Over the last few months, Ink Art Music--
Man, we thriving.
The vibe has been great, relatively drama free.
- I partnered up with an agency.
I feel like I have to leads some changes.
- At this point, it's no Ink tattoo artist at Ink Art Music.
And I don't know how many times I gotta say the same thing.
That's just what it is.
- What is he, "Lion King?"
- I'm now six months pregnant, and I'm very excited.
But there's another baby that I have to worry about
and that is Enigma.
It will be undergoing a major renovation.
And since I've always planned on making LA more
of a home base, now's the time for me to make that happen.
- We don't have nothing in LA but your shop.
- Only have my shop?
- Yikes.
- All these [bleep] wires. This looks horrible.
This time that I'm back here, like, I really wanna focus
on expanding Enigma, so I'm gonna be bringing in new people.
♪♪♪♪
- Oh! Ken and Lemeir, welcome, welcome, welcome!
- Why would you bring Ken who you know I don't [bleep] with
somewhere where I found peace at?
I never had somebody show me they didn't give
a [bleep] so much. Opportunists everywhere, bro.
- Let it be like that.
- Nessie, are you calling me a opportunist?
- You just need to shut up. - Who the [bleep] is you?
- ♪♪ I be fishin' with you bish ♪♪ - ♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪ - ♪♪ Hey ♪♪
♪♪ Trying to get a... - ♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪
- ♪♪ Hey, telling you ♪♪
- ♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪
♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪♪♪
♪♪ My house, my car, my chains ♪♪ ♪♪ New rags in a whole different lane ♪♪
♪♪♪♪
♪♪ A whole new plane ♪♪
- Oh, wow! - Hmm!
- ♪♪ A whole different lane ♪♪
- Everything is so open and clean.
I did not expect to have so much on my plate
when I got back to LA a week ago.
But that's just what comes with being a boss.
So now with the renovations underway with the new contractor
locked in, the rose seminar in the books, I got six weeks
left to figure out if I'ma have this baby in LA or Florida.
This is beautiful.
So I need to find a place big enough to convince my country
man, fiancé, Jamie, that LA is where we need to me.
Thankfully, I have one of the best real estate agents
who happens to be Kevin's man, Rashad,
to help me figure this all out.
What are they asking?
- This is about 4.4.
- Sheesh!
I can get a mansion
with hella acres and [bleep]. - Yeah.
- Anywhere else but California.
Y'all ready to go inside?
- Ooh... Welcome to the future.
- Wow.
- This is nice. - This feels player!
- Over here you have the open dining room.
Main kitchen area here.
You got your heated Jacuzzi and a pool.
- You have a nice pool where the kids can come
and splash around and play... baseball.
- Kids don't play baseball around a pool.
- Oh. [laughing]
[Kat] This is everything.
♪♪♪♪
I see you with the listings.
Oh, man, my feet.
- I'ma take a call and I'll be right back in a little bit.
- Okay. How do you feel about all this?
- The houses are nice. Like, the houses are beautiful.
- What more do we need to sell Jamie on?
- I don't know, my head just really is not clear.
The shop is now in the most [bleep] up conditions.
You guys are not even able to work in there right now.
As much as I know we need to find a home in LA
before this baby comes, my mind just
can't stop thinking about the shop.
Even though I'm confident about this new contractor,
I am still a little nervous about [bleep] hitting the fan
and throwing another wrench in all of my plans.
You know, I lean to you to kinda help me hold things together.
And I just ask you to take a extra step to try
to keep it together. - Um...
I know Katrina's pregnant
and she's looking for a house.
And she has a million different things on her plate, but...
I feel like it's important for her to know what happened
between Nessie, Nelly, and Lemeir at the first Enigma
event in a really long time. Because I'm still pissed
about it, and I know she probably will be too.
We are all here for you especially me.
- Right. - But I'ma tell you
what happened last night at the rose seminar,
kind of [bleep] up a relationship.
- What happened? - Um...
After you left, I saw Nessie pull Lemeir to the side, and all
of a sudden, like, dawg, you just hear screaming and yelling
and they both just going-- and I'm like, okay...
- Nessie and Lemeir? - Nessie and Lemeir.
But Nelly took it upon herself
to insert herself into they [bleep].
She told this man, this grown ass man
to shut up in front of a room full of people.
And not to mention you are speaking on behalf of Enigma.
So it threw Lemeir off.
He just walked out. Now I'm, like, okay,
let me go do damage control. I walk outside.
I could tell, he was riled up and confused.
Lemeir wants to be down with Enigma.
- Right. - So to me, I feel like
in that moment, he felt attacked
by Enigma. - Really?
[sighs] This a lot.
All this happened right after I left.
- You wasn't gone ten minutes.
- What the [bleep].
I cannot believe my artists made a scene at an Enigma event.
That's super unprofessional, and there's no way in hell
that I'm gonna let Enigma's reputation
that we worked so hard to build fall apart.
I think that Nelly needs to be checked,
Nessie needs to be checked.
