanna try some cheese?
All right. Take it easy. Whoa.
Look at that.
- Yo. - Hey. What's good with you?
This my boy, Cole, from Detroit. Y'all chillin'?
Hey, yo. I ain't seen you in a minute. You still spittin', bro?
- My man. What's good? - What's up with you?
- My boy, Cole. From Detroit. - What's up?
Y'all take care of him. Ya hear me?
Hi, ladies. What's up?
- Hey. Yeah. - Yeah. Get it moving.
That's my boy, Cole, from Detroit.
Cole, say hi.
- Cole. - Hey, Cole. What's up?
We chillin'. You guys good tonight?
- Yeah. - Hey, yo, Smush.
Yeah. Yeah.
Let me holla at you, man.
Let me pull your coattails real quick.
Yeah.
What's up, J?
Little bit of me. Whole lot of everybody else, man.
Yeah, man. You know, that's how it go.
Listen, one of my young bouls told me
somebody tryna come up on me on one of my corners.
Heard any whispers?
Nah, man. I... I ain't hear shit.
Nah?
Okay. Make sure you bend an ear for me, aight?
No doubt. You know I got you.
So, who this?
Oh, yeah, shit. This is my... my boy, Cole, from Detroit.
Tryna show him how Philly do. Know what I'm saying, boul?
Let me holla at this nigga real quick.
Okay, playa.
They some nice sneaks.
Some Js, right?
Yeah.
Them jawns hot, young boul.
How much they run you?
Uh, um...
I don't know. My pops got 'em for me.
Your pops. Your pops a good dude.
Them jawns is hot.
They expensive too.
Yah mean, Pops?
Fasho.
Go on, man.
Enjoy yourself, young boul.
Aight, man. Cool.
Appreciate you. You good? You good?
♪ This ain't nothin' heavy This is light work ♪
♪ Light work ♪
♪ Do it in the dark like it's light work ♪
- ♪ Light work ♪ - ♪ You might need a Xanny ♪
♪ 'Cause this might hurt ♪
♪ This ain't nothin' heavy This is light, light ♪
- ♪ Light, light ♪ - ♪ This ain't nothin' heavy ♪
♪ This is light work ♪
- ♪ Light work ♪ - ♪ Do it in the dark ♪
- ♪ Like it's light work ♪ - ♪ Yeah ♪
♪ You might need a Xanny 'Cause this might hurt ♪
♪ This ain't nothin' heavy This is light, light ♪
♪ Runnin' mine, super fine, drop a line ♪
Grab that brush right there.
I want you to go from the top, goin' all the way down
to the barrel of his ass.
Come on.
Brush him all the way down to his foot. Yup.
There you go. You gettin' in there.
Paris, can I ask you a question?
Yeah.
How'd you end up in the chair?
Couple years ago,
me and my brother went out riding...
...and got into an altercation.
Ended up in the hospital.
I woke up.
He didn't.
Bullet shattered my spine.
Now I spend the rest of my life in this chair.
Fightin' over nothing.
Fightin' over a corner.
The city, they built a Starbucks right on the corner.
Shit we was fighting over.
All over nothin'.
Fuck.
No, I'm telling you, he knows.
Nigga, he was asking about my shoes.
- We just gotta... - That nigga onto us.
We gotta switch up the drop spots. Aight? It's simple.
Man, them niggas' palms is itchy anyway.
Man, let me rap with you.
We cool. Okay? We cool.
Aight, I'mma put it like this.
A lion... who's, like, feedin' on rhinos and shit,
don't got time to be chasing no rabbits.
- You know what I'm sayin'? - You good, man?
I just made that shit up. Nigga, that's clever, bro.
You should write that shit down.
It's real.
We're gonna own something together, man.
Me and you.
You believe that?
Yeah.
Nah, man. I said, "Do you believe that?"
Yeah, I believe you.
We gonna be okay.
Aight? As long as you with me, we gonna be okay.
Aight.
You read that article?
Dumb shit in there about malnourished horses.
- Where? - It's in the paper.
Bitch-ass journalist came down here. Remember her?
With her skirt and smiles?
You was over there, tryna talk to her, get a selfie with her when she was here.
- What? - Look...
- That was you! - I ain't say she didn't have nice legs.
We all stared at her. You seen her when she walked away.
- Yes, I did. - Ain't seen nothing but ponytail and ass.
I thought she was a horse. Went and grabbed a rope first.
You know, I woulda roped her up like that.
- Time! - Man!
Aight, come on. Let's go.
