‘And don’t let any customers go in there for the rest of the day,’ Tyrone added. ‘Can I call Prem?’
Prem was the only one of the three that owned a mobile phone, and when he received the call from Tyrone he was in the shop within half an hour. Tyrone and Prem then took Ray into the shopping centre to get something to eat. They stayed around the shopping centre for a while and then they made their way to the park to tease more girls. By mid-afternoon they were back in the music shop. The question of where Ray was going to stay if he insisted on not going home kept coming up, but it kept being pushed aside, unresolved. Prem and Tyrone both considered sneaking him into their homes, but it was too risky. Prem’s sisters could not be relied on to keep secrets, and if Ray were to be caught in Tyrone’s house they had no reason to believe that Tyrone’s father would suddenly feel compassion towards him.
Marga Man usually closed the music shop around eight o’clock, depending on the level of business, but Sunday always meant early closing, at about six. Ray picked up his bags from behind the counter and the boys helped Marga Man roll down the shop shutters. As they hovered around him Marga Man could feel that they were not eager to leave.
‘You guys want to eat?’ Marga Man asked.
The boys looked at each other and, seeing that none of them reacted in any way, Prem chose to speak for all of them.
‘No, we’re cool.’
‘So where you going now?’
‘Just hanging out,’ Ray said.
Marga Man looked towards the bags Ray was carrying, and said, ‘Yu don’t have any choice but to hang out, yu don’t even have a plan of action, do yu? Listen, I’m going down to Rock It Science Studio to check a brother, yu want come?’
There was no hesitation; they all said, ‘Yes.’
‘OK come, but yu must work out a plan. Yu look like three leaders who don’t know where to go.’
The studio was a short walk away in a converted factory in Burford Road. After pressing a few buttons and whispering a couple of passwords they were in. The studio was owned and run by an aging ex-musician who had never lost his afro and still dressed and sounded as if he were in a seventies soul band.
‘What’s happening Bunny,’ Marga Man said as they touched fists, shook hands, and hugged.
‘Everything’s cool man,’ Bunny said. ‘Everything’s just cool, and you?’
‘All right man. Business is OK, sun is shining, and love is lovely. Hey, meet de crew.’
Marga Man introduced Bunny to the boys, and after some small talk Bunny began to play various pieces of music that he had been working on. It was the first time any of them had been in a recording studio. For over an hour they sat listening to R’n’B and soul music. The boys nodded reluctantly, but Bunny was loving his creations.
It went quiet for a moment and Bunny stood up. Reaching for a digital tape high on a shelf he announced, ‘This you have to hear. This is the right tune, all it needs is the right vocals.’
He put the tape on and started to dance around the control room like an upright snake. ‘Good, isn’t it?’
‘Nice tune,’ said Marga Man. It wasn’t his favourite type of music, but he could get into the groove.
The boys just looked at each other. Not laughing was becoming hard work, so every time Bunny’s back was turned they giggled quietly. It was a slow instrumental, a sweet track, a perfect example of the kind of music Ray and the boys didn’t like. When it stopped playing, Bunny looked at Ray, excitement etched on his face.
‘So what do you think, nice groove or what?’
Ray came straight out with it. ‘Not my kind of thing, but it’s all right.’
‘What you mean, all right? That’s good music, young blood, you’re too young to know real music.’
‘Careful,’ said Marga Man. ‘These guys listen to music every day, I can’t get them out of my shop.’
‘So what you into?’ Bunny asked, looking towards the boys. ‘Reggae, drum an’ bass, garage music, house music, living room music?’
‘Hip-hop,’ Tyrone said. The others nodded in agreement.
‘Hip-hop,’ said Bunny. ‘Got plenty of that. What, do you kids sing?’
‘No,’ said Prem. ‘We kids don’t sing.’
‘I can do hip-hop.’ Bunny started searching his shelves. ‘Got plenty of hip-hop.’ He took a tape and began to play it. Now all heads were nodding. The tune had very little melody, but it had an irresistible beat and a bass line that could destroy the weak-hearted.
