- It’s time to get the crew back together and get back to work.
- I don’t really know if I’m \hready to being going back
to just zombie-ing under \h(bleep) Cease all day.
- There’s not way that I could \h\h\h\hcome back to Black Ink
\h\h\hand not continue to level up and grow.
- But with new levels \h\h\hcome new devils.
\h\h\h\h- You missed my (bleep) birthday.
I feel like you didn’t come \h\h\h\hbecause of the whole
money situation.
- During the pandemic I dealt \h\hwith a police interaction.
- How’d you feel when that gun \h\h\h\hwas pulled out on you?
- I mean, that’s not \h\h\hthe first gun
\h\h\h\h\hthat’s ever been pulled out on me.
- Listen, even though 113th \h\h\h\h\h\h\his closing...
y’all still got jobs!
\h\h\hBecause this is the new flagship shop.
- That’s fire.
- Somebody broke into 125th.
\h\h\h\h- I went to all the little side business
and asked ’em if we could see \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\htheir cameras,
\h\h\h\h\hso I’m just waiting to get the footage back, man,
\hbut it seems like an inside job, bro.
- Who the (bleep) was \h\hworking that day?
- Walter.
- What the (bleep)?
- Um, Cease? \h\h- What?
- Yo, bro, this is 125th Street.
That walk and everything, \h\h\h\h\h\h\hwe know it.
That’s (bleep) Walter.
(computer voice) \h\h\hFront door.
- What’s good, fellas?
- That look like you \h\h\h\hto you, bro?
- No, that’s not me.
♪♪
♪
- First and foremost, man, I just really want to just
be honest with you.
I never had the chance \hto talk to you yet.
- What’s good, man? \h\h\h\hTalk to me.
\h\h- The whole bull(bleep) with the whole register (bleep), man,
I definitely had something \h\h\h\h\hto do with that.
\hI tried to like fix it up later on
when I got the bread \h\hto put it back.
I made an impulsive move because I needed to take care
of some things as far as \h\hmy personal concern,
and I used the shop money to deal with my personal issues
\huntil I’m able to-- you know what I mean,
reimburse the shop.
And I take responsibility \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hfor that.
\h\h\hBut I’m not about to take responsibility for some (bleep)
that I didn’t do.
I tried to do some dumb (bleep),
but I had nothing to do with \h\h\h\hthat break-in, bro.
\hThe register was an isolated event.
\h\hA week or so later the break-in happened,
but that y’all know wasn’t me.
\h\h\h\h\hNow, all of a sudden, y’all trying to say this is me.
Knock it off, bro.
\h\h\hLife has just been catching up to me, man.
I’m not asking for no pity, \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hnothing.
\h- If you want to sit here in my face and tell me that
you did steal, but you didn’t \h\h\h\h\hbreak into the shop,
I’ll just slap the (bleep) \h\h\h\hout you right now.
\h\hDo you know that that’s embezzlement?
- Yo, I know that you put your \h\h\hlife on the line for me,
\h\hmy (bleep), I never meant to disrespect y’alls (bleep).
I’m sorry, bro.
- I don’t want to believe \h\h\h\hyou did this, bro.
\h\hBut all the evidence is pointing towards you.
You know what I’m saying? \h\h\h\h\h\hIt’s a video.
\h\hThat’s your walk, bro. You know what I’m saying?
- (Walter) But I know you know-- - (Ted) Listen. Listen to me.
I’ll let you talk, bro. I’ll let you talk, bro.
\hAll the evidence is pointing towards you.
\h\h\h\hFor right now, I think the honest thing for you to do
\his just stay away from us till we figure it out, bro.
- I could definitely respect \hthat, but that wasn’t me.
I can’t take responsibility
for what I didn’t have \hanything to do with.
- Are you (bleep) serious \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hright now?
This mother(bleep) wants to sit here
and not only lie to our face,
but tell us some bull(bleep) \h\h(bleep) (bleep) excuse.
I’m not hearing none of this \h\h\h\h\h\h(bleep) no more.
