Introduction To Hard 2 Da Kore (Hard2daKore Book 1) (35 page)

I felt a little pain in my other arm, the one that hadn’t been shot. I must have an I.V. stuck into my arm or something. I thought as I felt the woman adjusting something that was along the side of my bed. “Would it be alright if I spoke with him briefly?” I heard a man’s voice say. I tried to see who was talking but my vision was still very blurry. The only thing that I could see was a big silhouette standing over me. Suddenly I felt someone grab my hand and shake it. “Hey Korey my name is Po’ Boy, “M” I mean Mike has told me a lot about you, I almost kinda feel like I already know you.” He said with authority. I tried to talk, but my throat was so dry that I could only mutter out my words. “B..but what...” “Now don’t try to talk yet.” Po’ Boy interrupted. “Here drink some of this.” He said, and then fed me some water from a small plastic cup. I drank some of the water. It helped clear up my dry throat a little as I tried to speak. “But wha.. what abou.. ‘bout Mike?” I asked weakly. “He didn’t answer.

Po Boy:

I could tell that he and M must be as tight as he says they are. “Listen, you just take it easy son and don’t try to talk much.” I wanted to ask him some questions, but I could see that he was in no position to talk right now. I thought as I watched M’s best friend lay weak and helpless on the bed. I felt bad for Lourna Doone. It hurt me to see her dead like that. So young and so pretty, she was definitely one of my thoroughest of thoroughbreds. I’m gonna miss her and I know that M will too. I don’t know if Korey got the chance to get to know her, but if he did, I’m sure he’d probably agree with me. We took a big hit this time, but I know that’s part of this game we play. Damn. I thought as I watched Korey squirming around on the bed.

Korey:

Damn, they killed Lourna. I thought about her pretty face and the way she looked at me the first time that I saw her. I wondered if she would’ve lived would I’ve gotten with her. Even though she was a stripper she had good head on her shoulders, and a really good heart. I wondered what was gonna happen to her little daughter and if she was very close with her family or not. I wanted to cry, but the pain that I felt made me feel too weak to do anything. I could feel the drugs that the nurse gave me slowly wearing me down and tiring me out. I know that my moms and Jay were probably going crazy looking for me too. I have to call them and let them know what happened, but I can’t tell them about all of this... this Ghostrydr shit.

Po’ Boy
:

“Mike told me that you were gonna be a famous rapper one day. You know, you should give it a shot. If you got the talent you should use it.” I told him. I don’t know if he heard me, but he did manage to nod his head in response. He opened his eyes a little and I saw a tear run down his cheek. “You see this gentleman right here? He’ll be right here when you’re ready to go. I’ll have him drive you to the airport whenever you’re ready. There’s a limo, a plane, and a sizeable amount of cash on it for your troubles waiting for you as soon as you’re ready. You’re a Ghost now Korey, so act accordingly. You’ll know everything you need to know when you need to know it. I’ll be keeping my eye on you, so you go back home, make some music, some good music and make us ALL proud. But remember....

Korey:

” I could faintly see Po’ Boy as it looked as if he was putting his finger up to his mouth as the drugs finally got the best of me. “Sshhh.” He said, and then turned around and walked away. Even though....I could...barely see him...I could tell that he... he...shit...these drugs is…makin’ me.... I blacked out.

27                                                       
I’M ALMOST THERE                                                              
(Korey)

It’s been roughly 2 months since I’ve been out of the hospital and back home. I hadn’t heard from Mike, Po’ Boy or Sinnimin since I’ve been back. I can only faintly remember the shooting and anything else that happened after that. I remember feeling like I met that guy Po’ Boy or maybe I was dreaming that he spoke to me. I don’t know. I really hated having to lie to my mother and the rest of my family though. I told them that after I’d broken up with Sinnimin and lost my job that I had to get away for a couple of days to clear my head.

Jay said he thought that I’d gotten kidnapped by Gameface and ‘nem for bustin’ his ass in the battle that night. I made up a story and told them that I hurt my arm when I took a bad fall in the woods that Mike and I were playing skeetball in. My mom said she thought that Sinnimin and I went away and that’s why I wasn’t answering my cell phone or my phone at home. As for Sinnimin, I hadn’t seen her since that night she left my apartment. She’d came back and gotten the rest of her things when I went away, and that was it. It was hard to believe that it was really over between us. We had some really good years together and now all of that was just a memory. I hadn’t been with anyone else since I’ve been home. What happened to me when I went out west changed my life a lot. I think about Lourna sometimes, a lot as a matter of fact. I even started eating those Lourna Doone cookies. They reminded me of how sweet she tasted and how much of a sweet person she was. I thought about what she told me when we was in the car that day and how I felt like she was trying to warn me about something. Am I a Ghostrydr now? How does this work? Mike never got the chance to explain everything to me? Will I ever see or hear from him or them again? It’s crazy how one small thing can happen in your life that changes your life forever. I guess everything happens for a reason right? For what reason, I don’t know. I guess it just does. Well, since that day i’ve been writing a whole lot more, I watch the company that I keep. I’m much more aware of my surroundings and I don’t trust too many people. I took some of the money that Mike and Po’Boy gave me and finally made my demo tape.