And if Lemeir's gonna be around, he needs to be checked.
- Okay. - Everything falls apart
when I leave.
-♪♪ Crazy wild ♪♪
♪♪ Turn up in style, turn up the beat, I came in style ♪♪
♪♪ It's going down ♪♪
♪♪ I'm dripping got champagne I'm sipping ♪♪
♪♪ I walk in I strut through I got what they're missing ♪♪
- Ay... - Hello!
- What's up, Chef? - Happy mother[bleep]
birthday. - Thank you so much!
- How you guys doing? You guys ready to cook?
- Yeah. - Let's get to work, ladies.
- Today's my mother-effing birthday.
And I am so excited
to be celebrating it working at one of the best tattoo shops
alongside some of the best artists in the city.
So it's only right to invite everybody to this cooking class.
Food, friends, it doesn't get any better than that.
- So today we're gonna learn how to make flatbreads.
Are you guys ready? - Very excited!
- First, you always add the dry ingredients.
We're gonna put some flour in here so the dough doesn't stick.
- Flatten the balls.
- So you guys can put any kind of toppings on the flatbread.
- Okay, okay, you gotta tuck your fingers.
Chop it.
- I don't know, I'm kind of scared.
I'm looking at Alana with this knife.
Your mama must cook all your meals.
[laughing]
- Cory! - What's up, man?
[chatter]
- Are we doing it like that?
- Hell, yeah. Amber love roses.
Gonna give her the whole cart.
- We need that good vibe anyway after all this [bleep].
So after that whole Ink situation,
and you know, with Polo being a little bit inconsistent,
I'ma go ahead and just pull up on him
and see where his temperature at.
As you know, he hasn't been around.
And the music he dropped in the group chat kind of concerning.
- Polo ain't really been around.
I thought he had some family issues.
But then he sent some music, and I was really concerned
about what he was really on.
- Yeah, I...
I just knocked another [bleep] down
and made another mama cry.
So hearing that was just like
we supposed to be changing the culture a little bit.
You know, it just had me questioning
the path that Polo was on.
- Yeah, I don't really care to hear
them type of lyrics coming from Polo.
I want him to adapt and know like, ay, if you gon' be
a artist, you gotta be a artist, bro, not some gangsta [bleep].
I don't know what Polo talking about.
But I'm concerned because he just got out of jail
to try to change his life around.
- I been talking to my parole officer and he said that
in a few weeks, I'ma get off of parole.
[cheering]
- As a friend and a mentor of Polo, not to mention
a business owner, I don't want nobody
in my shop in the streets.
And I definitely don't want Polo in no trouble.
- I think what we're trying to get at is everybody's actions
meet their words, you know what I'm saying?
- Let's go in and crash the party, though.
[laughing, chatter]
- How is that? - Yeah!
♪♪♪♪
- Yay!
♪♪♪♪
[chatter]
- Happy birthday!
- You bring that electricity and all this
hustle, ambition, like, we need it.
[chatter]
- So I had a question for y'all.
What happened before Ink walked
out of the shop the other day?
- He wanna be some type of sports agent.
- So he doesn't wanna be a tattoo artist?
- He wanna send me the athletes
that he gon' be around.
I think he trying to figure out where he could fit
in Ink Art Music. I can't say you a tattoo artist
here and make it inconvenient for the other artists that's
coming and y'all working and being consistent.
That don't make sense.
- So where does that leave him now?
- He out.
- I support Ink. I'm not limiting nobody
to doing one thing. I don't just do one thing.
But the artists that is here and that wanna be a part
of something amazing, I gotta make sure they straight
'cause that's the fastest way to success.
We here to celebrate Amber birthday, man.
[chatter]
- I hope y'all enjoy the rest of y'all day.
- Thank you!
[cheering]
♪♪♪♪
- ♪♪ You can't get it like I got it ♪♪
♪♪ Feel me, feel me, feed me, work ♪♪
♪♪♪♪
- What up? - What happened?
- How much money you make me today, baby?
[Dani chuckles]
- A million. - A million?
Man.
One thing I love to see
when I come home from work is seeing Dani
working hard, taking everything new boutique to the next level.
The one thing I do not like, she got the room
full of clothes, she now take up my whole office.
But it is what it is. Family business, baby.
- You got in late from the seminar.
How was it? - It was pretty cool.
Kev did a good job.
I got a chance to talk to Kat. - That's what's up.
- And then like out of nowhere, Nessie wanted to
have a conversation. - Oh, Lord.
- She's talking about you brung Ken
and you ain't letting me know.
This show that you don't mess with me.
Then we totally left.
- You ain't got [bleep] to do with their relationship
or whatever happened to them.
You just trying to be his friend and her friend
and stay out of the bull[bleep].
I try to keep me and Nessie's friendship
separate from me and Lemeir. But the fact that she keeps on
dragging Lemeir into the bull[bleep] with her and Ken
is ridiculous. Stop dragging my man
into your bull[bleep].
