"What!" Carlos crossed the room, pointing at Jose.
"He talks more trash than a little bit," Damali said, now laughing so hard she was bending over. "Roll them Rs, baby, when you're talking cash-smack a mile a minute, drop it down low, all up close in the mic, war-jones running through your veins, you'll - "
"She's still battle-high, Mar!" Carlos said, laughing and walking away. "I do almost everything this woman wants, but not that - no!"
"Give him a beat, Mike," Rider said. "Jose, J.L., on percus sion."
"Don't act like y'all ain't used to stand on the corners spitting lyrics, out shit-talking the others, just messin' around. You're from east L.A., holmes," Shabazz said with a wink.
"Land of Krunk."
"Not to be confused with the dirty South," Mike said, be ginning to make beats on the table as Shabazz started mouthing a heavy bass line.
"It all starts like this, and you know it," Damali said, strutting over to him and getting in his face. "Battle of the bands began with a battle of the blocks. Don't act like you don't remember."
"I remember, but I'm not doing no concert in front of a hundred thousand people, no matter what you say, D."
Carlos folded his arms over his chest and fought not to smile as Damali held an invisible mic and leaned up in his face with a street challenge, one hand on her hip.
"Oh, so now you scared, running blind, trying to act like you ain't hearing me, ain't got the time?" Damali said, just pulling a line from the air to start the battle.
"No, you got played," Carlos said, snatching at the air as though he'd just yanked down an invisible microphone. 'They took your mind. Women, children, babies, now you're killing
your own kind - psyched you out as a hustler - got you believing the hype - but your ass is straight-trippin' like you're smokin' a crack pipe!" The room erupted in cheers as Carlos stepped back. Damali laughed hard, nodding.
"Aw'ight, aw'ight," Damali said, smiling. "Mad props. But, take this." She grabbed the invisible mic again and got in Carlos's face. "Ghetto bravado, brick-selling macho, bank-rollin' cash hits, steady talking cash - whoops, who's your daddy, don'tcha momma know?
Best get hip real quick, learn how this lesson go - ain't only 'bout the knot you got, this joint's 'bout to blow."
"Whooooowe!" Rider said, falling back on the sofa as Shabazz slapped him five.
"Yeah, okay," Carlos said nodding. Then he took a deep breath and snatched the air mic again, rolling so hard and fasten Damali that Jose almost lost the beat laughing.
"Beef between brothers and blocks, nations flaring like dropped rocks - drama with crazy chicks, babies dying - they sick, what you ain't wit it - oops who's your baby's daddy, don't you really wanna know, why she go on Maury's show - jus' ask a brother how he know. Yeah, like I said a quick minute ago ... they took your mind - turned you in, turned you out, got you blind to what it's all about - stole your peace, robbed your pockets, jacked your future, your mind - women, babies, old folks - why the Darkness need to come at cha', when you killing your own kind?"
"Oh, shit!" Jose shouted, jumping up from the sofa and abandoning the beat. Shabazz was on his feet, fist pounding Mike so hard they couldn't keep the beat steady, either. Damali was nodding and laughing as the group erupted in general chaos.
"That was the nastiest spit I've heard in a loooong time!" Jose said, shaking his head and rubbing the back of his neck. "Damn, C."
Carlos laughed, breathing hard from the no-breaths-between-words exertion. "I don't care what y'all say, I talk trash, but I don't do in-concert. The living room is one thing, but I'm not standing on a stage in front of all them people forgetting what I was gonna spit." Damali rubbed his back and he laughed when he moved away from her.
"Nope, girl, don't even try it."
Everybody laughed harder, and then Mike and Shabazz picked up a hard, military cadence, with Shabazz doing verbal bass line, and Mike on table percussion. They looked at Jose, who immediately jumped in and started making up lyrics.
"Roll call, Guardians. Sound off!" Jose hollered.
Damali repeated the line and looked at Carlos, making him shake his head harder and fold his arms over his chest.
"Who's ready to roll?" Mike said in a deep, threatening baritone that made Inez sit up in her chair and lean toward him, listening hard.
Shabazz was right on his next sentence and he glanced at Jose to be ready to take it after he spit. "Git down and dirty wit it, leave no stone unturned to win it."
"Roll to your last breath, take no prisoners fast death." Jose looked at Carlos.
"Ride, like you're gonna die, don't even ask no questions why."
Damali smiled at Carlos when he was done. "Who's ready to roll - uh-huh, what you say?