Looking For the Perfect Beat
by Steven Hager
copyright 2012 by Steven Hager
Published by Steven Hager at Smashwords
EPUB ISBN 978-1-4658-9597-4
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WE HEAR THE SOUNDS OF AN AUDIENCE MURMURING in anticipation of the start of something big.
KOOL HERC (O.S.)
Test, test. It’s the serious, serio-so joint-ski.
You’re listening to the sound system.
(an echo chamber is turned on)
The Hercoloids...loids...loids...
And I just want to say to all my b-boys...oys...oys...
Rock on.
WE HEAR A LOUD HIP HOP BREAK. The music builds in intensity as it continues throughout the sequence.
FADE IN:
A HELICOPTER VIEW OF UPPER MANHATTAN ROOFTOPS, ala the opening of West Side Story. WE SEE THE EAST RIVER BELOW, and the urban landscape shifts from roofs to freeways and the bombed-out vacant lots around them.
EXT. SOUTH BRONX
"SOUTH BRONX 1980"
KENNIE SHAKLEFORD, RAMON FRANCO and CHOLLY WILSON walk down a side street on a clear, crisp day. They move with cocky, aggressive bravado -- like the style lords of the street that they are. A CLOSE SHOT ON Kennie, who is the leader of this three-man crew. He is 17 and black. Ramon, 16, is short and wears a hat tilted at a jaunty angle. He is Puerto Rican. Cholly, 17, wears sunglasses and is well-built. He is black. A WIDER ANGLE shows the neighborhood, which resembles a war zone. Rubble-strewn empty lots and burned-out buildings line the block. They cut through a vacant lot, climb a mound of rubble and walk down an alley. Cholly falls several steps behind. Kennie puts his arm around Ramon while talking to him. Cholly catches up and jumps between them, wrapping his arms around Kennie and Ramon. Ramon stops in front of a wall heavily marked with graffiti. He points at the names on the wall. Ramon removes a giant magic marker from his coat and signs: "DJ RAMO" on the wall. The signature is executed with considerable style. Cholly asks for the marker by Ramon refuses to give it to him. Cholly demands the marker. Ramon smiles and puts the marker in his pocket. Kennie grabs Ramon from behind while Cholly retrieves the marker. Cholly signs: "CHOLLY 167." Cholly’s signature is a bit crude next to Ramon’s. Cholly hands the marker to Kennie, who signs "SOULSKI TOO." Kennie hands the marker back to Ramon.
A VARIETY OF ANGLES show the three walking down the street.
They enter a run-down, two-story house that is surrounded by larger buildings. The house has a small, dilapidated porch.
END OF SONG
INT. LIVINGROOM, THEODORE’S HOUSE
FROSTY and MEL, two black teenagers, are unraveling an electronic cable. They are standing in a large, empty room that has a dirty linoleum floor and no furniture. Sunlight streams through the bare window. The window panes are streaked with dirt. Two giant speakers for a customized sound system are stacked against one wall. Frosty and Mel set up two microphone stands.
INT. HALLWAY THEADORE’S HOUSE
Kennie, Ramon and Cholly enter the front door, walk down the hall and turn into the room.
INT. LIVINGROOM, THEODORE’S HOUSE
Kennie sees Frosty and Mel and stops abruptly. He looks perplexed. Kennie looks at Ramon, who shrugs his shoulders.
KENNIE
Yo. Whatcha doin wit that mike?
Mel looks at Frosty with a worried expression. Frosty unravels the mike cable and shows no emotion. He ignores Kennie.
KENNIE
Where’s Theodore?
FROSTY
In the back.
KENNIE
(to Cholly)
Stay here and keep and eye on this.
Kennie and Ramon walk through an archway into an empty room that once served as a dining area. THEODORE and LEP are seated on milk crates that are filled with records. They are just finishing a marijuana cigarette laced with angel dust. Lep greets Kennie effusively. Although medicated, Theodore appears worried. He offers the joint to Kennie, but it’s too small to even mess with.