- Oh my God, the worst part of it all though.
Nelly turns around, she like, Lemeir, shut the [bleep] up.
We don't do that at Enigma.
And so I'm like... - Who the [bleep]
is she talking to? - Exactly.
For her to bring that energy, honestly, like,
it make me feel like I'm back on some KP [bleep].
The animosity I felt coming from Nelly really made me feel
like she got a deeper rooted issue, and I'm definitely
not trying to walk into no situation where Nessie
already painting me as public enemy number one.
Everything that I felt there really got me feeling like
I'm back at IAM, and I'm never going back to that again.
That friendship makes no sense.
You don't help me. You don't lift me up.
You don't bring me any opportunities.
I don't gain anything from this, but I do get
is you get in a relationship with someone
that you decide to get in a relationship with,
I get the bad end of the stick,
and now all of a sudden I'm fake.
[bleep] you then.
What you doing? - Catch up with your ass.
Still a little busy. Grammy season just happened.
- When you gonna get me a Grammy?
- What I wanted to dive into is the music that
made us flashback to an old narrative.
Are you back in the streets?
- You picked sides. And then we have to split...
- It's not-- - We have to all pick sides!
- Who are you yelling at? - I'm yelling at you because
you not getting what we saying.
♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪
- ♪♪ If I said it in a minute and saw what you need ♪♪
♪♪ Get a boost, got the juice yeah won't you get a squeeze ♪♪
♪♪ Started from the bottom then I climbed up ♪♪
♪♪ In the league now you nervous from my service ♪♪
♪♪ Look I don't do it free ♪♪
♪♪ I do it for the greenbacks ♪♪
♪♪ I'm talking wheelbarrows full of green stacks ♪♪
♪♪ I lean back, dream that, I'm the king that... ♪♪
- What's up, man? What bring you my way?
- I gotta swing by for a second. Haven't seen you in a minute.
Thinking of Polo with the lyrics.
I did wanna make it a point to stop by and check on him.
'Cause at the end of the day, Polo is a good dude.
And we really want him to go
in the right direction, a good positive direction.
- Trying to get a little smoother with my lines
and stuff like that. - I like your blend over here.
- How you been though? - I been good.
What I wanted to kind of just dive into
is the music, and I've been hearing the chatter.
- Yeah, I sent it to the group chat and it was just crickets,
and they were like you-- nobody responded.
- It was crickets because
the content of it made us flashback to an old narrative.
Are you back in the streets?
♪♪♪♪
- Is that what you think?
- No, that's not what I think because the feeling
and the vibe that I get from you isn't that.
But [bleep] what's going on?
- It's kind of crazy that, like, ohh...
I didn't want that to happen, Cory, like, I did not
wanna be perceived in that light.
I went to prison, bro. I got my GED.
Enrolled in college. All this positive stuff,
you know what I'm saying? I'm not out here
in these streets trying to make bad decisions.
What would I look like being out here when I gotta go teach
my son how to be a man. That's very contradictory.
But at the same time, how do I approach my music?
Because it's the music that I was writing
when I was in prison at 18, 19 years old.
I work hard to overcome
my past and become a better man.
These guys thinking that I'm backsliding
because of my music when they know who I am.
This [bleep] is just not cool.
I had to go through so much like I'm barely like out here
adjusting, really, like, you're slapping me in the face, bro.
Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, you know
I lost my stepdad. Now I have to figure out
the situation with my son. His grades weren't cool,
so I've been having to go back and forth to Vegas, like,
you know what I'm saying? Make sure he's situated
and stuff like that. You know?
I broke up with KK.
- Ooh. - I just can't focus on work
right now because I've been dealing with too much stress.
And then losing KK made situations go from bad to worse.
Like, she was my first relationship out of prison.
And I don't wanna drag her through this roller coaster.
So I'm just trying to find the balance.
But it's been very difficult.
- You have to be conscious.
Because you do have a old narrative that you don't
want to have perceived as who you are now.
- I hear what you're saying. I don't want you to think that,
but nobody said anything. Nobody said nothing.
KP and Tim, they should be the most understanding
of everything, knowing the life that we have to live out here.
I just really hope they can move past this.
It don't really feel good being framed for something
that I'm not. - Whatever fallout
has come from this, just clean the [bleep] up.
Because all the narrative looks like
is you're falling right back into it.
- ♪♪ Leave that in the streets we're not stuck in the womb ♪♪
♪♪ Hear the crowd go wild in the place in the boom ♪♪
♪♪ I crave hope grew up in the brave ♪♪
♪♪ We ain't never been afraid ♪♪
♪♪ Come we ready, come we ready ♪♪
- Excuse me, is the boss man here?
- Hello, Kat, how are you? - How are you?
- Good to see you, good to see you.
- Thank you so much for letting us invade.
- Have a seat, have a seat. - When I moved to LA,
Gunner we was like, big bro.
Like, yo, Kat, like, you need anything?
Like, I got you.