- Where we going? - Gonna get him up on the truck.
- That's where we going. Come on. - Up on the truck?
- Getting him on the back. - On the back of the truck?
- What? Where we going? - Got something for you. Come.
- You got something for me? - Yep.
Unlock these brakes.
Aight, real slow. Get him on.
- Keep going. Slow. - All right.
- Be careful. - Hold up. There you go.
Pick up the board. Watch the board right there.
Let him drop slow.
- Good? - Yeah.
Esha. Come on, jump in the back.
- Got him? - I got him.
- Aight. Let's go. Let's go. - Aight.
All right, Paris. I got you.
Mm-hmm.
Right here.
Yo, gonna need some help. No, Cole, not you. Esha, come on.
Ready, young boul?
Your horse.
- You got it? - I got it.
Okay.
You got this, man.
What you doin'?
- I'm out. - Out? Where you goin'?
- Get out of my fucking business. - Nah, you ain't riding with Smush.
I'm ridin' with me. Like I've done from day one.
Yo, man.
- Sit down. I'm your father. You ain't... - You ain't my fuckin' father!
I mean, you a fucking father to everyone else out here.
Teachin' 'em how to ride,
makin' homemade saddles for cripples and shit.
And I can't even get some fuckin' food in the fridge.
Damn, them motherfucking horses got more love than me.
Sit your ass down, man.
Oh, you a man now?
Huh? You a man now?
What, them streets done made you a fuckin' man overnight?
Nah, man. You're a boy.
You're a fucking boy.
You fuck around, you're gonna get shot fuckin' with Smush, you understand me?
Why you hate me, man?
You know who this is, man?
This is John Coltrane.
He was just a boy when his pops died. Left to be raised by his mama.
Shit, he might have been your age when he moved to Philly.
He was alone.
Far from home.
It was that same year that his mama bought him his first saxophone.
Shit. The world ain't never been the same since.
Look, man.
I was just like Smush. Aight?
I was just like him, man.
Out there, doing all kinds of shit.
Shit, I was on charges when your mama got pregnant. Yeah.
But I hid out.
I hid out 'cause I wanted to meet you, man.
I ain't want them to take that away. I wanted to meet you.
But they squeezed her.
She flipped on me.
I ain't never blame her, 'cause, you know,
she was just trying to do right by you, you know?
She was mad at me.
The feds, they came. They took everything I got.
Just like that, I was doing a nickel upstate.
Before I'd went away,
I asked your mama.
I said, "Look, I ain't shit. I know."
"But just let me... let me name my son."
"Can I?"
"Can I name him? Just give me that."
So I called you Coltrane.
Yeah. That's your name.
Greatest man I ever knew that did it without a father.
Shit, nigga. Whoo!
Word is travelin' fast, man. That's you, right there. Count that shit.
Damn.
Man.
Yo, this ain't exactly rabbits.
♪ I'mma get this bitch jumpin'... ♪
They're different buyers. Okay?
We good, man. We good.
- Jalen ain't gonna see it like this, man. - Fuck, C! Fuck, man!
Come on.
Nigga, are you in this or not?
Are you in this or not, Cole?
♪ I keep the Tommy tucked Fuckin' with heat get him heated ♪
Fuck.
♪ They already know, I'm Blood for sure That is the reason I throw it up ♪
♪ You got a grudge Or you go against niggas... ♪
♪ I need to bag my cash, goin' up I hit the gas, I'm not slowin' up ♪
♪ Close to bust I'll make you hold and crush... ♪
Let me show you something, man.
♪ You can call up the law... ♪
You used to ride?
Hell yeah, I used to ride, man.
Shit. Yo, that's crazy.
Yeah, man. I had my own horse and everything. Chuck.
Yo, I know Chuck.
You know Harp got him living in his living room and shit?
- Yeah? - Yeah, man. It's crazy.
Shit, I used to be the best rider down at Fletcher Street, man.
Yo, one day I'mma teach you how to stand on your horse.
Shit, man.
- Yo, why you stop? - I ain't stop, Cole.
Just got focus.
- Mm-hmm. - That's all.
- We're almost there. - Almost where?
Outta here.
Look, check those out.
Land is still cheap out west. I'm talkin' about them ranches.
We buy a ranch, we flip it, and we do it again.
And again and again and again. Eventually we might just settle, you know?
Find a ranch we like. Shit, nigga. Who knows?
We can even trailer Chuck and Boo out there.
I mean, shit, as many horses as we want. You feel me?
That's the dream.
