As Notorious B.I.G.’s song “Big Poppa” blasted through the car doors of the electric blue 1997 Acura Intergra, Lupe thought back to what it must have been like in the days of Biggie. His dreams of dominating East Coast Hip-Hop was the whole reason 25-year-old Lupe left Compton, CA. After working hard and being offered a position as head of A&R of the hottest label in the country, Hard Hat Records, he never looked back. The only person there was his mom and after finding out from the doctors his mom had lymphoma a few years back, he couldn't take it. He got as far away as he possibly could. He couldn't watch her suffer like that. Not when she had lived such a full life.

As he thought of his mother he rubbed the cross on his chest he had got for his 11th birthday. Then he was just excited to get a gold chain like the rappers, but his mother told him it meant so much more.

“No matter how far away you are, keep this cross close to your heart and remember there is no cross too great to bear with Jesus and I by your side,” she would say. Then she would kiss her own cross, which was identical to his, except more feminine.

He had to stop thinking of her.

He turned off the car and took his phone off of the AUX cord only to realize he had missed a call. He must not have heard the phone vibrate over Biggie singing about girls and drug trafficking. The number looked familiar, it was from Compton he was sure of that.

As he called back, he wondered if it was his mother or the doctors. He had come to terms with her death by now, so if it was that he wouldn’t cry. He would accept it and move on with his day.

The person on the other line answered.

“Hello,” he said.

When he heard his mother’s frail voice on the other end, he sighed with relief.

“Hey Tolupe”, she said, calling him by his whole name,“Veronica over here got a baby that look just like you, pretty little baby, too. She said it’s yours. Here, let me put her on the phone.”

“Ma, what? A baby? You trippin.”, Lupe said as he rolled his eyes.

“Hi Lupe.”

When Lupe heard his Veronica’s voice on the line, his heart dropped. She was the girl he thought he was gonna marry growing up, they had been best friends, and only had sex one time. However, that one time was enough to bring a tear to his eyes at the sound of her voice.

“Hey Vee,” Lupe said, getting choked up, “Who’s baby you bringing to my mama like that?”

“Lupe, she is yours. I wasn’t on birth control. I lied and I didn’t know how to tell you. That's why I was so heartbroken you left-”

He had hung up. A baby? There is no way in hell him and Vee have a baby together. Too bad there was only one way to know for sure. He had to go to Compton and see for himself.