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Chapter 30
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
The next afternoon when Jay picks Bri up to go see Aunt Pooh, she asks if Bri's okay. Bri thinks of the song she did. She hates it, but James still wants to see her perform before signing her. Supreme is booking her a performance at the Ring. Bri can't figure out how to tell Jay, and vows to figure it out alone. At the jail, they find Scrap sitting on the curb. He says he wasn't around when SWAT arrived, but that he's here to see Pooh with Jay and Bri. Bri thinks that Scrap seems oddly tense.
It's important to keep in mind that Jay is the one person who isn't aware that Bri is somewhat famous right now. This means Bri believes she'll be able to control how her fame looks to Jay, something that, given Jay's past reactions to learning about Bri's song, is a nice idea but probably won't play out that way in practice.
Themes
Security leads them to a windowless room. Twenty minutes later, a guard brings Pooh in. She greets Scrap and then envelops Bri in a hug. When they all sit down, Jay says that Pooh will be arraigned next week. Pooh smiles and says that after that, she can handle "that fool" from Bri's interview. Bri stares straight ahead as Pooh tells Jay that Bri interviewed with DJ Hype. She can feel Jay's stare burning into her. Pooh changes the subject and asks Scrap about "that other thing"—getting back at the Crowns for stealing Lawless's chain. When Jay ascertains that Bri was robbed, she shrieks. Scrap says that he has new Garden Disciples ready to take on the Crowns when Bri gives them the go-ahead. Bri's stomach drops.
Finding out that the Crowns robbed Bri at gunpoint like this makes Jay feel even more like she's failing as a parent to protect her child—though in her eyes, Bri isn't setting her up for success by choosing to also keep things like the interview with DJ Hype a secret. This is the final moment in which Bri's fame spirals out of her control and becomes something much bigger than what she can handle alone. She needs the help of someone like Jay to guide her, and without that guidance, Bri has ended up in deep trouble.
Themes
Jay closes her eyes as Pooh nastily says that the Crowns told on the Garden Disciples, so now it's war. Pooh tells Jay that this is about respect, but Jay reminds Pooh that she's in jail. She says she doesn't care about the chain and notes that it sounds like Pooh should be in jail. When this surprises Pooh, Jay shouts and asks what money she's supposed to use to bail Pooh out—and says that bailing her out isn't going to get Pooh to stop dealing. Jay stands and asks Bri to come with her. Pooh tries to get Bri to stand up for her, but Jay says that Pooh has to fix herself. Angrily, Pooh asks if Jay is going to abandon her again like she did when she started drugs. Bri tries to defend Jay, but Jay cuts her off and tells Pooh that she can only blame outside circumstances for so long.
In Jay's opinion, while Pooh has a lot to be angry and upset about, Pooh has also made a number of questionable decisions that led her to ending up in jail on a possession charge—and she can't ignore her own choices when she tries to lay blame. In this way, Jay suggests that part of growing up (which she seems to imply that Pooh hasn't done fully yet) is choosing to accept responsibility for one's actions and make the best out of difficult situations, something that Pooh has struggled to do throughout her life.
Themes
Outside the jail, Bri asks if Jay really isn't going to bail Pooh out. Jay says she can't when they have bills and when Pooh will just start dealing again. Bri tries to plead that Pooh will change, but Jay says that Pooh has to believe that before anything will happen. She says that Pooh is more worried about the chain than her own wellbeing. Bri apologizes for the chain being stolen. Jay says she doesn't care, but asks what's going on with Bri's behavior and the DJ Hype interview. Bri stares at her new Timbs and says that Supreme is her manager and is working on a record deal. She swears that she was going to tell Jay after everything was settled so that she could save them.
Here, Jay suggests that the chain isn't actually something that Bri or Pooh should put so much stock in—while valuable and meaningful, it's just an object. In particular, Jay wants Bri to know that people are more important than objects, an idea that Bri has struggled with throughout the novel.
Themes
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Jay closes her eyes and says she's not doing her job as a parent if Bri feels like she has to save them. Bri assures Jay that she and Trey are doing so much and admits that she's trying, but she keeps messing up like she did in the DJ Hype interview. She says that Supreme is thrilled that Bri is acting like a "ratchet hood rat." This doesn't surprise Jay; she says this is why Supreme and Lawless didn't get along. She asks what Supreme used to bait Bri. Bri admits that he bought her the Timbs. She confesses that her old boots fell apart, but she didn't say anything because she didn't want to make Jay feel bad.
When Jay isn't surprised at Supreme's behavior, it shows Bri that Jay could've been a massive help had she let her in—in which case, Bri might not be in such big trouble. Jay's sense that she's failing as a parent because Bri feels compelled to go behind her back suggests that Jay is still treating Bri like a child, not a young woman aware of the family's difficulties.
Themes
Jay sighs and says that because Bri has been lying, this must stop. Bri desperately fights this until Jay asks Bri if she knows what Pooh's biggest problem is. She says that Pooh's problem is that she doesn't know who she is and what she's worth. Jay asks Bri who she is, but Bri can't answer. They get in the car and as Jay backs out, her phone rings. Bri answers the unfamiliar number and drops the phone when Dr. Cook asks for Jay. Jay pulls over. When she hangs up, says that she has an interview with fingerprints and a background check next week.
The fact that Bri can't answer proves Jay's point: Bri doesn't yet have the personal self-esteem and understanding to make good choices and handle fame in a responsible way. Because Bri is lacking in this area, she has also undersold her worth. Supreme may be right that Bri is a born performer and can be a star, but Jay implies that Bri will be more successful rapping as the Bri she knows and loves than the Bri who pretends to be someone she’s not.
Themes
