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Chapter 12
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in On the Come Up, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Identity and Individuality
Racism and Prejudice
Trauma, Poverty, and Childhood
Control, Image, and Fame
Summary
Analysis
Thanks to the giveaway, Christmas feels like Christmas. Bri's family doesn't go to church even though Christmas falls on a Sunday. There aren't any presents, but Bri is fine with this. While Jay calls distant relatives, Trey and Bri play a Michael Jackson game on their Wii. Trey loses and mutters their traditional concession speech. Jay appears with the phone, asks Bri and Trey to say hi to an ancient uncle, and then hangs up. She has a box with her and explains that it contains things that belonged to Lawless. Quietly, she says she hid it from Grandma and from herself—she would've sold some of it when she was sick.
The fact that Bri is okay without presents shows that she's had to grow up and become mature at a very young age. While Christmas certainly doesn't have to be about gifts, the fact that Bri feels the need to mention this suggests that she's very aware that her family isn't celebrating in an especially traditional way. In this way, Bri feels even more conspicuously different from her peers.
Themes
Bri carefully opens the box and pulls out a green bucket hat. She puts it on as Jay explains that Lawless insisted on wearing a hat at all times. Bri then digs out a sweatshirt and notebooks. The handwriting in them is sloppy, like hers. At the bottom of the box, Bri finds a gold chain in the shape of a crown, with "Law" written in diamonds underneath. Jay says it's real, and that Lawless bought it with his first big check. Bri knows it's valuable and Trey does too: he suggests they sell it. Jay insists that Bri have it, and Trey angrily shuts himself in his room. Bri tells the reader that Trey isn't a fan of Lawless, as he thinks that he died because of stupid things.
For Trey (and for Bri and Jay, but to a lesser degree), the chain represents something that could make life easier, at least for a while, if they sold it. Jay's choice to give it to Bri is something that Bri should take note of as she says that Jay treats her like a child—the chain is extremely valuable, and entrusting it to Bri is a way for Jay to say that she trusts Bri and is willing to treat her more like an adult.
Themes
Jay starts making dinner while Bri admires the chain. Aunt Pooh and Lena arrive, and when Bri asks where Pooh has been, Lena tells Bri that it's hopeless. Jay returns to the living room and also asks Pooh where she's been, but Pooh refuses to tell. Lena offers to help cook and follows Jay into the kitchen. Pooh notices the chain and tells Bri to not wear it, but refuses to say why. She also brushes off Bri's anger that Pooh abandoned her at the studio and asks to hear the song. Bri sighs and tosses Pooh her phone.
Though Pooh and Bri are closer in age, it's telling here that Pooh treats Bri like a much younger child. While a generous reading could see that Pooh is trying to protect Bri from any unsavory or illegal things she was doing while she was gone, it nevertheless makes Bri feel unloved, abandoned, and as though she can't trust Pooh to be there for her.
Themes
Aunt Pooh plugs in earbuds and dances to the song until suddenly, she stops. She angrily pulls out the earbuds and quietly says that Bri isn't a gangster. Bri is shocked that Pooh feels this way, when Pooh carries a gun and disappears to deal drugs regularly. Bri tries to defend herself by saying that she's not saying she's a gangster—she's talking about stereotypes. Pooh hisses that nobody's going to listen for a deeper meaning. She asks why Bri brought up the Crowns. Bri is confused—the line Pooh refers to, in Bri's opinion, means that she's not involved with either gang—but Pooh insists that the Crowns will take it the wrong way. Pooh asks if Bri wants people to think that she shoots people, but Bri asks the same question of Pooh.
It's telling that Pooh says much the same thing that Malik did when it comes to Bri's song. The fact that this interpretation is coming from a number of sources, all of which Bri (in theory) trusts, should tell Bri that her song will be risky for her if she expects people to look for the deeper meaning and not just take it at face value. While it is on the listener to go for the deeper meaning and engage with music that way, the fact that Bri has to think about this mirrors the way she has to temper herself as a black woman in society.
Themes
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After a moment of silence, Pooh hisses in Bri's face to delete the song and says they'll make a new one. Thinking of Supreme, Bri asks how Pooh is going to promote the new song. Pooh says they can upload it and see what happens, but Bri says this isn't enough—they need money. Pooh says she's also in trouble and doesn't want to deal drugs forever. When Bri tells her to stop dealing, she insists it's not that simple. They argue more about whether Pooh is doing enough for Bri and her music, and Pooh ends the conversation by telling Bri to delete the song. Bri goes to her room, uploads her song to Dat Cloud, and texts Supreme the link. He responds that Bri is going to get big.
At this point, when it feels like nobody in Bri's life supports her song or Bri by extension, Supreme seems like the only person she can turn to—he's the only one telling her that her song is a hit and that she can make money off of it. That Bri doesn't take her friends and family's concerns seriously illustrates the fine line that adults in her life need to walk as they guide her, and specifically, the need for them to show up and prove to Bri that she should trust them.
Themes
