"Quentin!" "Come on in here, boy." "Boy, it look like you need a bath." "Hmm." "We gotta get you clean, boy." "You been out there..." "Running in all that snow." "You wanna be clean, don't ya?" "We need to sweat them more." "We need to sweat." "Without sweat, everything's nothing." "This fight, if you sweat, the fight's gonna be much easier for you." "Now, you don't work hard enough." "It's all about pain." "How to receive pain and give it out." "That's our gym." "That's all we do." "That's all we do." "Just always make sure that you come to the gym, always is pain." "You got pain, you give back." "That's always it." "That's the story usually." "Ole G's raised me, that package blow." "Living life." "Living life in sin, seein' wasn't in the..." "Alonzo." "Yo." "I have been waitin' on this day." "I ain't gotta have 'em that tight." "It ain't like I ain't goin' home." "Alonzo." "Son, could I hold your hand?" "Father, I pray right now for Alonzo as he leaves this place, God." "Lord, bless him and his family." "God, we ask, God, that you'd restore everything that the enemy has stolen from him." "Bring it back, my lord!" "And we'll give you praise, in Jesus' name, amen." "Amen." "Thank you for everything you've done for me." "You're a changed man, Alonzo." "I believe God's gonna tremendously use you." "Thank you." "Yes." "A'ight, ole G." "All right, now." "What's up, man?" "I'm gonna remember everything you taught me." "Keep your head up in here, man." "I'm gonna miss you, brother." "Gonna miss you, too, man." "I'm gonna write you, though, shoot you a couple kites." "Lonzo!" "Let's roll, man." "I'm good, man." "I'm good, man." "You know Donte ain't gonna like this." "Is what it is, man." "I'm good on Donte." "Why haven't you left yet?" "You get a job yet?" "Hey!" "What?" "What." "Look, God first, school second, because you are not losing that scholarship, and then dancing third." "And you don't have to worry about a job." "Excuse me?" "Anyway, I appreciate you, sis." "All right." "I'll talk with you later, okay?" "All right." "Okay." "Oh, I'll be at church later tonight, if you're looking for me." "Yo, Alonzo, Mike, another one of our tenants here." "What's going on, man?" "What's up, Mike?" "Well, this is your place." "Not the best." "A lot better than the joint." "The other tenant left a few things here." "You don't wanna keep 'em, throw 'em out." "Okay." "Uh, need to tell you this." "We're here for ya, but we do have rules." "No drugs, no drinkin', no yelling', no fighting, and I know you just out the joint, but absolutely no women." "I can respect that." "All right." "All right." "Now, if you forget it, here's the rules, right here on the door." "We only have one shower, but there's a boxing gym down the alley." "Got a lotta showers." "The owner'll let you use it." "Welcome." "All right." "Thanks." "Make yourself comfortable." "Appreciate it." "You can do this." "You can do this, Mia." "I gotta pee." "We'll just have to stop somewhere." "I don't understand why her mom is so strict." "If I was 20 and I couldn't have my own friends in my house, I would..." "just let it go." "Go cr... what do you mean let..." "like that's weird." "It is weird." "We'll just have to stop somewhere." "It... but..." "I mean should we talk to her about this?" "Ready?" "Can I run in and use your bathroom?" "No, let's just go to Harold's." "I want a bite to eat anyway." "Okay?" "Hey, look at this dude." "He was something." "I don't know why." "Where's our boy?" "Hi, this is your dad." "Call me back." "I tried to call you, but nobody's picking up phone." "Please you call me back." "Very, very important." "Hey, look at them shorties right here." "Hey, yo, shorties!" "You with the light eyes." "What's your name?" "I ain't seen you around here before." "Hey!" "Hey!" "You hear me talkin' to you?" "What's so funny?" "I didn't get the joke." "Why don't you fill me in?" "Mia!" "Let's go!" "I got your attention now, huh?" "Bye, Mia." "Yo, Bobby, I like her." "Press the shoulders down and make sure you..." "Hands up, right, right, right." "The muscles, use them for balancing." "Okay." "Wow." "I know." "It's kinda drab in the daytime." "You would never think it was like a hot club." "Ooh, you ready for this, Mia?" "Uh, sure." "What's wrong with you?" "You-you really wanna fight?" "Excuse me." "Hey." "Hey." "Yeah, we're here to sign up." "To train?" "No, to sing." "Oh!" "I got you." "You mean tonight at the underground." "Yes." "Sweetheart, you ain't got to sign up." "Just show up, bring your music, and work it out with the deejay." "That's it?" "That's it." "It's fast, especially trying' make it to the stage, what, after that kid made it big here." "Just get up there quick, cue your music, and let it rip!" "All right?" "Don't be shy about it." "Oh, you ain't got to worry about us." "We ain't shy." "All right, well, look, I gotta get back to work, so good luck, all right?" "All right, thanks so much, man." "Come on." "Yeah, thanks." "Take care." "All right." "Damn." "All right!" "Hey, ma." "Can I come in?" "You know, that boy of yours has learned to walk and talk since he last seen you." "Smart, too." "Alonzo, I asked you not to hang out with those thugs, and you didn't listen!" "Ma, it's different now." "Look, don't patronize me!" "Your father died out there for that same street garbage." "He was nothing." "And you?" "You wanna do this to me all over again." "And to these children." "I'm not him!" "And I ain't nothing." "You know that." "Well, then show me, Alonzo!" "Because this, this is not my son." "Eat your food." "Nice store, sir." "Go away in the back." "I'll take care of them." "Go in the back." "They up to no good." "Can I help you, young man?" "Can I help you?" "Harlan!" "How much did you pay for that?" "He asked you a question." "You got a problem hearing, old man?" "To acquire our services for 30% of your business a month." "Now wouldn't you say that was fair?" "You can't come into this store... it's okay, baby." "It's okay." "Don't come in here and do this to us!" "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" "We need all of it." "We need all of it." "Hey, hey, hey, hey." "Keep a wrap on her, old man." "I made you an offer." "Need you to think about it." "Quentin, right?" "Yeah." "Hey, I'm noelle." "What's up, Noelle." "How are you doing?" "I'm good." "Uh, listen, I've seen you in town, and I think you're an amazing dancer." "Thank you." "You're welcome." "So what I'm gonna do is give you Mr. Welch's card." "The choreographer?" "Yeah." "I've already told him