Khadijah's lower back ached in dull pain. Her tattoo was wrapped with saran wrap and every time she moved, it rubbed against her shirt, irritating her. However, every time she took a glance at the large tattoo located on Kevin's neck, she winced.
She knew that shit hurt.
Getting a tattoo was a bit of a spur of a moment thing—it wasn't something she had planned on doing, but she had expressed interest in getting one. So, when Kevin booked to get his third tattoo on his neck, Khadijah came along too. Arion ended up getting three butterflies going up his left arm, and she thought that was unique too. Her tattoo was quite small, and she was a little frustrated when Arion refused to let her pay the fifty dollars. She'd gotten love yourz in small cursive on the lower half of her back, right above her ass.
In her defence, it was easy to hide and when she'd stood up to look in the mirror after biting her lip through the pain, her grey flared leggings sitting low on her hips—she knew she picked the right spot.
Personally, she thought she had the cutest tramp stamp ever.
"I wanna itch it," Khadijah admitted, squirming in the backseat. Arion smoked a blunt in the passenger seat as Kevin drove them to the studio, they were supposed to meet up with B-Lovee to record the last few verses for their song then work on the adlibs. Khadijah was just going for the vibes and because Kevin had promised her food if she came.
She knew they loved having her ass around.
"Don't fucking itch it, leave it alone," Kevin stated, driving with one hand, shaking his head, "you gon' rip the skin off."
"It itches," Khadijah stressed, sitting upright in the backseat. She was sitting behind Arion who was in the passenger seat, and she accepted the blunt when he passed it back to her. She hit it once and then again for good measure before she gave it back.
"Chill, we almost there, Jah," Arion chuckled, taking one last hit.
"No, you don't understand, it itches," she pleaded, causing the two of them to laugh at her ridiculousness. She pouted, sitting back before regretting it since it rubbed against her tattoo, leaning forward against Arion's seat, screeching when Kevin made a sharp left turn causing her to topple over in the backseat. "If this tattoo doesn't kill me, Kevin will because why the fuck—"
"Federal ass," Kevin mumbled, eyes surveying the area for parking, "listen, drop that Kevin and Arion shit when we get in there, aight? There might be some other people in there that I'on know, and I don't need you to be using my government in front of them." Kevin told her as he began to parallel park, turning his head to look behind him, and Khadijah just rolled her eyes, fixing her side bag.
"Love said he on the first floor, room twenty-two," Arion informed them, powering off his phone. He had his trusty notebook in hand with a pen, but Khadijah knew he'd already transferred the lyrics to his phone for convenience. He just liked writing down his lyrics to get them down while they were still fresh.
"Aight, get the fuck out, bitches," Kevin commanded, putting the car in park and unlocking the doors. Khadijah eagerly hopped out, the two guys following right behind her. She adjusted her white tank top, her black side bag strapped across her chest. Arion led the way inside, and she stuck close to him, hearing Kevin lock the doors to his mom's car behind them as they entered the building. They found the studio quite easily—the door clearly labelled with the number, and Arion pushed it open with no hesitation.
"Yo, what's good?" Arion greeted the three men sitting inside. There was a darkskin with locs standing by a control panel, he was a little bit taller than her—maybe by an inch or two, and Khadijah watched as he dapped Arion up.
"Love, this is Jah," Arion introduced them and Khadijah smiled shyly when the guy nodded at her with a small smile on his lips, he had a calming aura to him and she liked his vibe. "Jah, this B-Lovee."
"What's good?" B-Lovee greeted her. "Call me B or Love, whatever you want. Where that nigga Kay at?"
"I'm right here, stupid," Kevin grunted, stepping into the studio and closing the door behind them. Khadijah didn't pay attention to Kevin's rude ass, curiously looking around the studio and the control panel to the left of them. Beyond the control panel and what she assumed was the producer's side of things—there was a recording booth with a mic, stool, and a black headset. It wasn't anything crazy but the setup was enough to get the job done.
"Damn, you can't say hi?"
Khadijah's eyes darted to her right.
"Setty! Blu! I haven't seen you in a minute," Khadijah grinned, moving over to the little loveseat in the corner where they were sitting down, chilling.
"I know, you look good though," Setty smiled, complimenting her.
"My wife always look good, fuck is you talking 'bout?" Blu mugged him, elbowing him in the side. "I missed you, wife." Blu addressed her dramatically.
"I missed you guys too lowkey," Khadijah smiled sadly. The last time she'd seen them was before her father's death—no, she wouldn't go down that road.
"You recording with 'em?" Setty asked, nodding towards Arion, Kevin, and B-Lovee who moved around—turning and twisting different buttons on the control panel, setting the booth up for recording.
"I'on know, I'm just here to support," Khadijah shrugged, "I do wanna get in the booth at some point though. I've never been in a studio before."
"Prepare to be here for hours." Blu dragged out the word. "Dougie a perfectionist bro, he be recording the same verse like twenty fucking times. Its annoying as shit."
