ATLANTAD.I.YWritten byCorey Tate

CoreyAllenTate@Gmail.com(708) 767-0023

COLD OPEN

INT. UPPY RECORDS DAYALFRED and EARN are sitting in a record execs office, waiting for the exec to enter.

EARNYou remember what we talked about, right?

ALFREDI got it, cuz.I got it.

EARNAlright, cause...

Before EARN can finish his statement, the record exec enters.Middle-aged white guy in a navy blue suit.He looks out of touch with the Atlanta rap scene.

RECORD EXECHey, guys!Glad you could make it!

The RECORD EXEC shakes EARN and ALFREDs hands, then takes a seat at his desk.

RECORD EXECSo, I wanted to talk to you guys,because Im a big, big fan of the music.Love it!

EARN can sense that the RECORD EXEC is lying.He decides to call him on his bullshit.

EARNWhats your favorite track?

RECORD EXECUm, the uh...

The RECORD EXEC starts looking at his computer screen and toggling with the mouse, trying to find one of AFLREDs songs.

RECORD EXEC (contd)Lets see hereI really like this one.

The RECORD EXEC clicks play on ALFREDs current hit song and bops his head like hes into it.

RECORD Im feelin this joint.

The RECORD EXEC reaches out to give EARN and ALRED some dap.In a zombie-like manner, EARN and ALFRED complete the dap.This RECORD EXEC is really turning them off. He stops the music.

RECOR EXEC(Looking at ALRED)So, heres the deal, Earn.I...

EARN cuts him off.

EARNIm Earn.(Pauses, then points to ALFRED)Thats Alfred.

RECORDOh, sorry.But heres the deal.Wed like to sign you guys.We can provide promotion, marketing, a tour budget,you name it, you got it.

The RECORD EXEC whips out a thick contract and places it in front or EARN and ALFRED. The RECORD EXEC cracks a devious smile. EARN and ALFRED look back and forth at the RECORD EXEC and the contract.

EARNUm, could we have a second?

RECORD EXECSure, take your time.

EARN and ALFRED step off into a corner of the RECORD EXECs office. They began to whisper.ALREDSo what do you think?

EARNNah. Were not gonna take it.Do you really wanna sign to a place called,(Air quotes) Uppy Records? What the fuck is an Uppy?Also, that dude doesnt even know your music.You dont wanna sign with someone who isnt passionate about your shit.

ALREDWord.That makes sense.

EARN and ALFRED break out of their huddle and walk back over to the RECORD EXECs desk. The RECORD EXEC is still holding his deviant smile.

RECORD EXECSo whats it gonna be guys?We doing this?(Pause)Or nah?

EARN and ALFRED look at each other.The looks on their faces nonverbally say,Did this old white dude just say Or nah?EARN replies to the RECORD EXEC.

EARNThanks for the offer.Well be in touch.

EARN and ALFRED shake hands with the RCORD EXEC.

RECORDNot a problem.The offer is always on the table.Just...hit me up, yo.

EARNWill do.

EARN and ALFRED walk out of the office.We still see the RECORD EXEC sitting at his desk.He bites into a donut, then pages his secretary.RECORD EXECElle, send in the next rapper.Young Ta...Tach...Young Tachee?Yeah, thats it. Send him in.

INT. ELEVATOR MOMENTS LATEREARN and ALFRED are leaving the building.EARNs phone starts vibrating.Its VAN. The mother of EARNs child.

EARNShit.

ALFREDWhats up?

EARNI forgot I was supposed to stop by Vans house.I gotta go do that.

ALFREDAight, cool.Ill go with you.

INT. APARMENT BUILDING SEVERAL MINUTES LATEREARN knocks on VANs door.

EARNVan, its Earn.

ALFREDAnd Alfred.

VAN opens the door and looks at her watch.

VANWell, its about time, Earn.I told you I had an audition at four.You need to take Zuri for couple of hours.

EARNSorry, I got caught up, doing some stuff.

VANWell, I packed Zuris stuff and shes ready to go.EARNOkay, cool.

EXT. OUTISDE VANS PLACE MOMENTS LATEREARN is putting his daughter ZURI in the car seat.The cops roll by.EARN gets nervous. ALFRED doesnt.They have different outlooks on cops.

ALFREDRelax, man.They aint gonna do nothing.

EARNCant be too sure.

ALFREDWatch this.

ALFRED waves to the cop, as he passes by.

ALFREDHow ya doing, officer?

The officer nods respectfully and keeps going.

ALFREDSee.Its all good.

EARNI still dont trust cops.

EARN puts the car in gear and they drive off.