about you and everything." "So give him a call and see what happens." "All right." "Word." "Thanks." "No problem." "Bye." "Keep doing what you're doing." "Word." "That's what I'm talkin' about!" "I need one minute, one minute, one minute of y'all time, man." "I just gotta say that everything that I'm doin' right now, it all started with a dream, a vision, a belief." "I lost my father at eight months." "I lost my mom at twelve." "Was diagnosed with diabetes at fourteen." "I grew up with several different strikes all against me, everybody was like, "yo, he's gonna be out of there."" "But I had a dream." "And through the grace of God, the first time the world ever heard me rap," "I won a grammy award." "The second time they ever heard me rap" "I-I won another grammy award." "So I just wanna tell you all that the only limitations that you'll ever have in life are those that you place upon yourself." "All right, real quick, real quick, before we get to the next performance, we gonna take a minute to thank God for the founder of the underground." "Joliette's very own, my man, Paalo." "And, yo, and have some respect for this man's business, man, because he's keeping you focused and off the streets, so when you see him, thank him, show him some love," "let him know we appreciate him." "A'ight?" "A'ight, let's keep this thing goin'!" "what are you doin'?" "Jumping on the bed." "Mmm." "What did I tell you?" "Don't jump on the bed." "That was a pretty song." "What did I tell you about singing'?" "We don't sing." "What..." "Did I tell you..." "About singing'?" "We don't sing in this house." "Yeah." "No, don't hurt me, it hurts." "When you don't listen, there are consequences." "Move!" "What?" "What are you lookin' at?" "Where have you been?" "I can't." "You can't what?" "I can't do this." "Nah, I'm not saying anything." "A'ight, we got some gorgeous ladies comin' to the stage right now." "It's me again." "Just find some way to call me back." "Okay?" "Bye." "I'll take care of you." "Don't go." "Don't go, I'll take care of you." "Don't go nowhere." "Don't go to your mommy." "Stay with me, okay?" "Sit down here, sit right here." "Sit down." "Your daddy." "Sit right here with me." "Hey, faggot!" "I'm talkin' to you, you black faggot!" "What's the matter, boy?" "You scared, huh?" "Mom and daddy ain't here no more, now is they?" "Hmm, what's the matter, baby?" "It's all right, come on." "Calm down, boy, calm down." "It's a'ight." "It's okay." "What's the matter?" "You knows you's a little faggot!" "Hey!" "Hey dawg, you a'ight, man?" "You a'ight, man?" "You sure?" "Yeah." "Thanks." "A'ight, man." "They have the most gorgeous outfits for the babies... pink, lace dresses and, y-you... my mother called today and... can-can you open the car first?" "Just a second." "How you doin'?" "Good." "How are you?" "What's your name?" "Uh, Michael." "Michael?" "Mm-hmm." "Is it open?" "It's open." "Okay, Michael." "Thank you." "You go-go to school?" "Yes, sir." "High school." "What, are you sixteen or seventeen?" "Seventeen years old, sir." "Oh, oh." "Thought so." "It's hard work, huh?" "Yeah." "Anything else I can do for you, sir?" "Um, nope." "That's good." "You have a good one." "You, too." "Hey, oh." "Uh, here you go." "Thank you." "You know what?" "Hold on a second." "You seem like a very hard-worker." "Why don't you take that?" "Thank you very much, sir." "You're welcome." "What?" "You didn't even show any signs that you heard anything that I said." "Come on, what are you talk..." "really, Julian." "I heard everything you said." "I was just tryin' to deal with the kid, all right?" "I mean show some signs that you care." "Please, please, don't..." "don't do this, all right?" "Just leave me alone, will ya?" "Hey." "Hello." "Mia." "If you're not gonna park your car in the garage, would you at least get it off the front drive?" "It's tacky." "Okay." "And Mia?" "Never mind." "I have a performance at church coming up." "My first solo." "That's good." "Um, Jackson can't come because he has to work." "Can you come?" "Yeah, I'll be there." "Cool." "And I invited Jackson to have lunch with us." "I really want you guys to get along, I do." "Uh, just, try, at least." "What happened to your eye?" "You guys are running around with some thugs." "Hey, babe, how are you doin'?" "Hey." "You, you got to duck, dawg." "Bob and weave." "Foo-foo." "I gotta go." "I'll see you later." "Don't forget to duck, dawg." "Funny man." "Come on." "Just tryin' to help you, babe." "Q, wait a second." "Q!" "What is goin' on with you?" "What's happening?" "What's goin' on?" "What's with this?" "Dude, what's, come on." "Just take care of yourself out there, okay?" "Please?" "All right?" "And learn how to fight." "Come on." "You're so silly." "I'm out." "Weave and duck!" "Hey, hold that door for me." "What's up, Lashawna?" "Daddy!" "Hey, baby, how you doing?" "Good." "You know your daddy missed you, right?" "Yes." "Hey, what's up, AJ?" "What's up, man?" "Go back inside." "Go see your brother." "Look, I ain't got no money for you." "Lashawna, I don't want your money." "I don't have a place to stay for you, either." "I got that covered, lashawna." "Really?" "It's good." "Who is he?" "Listen, if you wanna see your kids," "I'll take 'em by your mother's house." "Okay?" "I gotta go." "The money's in there." "All right?" "Y'all know what to do with it." "So what we doin'?" "What's up?" "Yo, get out of here." "What you doin' here, huh?" "The money's all we got." "Then why are you handing' me that right now?" "Huh?" "!" "Look, man, it's bumper to bumper on that corner." "It's like a mall." "So what are we doin' here, anyway, man?" "There's something I need to see with my own eyes, man." "Let's roll." "Hey, where we goin'?" "Boo, not you, man." "You talk too much." "Serious?" "Very serious." "Hey, Donte?" "Hey, Paalo." "Paalo!" "Ya?" "There's somebody in the office looking for you." "Who is it?" "Some lady." "What she want?" "I think she want to talk to you." "Okay." "Mike?" "Yeah?" "Punchin' bag, straight punches." "Let me go see what." "All right." "So you believe in Jesus, now?" "You think helping' these kids is gonna change who you are?" "Do you remember the time I was fightin'?" "Everything was good." "It's my knee." "My knee went out from me." "I couldn't know what to do no more." "Yeah, all right." "That's all I know how to do." "I just know how to box." "When my knee gave out on me... and let me tell you somethin', Paalo." "Forgive me." "Let me talk to her." "Do not call my daughter anymore." "My daughter does not