On the Come Up

“And when they call him my dad and not Lawless, the underground rap legend, it’s like they’re reminding me that I’m his and he’s mine.”

Thomas establishes Bri’s status at the start of the novel. Because her father was a rap legend in their neighborhood and the self-proclaimed “King of the Garden,” Bri is treated like a minor celebrity in her community. Bri is proud of her father’s work, but she resents his career somewhat because she lost him at such a young age. Bri just wants her father to be a father figure, not some ghost for her to live up to. She is pleased when people refer to him as her father because it removes the pressure to be a successful rapper like he was.

“See, last year a kid was murdered by a cop just a few streets away from my grandparents’ house. He was unarmed, but the grand jury decided not to charge the officer. There were riots and protests for weeks.”

Although On the Come Up hosts a new cast of characters, Thomas points out that the infamous murder and the riots in The Hate U Give impacted Bri and her community. Because of this murder, Bri is terrified during her run-in with the school security guards. She points out that tensions are still running high as police have more presence in the neighborhood, and Garden Heights is on high alert. This volatile backdrop is part of the reason why Bri’s song takes off.