Chapter 17 #3
“I get where you’re coming from but prepare for this shit to get crazy. Your fans already love you, but once they find out who you are, privacy will be in short supply. They are gonna be searching every part of your life to get to know you. You might as well get ready,” I warned.
“I’m already knowing. I begged Tiana to keep Keyami off social media as much as possible, but since I couldn’t tell her the real reason, she thought I was trying to control her.
Jay-Z and Beyonce are billionaires, and the internet still ripped their children apart.
I don’t want that for my baby girl. Plus, I ain’t wrapped too tight, and those mothafuckas will be ready to cancel me after I finish with their asses,” he voiced.
“Naw, you can’t do that. Honestly, I think that’s probably gonna be one of the hardest challenges. As a celebrity, you’re expected to behave a certain way, even when people are disrespecting you. You can’t handle shit the way we do in the streets, because there will be millions of people watching.”
“Fuck yeah. I guess all I can do is pray for the best because I can’t predict how I’m gonna act.”
“You gotta get prepared. People are going to want to get close to you. Family and old associates will be coming out of the woodwork to get access to you and clout off your name. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ari popped up, wanting to get that old thing back,” I teased him.
Everyone knew Keynauri and his former best-friend-turned-lover Naiari were supposed to be married with kids by now, but life got in the way.
When they finally decided to make their relationship official, Keynauri ended up getting arrested for murder.
He never gave us very many details, but one day, he told us that they were done, and he didn’t want anyone to reach out to her.
We were confused at first but decided to respect his wishes.
Logic was dating her best friend, and when the two of them went off to college, we lost touch with them. I never bothered to look for them afterward, but I still wondered what happened to them. He carried her the same way I carried Lyric, so I knew the love between them was deep.
“Naw, I doubt it. I’m sure she still hates a nigga, and I can’t even be mad.”
“You don’t think the two of you could rekindle things now that you’re free?”
“It honestly hasn’t crossed my mind. When I made the decision to let her go, I made peace with the fact that she would never be mine again.
Naiari is the type of woman a man marries and settles down with.
There was no way in hell I was going to waste her time by asking her to hold me down.
I’m sure she’s probably engaged to a lame cat with a trust fund.
Hell, that’s what she deserves. A soft life with no drama. ”
“And you don’t think you could have given her a ‘soft life’, as you put it?” I asked, trying to get a better understanding of where his head was at. Over the last seven years, he never mentioned her, but I knew my friend well enough to know he still loved her.
“I can’t say. When I broke up with her, I was looking at a life sentence, so I wasn’t tryna hear anything about her holding me down.
I also never expected my music to take off, so there were a lot of unknowns.
Truthfully, I’ve tried my best to keep my thoughts of her to a minimum, because if I didn’t, I would have been ready to break out of that mothafuckin’ prison and go find my woman.
“Lyric offered to look her up, but I didn’t think I could handle it if I saw her happy and living the life that was meant for us.
I would rather not even open Pandora’s box and let her live her life in peace.
Besides, as much as I loved that girl, I know if I found out she was happily married with some lame, I would be ready to make his ass disappear and raise their kids as mine from my new cell.
I don’t even want to set myself up for another bid. ”
I burst out laughing because I knew his ass was serious.
“I can’t even be mad at you. I would be right there, helping you hide the body.”
“Facts. I’m cool on love and relationships anyway. I finally have my freedom back, and I want to enjoy it. Dating comes with way too much drama, and with my career popping off, I want that to be my main focus.”
“In other words, there’s gonna be an abundance of pussy, and you don’t want to limit yourself to one woman,” I joked, making us both laugh.
“Man, I ain’t say all of that, but I guess.
I’m gonna be on the road a lot, and most women won’t understand the type of time and dedication I’m about to put into my music.
I don’t have time for anyone naggin’ me about being home and spending time with them.
Hell, I’ve been so busy lately, I’ve barely been getting any pussy.
Every time I see those royalty statements, I’m ready to pull an all-nighter in the studio.
“I’m tryna do some big things and give my family the life we’ve always dreamed of.
You and Logic have already laid the groundwork, and now it’s time for me to do my part.
I want us to be wealthy on a whole other level.
I’m talking jets, private islands, compounds, and everything.
Y’all been putting in work, and I owe you,” Keyz expressed.
“I keep telling you that I don’t need you to repay me for anything.
We came into the hustle together, and that’s what families do.
Shit, I’m on the same type of time as you are.
I’m already making investments and putting shit in place to expand and quadruple the money we make.
I don’t need shit from you besides for you to get out there and show the world how talented you are.
There’s no doubt in my mind that you’re gonna be listed amongst the greats one day, and I’ma be right there, cheering you on. That’s repayment enough for me.”