want to know you." "She does not need to know you." "As a matter of fact, lose her number." "Please forgive me." "Let me talk to her." "It's been thirteen years." "Do you think I'm gonna change my mind?" "And I'm sorry and I can always say I'm sorry about it." "We all, we have to learn how to f-f-f to forgive." "I remember who you are, and just because you have a poster with Jesus' name on it, does not mean that I have to forgive you." "Man, you call me you got me waitin' out here?" "Now open this door, man." "What you got?" "I got $75." "$75?" "Man, look, dawg." "If it ain't a hundred dollars, don't call me!" "I got a TV." "Man, I don't want to hear that!" "I don't want no TV!" "If it ain't a hundred dollars don't call me." "Man, you always doin' this." "Coming short." "Please." "Man, I don't want to hear that." "Don't come short on my money no more, man." "Don't waste my time." "You washed up boxer." "Do it outside, man." "What?" "What, man?" "Thank you." "Yo, you was right, B." "This place is poppin'." "Told you." "All them kids going in and out." "It's clean." "Nobody even knows about it." "We can make a lot of money here." "Hmm." "That's what's up." "I can make a lot of money right here." "Yeah, I'm tryin' to come up for real." "Yo-ho, Zo!" "What's up, man." "Hey-hey, let me call you back." "What's happenin' with you?" "Nothin', man, how you been?" "Man, just happy to be out, man." "For real." "Messes up man, I know while you was down you did some writing'." "No time to do nothin' but just write and hit them weights, man." "That's it." "Just wanted to stop through, see how you was doin' man." "Yeah, I'm good, I'm good." "I'm good, man." "Fo' sure, fo' sure." "Hey, before you go, let's go drop somethin'." "Man, it's been so long, man." "Man, ain't gonna take but a minute." "Come on." "A'ight." "Bet." "Nah, I'm good." "Yo, check out this track I got." "Bet." "It's cool." "You got somethin' else?" "Yeah, I got some heat for you." "I need something that bang, man!" "I got ya." "I got ya." "That's it, right there." "All right, go on and drop it." "man, that's different." "It's 'cause I'm different, man." "Man, see you still got that heat, man." "Hey, right on." "Appreciate the love, man." "No problem." "No problem." "You know, you got it lookin' good around here, man." "Well, you know, Donte got us right." "Donte?" "Yeah, you know I'm rollin' with Donte's crew now." "Man, look out for that dude, man." "Man, what'cha mean?" "Just watch out for Donte, man." "You gonna come back?" "I wish someone would have told me about the first time my heart would be broken, when I pray litany my words float through a broken sky, angels rain down to take my golden petitions, but the word is so heavy." "Seraphim wings break, like language, and I's tired." "We's scared." "We have learned to function in dysfunction and so many of us won't stop until our hair is charred gray." "The only real way to heal our broken center is to speak out hearts bleed out to you listener, on pages and open mics, hear our broken words, back-alley embraces, cell phone conversations, and those fragile moments amongst friends" "when it's okay to cry." "And you listener, yes, you listener, lift our burdens and break them." "So the next time you hear the secret thoughts that pour from our eyes," "I want you to listen." "Um, Paalo is my man." "He just-asked me to come here, um, and it ma-his name makes sense," "Paalo, because he ain't pay me nothin'." "Um, growing' up, just so you know," "I was-I was poor." "We weren't even poor, we was po'." "We couldn't, couldn't afford the other letters, man." "My parents, like, they would try to buy us stuff, but they couldn't buy us everything we needed, like, we had the game operation, right, but we ain't had no batteries, you know?" "Then, then my cousin came over and he figured out a way how to plug it into the wall, right?" "It's a whole 'nother game, you know?" "It's a whole other game." "We called it operation roulette is what we called it because it was, like we was poor, we was just..." "I was actually being sponsored by a family from Haiti, so we was just like, we was really, we was really bad." "Hey, so what I'm excited about being able to come here and talk to you about is, listen, uh, I'm blessed, I get to do comedy, you've seen me on all of the shows" "and all of the cool stuff, but, uh, my talent isn't any greater than anybody's talent that's in here." "Like, everyone here has an equal talent." "Even if you're not on stage, even if you're a plumber, you have..." "you have a equal gift to me." "It's just a matter of about lookin' for an opportunity to give it away, and then that's when you really will feel fulfilled." "It's not just about you, it's about, "what can I give?"" "And the more obstacles that are in the way, the stronger you're gonna be when you finally reach the goal." "So you just gotta press on toward the mark and get it done." "That's right." "So, I'm gonna go." "Thanks for listenin'." "All right." "Tommy, what up with you, man?" "Can't sleep." "Figured I'd go in here to write you." "I got a chance to see my kids today and it's amazin' how we take things for granted until they taken away from you." "My son is actin' like he don't even really want to talk to me." "Even lashawna got some dude she staying' with." "And I ain't gonna lie, man." "It-it ain't, it ain't as easy as I thought it was gonna be." "But, man, it felt so good to see my little girl and it's funny, man," "I live right down the alley from this dude named Paalo." "I used to serve him back in the day." "He was a dope fiend." "Now, man, he-he own a spot called the underground." "He be helpin' kids and it's just amazin' how time, man, can change people." "Man, gotta go see this parole officer and he already been on me about gettin' a job and you know how difficult it is to get a job with what I got on my record?" "You block your dreams when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith." "Why are they coming through the back door?" "Come on in." "Where?" "In here, silly." "Come on." "Okay, that's a first." "Your mom must be gone, right?" "Whatever." "I'm not a child." "I'm not gonna sneak my friends into the house." "Well, then, why have we never been invited in?" "Oh, it's really nice." "I know you gotta have a place for me up in here." "Come on." "Can we get a tour?" "Hey!" "Oh." "Hey." "I'm sorry to-to surprise you like that." "Julian Welch." "Every dancer knows who you are." "I know who you are." "Quentin, right?" "Right." "Right." "So you, uh, you