On the Come Up

by Angie Thomas

Rule numero uno of battling? Know your opponent’s weakness. Nothing he’s spit this round is directed at me. That may not seem like a red flag, but right now it’s a huge one. I blanked. A real MC would go for the kill because of that. Hell, I’d go for it. He’s not even mentioning it. That means there’s a 98 percent chance this is prewritten. Prewritten is a no-no in the Ring. A bigger no-no? Prewritten by someone else. I don’t know if he wrote those lines, maybe he did, but I can make everyone think he didn’t. Dirty as hell? Absolutely. But since my dad isn’t off-limits, not a damn thing is off-limits. Rule number two of battling—use the circumstances to your advantage. Supreme doesn’t look too worried, but trust: He should be. That goes in my arsenal. Rule number three—if there’s a beat, make sure your flow fits it like a glove. Flow is the rhythm of the rhymes, and every word, every syllable, affects it. Even the way a word is pronounced can change the flow. While most people know Snoop and Dre for “Deep Cover,” one time I found a remake of it by this rapper named Big Pun on YouTube. His flow on this song was one of the best I’ve ever heard in my life. Maybe I can mimic it. Maybe I can wipe that dumb smirk off Milez’s face. Maybe I can actually win.