\h\hListen, we ain’t even trying to hear all that talk, (bleep).
Prove that (bleep) \hain’t true, bro.
Prove that (bleep). \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hYo--
- Whatever I have to do! \hWhatever I have to do!
- Listen, listen. I just said \h\h\h\hI ain’t trying to hear
\h\h\h\hthat talking (bleep), prove that (bleep) ain’t true,
because, honestly, (bleep) \hbeen through too much--
- All right, like I said, \hthe whole-- like I said,
like I’ve been telling you, \hI take full responsibility
and the difference between that, the difference that I took,
Cease, I could give that back \h\h\h\hto you right now, bro.
- You think it’s about money? \h\h\h\h\h\h\h- No, it’s not!
I’m just trying to make \h\h\h\hanything right.
- We’ve been here forever, bro! We’re your own family.
\h\h(bleep) (bleep) (bleep). Get the (bleep) out of here.
I ain’t hearing no (bleep), yo. Get the (bleep) out of here.
Where the (bleep) \his our loyalty?
\hWhere the (bleep) is our respect, yo?
Why are you in my shop? \h\hGet the (bleep) out.
\h\h\h\h\hI don’t want to hear that (bleep).
I don’t give a (bleep) \h\hwhat anybody say.
Get the (bleep) out of here.
We done took this (bleep) out \h\h\h\hof a homeless shelter.
We done took this (bleep) \h\h\h\h\h\hout of rehab.
We done did everything! \h\hI done more for him
\h\h\h\hthan my own (bleep) family, yo!
\hYou think some (bleep) paper will make me happy right now?
I trusted you, (bleep). \h\h\h\hThe paper, man?
Our friendship is done.
\h- I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt
but just looking at him, bro, \h\hall I saw was guilt, man.
- Yo, he know he’s guilty. \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hIt’s over.
\hI’m not hearing that (bleep), bro.
- ♪ This is a new operation ♪
♪ We ’bout to trace \h\h\hthe occasion ♪
\h♪ Just ride with it, just ride with it... ♪
- Hello, hello! - Hello, hello!
- What do we got going on today?
- We got a couple appointments \h\h\h\h\h\hwhen you’re ready.
- Yeah, anything cute?
- Yeah, I’m doing a hand tat \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hfor a guy.
- A hand tat? \h\h\h- Yeah.
- All right, well, let me know \h\hif you guys need anything.
Hey, beauty, how you doin’? \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Hi!
\hI’m good, I’m looking for the best tattoo artist in the shop.
- Oh! That would be me!
- Who said that he was \h\h\hthe best artist?
\h\h- I didn’t choose this lead artist life.
This lead artist life chose me. You understand what I’m saying?
- Tatti, Tatti, did you say \h\hhe was the best artist?
- I mean, your client \h\h\hjust walked in.
\hSo maybe next time, you know what I mean?
- Should we be having \h\hthis conversation
in front of the clients?
- I don’t know what \hSpyder’s deal is.
Maybe he’s just like that.
Maybe he just likes \h\hto talk (bleep).
Like I don’t know.
\h\h\h\hBut all I know is he’s killing my vibe a little bit.
- What brings you here today?
\h\h- I just wanted to cover up the scar
and I figured I would \h\h\hget a butterfly.
\h\h\h\h\h- Why a butterfly? - I was going through a lot,
and I feel like that butterfly \h\h\hresembles me growing up.
- I could definitely relate. I started like one of those.
\h\h\h\h\h\h- Oh, okay. - A little caterpillar.
- And then you turned \h\h\h\hinto a Spyder.
- Exactly. - (laughs)
- All right, so, let me get \h\hstarted on this tattoo.
Let’s check that out.
And what we gonna do with this one, we gonna make it
even more special. \h\h\h- All right.
- We gonna go live! \h\h\h\h\h\h- Okay.
- Bucky? \h- Yes?
\h- iPad, please. - I got you, bro.
\h\h- Tattooing a scar is way different than anything else.
The skin has obviously \h\hbeen traumatized.