left me a message about, um, internships, applications?" "Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that." "I mean, I just figured you would be able to help me out with something." "Yeah, I know your work." "You're gifted, gifted." "Thank you." "Uh-huh." "I-I-I see that." "But, um, the world is full of gifted dancers." "Yeah." "Now, um, applications," "I don't know, that seems a very traditional route." "I mean, these days anyone can get one online." "And non-traditional?" "Invitations." "It's rare for a dancer to get one, but, uh, it happens." "You've got to perform, but you've got to really stand out for the work to find you." "Hmm?" "Invitations, Quentin." "Invitations." "I have a friend who runs a dance company." "He has a school in the suburbs." "About 40% of his staff is in the company." "I could put in a good word for you." "Of course, you'd have to do the rest." "Thank you, Mr. Welch." "Thank you." "Okay." "Okay." "So what are you going to do about it?" "Get a job." "Well, this is when people like you usually fall back into old habits." "It ain't easy." "But you going to have to get a job and hold onto it in order to go to level two, so let's get to it." "I'll see you back here in two weeks." "All right." "Good luck." "Check it." "Leonard, go home." "So is it true that a man finds religion once he hits rock bottom?" "Business is looking good." "Almost as good as those belts hanging on my wall, but you don't seem to miss 'em much." "You haven't dropped by to say hi in awhile." "What you doin' here?" "I owe you." "You supported my business." "And what kind of a man would I be if I didn't support yours?" "I know people." "People know people." "It's the way of survival." "Now I can get the dough rolling in." "You can be sittin' on retirement as I run the show." "I'm not sellin' it." "Just give me the opportunity." "These kids mean a lot to me, and I'm not sellin' it." "I'm flattered that you thought I was askin'." "Just s-s-leep on it, okay?" "Sleep." "Oh, and by the way, how's your daughter doin'?" "Hey!" "Now, pride breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice." "Store you're gonna love it." "Yeah." "And we need to get some more..." "It's cold out there, baby." "Yes, it is." "Cold out there." "Excuse me, sir." "Yes?" "You dropped your wallet." "Oh-oh, wha-well, thank you!" "No problem." "Oh, man." "Thank you." "Lemme give you somethin' for this." "Nah, no, no." "Are you sure?" "I'm positive." "I'm-do you need some help around here?" "Well, I'm just opening up the store, but I tell you what, come back tomorrow." "We'll see what we can do." "Okay." "Okay?" "Thank you." "Thank you, bro." "Thank you so much." "All right." "All right." "Looky, honey, he brought my wallet back." "You're doin' great, and on top of that, you're comin' up on a year that you've kept friends." "They probably think I'm crazy." "I invited them in the house." "Okay, that's good." "And-and what happened?" "Paalo's got some industry people coming." "I don't know when, but that's what I heard." "They were walkin' around." "What, I mean, Mia, we could be signed artists." "Tianna?" "And they opened the garage door." "That's just the garage." "He can't hurt you anymore." "It's hard." "Nothin' else matters." "You're already making your own decisions." "You're leavin' the house by yourself every day." "You're makin' friends." "Well, maybe the friends, maybe, maybe the singing, maybe none of that's... none of that stuff matters." "You're so used to the isolation." "Isolation helps clear the mind." "It frees you." "But be not afraid." "The darkness, it'll help you to overcome your fears." "Don't take yourself back to that place." "Listen to me!" "How do you feel?" "It's time for you to start making your own decisions." "I'm not gonna turn the light off this time." "You are." "Even though you don't see me, know that I'm here with you." "Now, when I close this door," "I want you to do exactly what I said." "Do you understand?" "Yes." "How do you feel about your mother?" "I feel trapped." "Abandoned." "She did..." "she didn't protect me." "She doesn't care." "She does these spiteful things." "She goes in my room and she arran..." "rearranges everything and, you know, she stopped paying for my tuition when I started seeing you." "She doesn't care." "Well, that's our time, sweetie." "The goal is to find your identity and mending the relationship with your mother is just as important as all the other tasks that I've given you." "You didn't know what you was doin', man." "You were scared out your mind." "Well, at least I knew to take the safety off, first." "Go get the door." "Yes, boss." "Ma, what-what's goin' on?" "When lashawna drop the kids off?" "About four o'clock this afternoon." "I wish y'all would'a let me know." "I could'a got here earlier." "And what difference would that goin' make?" "Ma, I could'a spent some time with the kids." "And did what?" "Like took 'em somewhere, momma." "Okay, well they in there." "You can do that now." "Can I get some money?" "Don't worry about it, momma." "What's this?" "Mike said it was that information about that cop you was lookin' after." "So what's that all about, anyway?" "Mind your business." "Mia." "Sit down." "Over here." "Closer." "Have you ever had a dream or aspiration that didn't come out the way you thought it would come out?" "When I was younger, I prayed about this young man." "Ooh, I wanted that man." "Ladies, you know that man I'm talkin' about." "Now, I wanted that man, couldn't understand why God never put us together." "Wasn't 'til years later I turned on the TV one night and saw him on "cops."" "That's when I realized if God answered all my prayers," "I'd be in deep trouble, right?" "Do you believe in God?" "Because I don't know what's best for me most of the time but he does." "Because I've always had some bad taste my worst relationship was physically abusive." "A lot of people say," ""what are you talkin' about that on stage, Kathy?"" "And I say, "'cause, see, it needs to be discussed."" "Because, see, a lot of people don't think black women get abused." "Oh, we do, mm-hmm." "It's just that very few men have lived to tell about it." "I just really appreciate you for this." "Man, you just don't know." "Yeah, I got an idea." "You know, Mr. Harlan, just growing' up without a father, bein' in some of the situations I was in." "You think the reason why you went to jail or somethin' 'cause you didn't have a father?" "I think that's a big part of it, Mr. Harlan." "My son had a father." "He had everything