INT. AUDITION WAITING ROOM DAYVAN is at her audition, going over lines.Her name is called, to go in.She goes into the audition room.Three White people are sitting at a table.A man, and two women. They begin the audition.

WHITE WOMAN #1State your name, please.

VANHi, Im Van, here to audition for the role of Tanya.

WHITE WOMAN #1Thank you.You may proceed, whenever youre ready.

VAN begins to say her lines.

VANI dont think you should date him.I mean, who is this guy?Does he even have a job?

WHITE WOMAN #2 stops VAN and gives direction.

WHITE WOMAN #2Thats great, but could you spice it up a little?You know, a little more sass.Proceed, whenever youre ready.

VAN tries to take direction, while saying the lines again.This time, theres a little more sass, but not much.

VANI dont think you should DATE him.I mean, who IS this guy?Does he even have a JOB?

WHITE WOMAN #2Okay, great.Youre getting there.Just give it a little more attitude.Tanya is sassy and confident, ya know?So think about that, okay?Whenever youre ready.

VAN sighs, as she looks at the page of lines.She knows that they want her to be full-on, sassy black girl.She begins to do the lines, again.This time, theres even more sass, than the last time.

VAN I dont think you should date him!I mean WHO IS THIS GUY!Does he...

VAN stops reading and gives the white women a piece of her mind.

VANIm sorry, I cant.

WHITE WOMAN #2Is there a problem?

VANI know you want me to be sassy, black, best friend who snaps her finger and twirls her hair, while she giving advice,But Im sorry, I cant.

WHITE WOMAN #1 dismisses VAN with an urgency.

Thank you.Please see yourself out.

VAN exits the room and throws the lines in the trash, outside the room.

INT. EARNS APARTMENT EVENINGEARN is feeding his daughter. He gets a text from VAN.The text reads, Im back. You can drop Zuri off, now.EARN packs his daughters things and puts her in the car.On the way to VANs house, ALFRED calls.

ALFREDYo, where you at?

EARNIm about to drop Zuri off at Vans.

ALFREDAight, when youre done, come by the studio.Me and Darius got some heat.Shit sounds crazy. Well probably use it for the next mixtape.

EARNAight, bet.

The call ends. EARN arrives at VANs house. He knocks on the door. VAN opens. She grabs ZURI and gives her a big kiss. EARN inquires about VANs audition.

EARNHowd the audition go?

VANUgh. Terrible.

EARNThey wanted you to be sassy, black, best friend again?

VANDont they always?I didnt do actors training for year and years to get typecast into un huh, girl, I feel you.and dont make me get crazy up in here!.

EARNYou should think about writing your own stuff.I mean, this is the day and age, where you can do that, you know? You write the roles you wanna play.

VANThats a good idea.But right now, Im gonna drink this tea and watch Bridezillas.This is my little piece of happiness.

VAN smiles really big and plops down on the sofa.EARN laughs.

EARNAlright, Ill see you later.

INT. STUDIO NIGHTDARIUS is sitting at the mixing board playing a beatand ALFEED is standing up beside him bopping his head.EARN walks in. EARN gives dap to DARIUS and ALFRED.

ALFREDYo, so that joint I told you about over the phone.You gotta hear it.Aye D, play the one we just made.

DARIUS pulls up the song.ALFRED looks at EARN to see what he thinks.EARN bops his head. He looks like hes feeling it.

EARNYeah, this is tight.

ALFREDRight? This is definitely going on the next mixtape.

EARNWe need to get this heard tonight.What time does Ultra Lounge close?

ALFREDProbably like 2am.Wanna roll out?

INT. ULTRA LOUNGE - NIGHTEARN, ALFRED and DARIUS arrive at Ultra Lounge,One of Atlantas most prominent night clubs.

EARNIll be back, gonna go holla at Boom.

ALFREDAight.

As EARN walks away, ALFRED and DARIUS gloat over how good the women look. EARN approaches to the DJ booth, to talk to DJ Boom.

DJ BOOM gives EARN dap.

EARN I got something for you.

EARN hands DJ BOOM a flash drive.

DJ BOOMWhats this?

EARNAlfreds new shit.

DJ BOOMIs it hot?

EARNTrust me.Its fire.DJ BOOMAight, Ill take your word for it.Ill play it in a second.

EARNAppreciate it.

EARN pulls out small wad of cash and tries to gives a few bills to DJ BOOM. DJ BOOM rejects it.

DJ BOOMNah, you know you my dude.Its all good.

EARN puts the cash back in his pocket and gives DJ BOOM a handshake.

DJ BOOMBut yo, I would appreciate if you hooked me up with one of VANs fine-ass cousins.

