by Wahida Clark
“I don’t care. What does BOP policy state? Inmates are to wear underwear at all times. So, you’re not leaving this room until you put them panties on.”
“Lady, you got me fucked up! I’m not putting them panties on. As a matter of fact, call the lieutenant.” She folded her arms in protest. I walked over to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. Hayts smiled. Oh, hell, no. I wasn’t trying to get any new charges, but I damn surely would fight this bitch in this room, if she didn’t let me up out of here.
“I got all day,” she said.
“Yo, what is your issue? You’ve had a problem since day one.”
“No, you’re the problem, Inmate! Don’t you know you’re a prisoner? You and your li’l homegirls walk around here like y’all own the world. You ain’t shit but a damn criminal.”
“First of all, you don’t know me. You don’t know anything about me. I’m sorry that my success is such a threat to you. You can call me inmate, prisoner, or whatever you want. But that’s just a matter of opinion. Nothing you say can hurt me, lady. Now, let me out of this room before we have a problem.” I said it as calmly as I could.
“Is that a threat, Inmate?” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Turn around, turn around and put your hands behind your back, you little bitch!” Yo, this chick is out of her mind. “You think you can challenge me!” she screamed so loud you would have thought I was in the next room, not just two feet in front of her. “As long as you are here, you are only—” Suddenly she stopped talking. She grabbed her chest. Then she let out a piercing scream, followed by the bending of her knees.
“Yo! Hayts! You all right?”
“Mmm . . . ahh, I can’t. I can’t breathe!” Then she hit the floor. Her eyes were open, but she was incoherent.
Oh my God! Is this bitch having a heart attack?
I didn’t know what to do. I picked up her radio. I hit the button on the side. “Emergency! Emergency! A guard is down.”
“Who is this?” a male voice said over the radio.
“Ummm, I’m Jamila Davison #59253-053.”
“What? An inmate? Where the hell are you?”
“I don’t know, in one of the strip rooms. The door is locked.”
“Code Red. We’ve got a hostage situation. Hostage situation in progress.”
Oh, hell, no! That is not what’s going on. I added my own code red.
“That is false. I repeat: that is false. The officer took . . .” The radio did a few beeps, and then cut off in the middle of me talking. The battery died. This was crazy. I started banging on the door. “Help! Help!” Officer Hayts was on the floor, now unconscious. Oh shit! I grabbed her keys from her belt. There were so many of them, I didn’t know which one would work. It wasn’t until I got to the fifth key that I was able to get the door open.
I dragged her by her feet out of the room and into the hallway. There was a defibrillator machine on the wall. She had no pulse. I didn’t even think about it; I just went into action, opened up her shirt, and hit the defibrillator. Her entire body jerked. I listened to her chest. Still nothing. No pulse. I did it again. Nothing. This shit didn’t work.
When I was younger, I was trained in CPR. I tried that: “One, two, three, four,” then I blew in her mouth. Nothing. I did it again, but before I could give her my next breath, officers swarmed the hall and grabbed me off of her. Before I knew it, I was being thrown up against the wall violently, and my arms were twisted behind my back.
“You think you can hurt one of us? You think?!” he screamed. Tears formed in my eyes.
“No! No! I was trying to help!” Suddenly, Hayts began to cough. She was trying to say something.
“She . . . She . . . saved . . .”
“Quiet, don’t talk. Don’t talk. The paramedics are on their way.” They dragged me to the hole and literally tossed me in. I hadn’t even done anything. Now I was being held for taking an officer hostage.
Now, ain’t that a bitch!
Chapter 26
Sunny-SolÉ
* * *
I can’t believe they’ve got my girl held up on these crazy-ass charges. Kidnapping? That doesn’t even make any sense. Maybe I would do some shit like that, but not Milla. That one officer had it out for her. For all of us. They hadn’t even found any cell phones. Somebody tried to set Milla up. She doesn’t have a phone; neither does anyone that I know. And my ears are always to these prison streets. I knew most of what was going on around here. But this . . . I didn’t like. However, I had a hunch about what was up, and I was going to find out.