he needed." "Bachelor's degree, came outta college, didn't have to pay nothin', didn't have no debt." "He's sittin' there in jail for life." "Yeah, and he had a good daddy." "And a good momma." "Ain't that right, babe?" "That's right." "It don't matter whether you got a father or not if you ain't got no damn sense." "Got all them stuff in there, any-anything else in the back, back there?" "Yeah, she said in order to re-enroll," "I had to pay this ridiculous amount of money." "Yeah, I know." "Okay." "All right." "Bye." "Hey, I think I've seen you somewhere before, right?" "At the underground?" "Yeah, that too, but I think I've seen you dancing at the bridge, right?" "Quentin." "Quentin." "You're pretty amazing, Quentin." "Thanks." "So you like it?" "The underground?" "Yeah." "Yeah, yeah, it's, uh, it's nice." "It was actually my first time." "It's addictive." "You'll be back." "How do you do it?" "Do what?" "The way you dance, the way you move." "It's so free." "It's all I got." "Figured I'd come on this court and teach you some things." "What you gonna teach me?" "Man, you know how long I been balling?" "Man, let's go." "Let's see what you got out here." "I already have somebody that been teachin' me, while you were gone." "Look, AJ, man," "I know I ain't been able to be..." "what's up, coach?" "What's up, AJ?" "You all right?" "Yeah." "I'm Shi." "What's up?" "Aj's mentor and coach." "What's up?" "I'm Alonzo." "I'm aj's father." "Oh, okay, cool." "Well, we about to go over some drills." "You welcome to stand on the side and watch us." "A'ight." "Let's go, man." "Let's go." "Drive." "Drive." "Good shot." "Go." "Pop!" "Pop and drive." "Hi." "Is Quentin home?" "No." "What's your name?" "Donte." "You grew up with my brother, didn't you?" "Yeah, but we lost touch, though." "Look, if you see him, just tell him I got some information for him." "Okay, well, you wanna come in and wait for him?" "He should be home in a second." "Just come in." "Come on." "All right, AJ, see you in a couple days." "Bye-bye." "Let's go with some one-on-one." "Bet you I take you to the hole." "I ain't got no game out here." "Check up." "You ain't got no game out here." "Check up." "Yeah." "It's all good, man." "Good job." "You doin' all right?" "You sure?" "Watch how I cross you over." "Got him!" "Told you, you ain't got no game." "Now check up." "Man, you ain't been around to know what kinda game I got!" "AJ, look, I-I messed up." "You know how often I wish I could get that time back with you?" "Ain't nothin' I can do to get that time back." "AJ, I'm sorry!" "I love you, AJ." "I love you." "Okay." "You been okay?" "Yeah." "And your family?" "It's been a long time." "Quentin?" "It's me, babe." "Hey." "Hey, sweetie, how you doin'?" "This is Donte." "Hey..." "Jackson." "Yo, look I'll catch him some other time." "We need to talk." "Okay?" "You have no idea what's goin' on in your brother's life." "I know!" "I know what Donte does." "But I also know my brother and I know that he's not involved in any of that." "Look, he-he came over to talk to Quentin." "That was it!" "He did not come over here to hurt anyone!" "What does he want to talk to Quentin about?" "You know, it doesn't matter!" "It doesn't matter." "He came to talk to him." "He did not come here to hurt anyone." "Come on, give me more credit than that." "You know what, honey, from now on, leave your badge at work." "Elise?" "Leave your badge at work." "Elise, you have not seen what I've seen, baby." "You haven't seen the things that they're doing out there!" "Jackson!" "Whatever you think about Quentin is wrong, okay?" "It's wrong!" "I don't want to talk about it anymore." "There he is!" "Right on time." "Guys, this is the young man I've been telling you so much about." "Quentin, meet Eric Gordon." "Eric Gordon." "Hi, Eric." "Pleasure to meet with you." "Meet Ruth Mcmillan." "Hi, we're so glad you're here." "Hi." "And maryanne tomlin." "Maryanne." "How nice to meet you." "Just some of the faculty." "This is the school." "Welcome." "I'm gonna show Quentin around a bit, so I'll catch up with you guys later." " If that's okay?" " Perfect, great, thanks." "And, you, sir, come with me, sir." "Let me show you the place." "Hi, Mr. Welch." "Hey, Brandy." "How are you?" "I'm good." "This is Quentin." "Quentin, this is Brandy." "Brandy, how you doin'?" "I'm good." "They're great, huh?" "They good." "You could make them amazing." "And teaching them would help me get into the dance company?" "No." "But it'll get you noticed." "And being noticed will help you a lot more than dancing at that gym." "Lemme see what you got." "Is he serious?" "I think so." "Lemme show you what I got." "Good stuff, kid." "Good stuff." "Good class?" "Yeah, we got it in." "Oh, well, good." "You know, Mr. Welch can't stop boasting' about you, right?" "First it was your dance." "Now it's your work with the kids." "So, he's really impressed." "Well, I'm mad grateful." "Thank you for introducing us." "Oh, no problem." "You got any plans for tonight?" "Yeah, I'm gonna check out the underground." "Okay." "I invited some of the staff." "You should come." "Are you gonna get that?" "Oh, hmm, nah." "It's nobody." "But, um, you know, I got homework to do, but thanks for the invite." "A'ight." "Maybe next week." "Maybe." "I'll call you." "Hello." "What's up, sexy?" "How you doin' tonight, babe?" "Fabulous and you?" "I'm all right for an old, fat man." "Your total's gonna be 24, okay?" "Here's your change." "Thank you, sexy." "What you doin' tonight, girl?" "I'm going home." "You enjoy the rest of your day, okay?" "I wish I had some company." "Goodnight, baby." "Go ahead and get my money." "Go ahead, get my money!" "Please, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go." "Daddy!" "Alo, seriously?" "You cannot keep showin' up like this." "I just wanna see the kids." "Well, we gotta go, so." "Well, let me watch them." "I don't think so." "Please?" "All right, but you gotta do it here." "Michael Jordan." "Scotty Pippen." "Magic Johnson." "James worthy." "So you a magic Johnson fan?" "Who would you rather have on your team?" "Michael Jordan." "That's what I'm talkin' about." "Michael Jordan." "'Cause he is the tallest, the fastest person in the nba." "Hey." "How are they?" "They fine." "They sleeping'." "Okay, good." "You know, AJ snores just like you." "I don't snore." "Trust me, you snore." "I don't snore." "When'd you take this?" "Mmm, oh, that was last summer." "That was her birthday party." "She's beautiful, isn't she?