73 pages • 2-hour read
On the Come Up
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Symbols & Motifs
Lawless’s Crown Chain
On Christmas, Jay gives Bri “a glistening crown pendant [that] dangles from a gold rope chain” (197). The chain once belonged to Bri’s father, and Jay says that her father bought it with his first big paycheck, and Bri guesses that it must be worth thousands of dollars. The chain takes on a dual meaning for Bri. It belonged to her father, so in one way, it represents her father’s legacy and his infamous conflict with the Crowns. The chain also represents financial security for the Jacksons. Bri refers to the chain as her family’s “safety net,” something of value they can pawn if money ever gets too tight. The chain represents a connection between Bri and her father and the financial security he would have brought his family if he was still alive.
Aunt Pooh is the first to point out that the chain might be dangerous to have around. She tells Bri that she “[doesn’t] need to wear it” (200) because it might anger the Crowns. Bri’s father was allegedly murdered by Crowns, who didn’t like that he hung out with Garden Disciples and walked around with a crown on his chain. The Crowns even tell Bri that “[her] daddy was real disrespectful, walking around with that crown on his chain and calling himself the King of the Garden while rolling with them Disciple bitches” (315). The Crowns see the chain as a taunt, and Scrap tells Bri that they’ve wanted the chain ever since they killed her father: they wanted a trophy for their kill.
When a Crown robs Bri and Malik at gunpoint and takes the chain, Bri knows that she isn’t just handing over a piece of her father. She is also giving up something valuable that could have been used to feed her family. She watches as the thief “speeds off down the street, taking my family’s safety net with him” (317), and Bri feels like she has failed her family again. On the night of her performance in the Ring, the Crowns try to taunt her by “hold[ing] [her] dad’s pendant and [making] a kissy-face at [her]” (473), but Bri has come to terms with her own identity. She knows that her value isn’t found in a piece of jewelry, and she declares that “When [she] say[s] [she’s] a queen, it means [her] crown cannot be taken” (476). Bri’s dignity and value are found in her family and her heart, and the Crowns have no power over her. They can keep the chain, and Bri will keep her sense of self-worth.
Star Wars
Bri loves science fiction, and she often references her favorite films to process what she is seeing and experiencing. Thomas, an avid lover of science fiction and fantasy herself, uses these references to represent big, emotional moments or revelations. Bri has a particular love of Star Wars, and she makes several references that allude to these classic films.
When Bri steps into the Ring for the first time, she wears a Darth Vader hoodie. Aunt Pooh teases her, calling Star Wars “nerd shit,” and Bri notices that people in her neighborhood often refer to anything nerdy as “white people” stuff. This causes her to feel alienated like she doesn’t fit into their mold of what she should be interested in as a Black girl. Still, the fact that Bri is willing to wear her hoodie into the Ring shows that she is comfortable being her nerdy self in front of a crowd. Despite Pooh’s ridicule, Bri says she thinks of Pooh as her “personal Yoda” (95), who offers moments of wisdom and mentorship.
When Bri wins her first round against Milez, she watches as the crowd explodes into cheers, and she feels the rush of adrenaline and power. She says that “this is a new level, like when Luke went from being just Luke to Jedi-ass Luke” (47), referring to the moment in Star Wars when Luke becomes an all-powerful Jedi to conquer the dark side of the Force. Just like Luke, Bri spent most of her life feeling powerless, and just as Luke harnessed the Force to defeat evil, Bri is coming into her own power and learning that her words might be strong enough to help her gain power over her own life.
Bri compares Garden Heights to the Death Star. She says that although the Jacksons live in the “safer” part of the neighborhood, “it’s kinda like saying one side of the Death Star is safer than the other. It’s still the goddamn Death Star” (86). In the Star Wars franchise, the Death Star is a space station that is destroyed, and by comparing it to Garden Heights, Bri touches on the dangerous nature of Garden Heights. The neighborhood is riddled with gangs, drugs, and poverty, and most residents dream of getting out. At the beginning of the novel, Bri hopes her rap career will take her out of the Garden, but by the end of the story, she recognizes that Garden Heights is a part of her, and she is a part of it.
