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 asks Supreme to take her to Sal's. He's ecstatic the entire time, but Bri fixates on being called a "ratchet hood rat." Big Sal lets Bri in and sends her to Trey in the back. Trey is mopping while Kayla watches. Kayla seems tinier in real life and takes issue with Trey's mopping. They flirt and kiss. Bri is transfixed, as she hasn't seen Trey so happy in a long time. They finally notice Bri and Trey's demeanor changes. Kayla goes out front and Trey ignores Bri. He curtly says that Jay is still in her room and there's no new information on Aunt Pooh. Bri realizes that Trey heard the interview. He angrily asks what's wrong with Bri since she's making a fool of herself in public. Bri feels betrayed, but Trey says she's ruining any chance of making it big by behaving like this.
What Trey sees is that Bri has the potential to become one of the many stars who have one hit, get embroiled in scandal, and then fall off the radar. What he doesn't necessarily understand about Bri is that she feels so desperate and overwhelmed by the family's poverty as well—which combined, makes her far more likely to lash out like she did in the interview. Put another way, Bri is responding in a pretty unsurprising manner given the circumstances; Trey just doesn't know how scared Bri is.
Themes
Bri says that she's just trying to save them. At this, Trey wraps Bri in a hug. Bri admits that she's tired of feeling scared. She cries as Trey leads her to a corner where they can sit down. Bri apologizes for being a burden, thinking of how Trey fed her, read her stories, and comforted her when she was little. Trey says that Bri was a gift, which makes Bri cry harder. He sloppily kisses her on the cheek and says that Bri kept him from following in Aunt Pooh's footsteps. Bri hasn't considered this possibility and wonders if Pooh has to save herself. Trey reminds Bri that Pooh made choices. Kayla calls Trey to the front, and he makes Bri swear to not do any more interviews.
This moment shows Bri at her most vulnerable: she feels as though it's imperative to pay back Trey and her mom for caring for her by making it big as a rapper. Feeling like a burden, however, keeps Bri from being able to recognize the important role she plays in their lives too. Jay has already implied that she got off drugs so she could be there for Bri and Trey, which would give Bri another reason to not think of herself as a burden.
Themes