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Just like her mother." "Please." "I looked a mess that day." "You were pregnant with her in this picture, right?" "Yeah, I was." "Im'a get ready to go." "Okay." "That's a good idea." "Let you get some rest." "All right?" "Okay." "Thanks." "Yeah, yeah." "See you later." "Mia?" "I'm glad you came back." "So im'a see you next week?" "Sure." "Good." "All right." "I'm gettin' back to it." "Next week, Mia!" "So, how's it going this week, man?" "It is what it is, man." "Just goin'." "Oh, it's better than that." "You the captain of the ship." "Where the ship goin'?" "If I was the captain of the ship what's happenin' wouldn't be happenin'." "Now you the architect of your life, man." "You gotta have a vision, you gotta have a plan, you know, uh, what's your life look like 30 days from now?" "90 days from now?" "You tell me." "Now, how you gonna plan for somethin' when the things that's coming at you, you didn't plan for them in the first place?" "Well, you got a job." "Well, a job don't fix all your problems." "I definitely see that." "Well, I know unless you keep that job and stay on the path, you know where you're gonna be back at." "I ain't goin' back to jail, that's for sure." "Well, three out of four people that sit in that chair end up back in jail." "We done?" "Don't let your challenges cause you to do something stupid, son." "See you back here in two weeks." "All right." "Streets that shaped me, raised me, made me, all about the fiddy though." "Toast, I kept it close you never know when im'a let it go." "Look me in my eyes, got the cush to the fire," "Ratchet on my side down the push, I'm a writer." "This is all I know." "Yeah, Mr. Harlan, I got everything put up for you." "Got it all finished up cleaning up back there?" "Yeah, yeah." "All right, lemme get your money for ya." "I swept up everything, got all the stuff put up, so." "Alrighty." "Here you go." "Appreciate that." "All right." "All right, thanks, Mr. Harlan." "Everything okay?" "Just takin' care of some stuff." "Okay, but are we ready to perform?" "Actually, uh, I'm not singin' tonight with you guys." "I just came to support." "You gotta be kidding me." "You're the one who asked us to be in this group." "This was your idea." "And you haven't performed with us once." "What's wrong with you, scared?" "Come on, girl." "Listen, just pretend that there's nobody else around, okay?" "Just-we're just at her house, we're rehearsing and everything will be fine." "Come on." "Do it." "Okay?" "So you gonna do it?" "Come on." "Come on." "We have some ladies comin' to the stage that want to sing some a cappella." "Let's see what they can do." "Show some love!" "Thank you." "We have a song called "I'll wait."" "Mia!" "I been through that." "What?" "What you goin' through." "I've been through that." "What..." "Did I tell you about singing'?" "You broke it!" "Cheat the..." "Man, I don't got nothin'." "Oh, here we go." "The X-Men, a team of mutants who used their super powers to sell a lot of comic books and movie tickets." "Okay, you guys." "Come on, let's go." "Come on, we gotta go." "Mom, why we goin'?" "What?" "Why we got to go, momma?" "Where are your coats?" "Why do we have to go?" "Man." "Let's get your coats." "Hold up, lashawna, where you goin'?" "Come on, let's get your coats." "Why we gotta go?" "Lashawna, where you goin'?" "But I just got back from seein' my parole officer." "So?" "I could watch the kids." "Please." "Lashawna, I could watch the kids while you run your errands." "Listen to me!" "Listen, I got evicted, okay?" "Mason is gone!" "Do you understand that?" "Hold up, where you goin'?" "I'm going to my sister's house." "The one that live a hour away?" "How am I see you and the kids, lashawna?" "That's the only sister I got." "What do you want me to do?" "Lashawna, please, I..." "you got another choice?" "I didn't think so." "Lashawna, I just wanna spend some time with you and the kids." "I know." "Let's go." "Let's go." "Why you..." "just stop!" "God." "Damn!" "Hey, Mia, it's Tianna." "It's okay." "Everyone gets stage fright." "All right, well, call me when you get this." "I been waitin' for you, Mia." "Sit down." "You're gonna call your mom, okay?" "Okay, okay." "No." "Please stop." "Don't." "Hello, mom?" "Mom, it's me, Mia." "I'm in the city." "Mom, can you come get me, please?" "I need you." "Hello?" "Come with me." "Come on, sit down." "You can stay here." "I just can't." "I can't go home." "And I can't sleep." "Uh." "Sorry I'm late." "This, uh, this looks... this looks... this looks absolutely delicious." "I lost my job." "Yeah." "But everything is going to be okay." "All right?" "Okay?" "Eat." "Eat." "What is this?" "This isn't... is this..." "it's chicken?" "It's a funny thing, there was a, uh..." "Today at work I saw a rabbit." "It was a..." "it was a white rabbit." "It was, uh... and there were two other people that they, uh... it was hopping..." "it's, uh." "Mia?" "Look at me." "Baby, I love you." "You understand?" "And baby, I am..." "I am so proud of you." "All right?" "Okay, get your plate." "Wait a minute, wait, wait, hold on." "What are you doin'?" "No." "Put that down." "Put it down." "Me and your mother we'll, we'll handle that." "Run me a shower." "Now." "Are you gonna eat that?" "Just run the shower." "It's fine." "No, it's fine." "All right, thank you." "Mia, go help your mother." "There was a rabbit." "He was always staring off into space." "He was there but it was almost like he wasn't really there." "I was alone." "Mia, go get your father." "There's something wrong with the shower." "My parents died here." "A semi-truck smashed right into the car." "Boom." "It happened right over there." "How can you come here?" "I'm always runnin'." "It seems like the safest place." "What are you running from?" "After they died," "I remember elise and I going to his house." "We're staying with Uncle Reggie now." "I remember one night he came into my room and, at that time I didn't think nothin' of it." "He put his hand on my head." "I thought he was tryin' to comfort me." "We gotta get you clean, boy." "I had this caller today." "Seventeen year old boy, a little sissy boy, kinda looked like you." "And it made me think what would I do if I came home" "and that sissy boy was in my house?" "You that sissy boy, ain't you?" "That's why I got you in handcuffs." "Do you understand me?" "What I'm gonna do?" "You know I'm the police, don't you?" "Ain't nobody do nothin' to me." "You will get nowhere in life without some pain, so you have to experience some pain" "in