Off The Record: Butta Soft (Part 2)

Them leather jackets and them bright colors, is like a walking advertisement b, for real. Mothfuckas you think that wasn't paying no attention before, is definitely on you now. I would hear little shit through niggas around, people counting your pockets, saying what you putting in the bags aint point- whatever is supposed to be. I ain't pay that shit no mind. Obvious, the niggas thats talking shit is the same niggas thats coppin. How else would you know how much my bags weigh.. see what I'm sayin?

Anyway, not too long after that I started fucking with other shit, moving around a lot more. I wasn't just in my building as much. Shit began to open up for me, you know? I was uptown. I was in the Bronx.. but I always had to come back. I would get a call, tell them "I'm not around right now" but by the time I get back they already found somebody else. I was missing out on a lot of shit.. Weed sell itself, you just gotta be there. I couldn't keep taking these losses, I had to figure it out.

Boom. lol. Every hood nigga start a story with "Boom" right?... lol.. Check it, I think that winter came right and I had a chance to be around a lot more. You know how shit go.. that snow come, you slow down, you not outside as much. It began to pick back up for me in the building. I would see niggas in the elevator, the lobby, or whatever. That money started to come back in.. And, and I found out I was losing out to some Jamaican cats that was in the building next to mine. They been around for years and they was a little hot with me because shit started to slow up for them when I started the two dubs for thirty shit. Lol. Nigga that shit was the first hood pandemic. I had niggas knocking on my mova door at 8 in them morning bro. Lol. I came out wilding, like "thefuck you doin knocking on my fuckin door".. they sitting there stuck. But they wanted 6 of them thangs. Lol. I needed that. Word.

That winter really let me know the potential of them buildings. I got a chance to be around. I seen more money than I ever did. I was taking trips out the country and shit. Buying my girl all types of La Perla underwear and shit. Lol... One day I hit my man and was like "yo, lets take our chicks to .. I don't know, whatever island I thought was fly at the time, lol" and this nigga like "Bet!... but yo, yo where thats at?" lol. It didn't matter. The money didn't matter. Young dumb shit.

Anyway, It was a family down the hall from me. Big ass big family. Like 4 brothers, 3 sisters type shit. Mad of'em. A couple of times the brothers would approach me about trynna buy something or get down with me. I knew they didn't have enough money to buy, so that was out of the question and I didn't trust anybody with my money or my shit.. But my man, my man he worked in the sneaker store up the block. He was a heavy smoker and he was like a fake icon in the hood. Niggas would go to the sneaker store with they whole fit in a bag, lay that shit out on top the counter and would hope for that nigga to pick out a fire fitted and a pair of kicks to match. He had his own crowd, you know. He would buy shit from me, I would give him shit because he got me a fitted or two but he was a cool nigga. Anyway, I put him on. Same set up. Two for thirty. If a nigga only wanted one, whatever extra cash he made, was his... Nigga. That nigga was killing. I thought I had flow, homeboy was coming to see me every couple hours. He would do like two joints a day. Nothing less.

Shit was going good. Had no complaints. My money was stacking up. Then one of the brothers came to see me again. It was one of the little brothers. He was like 15 - 16 at the time. We spoke, know what I'm sayin... told me he wanted to make a couple dollars. Nothing crazy. I said fuck it, I'd give him some light shit. See what he do with it. A couple weeks past, he doing good. Slow. But consistent. Some time go by. The weather switching up. We back in leather season now. I'm switching up crazy. Sneakers, kicks, jackets.. timbs. I'm doing whatever... Tavernitti denim. But anyway, I'm at the crib one day and my man Watio pulled up on me. I'm in there getting dressed, getting my shit together. Watio talking to me about some move he about to make out in BK.. we talking about how he should play it or whatever. Now we about to leave out the house. I throw on my red soft. He like "yo that joint is mean".. lol. "Good lookin" So we make our way out the building. We walking toward the corner to catch a cab and I see the little brother. He got his little man with'em. A spanish cat. Short dude. Slim. He like "yo this my man I was telling you about.. he want to get down too". He told me about him a couple times before this, I seen him around but I never said nothing to him. He like "yea my name is such and such, I'm from over there, blazay blah" right.. I'm like "aiight cool.. ya'll come see me little later. We'll talk then".. They spin off. Watio like "yo thats tough my nigga. You making money. They see you shinning bro, they see you looking fly, but sometimes niggas don't wanna be like you, they want to be you."

I understood why he was saying that, but maybe he picked up on something from the convo with the little niggas that I didn't. Sometimes niggas just be saying shit to just to remind you that everything ain't sweet out here... Anyway, I flag down a cab. I hop in. Watio gets in a cab and goes his way. The next day.. the two lil niggas come to see me. Little bro pay me out for what he owed me.. I gave him something else. And that spanish cat, I gave him the same thing I just gave little bro to start.

A couple days go by, I see little bro. He pay me. No problem. I see the spanish nigga, he like he aint finish yet. I'm cool with it. He new so I figured it would take him a little longer... Couple more days go by. I see the Spanish nigga again. He still talking this "I need more time" shit. I let him rock.. but I knew then time was up for homeboy. The next time I seen him and he didn't have my bread I was gonna fix him up... My nigga. I ain't see that nigga for months after that. If that was April - May.. I ain't see that nigga til like July - August.

Haha.. Funny shit. I was with Watio when I seen him again. Watio on his fake strong man shit. Strongest nigga in Harlem type shit. lol. We walking back from the park, this nigga had me in there doing sets... Anyway, we walking back, I see the little nigga standing in front the building. Little brother there, couple other lil niggas... He seen me see him and boy got nervous. I walked straight to him "yo follow me".. We walk to the other side of the building. I give him a little space cause I don't know if the little nigga had a hammer on him, a knife or what. He see I'm heated, I'm like "where the fuck my money at" as I'm saying this, I'm watching his hands to see if he reach for something or if he would dare to square up with me. He ain't do none of that.. so I'm like "got'em" lol. I pushed the nigga dumb hard against the brick wall. boom! Fake roughed him up a little bit, went in his pockets. He had like 25 dollars and a ipod and some other shit. What he owed me was less than the price of the ipod. Homeboy migh've owed me like 80 dollars. But it was the principle. Told him when he bring me my money he'd get this piece of shit ipod back. He never came to get it. I didn't see him for years after that. One day he walked up to my car asking for change. Looked like he was smoked out. I don't even think he realized it was me. Told him "I ain't have it". But, since then, that shit taught me, never get comfortable. I always thought homeboy would come back for me one day.. off principle.

Soon after, I got rid of that flashy shit. Kept it simple.

We all have a story, whether good or bad.. there's a story to tell. Off The Record is that . It's an ongoing article where I've gone to my neighborhood and interviewed all of the retired street guys, that left the game alone.. They were filled with stories. Stories that they never told or felt like they could ever tell.. These are true stories. These are the stories of the men and women from neighborhoods like mine, across the country. Enjoy.