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
Bri tries to figure out if Malik just asked her out. She thinks he did, but she also remembers Granddaddy saying that Bri jumps to conclusions faster than anyone else. She tries to focus on this conundrum instead of the stares in the hallway, and heads for Mrs. Murray's class. When Mrs. Murray looks unsure of what to say, Bri feels ready to be done with her day.
Knowing that Bri jumps to conclusions makes it easier for the reader to suspect that Malik probably didn't ask her out, especially since Bri later notes that going to Sal's isn't anything special. Bri is still prone to making immature leaps like this—especially when she’s influenced by a childhood crush.
Themes
Bri races to her locker before lunch. She checks her hair in her phone—Jay braided it over the weekend—and sees Malik coming toward her, talking to someone. It's Shana, a dancer from the bus, and Bri ascertains that Shana is coming with them for lunch. She feels like she's being punched when Shana jokingly hits Malik, and she thinks she didn't realize that Shana and Malik were this close.
The way that Shana and Malik behave suggests that they're in a relationship or are soon to be. For Bri, this makes her feel as though Malik is abandoning her, especially since he hasn't expressed any interest in Shana up to this point. This, coupled with Sonny's confession that he hadn't told Bri about Rapid, compounds Bri's sense of being alone.
Themes
Bri gives the reader the rules for going places around Midtown, which amount to not giving store employees a reason to suspect that their black clientele is up to anything illegal. Sal's is the only place where this doesn't hold true. Big Sal, the owner, teases Malik about Shana and takes their order. Bri is aghast when Shana adds Canadian bacon to their pizza and Malik insists on paying. They go to their favorite corner booth, where Malik puts his arm across the back of the booth—technically around Shana's shoulders. Bri ignores this and refuses to let Malik listen to her song, even when he recites some of his favorite parts of Bri's other raps back to her.
Sharing the "rules" again reminds readers, especially those who aren't black, that Bri must behave in a very particular way when she's in a predominately white area in order to not attract negative and potentially dangerous attention. The fact that Malik pays makes it clear to Bri that his relationship with Shana is more than just friendly, which continues to make Bri feel isolated among people she expects to feel safe with.
Themes
Malik asks again and says he knows it'll be great, but asks that Bri not ignore him when she gets famous—he's known her since she was afraid of Big Bird as a little kid. Shana howls with laughter, but Bri doesn't find this funny at all. She pulls out her phone and plays her song. Malik looks troubled throughout, but praises Bri. When Bri pushes, he says that she hasn't done half the things she rapped about, and while he knows that she's talking about the things others expect her to do, he thinks that most people won't understand that. He's especially worried about her talk of guns.
Malik's assessment of Bri's song shows that he's able to think about it from the perspective of a black person and a white person—he can see how Bri's lyrics could come across as being extremely dangerous and confrontational to someone who doesn't know Bri or understand her lived experience.
Themes
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After a few minutes, Shana says that she wants to talk to Bri: she and a few others have been talking about how Long and Tate target black and brown kids. Her wording is clunky, but Malik puts a hand on hers. Bri stares at it, trying not to cry. Shana says that since the riots, she's wanted to do something. They formed an unofficial black and Latinx student coalition, which wants to publicize the fact that kids of color are being targeted—and specifically, what happened to Bri. Bri says she doesn't want to be the poster child, but Malik says he filmed the entire incident and with it, can prove that Bri didn't deserve what happened. Shana says that since parents heard Bri was selling drugs, plenty of them want Long and Tate back.
There's nothing especially wrong with what Shana says; Shana's only crime is that she's possibly dating Malik, which is upsetting for Bri. Bri's refusal to help out illustrates how heightened emotions for any reason can make it far more difficult to create positive change or work together, an idea that Malik will return to again and again over the course of the novel.
Themes
Malik asks in a hopeful tone what could happen if he posts the video. Bri knows what will happen: she'd end up on the news and on social media, but she'll be forgotten as soon as some other black person has something awful happen to them. She refuses to let Malik post it. Malik accuses Bri of being a sellout for rapping about guns instead of speaking out, and says that she knew it was just a surefire way to make money. Bri spits that until Malik understands what it's like to live without heat, he needs to stop. Malik's eyes widen and he starts to apologize, but Bri storms out.
Bri suggests here that the video of Long and Tate assaulting her will experience the same brief moment in the spotlight that others like it have (especially given the rise in footage from police body cams), and then fade into obscurity—without doing anything. Though Bri takes offense to Malik's suggestion that she just wants to make money, this is exactly what Supreme will tell Bri later: being a “hoodlum” sells.
Themes