And he's just always looked out.
So when I first started the renovations at Enigma,
I worked out a deal where I rent out a few of his booths
where my artists can work for a short stint,
but the renovations hit the fan.
The shop is [bleep].
- Wait, wait-wait-wait...
- We have to start all over
from scratch pretty much. - Wow.
- Thankfully, all my artists understood,
and hopefully Gunner will too.
It's one thing to house five guest artists for two weeks,
but it's a completely different thing
to now guest them for over a month.
- How's renovations? - Renovations from hell.
I had to fire the whole contracting team.
Now we have to undo everything that they did...
- You gotta re-rip it all out. - To start fresh.
So with that being said...
Can I buy a little more time?
- How much longer you think?
- Just two weeks.
- That's cool. - Are you sure?
- I can do that, yeah, that's not bad.
- Okay. I literally was so stressed out
coming up here, I'm, like, oh, my goodness.
I am so relieved that there are other shop owners
out there like Gunner that will help me out.
But now knowing how my team acted at the rose seminar,
we need to be on our best behavior.
- Who's the oldest client you ever tatted?
- I just tattooed a 75-year-old woman.
The funniest people to tattoo. - They really are.
Like, that one lady, can I touch your beard?
[chatter]
But she was cool as [bleep].
- My name's Deshay.
I've been tattooing for 12 years.
Enigma is the only shop I've worked in,
and it's the best group of artists I've ever been around.
Four years later everything that we done talked about
that we wanted to do is like finally
getting the fruits of that labor.
I am originally from Gardena, California.
Growing up in Gardena, it was the mixture
of a tough environment, the neighborhoods.
Art allowed me to separate myself
and become actually somebody successful.
My specialty is everything. I'm self-taught,
so it doesn't matter if you want traditional,
realism, portraits, and animae.
That's pretty much what I enjoy doing the most.
All nerds don't look like what you think.
Some nerds look like me.
The best tattoo artist out of LA.
- We gotta find more artists that are...
- Men. - Yeah, no, for sure.
You gonna be talking about sports.
Talking about kicks, talking about [bleep]
like that, Kat don't give a [bleep] about sports.
- Yeah, and he ain't gonna talk to us about no damn shoes.
- My name is Bookie.
I've been tattooing for 12 years.
Tattooing wasn't always my first love.
My first love was basketball.
And growing up, I had aspirations going to the pros.
Life switched up for me. I was able to pursue
my other love which was art. But I never felt like
I got the type of respect and clientele that I needed
until I started working at Enigma.
It's watered down with witch hazel a little bit.
So like the ink flows a little smoother.
I've been working at Enigma for two years now.
And to see my art, it's taken itself to a different level.
But the biggest part of my life is my wife and my kids.
This is what motivates me every day.
This is what inspires me, what makes me who I am.
- Yo, what's dope? - The seminar was cool.
It was just five minutes of sourness that
didn't sit right with me and Bookie, that's all.
- Yeah, okay, okay. - But I've seen a lot
of the artists that were at the seminar posting roses
and they been leveling up since your seminar.
- Look, I had to apologize to all of them, but...
- I don't know for what.
Child, I don't regret what I did for Nessie.
I had to look out for my girl.
I really don't have no beef with Lemeir.
I was just doing what was right.
Wasn't nobody else gonna do it.
- I'm gonna holla at my artists real quick.
Thank you so much. And I'll see you soon.
I'll be popping in and out. - All right.
- Hey, y'all, can I talk to y'all for a second
before I head out? - Yeah, you got it.
- I'll be quick.
After the seminar, I heard about what happened.
How many events have we had? They have never had any drama.
And here we have a professional event where you got people
who paid money to be there and learn something
and then some [bleep] like that happens.
But I'm gonna be calling a shop meeting
'cause within us to really has to hash this [bleep] out.
I'll let you guys know when and where.
- Got it. - All right.
Just don't embarrass us here.
- Well, that sucks.
- I be ending up in some toxic situation.
I know that, and I like to feel needed.
- Why do you like that?
- I don't know.
- I hit Polo up. It was a good conversation.
I felt good about him wanting to be
a part of everything.
- Well, I had a conversation with Polo.
It didn't go too well.
♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪
- ♪♪ Ride with me, all my girls, all my girls with me ♪♪
- Uh-huh.
- ♪♪ All my girls bossy ride with me I'm a savage ♪♪
♪♪ All my girls bossy if they want it they can have it ♪♪♪♪
[shouting]
[muffled greetings]
- How are you? - I'm good.
You look so beautiful. - You look beautiful.
- Girl... - Last time I seen you
you was, uh... pregnant.
- With the other one.
Jadah and I have a great friendship.
That's been my homegirl that I can just
release to outside of work.
Me and her actually met through Kevin.
Because they used to work together in New York.
[door buzzer] - Hi!
- Oh!
[laughing/chatter]
- It's been a couple of years but Jadah's
now in LA making moves.
So I feel so good catching up with her
now that I'm back on the West Coast.
