Stay dangerous

“City of angels

Land of God

A city of demons

Land for us

In the city of angels

In the land of God

In the city of demons

That's the land for us?” 

― Brent Faiyaz (“L.A.”)

The first Chick-Fil-A opened in Atlanta, Georgia in 1964. As a Georgia native, it makes sense for a place synonymous with politeness and hospitality to break soil in the south before moving across 47 states and two countries. Most fast food franchises are solely known for their food, not their employees etiquette, but Chick-Fil-A’s brand identity is based on a language of please, thank you, and my pleasure. 

Southern goodness and moving with manners was a big part of my upbringing. My grandmother didn’t tolerate discourtesy. Chick-Fil-A has always felt like an establishment made for her approval. Atlanta, as a city, also feels like a place where please, thank you, and my pleasure will take you further than being rude and disruptive. Maybe that’s true in all places, but surely the south. 

One Saturday, while picking up a burger from the fast food franchise Cookout, a young cashier, Black, maybe in his early twenties, handed back my debit card, looked me in my eyes and said, “Stay dangerous.”

Chick-Fil-A would have fired him on the spot, but I’m glad he said it. In two words, unintentionally, he verbalized Los Angeles the way many of the rappers I love from California do. Snoop Dogg and YG, Nipsey Hussle and NWA, 03 Greedo and Tyler, The Creator, Kendrick Lamar and MC Eiht all internalized a stay dangerous mentality. They are the risk takers. The gamblers. The rulebreakers against formalities. In their world, anything can happen, and it often does.

I’m typing this an hour after seeing a friend who lives in Los Angeles, a few houses down from where Pop Smoke was murdered. Seeing street signs named after Achilles and Hercules left me wanting to reread this article about Hip Hop and Greek Mythology. It still feels relevant to how rappers and Greek Gods have so much in common. 

They can appear all powerful, blessed with gifts and charisma that appear otherworldly, but there’s also a riskiness to living in Mount Olympus when you aren’t immortal. Icarus wasn’t immortal. He fell to his death after flying too close to the sun. All he had to do was play it safe, but he didn’t, he couldn’t, he had to go higher. If the sun didn’t melt his wings he would’ve kept climbing, a man like that has to test the limits to see how far he can go.

L.A makes me want to test my limits. To see if I can touch the sun. It makes sense why the rap from this city is so daring and fearless. This city makes you want to risk it all for a dream. It’s why I love Brent Fayiaz’s Sonder Son album. The project is essentially about a dream chaser choosing L.A over his hometown because he knows it offers more than home could. 

Brent is from Columbia, Maryland, but was living in South Carolina before moving to L.A. I’m sure he was raised how I was. Please, thank you, and my pleasure. But that has a ceiling. To climb higher, you have to leave home. Rap Portraits is on the move. 

Y’all be safe.