Finally, we were allowed to go back to our rooms.
“They still haven’t brought her back yet?” Eshe asked, stepping up to my doorway.
“No. And I’m pissed. I’m going to talk to the assistant warden. He has to help her. She didn’t do anything.”
“Well, it won’t hurt to try. I don’t really like him. Something about him is off. But go and try your luck, sis.” That’s exactly what I planned to do. I went to the office of Assistant Warden Pulls, demanding to talk to him. He told his secretary to let me in. He was sitting behind his desk talking on the phone. When he saw me, he waved his pointer finger, letting me know he was almost done. When he hung up, I skipped all the pleasantries.
“Why is my friend Jamila Davison sitting in solitary confinement with pending kidnapping and hostage charges? She didn’t take that lady to that room. And I know she didn’t hurt her. This doesn’t make any sense.” My voice was sharp and clear. There was no submissive nature to my tone. I looked him dead in the eyes and demanded answers.
“We’ll leave that to the officer to say what happened. She’s in recovery right now after having triple bypass surgery. Once she comes to, let’s hope she can vouch for your friend.”
“And what if she can’t?” I said, now placing my hands on my hips.
“Looks like we’ll have to reevaluate our little agreement.”
“First of all—” I said in an attempt to talk, but he cut me off in midsentence.
“No! Let me explain something to you.” He got up and closed the door. “I am a businessman. I did what you ladies asked. I got you that stupid studio, and so far, I haven’t made a dime. What the hell is the point? I don’t play games, but I did you a favor. I’ve gained nothing from my risks.”
“If I find out you set her up!” I said, ignoring him.
“What? If you find out what?” he asked, throwing his hands up.
“So you did!” I blurted, after staring at him briefly. I could read a lie a mile away. The revelation just came to me. “So you put that phone charger in her property so you could pressure us to make you some money?”
“Bravo, Williamson. Bravo! Yes! Yes, I did. And I’m telling you right now, you’ve got one month! Just one month, and she will be shipped out of here. I better start making some money. You see, I can’t go down without you going down as well. So I’m not worried about retaliation.”
“You’re a real asshole,” I said, rolling my eyes and folding my arms across my chest.
“I’ve been called worse.” He sat back and relaxed in his chair.
I humbled myself, realizing the position we were in. “Okay, look . . . at least let her out every day to come to the studio so we can make some things happen. Just three hours a day. We can do a lot. We’ll have some money for you in a month.”
“You better. Or you can say good-bye to your friend . . . for a very long time.”
I left his office feeling defeated. I didn’t like anyone holding shit over my head, but that is exactly what’s happening. A big pile of shit was dangling above us like a dark cloud. I ran to tell Eshe about this situation. She couldn’t believe he would do that to us at first. But then, she thought about it some more.
“That is foul, yo. But life is a chess game, and he’s playing chess with us. We gotta respect the situation. We didn’t want to get involved in the drug game, which would have been the most lucrative way to make them moneybags. We want
ed to stay as clean as possible. But clean money is slow money. So because of that, we took a different type of risk. Music. I love music. But like I said, it’s what we love, not necessarily something that makes overnight money. So we have to find a way to hold up our end of the bargain,” Eshe said.
“I feel you, Eshe. But that is no excuse for him to set Milla up like that. Hell, no!”
“Yeah, he went in a foul direction in trying to force our hand, but it worked. He saw an opportunity, and he exploited it. Unfortunately, he’s got one point, and he’s right—he’s not making money. And neither are we. So now the pressure is on, and we gotta get our sister out of this situation and get some bread at the same time. We gotta get this situation under control.”
We dapped on it. The two of us went to the studio and got to work. Every day we were working hard. We laid down a few tracks. The first one we did was called: “BBS (Boss Bitch Shit).” It was dope. The only verse missing was Milla’s, and we couldn’t wait to let her hear it. Then the idea hit me. “Eshe, I’m sending a kite to King-G. Express mail. I’ll send it with Melissa who goes home tomorrow. She can go to the post office and overnight it.”