KENNIE
I smell mint. Is that dusted? You know
I don’t be messin with no dust, bro,
why you dissin’ me like dat?
Little Lep! My man! How you been?
(they shake hands)
You know Ramon, my deejay.
LEP
Sure, we met. I seen your tags. I
like your style.
KENNIE
(to Ramon)
This is the baddest breaker I know.
He got moves, man. Killer moves.
His older brother was in the Zulu
Kings with my brother.
(Lep nods his head sheepishly)
So how you been? How’s the crew?
LEP
They’re okay. We’re gonna battle Rockwell
at the Heavalo. You gonna be there?
KENNIE
You know it. Wassup with Theodore?
How come he ain’t said nothin? You too
dusted to talk?
THEODORE
Hi, Kennie. Wassup, Ramon?
An uncomfortable silence fills the room.
KENNIE
Wassup with these boys out there, messin’
with our mics?
THEODORE
(coughs)
Those be my new emcees.
KENNIE
Now how can that be? When Cholly
and me, we your emcees.
THEODORE
Not no more. I just got these two
yesterday. They got a record out
and everthin'. And they was lookin
for a deejay wit a system. They
gonna let me be the deejay.
Lep stares at the ground. Kennie looks at Ramon. Ramon, who has been trying to get a hit off the minature joint suddenly swallows the roach, makes a stricken face, and then coughs it out.
RAMON
Damn.
KENNIE
So what about the hookie party
tomorrow?
THEODORE
They gonna be there. You wanna
come, you can come. I’ll put you
down. You can do a show if you want,
but you ain’t gonna get down
wit no money. Cause I got
professional emcees now. And they
gotta get the money.
KENNIE
Tell me. You heard they record?
Whatta you think, Lep?
LEP
(shakes his head)
This between you two. I ain’t
involved.
KENNIE
(loud enough to hear in the
next room)
I heard it. It’s wack! It’s NOT
gettin over.
(to Theodore)
Anyway, I thought we had an
agreement. Ramon here, he TAUGHT
you how to deejay.
THEODORE
All I know is, you been talkin for
months bout how we gonna play the
Heavalo and you ain’t played there
yet. These guys done already played
the Heavalo. Twice! They down with
Herc. Times have changed. You gotta
have a record to get over these
days. And you ain’t got no record.
KENNIE
Well, if that’s how you feel...what
can I say? It’s your system ain’t
it?
THEODORE
It ain’t nothin personal. You know
I like you. But I gotta do what’s
best for business.
KENNIE
(pointing at tape cassette)
That’s my tape, right?
THEODORE
Take it.
Kennie picks up the cassette.
KENNIE
(to Ramon)
Let’s go.
(they exit)
INT. LIVINGROOM THEODORE’S HOUSE
Kennie and Ramon walk through the room, pointedly ignoring Frosty and Mel.
KENNIE
(to Cholly)
Let’s break out.
EXT. STREET BY THEADORE’S
Kennie, Ramon and Cholly exit from the house. Kennie is animatedly explaining to Cholly that they have just lost their access to a sound system, which means they can’t throw jams for their friends in the park anymore.
CHOLLY
That sucker. I’m gonna crush him.
KENNIE
How we ’sposed to get a rep with no
sound system? He’s turning into a
dust junkie anyway. We lucky to get
rid of him. You’ll see.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. BEDROOM KENNIE’S HOUSE -- DAY
A CLOSE SHOT of a door. We hear a BANGING NOISE.
HELENE (O.S.)
Kennie! Get up! I’m not gonna call
you again!
KENNIE
I’m up.
ANGLE ON THE BED where Kennie has a blanket pulled over his head. He is not up. In fact, he is in danger of falling back asleep.
INT. HALLWAY KENNIE’S HOUSE
Kennie’s mother, HELENE, walks away from the door while wiping her hands on a dishrag. She is a stout woman with a warm, trusting face. LEE SHAKLEFORD, 12, runs down the hallway. He is a bit hyperactive.
LEE
I’ll get him.
HELENE
You get back to the table and
finish your breakfast.
Helene ushers Lee down the hallway.