Jay questioned me about the money, and I told him that I got a nice severance pay from my job when they let me go, but I never told him how much though. Jay hooked me up with some of his connections and got me on record with that rapper The Crazy Gunna that was killed, and I spit a little somethin’ on The Born Criminals’ album too. Both did pretty well. I was finally gettin’ the props I deserved, locally anyway. I’ve gotten quite a few offers from some major labels, but Jay and I decided to try to make it on our own and start our own label. We put out a C.D. that made a little noise and we did a few videos and some shows with some of rap music’s hottests rappers, but I still feel like I haven’t given my all yet. It’s kinda hard for me to write about some of the things that I’ve experienced, but in rap music, the realer the better. Jay told me that the more bullshit you go through, the more people like to hear about it, and the more pain you endure, that’s even better. That’s what sells records he said. I almost seem like I had already written about some of this type of stuff already. Maybe I was writing what was in store for me, like a premonition. I guess. 

Well, now we’re here we are in the studio, and I’m about to record a song that I wrote a few days ago. I like this song because it kinda touched on some of the things that I’ve seen and experienced in my life and some of the things that I’ve seen in the streets. I practiced the song in my head while Jay and the engineer set up the track that I was going to record on. The song went like this:

Hey you can’t turn back ‘cause da streets got u captive, runnin from block to block--- hyperactive.                               where every corner got another story to tell,                                            oh well, that’s just another nigga goin to hell,                                              from the street life, where good is bad & bad is good,                             & shit always be happenin’ up in my hood,                                                                         who got shot? who got locked? who got whaat?                           who’s gettin paid---and who’s not?                                                    just tryin’ to make it through today,                                                     so you can see another day,                                                  niggas goin bout da street life the wrong way,                                                                                                 so you gotta play hard and live life on the edge?                    now somebody go tell his mother that her son is dead,                           that’s why he shoulda listened when his mama said,                     stop runnin’ them streets, and stay home instead,                                 but the streets kept callin’ so he had to go,                                             cause the street life was the only life he knew, now the...

street life---that’s the only life you know                                                 its all about that-----street life--that’s the only way you’ll go                                               you all about that---street life--where them gangstas go and play if you about that----street life--then you’ll play your life away

Hey yo my man clockin’ kilos on the dirty down low,                          he said, never let them streets take control,                                               he said keep ya cash flowin’ and stay on the low,                           cause the street life’s only gonna take ya soul,                                    you betta get the cash fast then get outta da game,                     cause the street life’s only bring you pain,                                       I done seen them streets drive a lotta niggas insane,                               so don’t fuck with it, if you can’t stand the rain,                                so listen closely Da Mann to these words I say because,                 this type of shit it happens ev-ver-ry daaay,                                        one day u walkin down da street like everything’s o.k.                   and then just like THAT! You got blown away,                                 so don’t try to play them streets, cause they’ll only play you, and if you do, you betta’ make sure and stay true,                                 like I said before, watch what you say and what you do,                   and maintain all them niggas runnin’ wit cha crew, cause the..

street life, that’s the only life you know                                               its all about that----street life----that’s the only way you’ll go                                                   you all about that--street life---where them gangstas go and play                                      if you about that—street life---then you’ll play your life away

Caught up in them street life tryina live life to da fullest,                                                                      where the difference between life and death, is a bullet--               --street life--                                                                                where niggas try to take what’s yours,                                                   and your very last stop, could be in the morgue,                            runnin’ fast in da street life---on da run,                                        from gettin’ stabbed by a knife or shot by a gun,                         where niggas rob for cash, and they steal for fun,                              cause the streets got ‘em stressin, and it weighs a ton,                                                                               got you runnin ‘round not knowin what to do,                                     you think you runnin’ these streets?                                            Nope! These streets runnin you!                                                                      cause these streets ain’t nothin’ but a piece of Earth,                             so you betta take heed, for what it’s worth, cause the..

street life, that’s the only life you know,                                                      its all about that--street life----that’s the only way you’ll go,                                                   you all about that--street life--where the gangsta go and play,                                                if you about that---street life--then you’ll play your life away. Yeah!

Ha ha, I like that song. I smirked as I stood inside of the sound proof booth getting ready to record. I could see Jay arguing with the engineer, so I stepped out to see what was goin’ on. “You supposed to be the engineer so make the shit sound right or get somebody up here who can Mr. Engineer!” He screamed. “Iight Mann let’s take it from the top, we got about six or seven more joints to do and after then and then the album will be DONE!” Jay said excitedly while staring down at the engineer. So I stepped back into the booth and put on the headphones. I could see the engineer flipping switches and turning knobs.

Suddenly the music began to play inside of my headphones. I thought about everything and nothing as I waited for my cue to start rapping, alright....now…herrrrre we go.
“Hey yo you can’t turn back because the streets got you captive.......”
As I sang, I thought about how much life has changed for me and my family and how good it felt to give be able to give them some money and a few nice things. I had flash thoughts of how my brother Kevin was doin’ really good in school now, and respects my mom and her house much more than he did before.

I let him hang out with me sometimes and he even got him a few autographs and taken some pictures of him and some major rappers that he has hung up on his bedroom walls. My sister is still fighting the power and encouraging us to help keep our community safe and clean. I started calling my dad more and we hooked up a couple of times and talked over a few beers. As you probably already guessed Jay is my manager, and he rules with an iron fist. If it wasn’t for him I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. I can honestly say that today I’m happy, and the future is looking much brighter. I’m even thinking about changing my name, not now, but maybe in the near future. I was thinking about changing it to something that sounds more like my first name Korey. How’s about some Hard Kore? I got it! Hard Kore! I thought to myself. “I Like that, Hard Kore.” I chuckled lowly, nodding my head in agreement with myself.