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Bri’s Song, "On the Come Up"
Timbs—Timberland brand work boots, which are often worn by New York-based hip-hop artists—are an item that Bri desperately wants to own. The way Bri feels about Timbs mirrors the way that she feels about the relationship between fame and her family at any given time. Her "fake Timbs" (white cloth work boots that she's colored black with permanent marker) speak to her status as an aspiring rapper and her desire to work for her success singlehandedly, just as she's working to save money and buy herself a pair of real Timbs. Bri’s refusal to take a pair of Timbs in her size at a charity giveaway, especially since Supreme is watching, signals her unwillingness to accept more or different help—at this point, while she's beginning to see that she needs help from someone like Supreme to make it big, she's too dedicated to Aunt Pooh to hire someone else. When Bri later accepts a new pair from Supreme and agrees to hire him as her manager, Bri sees the new Timbs as a symbol of her selling out. Having them around makes it so Bri cannot ignore her conscience telling her that she betrayed her family by agreeing to let Supreme manage her, and later, gives her the power to fire him.
Timbs Quotes in On the Come Up
The On the Come Up quotes below all refer to the symbol of Timbs. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 12
Quotes
I almost roll my eyes. How would these people feel if they knew Milez was here to see how messed up we are to remind him how good he's got it? He's gonna go to his nice house in the suburbs and forget this in a week, tops, while we're still struggling.
My situation shouldn't be his after-school special.
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Chapter 18
Quotes
But it's like how when she does stuff I don't like and says it's "for my own good." This is for hers. I'm willing to do anything to keep that sadness in her eyes from becoming permanent.
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Get the entire On the Come Up LitChart as a printable PDF.
Timbs Symbol Timeline in On the Come Up
The timeline below shows where the symbol Timbs appears in On the Come Up. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
Bri puts on her fake Timbs and notices that white cloth is showing through, so she takes a Sharpie to the...
(full context)
Chapter 12
...to walk around. She heads for the shoe table and finds an almost-new pair of Timbs in her size. Bri deliberates about whether to take the shoes. The soles of her...
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Supreme comes up behind Bri, calls her Li'l Law, and tells her to try the Timbs on. Bri refuses and tells the reader that she needs to be on guard: Supreme...
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Chapter 18
...Cloud and gives her a gift. Bri is shocked to unwrap a box of brand-new Timbs. She thinks of how she's been working for months to buy a pair, but she...
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Chapter 19
...home, she finds Jay putting away bags of groceries. She puts her backpack with the Timbs in in her room and tries to be excited for herself, but she's nervous to...
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Chapter 20
Malik compliments Bri on her new Timbs. She refuses to say where or how she got them, which makes Sonny and Malik...
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Chapter 25
...the bus with Curtis, who lives in Pooh's apartment complex. Bri is wearing the fake Timbs since Jay was up this morning and she hasn't talked to Jay about Supreme yet....
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Chapter 26
...Curtis grabs Bri and drags her into Sister Daniels's apartment. Bri feels one of her Timbs do something weird and has to limp to follow him. She looks out the window...
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...work. Bri looks around at all the plants as Curtis notices something wrong with her Timb. Bri sees that one entire heel is gone. Curtis comforts Bri and then puts his...
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Chapter 31
...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...
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...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...
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