Bitch, I've not had no time to just step out
and have like some real girl time.
- Outside of the shop, right? - My life, my conversation,
everything has been goo-goo, gah-gah...
That's it, so... - Goo-goo, gah-gah.
- I needed this more than you know.
- So how is life treating you?
- There's a little artist drama that I gotta deal with.
Jamie ain't here yet. He's still in Florida.
Whoo, there's too much, girl.
- This ring, girl? - Girl, that's another thing.
Too much, too much on my plate right now.
Definitely not the time for me to have a wedding.
I don't wanna plan no event that I can't enjoy,
that I can't get lit, you know how I like
to have my drinks, so... - Girl, I already know.
That's why we like. - 'Cause we kick it.
- Literally. [laughing]
Jamie and I planned on having just a lit wedding.
But I can't even begin to think about getting married
until theseshop renovations are done,
we find a permanent place to live, and I have this baby.
I mean, I'm not trying to throw an event
for everybody else to get lit and enjoy themselves
and I can't? [chuckling]
- I just feel like the whole journey is so full of circles.
'Cause I feel like the kind of [bleep] that we like experienced
before even getting here... - Right.
- And you thriving with your business.
It's amazing. - Yeah.
I love to see you. - I'm so proud of you.
- I'm very, very happy about where I'm at now.
And to proving myself and accomplish
everything that I have.
But I've definitely had my hardships.
Being a female tattoo artist in this industry,
I remember what it's like just not getting
the respect that I know that I deserve.
It's just not cool for you to be up in my...
- Yeah, don't... [laughing]
- My things are by the [bleep] door like it's trash.
And there's artists tattooing in my booth.
- That's not your booth.
- I've learned a lot working at 9MAG and other shops.
But one thing I know is you have to close one door
in order to open up another.
And even in doing that comes
a whole new set of problems as a boss.
But I'm more grateful than ever and enjoying
the hell out of this ride.
- I feel like your intent behind everything that you do
is always so genuine and 100%.
- Ladies. - Oh, thank you.
- Thank you.
- That looks good.
Lemonade? - Thank you.
- I'm so happy for you. - Thank you.
Cheers. - Cheers.
- ♪♪ Baby go to your parade ♪♪
♪♪ Woke up in a good way ♪♪
♪♪ Stepped out looking better ♪♪
♪♪ I give Fendi I'm a boss ♪♪
♪♪ Listen every lesson so I never take a loss ♪♪
♪♪ But your eyes my skin so smooth dolphin ♪♪
♪♪ Glutes on thin 100 squats in the gym ♪♪
- Hey, girl. - How are you?
- You want me to take my shoes off?
- Yeah, put your shoes... [chatter]
I'm still kind of shook about how things
went down at the rose seminar.
And I don't really wanna face
anybody from the shop just yet.
But Nelly reached out and she's easy to talk to.
She's good energy, and I really need that
to rub off on me right now.
- Girl, Kat called a meeting to discuss the rose seminar.
- I'm so mad at myself. - Why?
- Because the whole day, like, I was good.
It's just like I let him have power over me for that last
like five minutes. - I think I kinda felt
the difference when he started drinking.
And you too, 'cause that's when everything kind of popped off.
If y'all gonna have a side conversation, have it.
But it didn't need to escalate to that point, and a lot
of times when alcohol's involved, it does.
- I changed from like anger to like sad real quick.
- No, I get it.
Everything you're saying right now
is connected to some deeper [bleep].
Based off of all the things that
Nessie's opened up and shared with me,
a lot of toxic situations she's been in,
I know there's something deeper in there.
And I'm just trying to be a good friend and help her.
When you stuck in loops, it comes
from things you haven't healed from.
It's because you're being reminded of something
that happened to you a while ago.
- I had an abortion but that was, like, 17.
Was literally the second time I had sex ever.
- How'd you handle that?
- I mean at first, I was just upset only because
my boyfriend at the time was like not trying to help me with
[bleep], you know, but I was just done with him, you know?
- So any relationship after that, did it look the same?
- I'll be ending up in some toxic situations.
But I tend to attract people that need me, you know?
And I like to feel needed. - Why do you like that?
- I don't know, I just do. - You know that you need you?
- Yeah, I be showing up for me too when I can.
- How? You supposed to show up for you all the time.
Everything else is added. - 'Cause I feel worse
when I pick me. Like sometimes when I really
be focused on myself and there's like some real
[bleep] like I feel worse than if I woulda just
did something I didn't wanna do for somebody.
- When you're into a trauma, a lot of times
we create attachments where it's like things can continue
to abuse you and use you as a sacrificial lamb.
- There's been more than enough situations in my life
where I really felt like I didn't have
the support and love that I needed.
Maybe that's why I kind of overextend myself in situations
and constantly show up for people because when you're going
through something and you feel alone, the one thing that you
need is the people you would be there for to show up for you.
- And the more you work on you,
the more your energy starts growing.