\h\h\h\hYou can’t go too deep, you don’t want to scar it more
and overwork it to the point where the ink starts getting
\h\h\h\h\hpushed back up through the dermis and not at the layer
of the skin, it’s no good, \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hno bueno.
\h\h\h\hAbout to do one of my world-famous cover-ups
and today we gonna make it a little different though,
we doing a scar cover-up, it ain’t really different.
You already know \hhow I do, man.
\h\h\hTake my glasses off so you can see my eyes better.
You know it’s the windows \h\h\h\hto my soul, baby.
All right, let’s do this. Ready?
- Okay, I’m ready. \h\h- Let’s do it.
♪
\h\h\hBeing born in Trinidad and being raised in Brooklyn
my whole life, we definitely had some scars along the whole way
in the process of it.
I’ve been tattooing now for \h\habout six, seven years.
\h\h\h\hSix, seven years’ worth of scars, you know what I mean?
The past three, four years \h\h\h\hworking with Cease
\h\h\h\h\h\hand Black Ink that led me to this point.
\hNot only am I like one of the super-est best cover-up
tattoo artists in like \hthe whole galaxy...
- Uh-huh.
- ...I also make this (bleep) \hlook good when I’m doing it.
You know what I’m saying? \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- (laughs)
♪
- I had my own shop before, \hbut things didn’t pan out
to how it was supposed to be, \h\h\h\h\h\hbut you know what,
I’m here now at Black Ink, \h\h\hI’m learning a lot.
\h\hCease put me on to some new fly (bleep).
Showing me how an artist at this level should be.
So he’s got my undying loyalty.
Right now we coming down \h\hto the finish line.
\h\hAdding up the rest of these colors here.
When it comes to loyalty \h\h\h\hand friendship,
\h\h\hthat (bleep) goes hand in hand.
Loyalty is important.
It’s the cornerstone \h\hof life, period.
And that is it! \h\h\h\h(sighs)
\h\h- I want to get up and see how it looks.
\h\h- There you go. Let the people see!
Check it out. \h- Beautiful.
- You did amazing.
I can’t even see the scar.
\h\hIt’s really good, the details is great.
I love it.
- That (bleep) about \h\h\h\hto take off.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h(Spyder) You already know what it is!
- Best tattoo artist. \h\h\h- Ink by Spyder!
This is what we do.
Hit my line for DMs and I got you. Pow!
- ♪ Dance made of solitude \h\h\h\honly known by me ♪
\h\h♪ ’Cause I’ll be damned if anybody thinks that I’m weak ♪
♪ And money ain’t everything ♪
- Oh, my God, I finally got the little monster to sleep.
- Yes! He’s terrible. \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Yo.
\h\h- He’s so great, but he’s so terrible at the same time.
- Oh, no, he’s terrible, man.
- You’re the one that came home with Henney (bleep).
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Man, listen. - I was minding my business.
- Anyway.
\h\hMe and Ceaser and Ted had a really good meeting.
\h\h\hHow did that go? - It went pretty well.
Except for the little crazy-ass story they told me about.
- What do you mean?
- Somebody broke into \h\h\h\hHarlem 125th.
Exactly.
- How does one break into that building?
- So it turns out that somebody left the dead bolt
downstairs unlocked.
So then my next question was,
who the (bleep) was working \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hthat day?
I’ll give you three guesses.
Who you think?
\h\h\h- I know Krystal and Rok work there, but I don’t think
you would trust them with \h\hclosing out the shop.
\h\h\h- Okay, that’s-- that’s two eliminated, you’re right.
- Walt?
- Ding, ding, ding!
But we don’t know that \hhe actually did it.
You know what I mean?
But we gotta find out if \h\h\hit’s true or not.
This pandemic has really showed a lot of people’s
true colors, man.
This is maybe one of \hthe weirdest times
maybe ever in my life.
I want to talk to you \h\h\habout something
and I don’t want you to think \hI’m crazy or nothing. Okay?
- I don’t like the way \h\hthat just started.
- Just hear me out.
\hI never really thought in my life I would be in a pandemic.