"I'm surprised you even know a big word like that." Setty chimed in.
"Fuck up," Blu said, bucking at Setty.
"I will beat 'yo ass in front of your wife." Setty threatened.
"Alright, chill out," Arion laughed, drawing their attention as B-Lovee sat in one of the chairs in front of the control panel, "Jerry, come handle this shit, man."
"Y'all niggas is wack as fuck for that," Setty kissed his teeth, but he stood up anyways, grumbling as he took a seat next to B-Lovee who stifled a laugh. "Just for that, I'ma tweak your shit and make you sound like a walrus."
"I wish you would, nigga," Arion continued to laugh, waving off his threat, pushing the door to the recording booth open. Khadijah watched Arion go inside, and she took a seat next to Blu, who started to roll up. Kevin leaned against the wall watching as Setty and B-Lovee readied the beat while Arion situated himself with the headset, adjusting the mic stand to his height. She leaned back in the couch, minding her tattoo, arching her back slightly.
"Jah, why you sitting like that?" Blu asked her, raising an eyebrow.
"I got a tat today," she smiled, thinking about her new ink, before her face fell abruptly, "but it itches, and I'm trying not to itch it."
"Oh yeah, don't do that." Blu nodded in understanding.
"I know," Khadijah whined, pouting as she watched Arion start to rap through the glass. B-Lovee had his own pair of headphones on, nodding along as Arion rapped, holding up his phone in the booth to read off of. She couldn't hear it because the booth was soundproof, but she knew by the way his face fell towards the end, eyebrows knitting together as he stared at his phone that he didn't like the way it came out.
"It's aight, let's run it back," B-Lovee stated, speaking into the mic on the control panel in front of him as Arion requested to try again.
They played the beat back, and Khadijah watched again as Arion ran through his verse again.
He didn't like that one either.
"See? I told you, didn't I?" Blu shook his head, a smirk on his lips as he sparked up. "Hours."
"Blu, lemme hit that."
"Setty, fuck right off."
Khadijah barely listened to Blu and Setty go back and forth. Arion went through his verse again three more times, and she could tell he was getting stressed out with each take.
"You wanna switch with Kay?" B-Lovee offered as he watched Arion run a hand down his face. Khadijah stood up, walking over to the door of the booth.
"Can I go in?" She asked, and B-Lovee glanced at her before nodding. She opened the door, catching the attention of Arion.
"I'm getting pissed off," he admitted to her once she closed the door behind her, "this shit is not working, bro."
"Stop getting into your head about the little shit," Khadijah giggled, taking a seat on the stool next to Arion who was standing in front of the mic. She looped her finger through one of his belt loops on his Amiri jeans, tugging him closer to her. She smiled up at him. "You got this, don't second-guess yourself, aight? Do one more take, and if you don't like it, switch with Kevi—Kay." Khadijah said, correcting herself. "Don't overthink it." Khadijah stated again. Arion took a deep breath, rolling his shoulders, nodding his head.
"Run it back one more time, B," Arion said, speaking into the mic, eyes flickering towards the one-way glass.
Khadijah sat there patiently as Arion psyched himself up, unlocking his phone, humming beneath his breath. She heard the beat start playing faintly through his headset, and Khadijah nodded her head to the melody. She counted the seconds in her head, waiting for Arion to jump in at the right time.
"Now it's deeper than rap, talk disrespect, so it's time to get back." Arion rapped. Khadijah grinned harder as he gained momentum, feeling the energy as he continued his verse. "Stay with a Trend and the MACs in the back, dumpin' the deal, and I'm takin' a pack." He repeated the first few lines, taking a small pause in between before he really got into it. Khadijah grimaced at the lyrics, but she fucked with his energy heavy. That was something that really set Arion apart from Kevin. He felt his music—really breathed that shit, while Kevin just lacked the motivation to really give it his all. Arion genuinely liked making music—no matter how much fuss he kicked up while recording or how many hours he sat writing, he liked making music, and she could tell by the way he rapped. Every time he got nervous, he glanced at her and Khadijah smiled at him encouragingly, pushing him to keep going.
"Scream DOA and she poppin' her titty," Arion continued, sneaking another glance at her. This time, there was a small smirk on his lips and Khadijah started to laugh before she caught herself, remembering that Arion was recording, putting her hand over her mouth as he powered through her mistake—continuing his verse and starting the second half without missing a beat. When he was finally finished, Khadijah hopped off the stool in excitement, clapping her hands happily.
"You sound mad good, I'on know why you was so worried," she rolled her eyes playfully, "did I fuck it up though? I didn't mean to laugh but that part always gets me."
Arion shook his head, pushing the headsets off his ears, setting them behind her on the stool. He inhaled deeply as he wrapped his arms around her waist, walking her backwards towards the door. Khadijah let him maneuver her as he pleased, knowing if she resisted, she risked falling on her ass. He looked deep in thought, probably thinking about ways to master the song so she just let him stew, lost in his own head, turning to face B-Lovee and Setty who seemed to the two people spearheading this entire project.