The more you start feeling better, you're more confident.
The less noise you hear in your head.
We're gonna get you to a place where you're freely expressing,
expanding, and exploring this realm
the way you're supposed to. You know what I mean?
And that's why I'm here. - Good.
[laughing]
- ♪♪ Fully in charge ♪♪
♪♪ Yeah listen ♪♪
♪♪ This is hip hop confidence ♪♪
♪♪ Your whole style is on top of this ♪♪
♪♪ How you going to stop me? ♪♪
♪♪ This is nonsense I go with hectic ♪♪
♪♪ And some monster beats ♪♪
- On point and repetition.
- What you doing with tens?
- I can do 100 tens, and you can do fifty 20s,
and we damn near did the same thing.
- That do not make sense.
- Bro, it's more repetition, not heavy weights.
- Nobody doing that many reps with no tens.
- I don't know what you talking about.
Now I'm gonna do ten more than you.
- Yo! - You ain't doing nothing!
- Throw it to the ground.
[laughter]
- Not to break up your gym session but...
I hit Polo up just to see where his mindset.
- Oh, you talk to him? - Yeah, yeah.
I brought up some of our concerns that we talked about.
And obviously there was a little bit of regrets on his end.
And I felt good about him wanting
to be a part of everything.
- I had a conversation with Polo.
It ain't good too well.
I'm in place and be the manager is to protect the brand.
What you post now backfires on us.
We made a vow to the city
that we was gon' separate the shop from the streets.
KP and I didn't work years to try
to build the shop up to get the community
and the city officials to believe in us
that we wasn't gonna have Ink Art Music
as a gang hangout or anything in that nature.
I mean, even just last year we almost got shut down.
- The assistant city manager said there is a no tattoo shop
ordinance in the city of Compton.
Which means you cannot legally tattoo in your shop.
- We built IAM up to be a safe space.
I just want Polo to understand that.
We not about to risk it all just 'cause he wanna
creatively express his self through his music.
- I think, you know what I'm saying, he just trying
to figure it out and in the process of figuring it out,
you make decisions. And then from there,
you gotta go through those consequences.
- Yeah, I didn't feel any kind of a threat vibe at all.
It was all receptive. Mighta had some words
or whatever, but... - Everybody got words with Tim.
All y'all whole [bleep] facts.
At the end of the day, let me hit Polo
and see if we can figure this out.
As a musician myself,
I thought about putting tracks out
that talk about the things I've seen
growing up in Compton.
But as a father and entrepreneur,
I knew I had to choose my words wisely because I don't wanna
put out a certain type of message
when I'm not entertaining that. So whatever Polo's doing
I just gotta make sure it don't affect
nothing around me right now.
Like I got too much on the line.
Don't get yourself caught back up.
You know you still hot. He just got out.
So they still watching because they betting on you
to come back. - Mm-hmm.
- At the end of the day, the drama started
with you and Lemeir.
But all of us are gonna be affected in some way.
As a business owner,
it was [bleep] up.
♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪
♪♪♪♪
♪♪ I ain't no bosses I come at awe-sess ♪♪
♪♪ I learn my lesson and people mob and do with a passion... ♪♪
- Since I caught up with Cory and Tim,
I've been calling and texting Polo.
I ain't heard from him.
[line ringing]
Answer the phone.
- The mailbox is full and cannot
receive messages. Goodbye.
- Hopefully he get back. But right now
I need to focus on this client and do my thing
with this Ink Art Music on the go.
Start playing. - What's good?
What you doing?
- I get in here, catch up with your ass.
- You know it's still busy. Grammy season just happened.
[chatter]
- When you gon' get me a Grammy?
- We gotta work on it, man. Gotta took up.
- Yo, my boy Source done worked with everybody
from Megan and Beyoncé.
Puff, Chris Brown, French, Nas.
You name 'em, he did it.
But guess who he started with?
Me.
- Yeah, man. - You feel me?
[chatter]
Me going to the studio tatting Source,
this is a tradition, art for art, fair trade.
- I want like a little joint on my side.
I got this picture like a girl on a crescent moon type joint.
It's really cool, I done most of my tattoos
are done like that anyways so...
[phone vibrates]
[chatter]
Bro.
- Yeah, no, I'm just gonna jump out there.
- You know I ain't pressed about it.
It's gonna be fine.
- ♪♪ Life's too difficult Gotta work the clock ♪♪
♪♪ Till you can live up what you dreaming for ♪♪
♪♪ Always been too cautious how I'm spending my whole 24 hours ♪♪
- The text I got from Polo is making me think maybe
it was a little more to the conversation with Tim.
But I know Tim was not out to drive Polo away.
Polo made the decision on his own to walk.
- ♪♪ Even when I'm down, I'ma have your back ♪♪
♪♪ Gotta complete the mission, gotta get these ♪♪
♪♪ I'll leave a legacy ♪♪
- People you surround yourself with
share the same passion and desire
to wanna help lift each other up as artists
like I was trying to do with Polo.