INT. KENNIE’S BEDROOM -- DAY
The body underneath the blanket rolls over and moans. A WIDER ANGLE shows the interior of the room. It has two beds, two dressers and piles of junked electronic equipment, salvaged from the garbage. Kennie has converted some of this junk into a workable stereo. The walls of the room are plastered with flyers for rap shows. The names "Kool Herc" "Afrika Bambaataa" and "Grandmster Flash" appear prominently on the flyers.
INT. KENNIE’S KITCHEN
LEE
(playing with his cereal)
...and Danny said we didn’t have to
go to school.
HELENE
(drying a glass)
What happened to Danny? He used to
be smart. Sounds like he’s gonna
turn out like his brother.
LEE
I want to be a rapper like Kennie.
HELENE
(sighs)
What do you want to fool with that
silliness for? Your brother is
getting too old for it and you’re
too young. I never heard anything
so ridiculous. It’s just a fad.
It’ll never take the place of real
singing.
Kennie enters the kitchen and throws his arms back in a monumental yawn. He reaches for a glass and fills it with water.
KENNIE
Don’t you two ever get tired of
talkin bout me?
HELENE
Did you get your beauty sleep, Mr.
Brando?
LEE
Tell mom we don’t have to go to
school.
KENNIE
Says who?
HELENE
Danny Wood.
KENNIE
Danny "wack attack" Wood. The
serious serio-so chumpski.
We hear a WHISTLE FROM THE STREET.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET BY KENNIE’S
Ramon is whistling with his fingers in his mouth.
INT. KENNIE’S KITCHEN
KENNIE
Gotta go.
(kissing Helene)
Have a good day. Don’t work too
hard.
EXT. STREET BY KENNIE’S
Ramon is waiting for Kennie to come out of his building. A small boy carrying a stick chases another boy across the street.
RAMON
(laughing)
Run Frankie! He’s gaining on you!
Kennie emerges from his building. He greets Ramon and they walk down the street to the busstop.
KENNIE
Any luck locating a system?
RAMON
Naw.
KENNIE
Man, you better get on the case.
Otherwise we might just have to
find a new deejay. We sure could
use one that knows how to cut.
RAMON
Who can cut wit emcees that can’t
keep the beat.
KENNIE
Who dat?
RAMON
You, bro.
Kennie trys to knock Ramon’s hat off, but Ramon deftly jumps out of reach and laughs.
EXT. ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL
Students are pouring into the entrance of Roosevelt High. Located on Fordham Road, the school has a somewhat wild reputation. Most of the students are lower class blacks and Hispanics. Since a lot of drugs are sold nearby, security is strict inside the school. In fact, the atmosphere is closer to a reformatory than a high school. A bus stops in front of the school and ejects a crowd of kids carrying books. Kennie and Ramon are in the center of the group. They mount the steps to Roosevelt.
KENNIE
(looking ahead)
Just don’t bump into anybody. We
got Zulus on one side and Five
Percenters on the other.
RAMON
How can you tell the Five
Percenters?
KENNIE
They the ones always talkin' bout pork.
INT. MATH CLASS
Kennie sits in the back of the class and doodles graffiti in a notebook. He stares out the window. A white subway train crosses the horizon in the distance.
INT. LUNCHROOM
A long line stretches down the hall into the lunchroom. No roughhousing is allowed during lunch period and a group of beefy gym teachers are standing by to insure order. The tables closest to the windows have been taken over by the football and basketball teams, who do not encourage uninvited visitors to sit with them. For the most part, girls and boys are at different tables, as are blacks, whites and Hispanics.
Kennie, Ramon and Cholly collect their lunch and find seats at the table reserved for the b-boys, the only fully integrated table in the room.
CHOLLY
...this guy was givin somethin out
and I said, "I don’t want that
shit." This teacher hears me and
right away takes the offensive. He
wants to see my hall pass...
RAMON
That’s when he really started cursing.
CHOLLY
No way. I did NOT curse.
KENNIE
What did you say?