Melissa kept her word. She sent the letter to King-G.
The next evening I made some phone calls, and I found out that King-G already got my letter and did what I asked. I couldn’t believe it. It took an extra day, but once Eshe saw what I was able to pull off, she damn near lifted me off the ground she was so excited. “Sun-Solé, this is dope! Dope, ma!” I couldn’t believe it. We did it! Only thing missing was our sis.
Finally, Assistant Warden Pulls kept his promise. He let Milla out of the hole to come to the studio. Of course, all the other staff just thought she was being allowed to come to church. We felt bad for Milla. Everybody was looking at her like she was some cop-kidnapping maniac. But the people who had the opportunity to bond with her over what was now almost a year knew that this wasn’t true. We tried to cheer her up by telling her that the officer was still in the hospital and in recovery from her surgery, and hopefully, she could clear her name.
Milla nodded and somberly joined us in the booth. But it wasn’t until she heard the track that she went crazy. “I got a surprise for you,” I said.
“Am I getting out of here tonight?” Milla joked. I was happy that she was making an attempt to keep her own spirits high. That’s why I loved my sis.
“Nah, I got something better. Listen to this.” The track came on and began to play:
♫ Boss Boss Boss chicks/Boss Boss Boss chicks/Moneybags tight
We be on dat Boss shit/ Boss Boss Boss chicks . . . ♫
Milla’s head bopped in approval as the beat banged. Then the verse dropped that blew her away!
♫ Chanel draped, shorty gotta bad bad bad shape/A mill on her wrist/I wouldn’t trade her for no other chick/Everything she do mamí gotta do it large/And she a boss boss bitch/Rode wid me on da charge/I ain’t put a diamond on her finger/I kept one on every finger/When she walk up out a room her sexy image always linger . . . ♫
I looked up at Milla to see tears falling down her cheeks. King-G had laid this verse for her over the phone. Then he had his producers send it to us already mixed and laid down on our song. Milla jumped on the track and killed it. It was a wrap. We had our first real banger, made and recorded from prison. Now it was time to release the track. Pink Panther Records was definitely in the building. Now, the only thing left to do was let the world know about it.
Chapter 27
Eshe
* * *
“Aisha! Aisha!” I heard someone screaming out my name. Nobody ever called my name like that. The police either called me Haller, my last name, or they called me Eshe like everybody else. So who the hell was calling out my government name like that? I looked around, and I saw it was Kiera. I gave her a look, but the smile on her face was not going anywhere. Slowly, I climbed down from my bunk.
“What’s up, girl?”
“Aisha! That’s what they’re saying on the radio. Aisha, Jamila, Sun-Solé, and King-G. Those are the names on every radio station right now. Listen!” She passed me her radio. Our song was playing!
“Oh shit! Sun-Solé! Sun-Solé!” Now I was screaming, running down the unit to Sun-Solé’s room. She wasn’t in her room. It was eight in the morning. Where the hell was she? I couldn’t believe that we were on the radio. I called my family, and they too were screaming in the phone. My younger sister was the most excited.
“Eshe, yo, y’all killing the blogs, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, everything.”
“What are they saying?” I asked.
“Basically, that from prison, y’all released the hottest song of the year. They’re going crazy over you and your girls, and, of course, King-G. Everybody is amazed. How the hell did y’all do it?”
“Girl, you can’t ask me those kind of questions from prison.”
“How can I buy it? Everybody wants to buy it, download it, something.”
“I’ll call you back and let you know. I’m on it today.” I went to the officer’s station, and when I knocked, I didn’t wait to be told to come in. I just walked in. And there were six officers in there all standing around the radio listening to our song. They looked up at me in confusion.
“What?” I said. They were all quiet for a moment.
“So, I’m not even gonna ask how this happened. But trust and believe, y’all are going down. I don’t know who y’all think you are,” one of the officers said.