- KP, like, you don't know how powerful this giving me
this opportunity working at this shop.
- ♪♪ It's funny how the ones that you love be the ones ♪♪
♪♪ Who hurt you gotta slow down from all these drugs ♪♪
- I rock with Polo.
But we done worked so hard to elevate
above this stigma in Compton with tattoo shops
that I gotta protect it at all costs.
So I wish Polo the best of luck. We gotta keep it going.
♪♪ Had to keep climbing ♪♪♪♪
- Okay. - Looking real good.
- You need a magnifying glass.
- I'm really happy. Appreciate your efforts.
- Definitely.
♪♪♪♪
♪♪ This really tripping ♪♪
♪♪ They looking at me like I'm mommy ♪♪
♪♪ I ain't got no children ♪♪
♪♪ I started making money and now my mood is different ♪♪
♪♪ Took my energy I had to scope my algorithm ♪♪
♪♪♪♪
- Nessie, Nelly, and Lemeir arguing
is the first time in Enigma's history
that we've had some [bleep]
pop off at one of our events.
And I do not want that trend to continue.
Hey, guys.
What's up, what's up, what's up?
- I feel like I'm trouble. - I do too.
- I know from my time in Chicago
how quickly just an argument can turn into fighting.
And next thing you know, all the relationships are ruined.
And I definitely don't want what happened there
to be a repeat at Enigma.
So we need to figure this out before it gets any worse.
What I really wanna talk about is what I heard
happened after I left this rose seminar.
- Oh, I hate this feeling.
I just don't want Kat to think I'm just
bad energy or negative vibes.
I hope I didn't jeopardize everything that I just
worked for to prove that I should be at her shop.
- What the [bleep] happened? Nessie, let's start with you.
- So what happened was I had a conversation with Lemeir.
Explained to him like I'm really bothered by the fact
that you brought my ex Ken here.
He gets up and starts saying like I've had a relationship
with Kat and Kevin before you dah-dah-dah-dah.
So I just walked away, and I got upset.
I shouldn't have but I did, and I started talking to Nelly.
Nelly ends up defending me.
- From my perspective, I heard them getting loud.
I instantly was like we don't do this [bleep].
So in the heat of the moment, I was like
can you just shut the [bleep] up?
- And see we all got different angles.
You were in your situation in the heat of the moment.
You're in your situation 'cause you're comforting and you're
helping a woman in a situation, and I understand.
I'm here for all of that.
But at the same time, you turned it back up.
When you say one thing and you yell and to do this
ten feet away and he hear that [bleep].
- I said okay. - Let me speak, let me speak.
- It wasn't just her... - Let him finish.
- Everybody get they piece.
All I'm saying is that's not our place.
- No, for sure. - You stepping between two
people who have personal beef and tell another person
to shut the [bleep] up 'cause now you pick sides.
- I didn't, okay, no, I didn't. - No, you telling [bleep]
to shut the [bleep] up... - I hear you.
I hear you, I hear you. - You have picked sides.
And now we have to all pick sides!
- It's not about picking sides.
- All I'll say is this. From where I'm standing,
you stepped in and tell this grown ass man
to shut the [bleep] up and on behalf of Enigma.
That's where we-- - It wasn't on behalf of Enigma.
- Everybody, everybody-- - I kept saying, I kept saying
we don't do this at Enigma.
We don't disrespect each other at Enigma.
- All I needed to do was literally...
- Why didn't you tell her to shut the [bleep] up?
- Did I not tell you you was [bleep] up?
- You did, and I shut the [bleep] up.
- No, no, no, because it ain't no, no, because at the end
of the day you want her to stop but she kept talking...
- I know, I was trying to get her to stop.
Who you yelling at?
- I'm yelling at you because
you not getting what I'm saying.
- I hear you. - No, you not, Nelly.
- Okay so how could I have done better?
- Hey, hey, hey.
♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪
♪♪ What you gon' do about it? Like a t-shirt ♪♪
♪♪ You know I keep a crew around me treat it like it's... ♪♪
♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪ [Nelly] [bleep] Who you yelling at?
- I'm yelling at you 'cause you not getting what I'm saying.
- I hear you. - No, you not, Nelly.
- Okay, so how could I have done better?
- Hey, hey, hey.
You guys cannot act like this.
You guys cannot over talk to people.
Tell people to shut the [bleep] up.
- I get that, and that's why I'm saying I'm apologizing.
- I know, don't apologize to him, apologize to us.
- Okay.
How would you have handled it?
- I'd said this, I'd said this. - 'Cause y'all didn't
do [bleep] so how would y'all have handled it?
- Ultimately, it's not my business.
Nelly can't just expect us to jump off a cliff
with her emotions and put us in a bad spot.
I'm here to protect each and every one of y'all.
But just don't put us in a position to where we have to.
- Hearing the way you said it and even the way you said it,
Deshay, I do owe y'all an apology,
so I apologize to y'all. But at the end of the day,
because of my deeper understanding with what
she's going through, it's how I needed to do it.