Shit, what you think I've been doing all this shit for, man?
What you think?
Shit. I like it, man.
Yeah.
Yo, what's goin' on?
Where you been? We've been lookin' for you.
- What? - Boo, he got out.
He in the baseball field, goin' crazy.
- I gotta go! - Don't stand in the way, okay?
He's real riled up. Harp, he don't look so good.
All y'all players, y'all just back up.
Yo, everybody can back up. Y'all can back up.
Harp, we just ain't gonna grab this motherfucker.
Don't crowd him. Give him some space.
Everybody, just link up. Link up. We gotta form a fence.
Aight? Just link up.
Hold the line. Whatever you do, just hold the line.
I don't know about this, Harp.
That's it.
- That's good. Come here. Come on, Boo. - This a bad idea.
- Oh, shit! Come on, Harp! - Aight. Aight.
Easy now.
- Yo. - Come on, man!
Whoa!
- Watch out. - Aight. He's going out. Going out.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
It's okay. It's okay.
Chill, chill, chill, chill. It's okay, Boo.
All right, boy.
He not gonna let you get that close, Harp.
You know whose horse this is.
You know what that horse needs.
- I can't. I can't. - Come on, man.
- Man, you need to take this lead, aight? - I... I can't. I can't.
Click it on his halter, aight?
Let him know that you there.
Let him know that you runnin' this show.
You understand me, Cole? Come on. You got this.
Aight. Aight.
Aight. Okay. Hey. Hey, boy.
Hey.
It's me. It's me, boy. It's me, Cole.
- We good. We good. - There you go.
- Don't look at me. Look at Boo. Come on. - Aight. I'm trying. Aight. Aight.
Stay with the horse. Come on.
It's okay, Boo. It's me, boy. We good. Hey.
Whoa, whoa. Relax. It's okay.
Chill, chill. It's okay.
- Harp... - It's okay.
Come on.
Come on, man. You got this. You got this.
Aight. Hey, it's me, Boo.
It's me, boy. It's me.
- Hold him! - Don't let him go.
- Yeah. There you go. - Good job, Cole.
- There you go. - Easy now.
Now, what you gotta do, you gotta lay up on his back, aight?
When you get up there,
swing your legs around like you about to ride him.
Understand that? Now, he gonna buck, but you gotta get up there.
- Go on. - Do it.
It's aight. It's aight. You just gotta get up.
Fuck, man!
Is this your idea of some fucking lesson?
Get up. Come on, man. Get up. Get up.
This ain't about you and me right now. Understand me?
Now get your fuckin' horse, man.
Come on. You good. You good.
Come on, man. You good.
Come on.
You got it.
That's it, boy. That's it.
Good boy.
There you go.
Yep. Let him out.
- Good. - Go. Let him out.
Whoo-hoo!
- All right. - I see you, young boul.
Show him that beast mode, man. Go ahead.
There you go.
- Yeah. - Man.
Whoo!
- There you go. - Aight.
group chattering indistinctly]
- Mm-hmm. Yeah. - Wow.
Not bad.
- Wow, he's doing it. - Yessir.
He done broke Boo.
Oh, yeah. Nice and easy.
All right. Good girl. Good girl. All right. Good girl.
Good boy.
Whoa, whoa. Easy now.
Easy. Easy.
You hooked now, ain't you?
- Shit. - Rain's coming.
Let's get outta here.
Yeah, just let him ride.
You ready for the cookout?
I don't really know what to be ready for, so...
It's like those scenes in The Fast and the Furious.
You got the cars at the start line and the engines revvin'
and the crowd going crazy and just, like, everybody partyin' and havin' a good time.
- Mm-hmm. - It's like that, with cowboys and horses.
- All right. - But I have something for you.
- Really? - A surprise.
- Oh. - So, close your eyes.
I gotta...
- Aight. - Close your eyes. Okay.
Keep 'em closed.
No peekin'.
- I'm not peekin'. - Okay. Now open.
It's time we make you official.
Okay.
How I look?
Like a real cowboy.