order to succeed in life." "And you are about to experience some pain, boy." "Elise and I never told anybody what happened in that house." "Yeah, im'a be over there as soon as I leave here." "Uh-huh." "Okay." "A'ight, I'll see ya." "What's wrong with you?" "Kind of mopey today, huh?" "Man, it's hard, Mr. Harlan, you know?" "What's hard?" "I mean I really appreciate everything you did done for me." "I mean, but, you know, you payin' me what you can, $40 a day, and I'm used to bein' in the streets, you know," "I grew up out in the streets with gangsters gettin' real money." "Okay." "And, you know, it's hard just gettin' something' where I could barely even get by." "So what are you sayin'?" "You don't want this job?" "I ain't sayin' that." "Well, what are you sayin'?" "I'm just sayin' it's difficult." "I don't got what you got." "I don't own no store." "You don't got what I got?" "I just hired you." "I'm standing up here tryin' to sell something." "What you got that I got?" "What you talkin' about?" "Let's get down with it." "I'm just sayin' Mr. Harlan, when you used to makin' money the way I'm used to makin' money, you get put in situations where I can't even provide for my family, my kids." "I understand that, but you know what you doin'?" "You comin' here sounding' like you blaming' me for your life." "Now, I gave you a job." "I understand you got outta jail." "I understand about your family, but don't blame me for life." "I gave you a job." "Now that's simple as that." "I'm not gonna sit up here and feel like I'm sufferin' because you can't make it." "I can't make it either." "We both in the same situations." "A'ight, Mr. Harlan." "Mm-hmm." "Talk to you later." "this guy, you stay on him." "Today is the day that you fight back." "You don't have no place to run." "So what can I do for you, old friend?" "Uh, hold on, let me guess." "You need somethin' from me." "Need something'?" "How about you owe me for the time I spent in the joint for you?" "Let's not act like you came here for no apology." "You came here for some money." "Look, man, lemme just move a couple things..." "Make some quick money and I'm out." "Look, man, you got a second chance." "Look, do me a favor and get outta my face!" "Hey, Quentin, need a ride?" "No, I'm good, Mr. Welch." "Nonsense." "Hop in." "And what a fight we got up here in the middleweight championship," "Osumanu and Upshaw are about to do battle." "It's gonna be a good one." "For you." "All your hard work and dedication." "You really mean a lot to those kids." "This is perfect timing." "My brother-in-law, he's been getting on me about getting a job." "And in this corner middleweight international IBO champion" "Osumanu machine gun Adama with trainer and former champion Paalo Awinongya." "So, so, Quentin." "What are your plans, hmm?" "Hmm?" "I never planned out my life." "If I had, it wouldn't be... well, it wouldn't be like this." "Come on, Osu." "Left." "Quick left hook there from Adama." "Let's go, Adama!" "You get into the company, don't stop there." "All right?" "Climb higher." "Don't settle." "All right?" "Yeah, I settled." "Yeah, yeah." "I got comfortable." "Married." "Now she's about to have a baby." "Mr. Welch, wow, that's pretty... don't-don't, don't say anything." "Hey, I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "I just..." "I just want you to know that great things, great things can happen for you if you just... if you just open yourself up to them." "Hmm?" "I'm saying don't ever stop going after what you really want, no matter what you have to do to achieve it." "Some body blows there from Upshaw!" "And that'll wrap up the first round." "Hey, hey!" "Success is hard-earned, hmm?" "How often we have to do things we don't wanna do." "But we do them anyway." "Sometimes, sometimes we end up liking' them." "Hmm?" "Like working with the children?" "Hey." "Working with the children?" "You like it, don't you?" "Don't you?" "Relax." "Relax." "This fight has really heated up." "Here comes Upshaw with the assault." "Come on, come on, come on." "Oh!" "And down goes Upshaw." "What a vicious blow from Adama." "Upshaw is down and he will not get up." "He's fought hard, he's trained hard, and now he's the champion and all Adama's friends now enter the ring to celebrate his victory." "And look at the joy on trainer Paalo's Awinongya's face." "The first boxer he's ever trained is back on top of the sport." "Thank you!" "Hey, babe?" "Yeah?" "How your rehearsals coming?" "Oh, they're going good." "Yeah?" "I wish you could come to the church and see us." "I wish I could come, too, baby." "I want to come but I gotta work, you know, but I'll see if I can get some... there's your money." "I got a job!" "What's wrong with him?" "Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" "Wait!" "Wait, Jackson, wait." "Let go of me!" "Let me go!" "No, let me go!" "No!" "Don't!" "I don't want your drug money." "Get out of my room." "No, no, you get out of my house." "Man, get out of my room!" "What you gonna do?" "What you gonna do?" "Get outta my room!" "Whoa, whoa, whoa." "No, no, no, me?" "Me?" "No, no, okay." "Hey, bro, you can stay." "No problem." "I'm gonna get out of y'all's house." "I'm out." "I'm out!" "I'm outta here!" "Quentin, what happened?" "What happened?" "What happened, honey?" "Quentin, talk to me." "Don't, don't go, what are you doing?" "Talk to me!" "Talk to me." "I gotta go." "What's wrong?" "What's wrong?" "What's wrong?" "Don't!" "Quentin, please!" "God." "Look right here." "This is where they took it out of, right out of this drawer." "They knew where to come to get the money." "Rob it right in here in my drawer." "They vandalized the whole store." "Look what they did to our store." "Mr. Harlan, what happened?" "Where you been?" "You did this!" "Oh-oh, come on, now, he did nothing-he didn't do it, edna." "What else is missing, Mr. Harlan?" "Well, officer, everything." "Ask my wife and she'll show you." "Show the man what's missing." "Officer, she'll show you what's missing." "They just vandalized the whole store." "I'll tell you they took crates of things." "Can I talk to you, Mr. Harlan?" "Alonzo, would you just please, help us pick up the stuff." "Man, come right here in my face and showed me he was gonna rob me." "And my store..." "Mr. Harlan, can I talk to you, please?" "Mr. Harlan is this the kid you were talking about the other day?" "Yes, yes, this is him." "Mr. Harlan, I really need to talk to you." "Well, well, look, can I-can I talk to you?" "Alonzo!" "Go ahead, go, come on, come that's