EARN laughs, then responds.

EARNIll see what I can do.

DJ BOOMAight, word.

EARN exists the DJ booth and walks back over to ALFRED and DARIUS.

ALFREDSo what happened?

EARNHes gonna play it, soon.

DJ BOOM gets on the mic and introduces ALFREDs new song.

DJ BOOMYo, Ultra! New shit alert!

DJ BOOM drops the track. The crowd starts dancing a feeling the track. EARN looks around and smiles at the scene. ALFRED and DARIUS shake each others hands and start celebrating.

EXT. OUTSIDE OF CLUB NIGHTALFRED, EARN and DARIUS are standing outside the club door.Theres a crowd of people walking to their cars.DARIUS talks to a group of three girls.

DARIUSYou ladies like new shit that DJ Boom played?

One of the girls respond to DARIUS.

GIRLI love that song!Who was that?

DARIUSThat was my man, Alfred, right here.

GIRLOh, really?Youre a rapper?

ALFREDI do a little something, something.

ALFRED reaches out to shake the GIRLs hand.

ALFREDIm ALFRED, by the way.

The GIRL completes the handshake and announces her name.

GIRLIm Alicia.Hey, were headed over to the waffle house,if you wanna join us.

DARIUS answers for ALFRED.

DARIUSWe would love to.

ALFRED and EARN laugh as they all begin walking to their cars.

INT. WAFFLE HOUSE NIGHTThe group of six is eating waffles.Each guy is talking to a girl, having separate conversations.ALCIA and ALFRED are talking about music.ALICIASo how long you been rapping?

ALFREDSince I was kid.My cousin, Earn could tell you,Its all I ever wanted to do.

ALFRED calls EARN to jump in the conversation.

ALFREDAye Earn, you remember my first rap.

EARN begins to spit that rap, trying to remember.

EARNI rep that Atlanta / home of the country BamasAnd the Atlanta Braves / gold grills all day.

EARN stumbles over the next lines.

EARN (contd)Something, something, something,You know I gotta get paid.

ALFRED, EARN and ALICIA laugh at the rap.

ALICIAAww, thats cute.

CUT TO: The conversation DARIUS is having with one of the girls. Hes sweet-talking her. She looks like a nerd who doesnt get a lot of attention, so shes feeling it.

DARIUSWhen I first saw you, I was like, damn!

The NERD GIRL giggles and blushes.

NERD GIRLThank you.

DARIUS feeds the girl a piece of a waffle.She smiles and eats the waffle.

DARIUSNo problem, babygirl.

CUT TO: A conversation between EARN and the third girl. Theyre the more mature people of each group. Theyre having a conversation about life.

MATURE GIRLSo, you got any kids?

EARNA daughter.

MATURE GIRLAww, how old?

EARNThree.

The MATURE GIRL indirectly asks if EARN is single.

MATURE GIRLHow long you been with your girl?

EARNMy girl?

MATURE GIRLYeah, your daughters mom?

EARNOh, no, were not together.

MATURE GIRLOh.

EARN playfully calls the girl out.

EARNYou know you couldve just asked, right?

MATURE GIRLAsked what?

EARNIf Im single.

MATURE girl laughs out of embarrassment.

MATURE GIRLI didnt wanna just come out and say it.I didnt wanna sound nosey and I didnt thirsty.

EARNIts all good.

EARN and the MATURE GIRL stare into each others eyes a for second.

INT. EARNS APARTMENT MORNINGEARN is lying next to the girl.His phone rings, its ALFRED. He picks up.ALFRED is making breakfast.The conversation takes place split screen.

EARNYo...

ALFREDThe club was turnt last night, when they heard our new shit.

EARNYeah, Im still thinking about that.

EARN wipes his eyes. Hes still very tired.

EARNHey, what time is it?

ALFRED9am.

EARNCan you meet me at Joes on in like an hour?

ALFREDAight, Ill be there.

INT. VANS APARTMENT MORNINGVAN is reading lines, preparing for another audition.Its another sassy, black, best friend role.She stops and rolls her eyes.She sits down at her computer and searches,Tips for writing a screenplay. She skims over the results.She launches a word processing document and begins to write a screenplay for herself.

VAN(Reading aloud)Interior. Law School. Day.

INT. JOES COFFEE SHOP EARLY AFTERNOONEARN and ALFRED are having coffee.

ALFREDSo if were not gonna sign to a label,What are we gonna do?

EARN holds up his phone. Hes silent, which confuses ALFRED.

ALFREDI dont get it.