As the music began to play, Ray had a flash of inspiration. ‘Play it again,’ he said, with his eyes closed.
Bunny rewound the tape and let it run again. Ray began to improvise a rap over the track. It was about kids that are misunderstood by their fathers, and fathers who pay no attention to their sons. He opened his eyes halfway through and for much of the rap he was staring at his carrier bags. Marga Man, Tyrone and Prem were struck by what Ray was saying and by the intensity of the lyrics. Bunny jumped around the studio, unaware of the significance of what Ray was rapping. When the rapping was done there was silence until Bunny voiced his opinion.
‘That was so cool, yeah man, that was something else. Hey, do you wanna record that jive? We can run it right now.’
‘No,’ said Ray.
Bunny pointed to the vocal booth. ‘Come on, man, let’s lay it down one time.’
‘No way,’ Ray replied quite sharply.
But Bunny wanted to capture the moment. ‘Hey blood, we can do that vocal tonight, man, and you’ll leave here feeling as good as I do.’
‘Leave it out,’ said Prem. ‘He said no, let it rest.’
‘Yeah, Bunny man, let it rest,’ said Marga Man.
Bunny became aware that something was up. He backed off and searched through some more tapes. ‘No problem. Hey, I got another one, check dis.’
They listened to more music and then went back to West Ham Lane. They arrived at Marga Man’s car near the music shop.
‘So what do you think of my man Bunny?’ Marga Man asked, as they stood around the car.
‘He’s got some good ideas,’ Ray replied. ‘Some of his tunes are a bit antique but some of those other beats kick it nicely.’
‘He looks like he knows his stuff,’ said Prem.
It was time to leave, but Ray wasn’t prepared to spend another night in the park and on the buses. They still hadn’t discussed a plan, so the others had no idea of what Ray was about to say.
‘Marga Man, I need a favour.’
‘How much do you need?’ Marga Man went for his wallet.
‘No,’ said Ray, ‘I need somewhere to sleep.’
‘I know dat.’ Marga Man laughed aloud. ‘Hey man, yu want to come home wid me? Me wife will kill yu and den she will kill me, she dangerous. Listen Ray, go home, make peace wid your old man. Dat’s best, yu know it.’
‘No way.’
‘So Ray, what do you want me to do?’
‘Just for a couple of nights, let me stay in the shop.’
‘In de shop?’ Marga Man shouted back. ‘You’re joking?’
‘Hey, not a bad idea,’ said Prem.
‘Yeah,’ Tyrone added.
‘No way, yu spend all day in there and now yu want to spend all night in there? Soon you’ll be kicking me out and moving in wid some of dem wild girls I see you chasing. Ray, think about what you’re doing, reason wid yourself.’
‘Marga Man,’ Ray said in a raised voice, ‘you don’t understand, man. It doesn’t matter how much I reason with meself, right now I can’t reason with me dad, so it’s like this – if I can’t stay in the shop I’ll just have to hang out on the streets, ’cause I’m not going back home.’
Marga Man thought for a while. ‘Is a place of business, there’s nowhere to sleep there.’
‘I’ll sleep between the racks in the shop, or in the storeroom. I won’t disturb a thing Marga Man, just for a couple of nights, till I sort meself out.’
Marga Man trusted Ray, he knew that he wou
ld do no harm to the premises, but he had other concerns. ‘Listen, I will let yu stay, but I don’t want no trouble from your father. You is under sixteen so there must be an illegal thing here and I’m too old to go prison now. But I will trust yu. But please don’t get me in trouble, me have enough troubles already.’
‘Thanks Marga Man, respect,’ said Ray.
Marga Man decided not to drive home for a while. They all went to a convenience store to stock up on drinks, crisps and biscuits. In the music shop Marga Man recited a list of do’s and don’ts to Ray and left him to bed down. The floor was hard but Ray was happy to have a real roof over his head.
Chapter 4
Girl Trouble
For the next couple of days Ray slept in the music shop. Tyrone and Prem spent as much time as they could with him, and Marga Man kept them all fed. On the third day Kori turned up at the shop. Marga Man was out and about, and Prem, Tyrone and Ray were behind the counter stacking CDs.