The young black guy didn’t feel the same. “Man, fuck that. I think y’all are dope. That was hot. Congratulations!” he said.
“Thank you. I just need to get in touch with the assistant warden.” The other officers ignored me. Haters. But the black dude, who looked to be no older than twenty-one or so, radio called him. I was told to make my way down to his office.
As I walked the administration area hallway, I had to pass the warden’s office before getting to the assistant warden’s office. The warden’s door was slightly open. I walked past, but stopped in my tracks and backed up. I peered in and saw my girl Sun-Solé in there. What was she doing over here this early? The warden was in there, and they were having a good ol’ conversation. I could hear bits and pieces.
“If only you weren’t here,” he said to her.
“What would happen?” Sun-Solé asked, seductively.
“Things I can’t say.”
“Well, I’m a married woman, so not much that you can’t say would ever happen.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” he responded. “I could just stare at you all day long. You’re beautiful. And your music, I don’t know how y’all did that, but now I have to investigate. Why did you have to put me in this position?”
“Everything was done over the phone. There is nothing . . . absolutely nothing illegal about that.” She said it slow and seductive sounding.
“You just think you can smile that pretty smile and I’ll fold, huh?” the warden said. Sun-Solé let out a fake laugh. That’s my girl. Always keeping the status quo in our favor. I walked down a few feet and knocked on the assistant warden’s door.
“Come in.” When I stepped in, he began clapping. “Bravo! Bravo! I see you girls did something constructive.” Then he got serious. “But still, where’s my money?” he asked in a whisper.
“It’s coming. I can promise you that. It’s coming. I just need my girl out of the hole. Please!”
“I can’t do that. I still haven’t gotten any money yet.” I tossed all of the papers off his desk and leaned right up in his face.
“You are lucky! Lucky that I’m a prisoner and not in the street. I wouldn’t hesitate to deal with you the way I deal with all my other problems.” Jerry’s face appeared in my head.
“Are you threatening me, young lady?” he said calmly. I didn’t realize it right away, but I was breathing heavy, almost like a bull about to chase a red cape. I got a hold of myself and calmed down.
“You’ll hav
e your fucking money soon enough. I need to use your computer. And your phone.” He laughed. But then his smile faded when he saw I was serious.
“For what?” he asked.
“You want your money, don’t you?” He got up from his seat and closed his door all the way.
“Be quick,” he said. I went behind his desk and picked up his cell phone. Milla had given me her good friend’s number, so I called him. Jadakiss answered on the first ring. He was an exec on the KOMAR board. Big A-List artists were using KOMAR (Keeping and Owning Music and Rights). It was the new way artists were releasing music, and they were able to keep 90 percent of the proceeds. I told Jada I was sending the music to him via e-mail and for him to release the single on KOMAR.com. We made the single $1 to download. I gave him an e-mail address and told him to forward the contract ASAP.
I ended the call and checked my e-mail messages on his computer. The contract came over, and I printed it. Then I dropped the original in the mailbox and gave the okay via e-mail to instantly release the track on KOMAR. The assistant warden watched in awe as I handled my business. Before I logged off, I checked one other thing: how Mr. Pulls got his direct deposit. The BOP direct deposit page showed all of his existing banking information, so I memorized it. I walked toward the exit of his office. “Now, that’s how boss bitches do shit!” I said. Then I left.
By 6:00 p.m., the song was available for international purchase. Every radio station was playing it, but it wasn’t only about the song. It was the dynamics surrounding the song. There was so much controversy. Everybody wanted to know how the hell the song got released. We had enough material stored up now to get rid of the equipment. We knew that Region, the prison inspection folks, would be here any day to see if there was anything going on that shouldn’t be.
By 5:00 p.m. the next day, all of the studio equipment was gone. By 4:00 p.m. the day after that, we’d sold over 100,000 downloads of the song on KOMAR. That was already $100,000 in gross sales we did in less than forty-eight hours! We were killing the radio, and the song was selling like crazy.