This (bleep) is really freaking me the (bleep) out.
I’ve never felt like I was
not in control of my life, \h\hyou know what I mean?
- So you think it’s (bleep) \h\h\h\h\hwith your mental?
- I’m (bleep) scared, bro. Like, we’re in a pandemic,
and every time I turn on \h\hmy goddamn TV screen
\h\h\h\hI see another Black man in America getting shot, choked.
\h\h\h\hI’m not gonna lie, I’m usually positive Puma,
but then it’s like who do you \h\h\htalk to when, you know,
\h\hall this (bleep) is getting you down?
I think I need to go \htalk to somebody.
I guess a therapist, you know? \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Mm-hmm.
- I want to go to somebody \h\hwho can understand me.
And I don’t mean no disrespect, but I don’t really want to go
to no white male. - You want someone
\h\h\h\hthat understands where you’re coming from
\hand why you feel the way you feel.
\h\h\h\h- Yeah, and like... and seeing what I’m seeing.
With the pandemic and everything that’s going on
\h\hin the Black community, even this Walter situation,
it’s got me feeling a little bit mentally drained.
\h\h\h\hI think it’s maybe time that I go seek a little therapy
’cause I want to be there \hfor my kids and my wife.
I don’t want to be \hmentally broken.
- This past year we’ve seen \h\h\hhundreds of thousands
of people dying, there’s been \ha lot that’s been happening.
You definitely need to go \h\h\h\h\hsee a therapist.
’Cause at the end of the day I can’t do this without you.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- I get it. I get what you’re saying.
- You’ll be okay.
- I literally felt like \h\h\h\h\h\hI was dying
and getting rotten inside.
- Are you still coming back?
- I mean...
- It’s a little weird because \hit’s like we work together,
it’s not like we’re just \h\h\htwo people dating.
- Bro, I’m stressed out!
\h\hI haven’t been getting any sleep.
- I don’t get no sleep, \hI got a one-year-old!
- I just got overwhelmed \h\h\h\h\h\h\hwith life.
- Welcome to being a man.
♪
- ♪ Hope you brought \h\hyour appetite ♪
\h\h\h♪ Kisses on my waist, you know you want a taste ♪
(shower running)
- Whoo, (bleep). Cold out there.
\h\h\h\hMorning. - Good morning.
- You didn’t eat no breakfast?
- Nah, I’m gonna have it \h\h\h\hin a little bit.
\h\h\h\h- See the view? - Yeah, it’s beautiful.
- Look what I gave you. \h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Shut up!
\h\h\h(giggles) Yeah, whatever.
- Last night was fun.
- It was, right? \h\h\h- Mm-hmm.
- So hard to get some alone time.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- I enjoy spending any little bit of time with you.
It’s been six months now. \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hLike...
- You been counting!
- Of course I’ve been counting.
\h\h\h\hLike it’s been best times of my life.
I had a thing for Krystal
when I was working \hat the 113 shop.
- You marrying me, I’m marrying you.
- Aww!
\h\h\h\h- But, you know, once quarantine happened
\h\h\h\hand we were all home, we started texting each other,
phone calls, and then once \h\h\hquarantine was done,
she said, "Yo, you want \h\h\h\h\h\hto link up?"
And I took a trip to the Bronx.
- It’s really been nice \h\hbetween me and Rok.
Like we’re literally \h\h\htogether 24/7.
\h\h\hIt’s nice to have that comfortability with somebody
’cause you don’t always \h\h\h\h\h\h\hget that.
It’s nice.
I love him.
It’s a little weird \hbecause it’s like
we work together.
And I feel like I don’t want \h\h\h\hpeople to feel like
\h\h\h\hthat our relationship is getting in the way of our jobs.
- Yeah, I don’t want to just wait for this relationship.
Like I’m ready.
\h\h\h\h\hLike I’ve been in a crazy relationship
\h\hfor ten years, and I didn’t think
that I was gonna try to jump \h\h\h\hinto a relationship.
\h\h\hBut once I met you, it was like... different.