She walked straight up to the counter. ‘Ray, I’ve been looking everywhere for you. You have to come home.’
‘Do you wanna buy some real music?’ Ray said, waving a CD around.
‘This is no time for joking, you know. Come on, you must come home with me.’
Tyrone and Prem continued their work. Ray put the CDs down and leaned on the counter. ‘What for, so that Dad can have another go at me?’
‘Never mind Dad, Mum wants to see you.’
‘It don’t matter what you say, I am not going home.’
Kori turned towards the door. ‘OK, I’ll tell her that you don’t want to see her.’
‘Listen,’ Ray shouted over the music. ‘No, Kori, just don’t tell her that you’ve seen me, don’t say nothing. You ain’t seen me, right.’
As Kori walked towards the door she said, ‘I haven’t seen you but you should know that you can’t run and you can’t hide,’ giving a customer who was entering the impression that she was speaking to her.
As the customer passed Kori, she looked back at Kori, then she looked towards Ray. Ray pointed his finger to the side of his head. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘She’s on medication.’
When Marga Man returned to the shop the boys took off for the park. They arranged to meet up with him later at the Calabash Caribbean takeaway on Vicarage Lane. It was mid-afternoon and a perfect time for the boys to hit the park. The local girls’ school had begun to empty out and the boys wanted every girl that walked through the park to know they were around. They teased, questioned or simply made noises without let-up, never stopping to consider why none of the girls had come rushing over to throw themselves at their feet.
‘This is it,’ Ray shouted, jumping up to stand on the seat of the park bench. ‘This is it, they is some sweet bitches, and I know which one is mine.’
Tyrone and Prem looked in the direction of where Ray was looking to see three girls who had just entered the park.
‘Now don’t tell me these bitches weren’t made for us,’ Ray said, dancing around. ‘Look, they’re coming right to us, drawn to us like a magnet. The one on the left is mine all mine, Tyrone you should go for the one on the right, she looks like she come from Trinidad, and Prem you go straight for the centre. It’s a community service thing.’ Ray was referring to the fact that two of the girls were black and the one in the centre was Asian.
‘All right,’ Ray said as they got closer. ‘Let’s service the community.’
As the girls reached them the boys jumped off the bench and blocked their way. Each one stood in front of their designated girl.
‘What’s your name?’ Ray said to the girl in front of him.
‘None of your business,’ she replied, looking straight back at him.
Tyrone tried to be more courteous. ‘Can I carry your bag?’
‘Excuse me, let me pass.’ The first girl was not allowing herself to be entertained by Ray in any way whatsoever.
Prem asked what he thought was a more intelligent question. ‘So how was school today?’
‘At least we go to school,’ said the girl in front of him, who stepped past him and began to walk on.
‘Hey, come here, I just wanna talk to you,’ Prem said, reaching out and tugging her arm.
‘Take your hand off me,’ she said sternly.
‘Hey girl, I only wanna talk to you.’
‘Don’t girl me, and take your hand off me right now.’
Prem let her go.
‘That bitch got plenty of bark,’ Ray said to the girl in front of him. ‘So you got a boyfriend or what?’
‘Move out of my way,’ she said, noticing that the other two girls had now passed their obstructions. ‘If you don’t move out of my way there will be trouble.’
Ray smiled. ‘Listen, there’s no need to get heated, we’re just saying hello. Let’s walk for a while.’ He put his arm round her.
She threw his arm off and pushed him away. ‘Don’t you touch me.’
Ray staggered back a few steps before he regained his balance, but as soon as he was steady on his feet he lunged forward and pushed the girl, who fell to the ground. She stood up straightaway, angry and determined, and tried to push him back, but he was too strong, he pushed her over again. As she lay on the ground the other two girls shouted at Ray to leave her alone but he just shouted back.
‘No bitch pushes me and gets away with it.’
The two girls that were standing helped the girl from off the ground. When she was on her feet she shouted back at Ray.
‘Yeah, and no dog pushes me and gets away with it. Look at me good and remember what I told you, you won’t get away with that.’
