Speaking of 'chanting scriptures' (rap), Lowry Jr., who we'll be playing ball with later, is a new rapper whose first promotional single has started charting on local radio. Several well-known Chicago DJs have promoted it, and the reviews seem decent. According to Tony, his debut album is coming soon.
ALex hadn't heard that promotional single, and had only met Lowry Jr. once since transmigrating. However, he and his family, including Aunt Susie, generally supported Tony 'hanging out' with Lowry Jr. While most rappers are involved with gangs, it's still better than joining a real gang.
After a rap scripture' finished playing, the DJ immediately announced, "That was Express Yourself by N.W.A! Next, let's change the pace, ladies and gentlemen, Man In The Mirror, by Michael Jackson!"
As soon as the intro started, Silencer' switched the station. He twisted the dial back and forth but couldn't find anything he liked, and the radio continued to emit grating noise.
"Isn't listening to MJ good enough?"
Michael Jackson was at his peak, and Alex had heard his songs many times, both intentionally and unintentionally, since transmigrating. He liked them all, especially 'Man In The Mirror' for its profound lyrics, which left a deep impression.
"He betrayed us!"
Tony suddenly became agitated, "All these years, we gave him our wholehearted support, and what did we get in return?! He's ashamed of us! Ashamed of being black!" He pointed out the car window, "Look! Look how white he is now!"
Alex looked over. There happened to be a giant MJ Pepsi advertisement by the roadside. That face... well, it was indeed very white.
"Traitor," Silencer' spat out a word. He finally found a channel he liked, which was still playing rap music.
"Are you serious?"
Could a black person really please white people by turning himself white? Wouldn't that just upset black people and make white people look down on him? Alex's intuition told him Tony's claim was illogical.
"Anyway, that's what everyone says."
Tony continued, "Those white people control the world. They're doing this to crush our self-esteem and keep us as their slaves. Plastic surgery, you know? They can change faces, bleaching a person isn't hard."
"Area 51," Silencer' blurted out another word.
"Right! In fact, white people caught aliens a long time ago! But they chose to hide the alien technology instead of benefiting the people, using it to fight world wars!" Tony was getting increasingly carried away, "Once they decide a winner, they'll definitely turn back to deal with us and make black people their slaves again!"
"Uh... alright," Alex conceded, deciding not to argue with him anymore.
Tony wasn't finished, "There's another Mike who's no good either. I heard, I heard many big bosses on the South Side want him dead!"
"Jordan?"
Alex was shocked. Michael Jordan was the Bulls' star player and the darling of all Chicago at the time.
"Not Michael, it's Mike! Mike Tyson!" Tony corrected.
"I know, I know about that."
A few days ago, boxing champion Tyson was upset at 42-to-1 odds. Alex heard many gang bosses lost money on it.
The place they agreed to meet Lowry Jr. wasn't far. In the time it took to play two songs, the three of them arrived at their destination, a public basketball court enclosed by wire mesh next to a small park. The surrounding environment here was much better than near Alex's home, not far from a commercial street, with tall apartment buildings nearby. Police cars occasionally drove through the intersection, and the people playing basketball wore much trendier clothes.
Lowry Jr. was already waiting. He was about the same age as Tony, shorter than Alex, very thin, and had a rare handsome face for a black person. He wore dreadlocks, headphones, and was casually dribbling to warm up while listening to music. Two other black men were standing by the basketball hoop nearby, chatting.
One was about twenty-five or six, and the other looked over thirty.
After finding a place to park, Tony was the first to get out and loudly call out, "Hey! Bro~"
"Hey!"
Lowry Jr. took off his headphones, smiled, and walked over, doing a complex series of fist bumps with Tony and Silencer'.
When it was Alex's turn, their first move matched up, but when they switched to the up and down collision, Alex got the sequence reversed, resulting in them swinging their fists in the air several times without connecting.
Alex withdrew his fist, smiling awkwardly but politely.
Lowry Jr. suppressed a laugh, "Forget it, don't worry about that." Then he patted Alex's shoulder, "Come on, let me introduce everyone."