Timberland Boots
At the beginning of the story, Bri mentions that she is wearing fake Timbs, or Timberlands. Bri has always wanted a pair of her own, but real Timbs “[cost] a water bill” (57). She has to settle for imitation Timbs in the meantime, and the shoes start to represent Bri’s financial situation and how it conflicts with her aspirations. Bri thinks that when she can afford real Timbs, it will mean that she has made it as a rapper, and her life of poverty will be behind her.
Bri found her fake Timbs at the swap meet for 20 bucks, and the cheap shoes are rapidly breaking down on her over the course of the novel. It begins with a few scuffs, which she tries to cover up with Sharpie, but soon “[the] insoles have almost rubbed out” (181). Still, Bri doesn’t want to tell her mother that her shoes are falling apart. She says that she can “deal with a little discomfort, and [Jay] doesn’t need to worry about getting [Bri] shoes right now” (181). Money is tight in the Jackson house, and the family can barely buy food, let alone new shoes. The fake Timbs continue to deteriorate until Bri “can almost feel every single rock [she] step[s] on. These fake Timbs are wearing out” (356), and not long after, the heel breaks off of one of the shoes.
At the food giveaway, Bri spies an almost-new pair of Timbs that are being given away, but she doesn’t take them because “these Timbs should go to someone who might not have any shoes at all” (181). However, when she realizes that she is the person in need because her own shoes are breaking down, Bri is overwhelmed with shame and anger. She wants to be able to buy her own Timbs. The Timbs represent security and comfort, which seem to constantly be eluding her as her family fights to keep the monster of poverty at bay.
When Supreme buys her a brand-new pair of Timbs, Bri is thrilled, but she has to hide the boots from her mother. The new, authentic Timbs represent Bri’s partnership with Supreme and her disobedience to Jay by proxy. Supreme is offering a level of comfort and security that her mother can’t, and Bri soon learns that Supreme’s “gift” of financial security will come at a price far greater than a new pair of shoes.
The Song “On the Come Up”
Bri’s song “On the Come Up” becomes the most consistent and complex symbol in the novel, and it drives the majority of the conflicts that Bri faces. “On the Come Up” fractures her relationships with her friends and family, launches her into the public sphere, and is even blamed for a riot at her school. The song is powerful, catchy, and at its core, a symbolic extension of Bri’s identity as a misunderstood young woman.
In Chapter 8, at the recording studio, the producer asks Bri to think about what the world has done to her lately. Bri thinks about her run-in with the school security officers, and she channels all of her rage into the song, declaring that no one can stop her from rising above her circumstances. She says, “I approach, you watch close, I’m a threat” (123), meaning that she is tired of being treated as a threat when she rolls her eyes at school or tries to shop in a store in the nicer part of Midtown. She recalls how the security guards tackled her to the ground and the anger she felt at that moment when she had to lie still and become docile: “If I did what I wanted and bucked up, You’d be bound for the ground, grave dug up” (124). For Bri, the song is an artistic representation of her anger and feelings of powerlessness and the way people choose to perceive her without really knowing her.
However, not everyone understands the song. People like Shana and Curtis understand where Bri was coming from and what she was trying to say, but others—like Malik and Pooh—tell her that the song is inauthentic and asking for trouble. Like Bri, the song is misunderstood, and the words are even weaponized against Bri after the riot breaks out at her school.
When she tells Pooh that the song has a deeper meaning, Pooh warns her that the Crowns will come after her because of the line, “I’m a queen, don’t need gray just to prove it. Rock a crown, and you ain’t gon’ remove it” (125). Because Pooh is involved in a gang, she knows that the Crowns will be offended by this song, and the gang that killed Bri’s father is not to be tested. The song becomes dangerous on a whole new level, and in addition to the backlash from the media, Bri is also targeted by the same people who took her father from her. Despite the trouble brought on by the song, however, Bri knows that it was a true expression of how she felt, and the fact that the song resonates with so many young people tells her that she isn’t alone.
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