The Asian girl linked arms with the other two and led them away. ‘You’re in trouble,’ she said in a low voice as she passed Prem.
The boys began to circulate around the park, harassing girls as they went, and it wasn’t long before they cornered another three. The boys tried to persuade them to meet up with them the next day. The girls told them that they had already got boyfriends who wouldn’t approve of them hanging out with other boys, but they struggled to name their boyfriends. This encouraged the boys to try harder, but they were getting nowhere.
Tyrone and Prem began to get restless, they wanted to move on, but Ray insisted on giving one of the girls the phone number of the music shop. He talked about Flip Discs as if it were his shop, inviting the girls to call him any time. Ray was putting on a pretty good show until the moment he was handing his chosen one the phone number.
A powerful kick struck the middle of his back and he fell to the ground. He felt like he had been struck by a car, and he was stunned and hurt. The girls screamed and ran away. Tyrone and Prem’s attention focused on Ray, but as they moved towards him Tyrone was attacked by two boys and another two went for Prem. The boy that had kicked Ray was joined by another and now they both stood over him and kicked him anywhere they could. With two boys going at each of them they stood very little chance. Their attackers were older than them, a mixture of Asian and black guys. They had come for revenge, and they had the element of surprise. Ray was overwhelmed with kicks, Prem had been badly winded and Tyrone was bleeding from the mouth. But they tried to fight back. Tyrone and Prem managed to stay on their feet, though all they could do was lash out wildly in the hope that some punches and kicks would connect, but very few did. Ray tried to roll away, but the more he rolled the more the guys followed him. He tried to kick at them from the ground to little effect.
‘That’s enough,’ said the boy who had first kicked Ray. He looked down at Ray and pointed at him. ‘Now you should know that you don’t mess with my sister. This is just a warning. If any of you touch any of those girls again we’ll turn you into statistics.’
Ray managed to get on his feet. All three began to back off. One of the Asian boys pointed to Prem. ‘We know you,’ he said, almost laughingly. ‘We know where you live, we know your sister, and we know where she studies.’
Prem shouted back. ‘What can you do? If you touch my si
ster it will be more than us three.’
‘Bring who you want, we’ll take you out any time, any time.’
‘Yeah,’ Tyrone said, wiping blood from his mouth. ‘Six of you come, attack from the back, ’cause that’s the only way you could do it. But you can’t come face to face, you can’t come one to one.’
‘Come on then, me and you, one to one,’ said another of the attackers, pushing his way forward.
Tyrone clenched his fists ready for another round, when one of the attackers shouted, ‘Run, police!’
All nine of them made a run for it but all exits were blocked. West Ham police station was just over the road and it looked as if every police officer from the station was chasing them. They scattered but they were all captured. Two police vans screeched up to the park gates and they were all put in the vehicles. As Ray was entering one of the vans he looked across the road and saw the three girls they had stopped earlier looking on. The girl that he had pushed to the ground looked right at him just as she had done in the park.
In the station they were all held and questioned separately. All of them admitted to the parts they had played. Tyrone, Prem and Ray claimed it was harmless fun that had just gone a bit too far, and their attackers claimed that the girls had been humiliated and that it was therefore their duty to defend the honour of their sisters and cousins. For the police it was all pretty straightforward. Everyone had to promise not to do it again, accept a caution, and then they were free to go.
But there was a problem. Ray, Tyrone and Prem, along with two of the other boys, were classed as juveniles and their parents had to be notified. It was also necessary for their parents to go to the police station to witness their discharge. At this point Ray, Tyrone and Prem were put in a room together to wait. The two boys from the other gang were in the room next door, so part of the time was taken up with the two groups shouting abuse at each other. But soon an adult came and the opposition was set free.
An hour had passed without anyone showing up and the boys had started freestyling when the door was opened and a police officer entered with Prem’s mother and Tyrone’s mother. Prem could see that his mother had been crying. Her eyes were still watery and the bright scarf that matched her turquoise sari was wet with her tears. Speaking just made her weep more.
Gangsta Rap Page 4