CHOLLY
(carefully picking his words)
I said: I’m not talkin to you and you
better get out of my face or I will chair you.
Kennie and Ramon laugh. Kennie checks for the nearest gym teacher to make sure they aren’t being overheard.
KENNIE
That sounds like a minimum of a one day suspension to me.
CHOLLY
If I DO get suspended, you better
stay out wit me, bro.
RAMON
Yo, we could hit the tunnels! You know
the Transit Authority just started a new front
on the graffiti wars. They painting cars they run
through the buff all white. It’s like the perfect backdrop,
man. It’s like they’re handing us a fresh canvas
or somethin'.
CHOLLY
(slapping five)
The search for a white train bomb, I’m down,
bro. But it should be a ten car masterpiece that flows
together as one giant, moving billboard. And that
means massive amounts of paint. And that means
rackin' up.
KENNIE
Before you risk your life and limb and a month
in Rikers, especially since the white cars are the most
heavily defended. Let us entertain an alternative
mission that doesn’t involve potential jail time. I
suggest making the rounds at these local record
companies that are jumpin' on rap. And let if be known
this info comes direct from from Afrika Bambaataa hisself.
Kennie pulls a piece of paper out of his pants pocket and
shows it to Ramon and Cholly.
RAMON
All right! I’m down wit this.
INT. RECORD COMPANY OFFICE
Kennie, Cholly and Ramon enter. Kennie talks to a receptionist. He holds up a tape cassette. The receptionist looks at the tape and shakes her head.
EXT. RECORD STORE
Kennie, Ramon and Cholly enter the store.
INT. RECORD STORE
Kennie talks to a bearded man sitting behind a counter. Kennie holds up a tape. The engineer shakes his head.
INT. RECORD COMPANY OFFICE
Kennie, Cholly and Ramon are grouped around a desk with two independent record producers. They shake their heads.
EXT. SNEAKER SHOP -- DUSK
A CLOSE SHOT on the window of a sneaker store. A wide variety of tennis, basketball and running shoes are on display.
RAMON
Look at the space boots. Fresh! I want some.
CHOLLY
Those Nikes are fresh too.
A WIDER ANGLE shows Kennie, Ramon and Cholly standing in front of the store.
RAMON
I was here last week and this homey ax for
a pair of Kareems. He put one on and says:
"Damn! This shoe is TIGHT. Can I try a size
ten?" So the clerk goes into the back and
zoooom...that boy was GONE! It took him
less than five seconds to get off the block.
I never saw anyone run so fuckin' fast.
KENNIE
Let’s walk by the Heavalo.
RAMON
What for? It’s closed.
KENNIE
Come on, it’s only like five blocks
from here.
(looks back for Cholly)
Hey! Will you hurry up! Why we always
got to wait for you? I got a grandmother
that walks faster than you do.
CHOLLY
Yo, man. What’s the hurry?
RAMON
He wants to check out the Heavalo.
Cholly peers over the top of a pair of imaginary sunglasses. (He is performing an imitation of Kool Herc, the deejay who runs the Heavalo.)
CHOLLY
Rock the house, my mellow. It’s the
serio-so jointski.
A LONG SHOT shows the three friends laughing and joking as
they turn the corner and proceed down Jerome Avemue to the
Heavalo.
EXT. THE BASE HOUSE
Two Casanova’s are standing on the stoop that leads to their base house, where they sell cocaine to people, some of whom want to come in and freebase inside. This operation is mostly for the local highrollers and is a step up from street dealers. You can also get weed, dust and heroin from the Casanovas.
CASANOVA
Yo, Cholly! Come in and join the
party, hahaha.
CHOLLY
Unfortunately, I ain’t got no funds
wit me right now.
Kennie, Ramon and Cholly walk past the base house.
RAMON
What’s going on in there?
CHOLLY
You don’t know? That’s the new Casanova
base house. They used to be a division of the
Black Spades. I know people that walked in there
with thousands of dollars and left with nuthin' but a
sore throat and a sexually transmitted disease.
RAMON
You mean, they gettin it ON in there?