The two men who had been standing by the hoop also came over. The younger one was Lowry Jr.'s bandmate, who introduced himself as Al.
"You're the one who..." Tony got excited seeing Al, cupping one hand over his mouth like a microphone, "Boom-tsch-dat-tsch, dong-dong-dong..." He imitated a part meaningless beatboxing segment.
"Yeah..." Al smiled, then performed his own segment.
He was much more professional. If Alex closed his eyes, he might actually think there was a drum kit nearby.
Tony gave him a thumbs up.
The older man was from the record company, less easy going than Al. "Everyone calls me AK." He then did fist bumps with the three.
Everyone was introduced. Lowry Jr. casually tossed his CD player, jacket, and other items to AK. The others also took off their jackets and other cumbersome items and placed them under the basketball hoop.
It was a standard 3-on-3 half-court game. With Lowry Jr.'s small physique, it was unrealistic for him to play against Tony and Silencer, who were tall and strong football players. Alex knew this was why Tony insisted on bringing him, so he voluntarily walked over to guard him.
Simply put, besides Lowry Jr., the other five people on the court weren't really there to play basketball, but just to keep him company. Since they were keeping him company, they had to make the person they were with happy, so they had a tacit understanding. When Lowry Jr. had the ball, everyone else stayed far away, letting Alex play one-on-one against him.
Crossover, behind-the-back dribble, fake spin, change of direction in front of the body—Lowry Jr. clearly had a good foundation. His ball-handling skills were impressive, and his spinning and dribbling speed were fast. Alex, in his transmigrated body, was blown by him last time they played and had only slightly improved this time, but that was it.
Time slowly passed, the shouts and yells on the court, combined with the thudding of the basketball, were constant.
It must be said that the foundation of this body was indeed good. Alex was crossed over again and again, trailing behind Lowry Jr. and eating dust. Aside from being mentally tired, he had absolutely no problem with stamina.
"Maybe my sports credits can still be saved?"
A moment of distraction, and he was faked out, losing his balance and sitting down on the ground. Looking back, Lowry Jr. had successfully made a layup and was celebrating by sticking out his tongue like Jordan.
"Time out! Let's take a break."
At this moment, AK, who was guarding Silencer', couldn't hold on any longer. Silencer wasn't as smooth as Tony; he was physically strong inside, and his running back body had worn AK down by constantly bumping into him, while Al, who was guarding Tony, was still fine.
"No way, AK! I just got warmed up!" Lowry Jr. shouted disappointedly, holding the ball. He genuinely enjoyed playing against Alex.
"I can't do it, I can't do it," AK said, raising his hands and retreating to the side of the court.
Silencer stood rooted to the spot, smiling sheepishly.
"Want to play us?" At this point, three young black men waiting on the adjacent court came over and asked.
"Alright," Lowry Jr. agreed.
"Alex!" Seeing this, Tony gave Alex a look.
"Then you guys play first."
Alex followed Tony off the court, leaving Lowry Jr., Al, and Silencer on the court.
The three sat down to rest for less than ten minutes when an accident suddenly happened on the court. Perhaps Lowry Jr. was repeatedly stolen from by the other team, and in his haste to steal the ball back, he ran headfirst into the opponent's elbow, which was either intentionally or unintentionally lowered. He fell to the ground on the spot.
"FXXX!" He got up, infuriated, and shoved the other person.
Unexpectedly, the other person didn't back down, "Can't handle losing? Like a woman?" He exchanged insults and started shoving back.
The six people on the court quickly gathered, and the 'conflict' escalated. AK also quickly got up to support them on the court.
Alex turned his head and saw Tony jump up like a startled rabbit, but he was sprinting towards Silencer's Toyota Eagle on the side of the court. About half a minute later, he rushed back and plunged into the crowd, shielding Lowry Jr.
"Hey!"
He lifted the hem of his T-shirt, revealing the black gun handle tucked into his waistband. His eyes were as fierce as Mike Tyson's. He asked, "How big do you want to play? N*ge..? How big do you want to play?"