章節 58: New waves/fans

Tariq had just finished making the deal when he heard the sirens. His heart pounded as he darted down the alley, the scent of freshly spilled gasoline lingering in the air. The cops were close, too close. He had to move fast, had to find cover, had to survive. Without a second thought, he slammed open the door to his boy's apartment, sliding inside just as the flash of red and blue lights illuminated the street.

"Yo, you good?" his friend Malik called out from the couch, barely glancing up. The bass from the speaker pounded in the background, filling the small, cluttered living room with the rhythm of Ethan Jones's latest hit.

Tariq, panting and sweaty, slammed the door behind him. "Man, cut that gay shit off," he snapped, pointing to the speaker with a disgusted look on his face. "Play me some rap, nigga."

Malik didn't flinch. "Come on, man. This track fire," he replied, tapping his phone screen, still keeping the song rolling.

"Nah, nah, I'm good," Tariq grumbled, grabbing the remote from the table and changing the song himself. "I want something real."

With a shrug, Malik sighed, scrolling through his playlist. "Fine, fine," he muttered, tapping on a Travis Scott song. The heavy beats of "SICKO MODE" erupted from the speakers, and Tariq's face lit up in approval.

"Yeah, that's more like it," Tariq said, nodding to the beat as he kicked back into the couch, his mind still racing from the close call outside. "Now we talkin'."

But as his head swayed to the rhythm, his fingers absently swiped across his phone, opening his Twitter feed. Scrolling through a mix of news and gossip, something caught his eye: Eminem was trending. Curious, he tapped on the tweet, pulling up the endless stream of reactions.

The first few tweets were the usual praise. Fans talking about how Em was back in the studio, dropping heat as always. But then, there were some that didn't quite add up. A name kept popping up alongside Em's: Ethan Jones. Tariq squinted at the screen, eyes narrowing. Ethan Jones? The same white dude Malik had been blasting in the apartment for the last few weeks?

He glanced at Malik, his brow furrowed. "Ain't this the white nigga you been playin'?" he asked, his voice dripping with skepticism.

Malik nodded, a grin tugging at his lips. "Yeah, that's him. Looks like him and Em about to drop a track together."

Tariq's jaw dropped. "Ain't that something?" He leaned forward, his interest piqued. "Play that song again."

Malik raised an eyebrow, his fingers hovering over his phone. "Didn't you call it gay last time?" he teased.

Tariq scoffed, dismissing Malik's jab with a wave of his hand. "Man, anyone who rocks with Em is coll with me. Put that shit back on."

Malik chuckled under his breath, shaking his head but complying. The beat of Ethan's track filled the room again, and this time, Tariq let it play. As the song echoed through the apartment, his eyes returned to his phone, quickly tapping through the sea of tweets. He couldn't help but notice the number of people talking about the upcoming collaboration. Some reactions were pure love. "Eminem + Ethan Jones = Straight fire 🔥🔥🔥," one tweet read. Another person tweeted, "Ethan Jones is gonna change the game, mark my words."

But there were also some who weren't so convinced. A user named @RealTalkNow tweeted, "Eminem corrupting the next generation with this white boy. Stick to your roots, Em." Tariq snickered at that one, muttering under his breath, "They just mad Em ain't fuckin' with them." But he couldn't deny it, the tweet sparked some interest in him, the seed planted.

A few tweets down, someone asked, "@Eminem, is Ethan Jones really your next big collab? Are we sure he's worth it?" followed by a string of laughing emojis. But overall, the majority were in full support.

The reactions were overwhelming. The majority of people, especially the ones who had been following both artists for years, were hyped for the collab. One tweet caught his eye: "I don't know who Ethan Jones is, but if Em says he's the one, I'm here for it." Tariq leaned back, impressed by how much noise this white boy was making.

A few more scrolls and his finger froze. A message popped up on his phone, a notification that the collaboration was official. His eyes widened as he saw the number of retweets, likes, and comments flooding in. This was bigger than just a normal collaboration. Ethan Jones was making waves. And if Em believed in him, then Tariq knew it had to be real.

The music played on, but now it felt different, almost surreal. Tariq couldn't help but feel the heat of the moment as the beat dropped again. He wasn't just listening to any artist. He was listening to someone about to blow up. And this time, it wasn't just some random white kid in the game. No, this was a whole movement.

Back in the studio, the vibe had shifted from professional to personal. Em and Ethan had just finished the final takes for their track, and Em couldn't hold back the grin on his face. The energy in the room was electric. His eyes met Ethan's, and for a moment, everything seemed to slow down.

"Dude," Em said, his voice low but full of admiration, "that's it. That's fire."

Ethan's lips curled into a grin, the exhaustion of the session melting away. "Bet," he replied, his voice steady but filled with the thrill of accomplishment.

Em pulled Ethan into a hug, his arms wrapping around him tightly. "You killed it," he said, his voice filled with a rare sincerity.

Ethan laughed, his chest pounding from the rush. "This... this is everything," he whispered, still in awe of the moment.

As they stood there, the social media storm was just beginning to rage outside. Fans, skeptics, and industry heads alike would be watching their every move. But for now, in this moment, it was just the two of them, standing on the edge of something bigger than either could have imagined.