You know what I mean?
- Okay, everyone's spoke, right?
Okay, I love each and every one of you guys.
I [bleep] with y'all, but I'm here speaking
as a business owner and what is best for the growth of Enigma.
So at the end of the day, the drama started with you
and Lemeir. Nelly was the one
that stepped up to try to break it up.
Her delivery was [bleep] up. - Right.
- That's embarrassing, and it's a bad look.
Nessie, your actions don't just affect you anymore.
All of us are gonna be affected in some way.
Understand that you're not by yourself anymore.
You're moving with a team. Lemeir is a friend of Enigma.
But I'm more concerned about you.
My priority is keeping this family right here solid.
There were times in my career where I wish
I had a Nelly to step in and have my back.
But there's a more diplomatic way to do it.
I just hope that everyone keeps that in mind
when moving forward to keep this family intact.
- In the new space, y'all have done nothing but show me love.
Like there was no reason for me to even react like that.
And I'm sorry I put you in the position.
- We're in this together.
- Thank you, God. I'm finally
in a place where we can have conversations
and disagree and talk through them and communicate.
Kat, the way she operates as a boss is sending a prime example
as a woman in this industry who's doing it the right way.
It's actually really motivating me to wanna be an even
better version of myself, bigger and better.
- Yeah, this is good, this is good.
It feels good to be here and be present
and be able to check y'all [bleep] in person.
[laughter/chatter]
- We gon' go through it and we gon' grow through it.
- You have to maintain your responsibility
as being a father.
I don't want you to have no setbacks.
I'll be there.
♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪
♪♪ If I could press through life ♪♪
♪♪ Have it all again ♪♪
♪♪ You know I'd be ♪♪
♪♪ Be a better man yeah ♪♪
- I'd rather see you outside.
I do gotta take you out more.
My life been spinning.
My relationship with KK ended.
Trying to be a father to my son
in a different state isn't going good.
And my stepfather just passed away.
Working in a tattoo shop, it's the kind of opportunity
that not a lot of guys get coming out of prison
trying to turn their life around.
- This is our apprentice. - How y'all doing.
- Hi! - Hey, Polo!
- I'ma try to show you that sweet spot.
- On you or... - On me.
- I get to tattoo on Cory?
I wanted you to meet these men
so that you can see that I'm associating
myself with people of good quality.
I learned a lot with my time at IAM.
But KP and Tim perception of me changed.
While that does hurt, this is a time in my life
where I wanna focus on me and my family.
You know, it's already meant a lot to me too.
And then just loving you for all those years, that made me
respect him so much, like, you know what I'm saying?
Because he was like that's my wife.
- It's hard for us but... I'm looking at blessings.
You know, you being home and having your career
that you have going on.
[sighs]
- Actually, Ma, my career isn't over.
But I'm probably gonna have to take a different path.
- Really? - Yeah.
I had a conversation with Tim at Ink Art Music.
It really didn't go right.
- I thought they was giving you that good energy, Dontrell.
- They was until it wasn't.
- It was too.
- So what if I drop some music like you know what I'm saying?
I'm not out there in the streets doing it, you know that.
But when I dropped that music
they just started attaching me too much.
I haven't even had a full conversation with KP.
He reached out to me but I didn't really have the energy
to talk to him, like, you know. With everything that's been
going on in my life, I need time to figure out what's going on
in my own head space like you know what I'm saying?
- Yeah. - You know, soul search.
- It's not only that, Dontrell.
You have to maintain your responsibility
as being a father.
I don't want you to have no setback.
You gon' go on your journey and you gonna
be blessed on your journey.
So just don't figure it like it stop right here.
I'm so proud of you, Dontrell. I'm so proud of you.
I am so proud of you.
There's nothing in the world that you-- for me to come up
in this life, child, and you doing a wonderful job.
So hold your head up and your chin up.
And come on, wipe away them tears.
Wipe away them tears.
- Thank you, Mama. - Come on.
♪♪♪♪
- Kevin, Deshay, and Bookie were the ones who had like the strongest opinions, but they come from like the ego space.
They'd rather attack me however they felt is valid.
But at the end of the day, it's not gonna shift my perspective.
I'm doing what was right at the moment.
- Welcome to Enigma!
[laughing/cheering]
- Oh my goodness.
What you doing here?
Now we can go look at more houses together.
- Take away Jerris out of my life like...
He helped me a lot financially so it's a lot on my plate.
I really can't rely on anybody.
- But that's how you learn and grow.
- Me and Nessie have been on the out
over something I said about her and Ken.
- She kinda like that.
- I just feel like I've been surrounding myself with a bunch
of like lame ass people. Like you [bleep] me over.
- Ay, ay...
- We got you. - We got you, mama.
- Nessie! Yoo-hoo!
Can I talk to you for a second?
Hey, girl. - What up?
- Now let's get into this.
♪♪♪♪
♪♪ MTV ♪♪