Page 118 of The Need to Know

It was a lighthearted competition, the men in the building with girlfriends, fiancées, or wives, couldn’t really be cutting up too much because it wasn’t worth it. If they were smart. Beyond the fact that I already held the utmost respect for Paisley, I wasn’t going to verbally trash her for the men in the room to praise me and end up potentially upsetting Nas.

Egos to the side, a lot of men in the building roared my way, some holding their women close.

I snuck Paisley a wink. Gotcha. DJ Gravity was already clued in on what to play next, all I had to do was introduce the record and the game was over.

“Like I said, I’m a lover, and sometimes I just want to love on someone. Anyone else feel that way?” I asked loudly into my mic.

The crowd was responding, but they weren’t who I was speaking to.

“I know exactly how you feel, E!” His voice echoed out of the speakers before he made his appearance on stage.

At the sight of Jackie Boy, the women who were Team Paisley jumped ship and started screaming up a frenzy. The screaming intensified and I had to step back to take it all in.

Jackie was the hottest rapper in New York at the moment. His organic come up and nice flow, along with his hit collabs with Don Toliver and Kehlani made him the biggest star on the rise.

Paisley wasn’t moved. She stood shaking her head at me with narrowed eyes. “Once a cheater, always a cheater, huh, Eazy?”

“Oh, always,” I teased back.

Jackie came and threw an arm around my neck, his Richard Mille watch glistening under the stage lights. He looked and smelled like money, something that had the women in the front row freaking out more.

“Ladies?” Jackie shouted into his mic. “Y’all tryna hear a song?”

“Yesss,” they cheered back.

DJ Gravity put on Jackie’s latest number one hit, “To the Side,” and the victory was all but handed to me.

Women in the crowd were rocking side to side, holding on to every lyric Jackie Boy wrote.

Even Paisley lost her attitude as Jackie sauntered over to her rapping his second verse of the song. It was all love.

“All right, all right,” I said as the competition winded down. “Let’s show some love for Paisley P for holding it down for the ladies tonight!”

The building radiated with applause as Paisley did a modest curtsy.

“And let’s give it up for Ezekiel for doing it big for the fellas tonight!” Paisley shouted next.

The men gave me my props and the women too.

“This was a good battle,” I spoke up. “I’m cool with a tie, are you?”

Paisley rolled her eyes and soon laughed as I tugged her close. “Yeah, a’ight, whatever.” Paisley gathered her mic and lifted it to her glossed lips, smirking at the crowd. “Make some noise if you about your paper!”

Money made the world go ’round and everyone in the building knew it. The crowd response was lively, making our final record of the night more appropriate.

“All right then. DJ Gravity, play that shit!” I shouted to end the battle on a proper note.

“Cash Shit” sounded through the speakers and the club became a party.

“You did your thing,” I said as I leaned over and whispered in Paisley’s ear.

“You ain’t slick invitin’ your people.” She pretended to square up with me for a moment before laughing and letting it go.

“You was holdin’ it down,” Jackie said as he went and kissed Paisley’s cheek. “I really came through to save, E. He was on the raft strugglin’.”

Jackie was charming, causing Paisley to loosen up and accept his hug. I grabbed a bottle of Ace of Spades and led the way up to VIP. The energy in the building was through the roof. Men were dapping me up and women were giving me hugs and asking for pictures along the way to the second floor. Before the night was over, Paisley and I needed to take some publicity shots for BLVCKJVCK’s social media pages. If you were in Atlanta, and not stopping through BLVCKJVCK, you were missing out.

The Diamond Suite erupted with applause as we entered its quarters. I wasn’t sure if it was for Paisley and me, or Jackie Boy, but either way, I wasn’t fazed. All I wanted was the pretty little thing seated by the balcony.