- One of the best things about working at the 125th shop is,
nobody’s really around.
\hDuring the pandemic, no one else was there.
\h\h\h\hWe got to know each other, you know?
\hBut now that me and Rok are working at the Brooklyn shop,
I feel like things are \h\hgonna become messy
just because relationships \h\h\h\h\h\h\hat Black Ink
tend to not work out so well.
\hI feel like we’re gonna surprise a lot of people,
but what do you want?
You want us to like \h\h\htell everyone
or you want to still \hkeep it a secret?
- I’m ready to shout out \h\h\h\h\hto the world.
\h\h\h\hIf that window could open right now,
I’m ready to scream out \hto the whole New York,
"I go out with Krystal."
\h\h- I feel like it really is no one’s business but our own.
\h\hIt’s me and you in the relationship,
\h\h\h\hnot me, you, and everybody else.
We’re gonna have the right moment
where we can come out \h\hand tell everyone.
I feel like that moment \h\h\his not right now.
That doesn’t mean \hI’m not with you
and you’re not with me, \h\h\h\h\h\h\hyou know?
We’re exclusive.
Just not publicly in the shop. \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h(laughs)
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hYou with me? We be popping down the street.
We could be public in \h\h\hthe supermarket.
Just not in the shop.
\h\h- So we’ll keep it on the hush, you know?
Just me and you.
- Hm.
- ♪ Hey, hey ♪
♪ Please give me that back ♪
- ♪ You can show me \h\h\h\hwhat it is ♪
- ♪ Please give me that back ♪
- Here you go. \h- Thank you.
\h\h- Thank you. Appreciate you.
Have a good day, okay?
Feezy!
\h\h\h\h- What up? - What’s up, man?
\h\h(bleep) bought me a little scarfy-scarf.
\h\h\h\h\h- I have a car so I don’t need a scarf.
- Well, you know, sometimes \h\h\h\h\h\hyou’re outside.
\h\h\h- Yeah, like Cease got us waiting outside.
- Yeah, exactly.
I don’t know what the hell \h\his going on right now,
\h\hbut Ceaser just sent me and Feezy a text that said,
"Urgent, 125th."
But at least we’re meeting \h\h\h\houtside this time.
Feezy is Ceaser’s cousin.
\hHe’s been working with both the shops,
125th, Brooklyn.
He’s pretty much \hthe "it" guy.
When you need something, \h\hyou holler at Feezy.
\h\h\h\h\h- What up, y’all? - Hey, man, what’s going on?
- Yo, bro. \h\h- Ugh!
We gotta talk to y’all.
We got some disturbing news. \h\h\h\h\h- Disturbing news?
\h- Yeah, we got some very disturbing news.
I’m gonna take my mask \h\h\h\hoff for this.
\h\hWe talked to Walter about shop being robbed.
We saw the footage.
Show it to him, Ted. \h\h\h\h\h- Oh, no.
Oh, Walter.
- What do you mean, \h\h\h"Oh, Walter"?
What?
- See this little thing \h\h\h\h\h\hright here?
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThat’s that little thing right there.
- Right there. \h\h\h- Yeah.
- See this little person?
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Yeah. - Look where they go.
Who’s that?
- Oh, no! - Oh, no!
- What? What?
\h\h\h\h- Oh, my God. Just look at the walk.
- I don’t want to say \h\h\h\h\h\hit’s Walt,
but it kind of sort of \h\h\hlooks like Walt.
I just wish I could see the person’s actual face
before I can say for certain
that it’s goddamn \h\h\h\h\hWalter.
- It took everything in me
not to put hands on \h\h\hthat kid, bro.
- (indistinct)
- (bleep) told me to my face
he took some money out \h\h\h\hthe register,
but didn’t break into the shop. - What?!
How did he admit it?
- He’s not admitting \h\hto the break-in,
but he did take money \h\hout the register.
- That’s him, bro. \h\h\h- It’s him.
- That’s him, bro!
- Like even if you didn’t do \h\h\h\h\h\h\hthe break-in,
like you still stole, \h\h\hit’s equivalent.