♪ Yeah ♪
♪ Call me ♪
♪ Now you're for real, baby, let's go ♪
- ♪ Playa ♪ - ♪ Bundle up, my whole style is so cold ♪
♪ I glow like old guys who go bald ♪
♪ My flow got no front in the vocal ♪
♪ Your flow got no button, it's so old ♪
♪ I don't mean to sound like a showboat ♪
♪ But it's true my persona's no joke ♪
♪ I stepped into some kinda portal I'm legend, and sometimes I'm noble ♪
♪ I'm from the most risky zone, oh ♪
♪ No place is more shifty, global ♪
♪ More pistols, Russian revolvers ♪
♪ We shootin' all that is normal But it ain't just because we want to ♪
♪ We ain't got nowhere we can run to Somebody, please press the undo ♪
♪ They only teach us The things that guns do ♪
♪ They don't teach us the ABCs ♪
♪ We play on the hard concrete ♪
♪ All we got is life on the streets ♪
- ♪ All we got is life on the streets... ♪ - This is a classic moment.
This is a very important moment in history.
I'm on my girl, Tulip, goin' saddle to saddle with your pops.
He on his horse, Naje. And we goin' at it. And we goin' neck and neck.
And we coming down the line, 50 yards.
- Twenty yards, five, then... - Then here's where the fairy tale begins.
Goddamn, man! Come on, man! You're ruinin' my rhythm!
And the story got cadence. You don't fuck with cadence.
- You got ran down. - What you know about cadence?
- Come on. You know what you doing. - Got cadence.
So anyway, the term, "the horse won by a nose." You know that.
You know that. But check this out.
Tulip... had buck teeth.
Hung out like this, straight out. Perpendicular.
So straight
you could put a fuckin' beer can on it and use it as a coaster.
You're desperate.
- That's true! - You ain't right. You ain't right.
So anyway, we comin' down to the last few seconds of that race,
and I'm holding on, and it's neck and neck,
and just when I thought it was close,
Tulip's neck extend, her teeth shoot out.
Boing! And photo finish, motherfucker!
- Oh my God! Come on, now. - You ain't never lost no race.
You came up and got him.
Tulip! Real rap. That's real!
- Won by a tooth! - Maybe.
Thought you ducked out early.
I'm always on time for an ass-whupping, boy.
Y'all ready to see this boul get his ass whupped?
Yeah.
Hyah!
Get up!
C'mon. Get after him!
You got him! Come on, baby! Come on! Get up!
Go! Push! Come on!
Come on! Come on! Come on! Go!
Come on!
Just got a touch of scratch-ass, boy. Huh?
Yeah, you kicked my back out.
Yep. We're eye to eye.
But run that shit. Run it back!
- Nah. Come on, get outta here. - Real rap. Run that shit back.
Come on, let's leave these losers over here, man.
You gotta give us a second chance. You be trippin', man. Come on!
Yo, this nigga does heavy work.
We got a couple more handoffs, and we done, boul.
- Just sit tight, aight? - Aight.
- You good? - Yeah.
Lookin' good. Got the wheels out here and shit.
This is nice, man.
Oh, fuck. Shit.
Chill, nigga! Get the fuck off me!
Cole, help me! Get help! Cole!
Get off me, nigga!
- Don't go nowhere. - Please. Yo.
Get the fuck out the way.
Yo, get your fuckin' ass in the trunk. Get in the trunk!
- Fucking gonna shoot you. - Get the fuck off me!
Thought you could fuck with my brand and get away with it?
- Yo! Smush! - Shit!
Run, yo! Get the fuck outta here, bro!
Holy shit, no!
Oh, shit!
Yo, Smush! Yo! Yo!
Get up! Let's go! We gotta go!
- Don't move! - Yo! Smush! Come on!
Shit.
Come on, man! Come on! Come on!
Stop!
Shit.
Come on! Come on!
Stop! I said, stop!
Come on! Go!
Shit!
Wait!
Come on!
Fuck!
Man, fuck that nigga! Fuck Jalen!
Think we just gonna stand our ground? This shit is war.
Aight? We takin' ground.
We taking this shit, okay?
Smush.
God. What you gonna do, C?
What are you gonna do, my nigga?
Tell me about it. Come on, bro. I'm ready.
I've been waitin'. Tell me about that dream.
- I don't know. - That you been chasing.
You wanna be a trashman like your pops?
Oh, nah. Wait, wait.
You wanna sit around a fuckin' campfire, tellin' stories and shit.
They some old heads, nigga. They don't know what they talkin' about.
Them stables?
They expired, bro.
They've been gone.
Everyone who was supposed to take care of me
left me out on them corners, man.
You don't see it yet, C.
You don't see their shit.
We alone out here, man.
I don't know about you, but I'm tired of being left.
So I'mma get my money,
I'mma build my own fuckin' train, and I'mma get up outta here.
Aight?
You with me or not, bro?
Cole!
Where the fuck you going?
Cole!
