The Hidden Genre (C. H. H. Ain't Dead 01)

chapter seven

THE CELEBRITY was led and trailed by security. Never had it been done before. Never had he been held at gun point before a show. Never had he drank the day of, never mind minutes before a performance. Guess there really was a first time for everything.

   “Luke! Chase! Conquer!” he heard, “we've witnessed nothing greater!”

   The noise echoed throughout the stadium and got louder as he got closer to the end of his contract.

   “I don't think he can hear us,” DJ Smacks stopped the beat. 

   Luke had one more show after this; straight in the heart of North City. He would finally get to see his friends. Visit his home. Encounter more Christian rappers. Liquor. Was it really . . . worth it? Liquor. Was he . . . willing to endure it? Liquor. He continued to gulp at the bottle in his hand.

   “Let's try calling for him again!”

   Thoughts became unknown to Luke’s brain. The very meaning of the word was lost on him. All that it processed was here and now as the event crew came to his aid.

   The DJ continued to rile up the crowd, “Louder this time!” he yelled. “Luke! Chase! Conquer! We've witnessed nothing greater!” He turned up the instrumental adding fuel to the fired up crowd.

   “Luke! Chase! Conquer!” they yelled back, “we've witnessed nothing greater!”

   The celebrity stood on a platform under the stage getting final checks like a car before being given the stamp of approval; this included the nearly empty bottle of alcohol being taken away.

   “Here we go, Mr. Chase,” a staff member gave him a mic instead.

   “He's ready to go,” said another.

   “Let's do this!” Luke Chase pumped himself up to conquer.

   The platform lifted him to the top with pace as if it tried to mimic how he rose in the industry. Luke popped out of the ground in an all white outfit with henchmen covering the entire stage. The lights around the stadium got shy at the very sight of the celebrity. In the darkness he stood firmly on the stage with neon lights radiating off his body as screams echoed throughout the Grand Fortuna.

   Fifty thousand fans awaited a performance of a lifetime and unlike yesterday, where a sea of empty seats stared at him, tonight a sea of flash lights adored him. Luke Chase absorbed the atmosphere and went down to one knee. He smiled at the women trying to reach for him. The urge to jump into the crowd and travel on the lake of palms almost overcame him. He swayed slightly as he tried to maintain the pose. Focus. He needed to focus. He needed to let the music take over now more than ever. The cheers eventually died down in anticipation.

   “Luke. Chase. Conquer.,” he whispered into the mic, “you've witnessed nothing greater.”

   “Luke. Chase. Conquer.,” copied the hypnotized dancers, “we've witnessed nothing greater.”

   The crowd got involved and the lights slowly found the courage to reveal the henchmen one by one. DJ Smacks cranked the beat to full bass as the lights came alive.

(Luke Chase)

Luke! Chase! Conquer!
You've witnessed nothing greater
Done all this on my own
You can compare me to the Creator