Peter Roker

Mr. Cohen

ENG2D

20 May, 2022

 

                

     How is Bri’s identity represented within On the Come Up?

 

 Bri, who is 16 years old, has a life goal to be the greatest rapper of all time. The most important thing to her is making it out of her neighborhood one day. Being the daughter of a rap legend who passed away before he could truly be big, is something huge that Bri has to live up to. Her mom who is unemployed and also struggling with making ends meet to pay the bills is something that motivates Bri to make it. The 16 year old who hopes to make it can no longer hope to make it-she has to make it. So, In On the Come up Bri’s identity is portrayed as passionate, stubborn, and desperate. 

 

Firstly, there are many times in  On the Come Up where it is very evident how passionate Bri is about having a rap career. She disobeys what her mother tells her to do countless times in the pursuit that she has in being successful in rapping. She is willing to get bad grades in school and also get in trouble with her mom on her journey trying to make it in a potential rapping career, this shows just how passionate she is.  “I just wanna make it!” .(Thomas, On the Come Up, 397).  She is willing to get bad grades in school and also get in trouble with her mom on her journey trying to make it in a potential rapping career, this shows just how passionate she is. Bri raises her voice at her mom to get the point she has across is another example of how eager she is to have a career in rap. When Bri says “make it” it is a phrase that is very deep to her. Being successful is not really for her benefit, but mainly for her family’s sake. Getting them out of the bad financial and living situation they are in. This is what “making it’’ means for Bri, this is why it is a deep and meaningful phrase for her. The narrative style in this text is first person point of view. This is because the quote gives access to Bri’s emotional and passionate perspective. The author used this quote to give the reader a great understanding of Bri’s desire to be successful at rapping.  It is often seen in the book that Bri is told to do certain things for her benefit. 

 

When Supreme tells her to perform lyrics that are not written by herself her stubbornness gets in the way. She is determined to maintain her own rapping identity.  “I write my own stuff though.” (Thomas, On the Come Up, 379). There are a great number of rappers who perform stuff that isn’t what they created themselves. They do this as an easier path to success, but Bri refuses to do this by refusing to use lyrics that weren’t written by herself. Her stubbornness allows to not do this by sticking to the morals that she has. Bri says “own stuff” when referring to writing her own lyrics for rap and it is significant. When Bri did her first song it was her own lyrics but it did not represent who she was as a person. She was very eager to have a career rapping that she went to being a sellout. However, she was not willing to be later on in the book. The quote shows a turning point for her character when she is no longer prepared to be a sellout.  This text follows a narrative style of first person point of view. 

 

The text is showing how Bri refuses to use lyrics that are not created by her. The author’s goal in this text is to show the reader how Bri has transitioned to no  longer wanting to be a sell out like how she was ready to be one early on in On the Come Up.

 

Bri’s family is not in a very desirable situation, her mom struggles to pay the utility bills, put food on the table and Trey is working to help bring money in. This causes Bri to feel like she is also obligated to help her family get out of their troubling situation. She is very desperate to do well in her dream of rapping so she can help out her family. “Run up on me and get done up.”

 (Thomas, On the Come up, 108).  “Done up” is a great example of how much Bri wants to be successful in rap. She goes against her own rule by being untruthful in her lyrics. It gives a great insight of how much she wants to succeed. The text is first person, but the reader is seeing less of what she is thinking and more of what Bri is doing. She is narrating it, so the text is still first person. The text is chosen by the author to show the reader how anxious Bri is to have and how much she will do to have a career in rapping.

 

The protagonist in On the Come up Bri has a huge goal. She wants to succeed in her passion which is rapping. Her family’s situation is what fuels Bri to chase after her dream. Bri’s identity is represented in different personalities and it is shown through the way she acts throughout the book.  All in all, Bri is a character with an emotional, difficult, and anxious personality   .

 

                                            Work Cited

Thomas, Angie. On the Come Up. First paperback edition, 2020 ed., New York, Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2019.