KENNIE
If a girl is strung out and gettin high for
days and days, she’ll get to a state where
she’ll do ANYTHING for a hit.
RAMON
I snorted coke before, but I never
done base.
CHOLLY
It’s the ultimate high. Just ax
Richard Pryor.
KENNIE
Being onstage in the flow, that is
the ultimate high.
EXT. THE HEAVALO
ANOTHER ANGLE shows the nightclub, located in a sprawling, one-story structure. A colorful sign over the door reads: "HEAVALO." A placard next to the door reads: "Next Friday! The Ultimate Jam! NYC’s #1 Record Rappers! The Treacherous Three! Put the boogie in your body! Doors open at 10! Come in peace!" Kennie, Ramon and Cholly read the placard. Kennie trys to peer into a blacked-out window. Ramon inspects a graffiti tag on the side of the building. Cholly puts his hand on the doorknob and finds it unlocked. He opens the door a crack and peers inside.
INT. THE HEAVALO
CHOLLY’S POV. The Heavalo has a medium-sized, wooden dance floor, a long bar and a small stage, where the deejay sets up his equipment. The walls are glossy black with gold trim. A disco ball hangs from the ceiling. The room is empty.
KENNIE (O.S.)
Man, what you doin?
CHOLLY
Yo, man, let’s go in.
KENNIE
You must be crazy.
CHOLLY
Nobody’s here.
CUT TO:
INT. HEAVALO OFFICE
KOOL HERC, a large muscular black, is seated behind a desk. The walls are covered with autographed pictures of rap and disco celebrities. Herc is listening to the radio and opening his mail. He hums along with the record. He hears something, stops for a moment and listens. He turns down the radio and hears voices and footsteps on the stage.
INT. THE HEAVALO
Kennie is standing on the stage holding an empty mike stand in one hand. Ramon stomps his feet, slaps his hands and lays down a beat with a human beatbox routine. Kennie and Cholly launch into their favorite rap routine.
KENNIE
Yo check it out. We rockin the Heavalo.
(he raps between his beat-box sounds)
We throw down hard and I aim to
please,
CHOLLY
with finesse, to impress, the young
la-dies.
KENNIE
We got rhymes galore and much, much
more. So eliminate the possibility,
CHOLLY
...there exists emcees wit more
consistency...
The door to the office opens. Kool Herc peers out. He looks over the top of his sunglasses in the same manner imitated by Cholly. A CLOSE SHOT of Kennie as he starts to ham up his rap routine. Kennie’s eyes are closed. He is pretending it is Friday night and he is onstage at the Heavalo.
KENNIE
Put you hands in the air and listen to me,
cause you’re listening to the sounds of the
mighty Soulski. I want you to get loose,
get ready to rock. I’m gonna paralyze
your mind and put you in shock.
KOOL HERC
The club is closed guys, okay?
Kennie’s performance grinds to a halt as he realizes he is being watched. He sheepishly moves the mike stand to the rear of the stage. Ramon and Cholly have backed up all the way to the door.
EXT. STREET BY HEAVALO
A LONG SHOT shows Kennie, Cholly and Ramon leaving the Heavalo. Cholly does an imitation of Kool Herc peering over the top of his glasses. Ramon imitates Kennie rapping on the mike and doing a double-take on Kool Herc. Cholly says goodbye and splits off. Kennie and Ramon continue to the busstop.
EXT. BUSSTOP
Kennie and Ramon wait for the bus. Ramon gets out his school bus pass.
ANOTHER ANGLE shows the arrival of SMITTY AND THE CASANOVAS.
Smitty is a bit bored and looking for someone to pick on. Kennie senses this and tenses as Smitty walks by. Smitty looks at Kennie but says nothing. After Smitty passes, Kennie shows signs of relief. Suddenly, however, Smitty turns and walks back to Ramon. He stares at the bus pass in Ramon’s hand.
SMITTY
Yo, man. What’s that in your hand?
A bus pass. Can I take a look at that?
Ramon doesn’t know what to say. He looks to Kennie for help.
KENNIE
(mildly, to Smitty)