We're gonna be good. We're gonna be good, all right?
Come on.
What you gonna do? You... Even on a horse, you still can't beat me.
Get him. Where's he going? He can't get past us.
Where's he gonna go?
- I can get past. - Where you going? Where's he going?
So, you gonna teach me how to stand on a horse?
Maybe. If you think you can.
- I know I can. - We'll see.
Get in.
- I'll see you later. - All right.
Man, that boy can rip.
You know Kyle.
Me and him came up together at Fletcher Street.
Now this how he make his money.
Trainin' horses. Here.
I always wanted to be a cop.
Ever since my mom took me to a parade,
watchin' those policemen ride by, all suited up like knights.
I knew then.
You don't have to get out to grow up.
You ready to learn to stand on a horse?
I mean, I'm out here, ain't I?
Yeah, you are.
We gotta get these guys in. Come on. Then we'll get you up there.
Let's go!
Load up as many as you can. Go!
Where you gonna take our horses? You just can't take 'em like this!
Hey! Get over here!
No! No! Stop!
- Stop! - Come here. Please!
- Calm down. Don't do it. - Get the fuck off of me!
- No. Back up. Just back up, Cole! - Fuck this! Fuck this!
We pay fuckin' rent, man. We pay rent.
- The owners have been warning... - I don't give a fuck about the owners!
All right! Guys, guys, guys!
I'm sorry, but there's been reports of malnourishment.
My horses eat better than you, chubby.
There's a dead horse rotting back there, for God's sake.
You can't do this to us! Do something!
What I'm gonna have to do is, I'm gonna have to take the horses
at one of our facilities so they can be assessed.
- Sir... - Fuck that!
There is nothing you can do about it.
The fuck are you talking about?
You fuckin' thieves!
- Yo! Cole! - No! Let him go!
- Yo, do something! Come on! - Stop it! Stop it!
- It's gonna be all right. - Yo, fuck this!
- We'll figure it out. - Nah!
- Do something! - You wanna get locked up?
- Do something! Do something! - I'm trying! You wanna get locked up?
- Just chill. Relax. - Talking about you're a fucking cowboy!
You a fucking coward!
Yo, let me tell you, you know this is fuckin' dead wrong, man.
- You know this is dead fuckin' wrong. - Harp. Harp.
- Come on, Harp. - Come on. How you gonna do that to us?
Huh? This where we live, nigga.
How the fuck you gonna do that?
Nessie.
Nah, don't call Nessie. Don't call nobody on this block, man.
- I'm talking to you now! - Not fair.
You guys brought this on yourself.
You had every chance to get this right, and you did nothin'.
- Okay? Go somewhere and think this out. - We built this place!
Y'all tryna tear this place down!
We built this place!
This our home!
I'm sorry. You were right, man.
Aight. Come on, man.
I used to take Chuck out in the middle of the night.
- Really? Where? - Yeah.
Like, way out in the park. I'm talking deep.
Like, miles away, where nobody could find me.
Niggas around here, they hate that shit, man.
They always around that noise and baby mamas yellin' and screamin'
and cars and honking, all that bullshit, man.
Look, look, look, look. Check this out.
Listen to this.
What?
Right there. Silence.
That stillness, man.
That's what I been chasing my whole life, bro.
So wherever we going,
it's gonna be somewhere quiet, somewhere still.
Just me and you.
Aight.
We gonna start switchin' up these drops spots every time.
Okay? Like in them mob jawns. You know what I'm sayin'?
- Aight. - Cool.
I'mma have you be lookout this time.
Okay?
That shit got a 360. Holler if you see anything.
Head on a swivel.
We got it.
Uh-huh.
Oh, fuck!
Hey! Smush!
Smush. Shit!
Hold on, man!
No, man! No!
The young kid on a pedal bike just rolled up on him.
Smush likely had a bounty on his head, and the kid took the payday.
We're also hearin' about some other kid who was at the scene.
Come on, Leroy.
You have to find Cole.
Yeah.
♪ Draw me nearer ♪
♪ Savior, draw me near ♪
♪ Savior, savior ♪
♪ Draw me near ♪
♪ Draw me nearer ♪
♪ Savior, draw me near ♪
♪ Savior, savior ♪
♪ Draw me near ♪
♪ Savior, savior ♪
♪ Draw me near ♪
Cole. Come on, man.
Come on. Get up.
Come on. Let's get... Come on. Sit you right here.
Let me look at you, man.
Are you hurt?
Aight. Let's take this off.
I got you a different shirt.