"Did I fuck up Dougie's verse?" Khadijah asked B-Lovee once they exited the booth.
"Nah, he went hard as fuck. That was his best take." B-Lovee confirmed. "Your laugh didn't really get picked up by the mic, it just sounds like an adlib, so I'ma keep it in. Kay, your turn."
"And put some fucking feeling behind your rap too," Khadijah added on as Kevin sauntered past her, heading into the recording booth. He stuck his middle finger at her as he went inside making her smile cheekily.
"You wanna help me do the adlibs?" Arion asked her, pulling her eyes away from Kevin who was busy pulling down the mic to his height in the booth.
"Can I?" Khadijah's eyes widened and she looked to Setty for confirmation.
"I mean shit, I don't see why not?" Setty shrugged. "I'll send what we have for Dougie's verse right now. After Kay's done, y'all can record next. Hopefully this nigga doesn't take long."
"Bet," Arion nodded, pulling Khadijah over to the loveseat. She didn't even notice but Blu had disappeared somewhere, looking around for him curiously before she reluctantly took his seat, sitting next to Arion. "You got your headphones?" Arion asked her and Khadijah smirked.
"Of course, I do," she scoffed, reaching into her bag for her wired earbuds, "so how do we do this?" She asked watching as Arion pulled in the wires to the headphone jack, tapping onto his messages and pulling up the audio file Setty sent him. Khadijah popped one earbud into her ear while Arion put the other one in his own, pressing play on the audio file. Arion explained the process to her and in the end, as the information sank into her brain, Khadijah realized there wasn't really a process at all.
It was going to be tedious as fuck.
✧
"I'm sorry, I still think that barking shit is stupid," Khadijah sighed, shaking her head. Kevin had finally finished recording his verses and B-Lovee was ready for them to start working on the adlibs. They had a few ideas going—nothing too concrete but they had to start somewhere. They had so much creative freedom in what to add in. Making music was no easy feat—Khadijah was impressed Arion had stuck with it for so long. They'd already been in the studio for six hours and they were finally starting to master the song but Setty told her that could take another three sessions to perfect.
Yeah, she wasn't ever coming here again.
"Jah, trust the process bro," Arion told her, fixing the headphones on his head. They'd added an extra pair just for her and he helped her put them on, being mindful of her braids as he gently placed them on her head. "I know what I'm doing."
"Do you?" Khadijah retorted. Her hands brushed Arion's as she fixed the headphones so they rested comfortably over her ears. She stretched upwards, pulling down the microphone so the arm was hovering in the air just enough so they could both speak into it.
"Fine, bruh," Arion smiled down at her, "you wanna do the ones you like first then? Since you hating on me so much."
"You'll thank me later," Khadijah rolled her eyes, "I'm preventing you from looking dumb."
"Yeah, aight," Arion said, biting his lip, "B, skip to a minute and twenty, we start from there."
"Heard you." B-Lovee's voice echoed in the headphones for a second before the track started to play and Arion's rap progressed to the point Khadijah was waiting for. She locked eyes with Arion and he nodded at her. They counted the seconds down simultaneously until:
"Wait, I catch a, oh yeah—forty gone knock off his whole head."
"Forty gone knock off his whole head!" Arion and Khadijah yelled together. She stood on her tip-toes a little bit to get closer to the mic. Arion's voice was significantly louder than hers and from the way they stood plastered together to scream into the mic, her ears rang just a bit from the volume. B-Lovee paused the track, fumbling around with something on his side of the booth.
"Nah, you gotta yell more, ma, that shit sounded weak," Arion instructed, shaking his head at her, "put some bass into 'ya voice."
"Boy—" Khadijah furrowed her eyebrows. "You want me to scream into the mic?"
"Yeah, bro, we gotta do it again," Arion nodded, "drill music, remember? Bring all that energy. You gotta act like you want all the smoke. Be like: FORTY GONE KNOCK OFF HIS WHOLE HEAD!" He yelled into her ear playfully, throwing up a gang sign in her face and Khadijah mushed his head back, pushing him away from her, causing him to laugh.
"Okay, okay, I got it, damn," she grumbled, rubbing her ear.
"B, run it back." Arion said, speaking into the mic. It took a minute before B-Lovee rewinded the track so they could sync up the adlibs perfectly. They counted in again and shouted in unison. She tried to sound energetic—tried to match Arion's vibe as she followed his lead.
"That sounded fire. Good shit." B-Lovee's voice chipped in again. It was silent for a few minutes before he played back the track, adding their adlib into the background. From the way Arion's face lit up and he cheesed happily, slinging an arm around her shoulder, Khadijah thought it was safe to say they did a good job.
"See, mama? Trust me. I know what I'm doing." Arion whispered into her ear, mouth brushing her earlobe as he spoke. She flushed red, something settling deep into the pits of her stomach but she brushed it off easily, trying to focus on the music.
"Aight, fine. Let's do the next one. My throat gonna be hella sore after this."