okay." "Pick up some of that stuff." "Listen, I hear you do good work here." "See, Mr. Harlan needs all the manpower he can get." "Look, you-you go ahead with the heavy stuff and I'll work with the broom." "About the money..." "unless you wanna use the broom." "All right, Mr. Harlan, we're gonna get started on that report, okay?" "Yeah." "Excuse me, where's Mr. Q?" "I've got no idea." "No idea." "I haven't seen him." "All right." "Mr. Welch!" "Yes?" "Oh my, oh my God, are you okay?" "Yes." "Just sore." "From my car accident." "Can I help you?" "Oh, um, yeah, I was looking for Quentin." "Have you seen him?" "No." "No." "Okay?" "Okay." "We'd like to get into the next one right now!" "Hey, yo, back up, back up." "Back up!" "Back up." "Hey, let him through, y'all, let him through." "Let's go, Q." "Relax." "And I wanna do something for ya to show you how much I appreciate you being such a nice, young man and everything here is your fault." "I didn't ask for you." "Hey, let me see your hands." "Let me see your hands!" "Don't move." "Don't move." "Stay right there." "Get against the wall right there." "Get against the wall!" "What's your name, son?" "Quentin Anderson." "What do you know about Julian Welch?" "Mr. Welch?" "Man, he attacked me first, man." "What are you doin', man?" "Calm down." "Why y'all comin' after me?" "Hey, squad, I got the battery suspect here." "You have the right to remain silent." "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." "Hey, get up off me, man!" "Why you comin' after me?" "I didn't do nothin' wrong, man?" "Keep your tone down, all right?" "Man, why do I gotta calm down?" "Man, I'm the victim!" "Everything okay, fellas?" "You need to relax, man." "Did I hear a positive ID?" "Reggie?" "Reggie?" "Is this the troublemaker?" "You did this." "You did this!" "You raped me." "I was just a boy!" "A boy!" "Why'd you do it?" "Why?" "That's the one who raped me!" "Now let me go!" "Let me go!" "Did you do it?" "What?" "Rape him?" "I don't even know that kid." "I mean, I was his Uncle, but I haven't seen him in years." "He was even troubled back then." "Huh." "What's up, fellas?" "Hey, Jackson, how's it goin' man?" "What we got he we got." "Q?" "Oh, God." "Hey, hey Q. Q." "Come on, man." "You're on in two minutes." "Okay." "Hey." "You caught me just in time." "You callin' to wish me luck?" "No." "No, listen, listen, listen." "Um, got some bad news." "It's about... it's about Q." "He didn't make it, babe." "Jackson, what did you say?" "What?" "I was supposed to protect him." "But I didn't know." "It's okay, baby." "I didn't know." "It's okay, it's okay." "After our parents died, and we went to live with my Uncle," "I was supposed to protect him." "Okay, okay." "Hey, it's not your fault, baby." "Talk to me." "He's my baby brother." "I know." "I know, baby." "I know." "Hmm?" "It's cool." "You sure?" "There's somethin' I need you to do for me." "Baby we had all kinds of women with like nothing, you know, you right up your alley, dawg, you know what I'm sayin'?" "Yeah, high times, baby." "Hey, yo, Jack straight up." "On his tab." "Hmm, who are you?" "You gotta know who I am." "Ah." "Well, you're all alike, boy." "Look, I don't mess with you or your boys, so you can just go on and go somewhere else." "My boys." "Yeah." "My boys." "Your boys." "Look, tell me somethin'." "How many boys does it take to make a party fun?" "It takes two." "Just two." "Bye." "Bye." "You look so beautiful." "You look like your momma." "I'm sorry it took me 13 years." "I should'a called more." "I should'a try..." "I should'a been there for you." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "If it's okay for me to give you a hug?" "No." "Wait!" "I got this for you." "Mia." "Where you going?" "Where you goin'?" "I'm leaving." "Mom, I..." "I just really need to leave here." "Well, then, go." "Mia?" "Well, I heard what he said that night." "How much he loved you." "You know what he said to me?" "Go run him a shower." "Everything was always about you." "And now you wanna leave me." "I gotta go." "Now, that was easy." "That's all it took." "Just one question to get you here." "Well, your nephew not here." "But you knew that 'cause you were there." "I wanna go home." "This is your home, boy." "Now turn around." "Come here." "I want you to grab his hand." "You grab his hands." "It's either him or you." "Now, how many boys does it take to make a party fun?" "Two." "Do you know what I wish?" "I wish, I wish he was here." "So you could see both of our faces one last time." "You boys, you boys act like you were victimized." "I didn't hurt you." "I didn't do anything to you." "I gave you what you wanted." "Love." "You wanna turn that around on me now?" "Okay, see, I have a career." "You... you have nothing." "You are nothing." "And I'm not gonna let Quentin..." "I didn't let Quentin... and I'm not gonna let you, or anybody else, take that away from me." "Now, put your hands up." "Turn around, boy, and put your hands up!" "Remember that?" "Boy, mmm." "You gonna come up in here without a gun, boy?" "Huh?" "Man, I ain't no boy no more." "You... you are pathetic." "Now what the hell did you... give me a reason to blow your brains out." "I dare you!" "Shut up, shut up, shut up." "Shut!" "Get your hands behind your back right now." "You all right?" "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" "Come on!" "Think about runnin'?" "No, man, we had a deal." "I do what I say im'a do." "Come on." "Yo, man, this is it." "Just came to pay my last respect." "I'm officially done, man." "So you out, huh?" "Is that right?" "I'm out." "A'ight." "Do you." "All right." "All right, jermaine." "So you say he was talkin' to some cops, huh?" "Yeah, man, he had him come by the office." "He made us leave." "Then he had some packages come from the cops." "Hmm." "I think he's shady." "I think he a snitch." "Hmm, well you know what to do then, right?" "Gladly." "Can I help you?" "Uh, yeah, have you seen Paalo?" "Yeah, he stepped out for a second." "Well, can you make sure he gets this?" "Yeah." "You just put it right there." "Okay." "Tommy what up, mag?" "You know that man money I took?" "Man, I tried to give him his money back, and he wouldn't take it." "My p.O. Asked me, do I have any dreams for the future." "If you would'a asked me that before I went in the joint, my dream was simply to get money, but now I realize a dream is not just some pivotal moment you accomplish ten years from now," "but it's about today and what you do every day until you get there." "Hey, Mia, you on."