Timbs—Timberland brand work boots, which are often worn by New York-based hip-hop artists—are an item that Bri desperately wants to own. The way Bri feels about Timbs mirrors the way that she feels about the relationship between fame and her family at any given time. Her "fake Timbs" (white cloth work boots that she's colored black with permanent marker) speak to her status as an aspiring rapper and her desire to work for her success singlehandedly, just as she's working to save money and buy herself a pair of real Timbs. Bri’s refusal to take a pair of Timbs in her size at a charity giveaway, especially since Supreme is watching, signals her unwillingness to accept more or different help—at this point, while she's beginning to see that she needs help from someone like Supreme to make it big, she's too dedicated to Aunt Pooh to hire someone else. When Bri later accepts a new pair from Supreme and agrees to hire him as her manager, Bri sees the new Timbs as a symbol of her selling out. Having them around makes it so Bri cannot ignore her conscience telling her that she betrayed her family by agreeing to let Supreme manage her, and later, gives her the power to fire him.
Timbs Quotes in On the Come Up
I almost roll my eyes. How would these people feel if they knew Milez was here to see how messed up we are to remind him how good he's got it? He's gonna go to his nice house in the suburbs and forget this in a week, tops, while we're still struggling.
My situation shouldn't be his after-school special.
But it's like how when she does stuff I don't like and says it's "for my own good." This is for hers. I'm willing to do anything to keep that sadness in her eyes from becoming permanent.
Timbs Symbol Timeline in On the Come Up