I'm just gonna... clean this up.
I feel like I was born with a boot on my neck.
Taught from the jump.
"Watch your back out there."
That's what my mama used to tell me.
"Watch your back out there, boy."
I don't know who they expect us to grow up to be
if we... watchin' over our shoulder all our fuckin' lives.
The only home I ever known was... on the back of a horse.
Here, put this shirt on.
Go on.
Smush one of us, man.
They may have put his body in the ground already,
but he ain't go in no cowboy.
We gotta go get Chuck, get his boots.
We're gonna put 'em on his grave.
Let's give him his last ride.
I know, man.
I got you.
I got you, man.
Come on.
Okay, keep a lookout.
Aight.
Help me move this.
Chuck?
- Chuck. - Hey, boy.
Chuck.
Come here, boy. Come on.
Hey.
Boo?
Hey. What's up? Good to see you, boy.
Whoa.
Whoa. Oh, I missed you, man.
I'mma get you outta here. I got you.
Ain't nothing gonna happen to you no more.
I've been out there three nights,
waiting for your dumb asses to drum up the courage.
So now what? You here to arrest us?
Nah, I'm here to make sure some rook with a sweaty trigger finger
doesn't shoot your Black asses.
Come on, Harp. At least make it look like something it ain't.
You steal back the only horses they seized down at Fletcher Street,
it's gonna be a little too obvious for them to ignore, don't you think?
Come on, beautiful.
Let's go.
We'll let this one and the others run around for a while,
gather 'em up in the morning.
And it just so happens yours can't be found.
So look, I suggest you lay low until morning.
Or at least until everybody remembers we have actual murders to solve,
and gets bored lookin' for some lost pets.
Backup will be here in about five minutes.
I suggest you giddyup.
Come on.
Hyah! Hyah!
Whoa.
Pops, we can't just watch this go down. We... We gotta do something.
Let's ride in and block 'em. Give these motherfuckers a day off.
Nessie, where you from? What stable did you came up from?
- White House. - Right.
Rome? Where you from?
- Tioga, you know that. - Uh-huh. What about the rest of y'all?
- 31st. - Markoe Street.
Yeah, all them places you talk about right here,
all them places, long gone.
They're all bricks and beams right now, but you still here, ain't you?
- You still here? - Yeah.
Yeah. Let 'em take the stables.
Let 'em take 'em 'cause they can't take who we are as a... as a people.
Home ain't a place. It's a fam.
That's what make us cowboys.
So what we gonna do, then?
Well, shit, we gonna do what we always do.
We gonna ride.
Good boy, Chuck. Stay right there.
Come on, now.
Thank you.
Thank you for bringing him to me.
I mean it.
Come on, now.
- Mom. - Cole.
Cole, baby. Ah!
Oh!
Oh! My baby boy.
You look good, Mama.
I like you as a cowboy.
Ma, this is Boo. This is my horse.
- Yeah. He's riding. Yep. - My goodness. Wow.
- Oh, he's so beautiful. - Yeah, he got his own horse.
I mean, he's still got a lot to learn. He ain't no me.
- I ain't no... I'm better than you. - Ain't no ole Harp, man.
- I'm better than you. - Better than who? What?
Come on, man.
Even when we riding around, people'll be like,
"Uh, where do the horses come from?" Or, "How did they get around here?"
These horses been here before me. Know what I'm saying? So it's like...
when we telling this story, I want people to sit back and just look
and see, like, this is... this really... this is really happenin'.
And they do this, and... people got good days and bad days.
And that's, like, regular. That's, like, regular life.
And this is life.
I live in Philadelphia.
And there are people, all the time, who say to me,
"What do you mean, you ride horses? Where? There are no horses in Philadelphia."
It's like, "What are you talking about? There are horses all over Philadelphia."
And, like, yes, in North Philly, we ride horses.
Like, we have horses. We take care of the horses.
And I think that if more people knew about it
and knew how important the stable was to so many people, young people,
who don't have anywhere else to go.
I think I get more enjoyment out of watchin' the kids
that I actually teach...
Watching them kinda, like,
them absorb it and then adapt and then make an adjustment,
not just with a horse, but just in life itself.
The stable, like, it does... it does a lot for us.
Like, you know, I can pretty much sit here
and say that I'm in my forties right now,
and I believe in my heart because of this stable
that's why I don't have a felony on my record.
You know what I mean? Or nothing like that. It just...
It helps keep you on a straight path
with the other guys down here, the older guys, you know,
because they've been through everything that we're about to go through.