EARNThe internet, man.We dont need labels nowadays.Why you think so man labels are going bankrupt?Its the internet.

ALFREDBut like, what about the internet?

EARNWith the internet, we can get music directly to the fans.No third-parties needed. You can make a song and release that shit within hours of finishing it.

ALFREDOkay, but what about promotion and stuff like that?

EARNSocial networks.Promote your own shit.We need to remain self-sufficient and independent.Its kind of like that old days of rap, when rappers use to sell tapes out the trunk of their cars, but in a more sophisticated way. That way, you control everything. Not some middle-aged white guy who hardly listens to hip hop.

ALFREDYeah, that makes sense.

EARNHow far along are you on the new mixtape?

ALFREDI got about 3 more songs to finish.

EARNAight, cool.Im gonna get in touch with my guy, Geno.He can code us a website, where we can upload to the musicand create a space where fans can interact with us.

ALFREDSounds good to me.

EARNAye, did you go home with that girl, last night?

ALFREDMore like, she went home with me.

EARN and ALFRED laugh.

INT. GENOs HOUSE - EVENINGEARN is meeting with GENO, to talk about coding a website for ALFRED. GENO is a hip-hop infused Asian kid, in his early 20s. GENO opens the door, dressed like a rapper. Its genuinely his style. EARN and GENO do a cool handshake, as EARN enters GENOs place.

GENOWhat up, E?

EARNChillin man. Alfred needs a dope-ass websiteand you were the first person I thought of.You can code shit like no one else.

GENO responds in a confident, but playful manner.

GENOWell you know, I do a little somethin, somethin.

GENO pops his collar. EARN and GENO laugh.

GENOAight, step into my office, I got a few ideas.

CUT TO: EARN and GENO are sitting at GENOs computer.GENOs office looks like a mini computer lab, with all the monitors that he has. GENO begins explaining his ideas to EARN.

GENOOkay, so the problem with artists today is,their sites are either TOO minimal or TOO interactive.

EARNIm listening.

GENOSo, Im gonna code Alfreds site to beinteractive, but still minimal.For instance, the tour dates will not only give you directions to the venue, but it will also tell you where the free parking is in the area.

EARN is smiling really hard and looks impressed.

EARNFuck, thats tight.

GENOYeah man, I got a lot of ideas for this.Its gonna be sick.

EARNs phone buzzes. Its a text from ALFRED.The text reads, Karis at the Atrium, tonight. Comin thru?

EARN reads the message and puts the phone back in his pocket.

GENOYo, if you gotta roll out, its all good.I can call you when Im done.

EARNYeah, I should get up outta here.Gonna go see Kari Faux at the Atrium.

GENOWord up, E.Well touch bases later.

EARN and GENO do their cool handshake again.EARN leaves GENOs place.

INT. THE ATRIUM NIGHTEARN, DARIUS and ALFRED are backstage talking to fellow artist, KARI FAUX.

ALFREDYo, that crowd looks crazy tonight.Shits packed.

KARII know.Im a little nervous.

EARNNah, dont be nervous.They came to see you.You can go on that stage and do whatever you want.Those are your fans.

KARIThanks, Earn.Alfred, since youre here, you wanna do a couple songs?I know the new tape is on the way, you can try them out tonight, if you want.

ALFREDI mean, I guess I could do a few joints.D, you cool with getting on the tables?

DARIUSOf course.Thats what I do.

CUT TO: The shows host introduces ALFRED.ALFRED comes on stage. DARIUS gets the crowd hyped up.

DARIUSWhat up, Atrium!Yall ready to rock?Yall ready to get turnt?

The crowd confirms with loud screams and cheers.

ALFREDI think they ready, D!Lets go!

DARIUS drops the track. ALFRED begins performing.The crowd is loving it. Theyre dancing, hands up, singing along, etc. CUT TO: ALFRED finishes up and gets off stage.KARI, EARN and DARIUS begin celebrating ALFREDs performance.ALFRED looks elated. A middle-aged black guy approaches.

BLACK GUYWhat you did out there was impressive.

ALFREDThanks!

BLACK GUYIm Steven Taylor. I handle Kari Fauxs touring schedule and Id love to have you on some shows. And not just the South, Im talking all of North America. Chicago, DC, Philly, you name it. Hey, theres a spot if you want it.

STEVEN TAYLOR hands Alfred a business card and walks away.

DARIUSDamn, did that really just happen?

EARNWe got tour dates!

ALFREDMan, this rap thing is really coming together.We bout to make Atlanta proud, shawty.

EARNAnd we didnt have to sign to Uppy Records to do it.

EARN, ALFRED and DARIUS laugh.

END.