- Yo, why would he go out like that?
- Remember when we was younger,
he stole our wishes at the wishing well.
- What? \h- Yes.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Yes. We had a wishing well.
We used to throw quarters \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hin there,
\h\h\h\h\htrying to make something of ourselves.
- He took wild quarters \h\h\hout that (bleep).
- All the quarters! \h\hWe have nothing!
He took the water out of... \h\h\h- He stole the dreams?
\h\h\h\h\h\h- Yes. - The dreams, man.
- Yeah, so I’m gonna say it \h\hfirst, Walter’s banned.
- Maybe the pandemic hit that (bleep) hard, bro.
\h- Like we all come from the same place.
We all live by the same code.
\h\h\hAnd stealing is at the top of the list
of what you don’t do.
- I’m freezing \h\hout here.
Feezy, you got the keys?
\h\h\h\h\hLet’s get the (bleep) inside.
♪
\h\h\h- Look at this (bleep) piece-of-(bleep) door, man.
This is (bleep) crazy.
- We gonna have to change it.
- Wasn’t this like that custom door?
- This is the old door \h\h\h\h\hright here.
\h\h\hWalt took a screwdriver and jimmied this (bleep) open.
- But why did he break in when \h\h\h\hhe got a freakin’ key?
Yeah, this (bleep) \h\his (bleep) up.
This (bleep) is stuck.
- After he does that, \hhe walks back here,
he goes right into this closet
that nobody knows I keep a stash in
\h\h\hbut the people that really, really work here.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Yeah. \h\h\h\h\h- He goes in the (bleep) register,
he takes the body jewelry.
He even takes the gold caps \h\h\h\hoff the fake teeth.
- (bleep) put that (bleep) \h\h\h\h\h\hin his mouth?
\h\h- I don’t know. And then after that,
he goes to the bottom \h\h\h\h\hof the shelf
and takes all his (bleep).
- With all the evidence mounting towards Walter
\h\h\h\h\h\hand him admitting from stealing from the shop...
What if it wasn’t him?
(intense music)
- It’s still the same thing \h\h\h\h\hbecause you stole.
- I feel he deserves the level of respect
of somebody at least \hchecking in on him
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hand making sure that everything is all right.
’Cause it could be deeper than \hwhat we all know right now.
I just feel so bad, bro.
\h\hI just want to look him in the eye, man, and just...
just see what the (bleep) \h\h\h\his going on, bro.
\h\h\h\h\h\h’Cause I don’t know how he went out like that, man.
- If Puma wanna play \h\h"Mother Teresa"
and have (bleep) Walt cry on his shoulders,
you go ahead, Puma, have fun.
You can waste your time \h\h\h\h\h\hif you want,
but the way I see it is like this, y’all,
(bleep) Walt.
I’m done with him, yo.
- What are you main \h\hworries or fears?
- Me leaving my family.
Sometimes...
I’m much more down than what \h\h\hpeople know, you know?
♪
- ♪ Got some dreams but you too ‘fraid to speak, yeah ♪
♪ All alone, take a step, \h\h\h\h\h\hplant a seed ♪
♪ Can you just believe, yeah ♪
♪ I think I’m finding myself ♪
♪
♪ Hey ♪
- Ever since 113 closed
\hand this (bleep) pandemic happened,
\h\hlife has been very overwhelming.
Being alone with Niko \h\hfor the past year
has been really challenging.
I was locked up in a house alone
with a toddler.
Do you have to do that?
♪
(needle buzzing)
Almost done.
As much as I want to stay home, because of this pandemic,
I really can’t.
\h\h\h\hI’m a single mom and I have to make money
for me and my son.
\h\hWow! Love it!
\h\hLook at that. - (man) Beautiful.
- Come.
♪
It looks so nice, right?
\h\h- Thank you. I appreciate it.
- Come on, let’s wrap it up.
\h\hCome on. - All right.
- Yo, where the (bleep) \h\h\h\h\his this shop?
Whew.
♪
- Oh! Oh! \h\h\hHi.
(speaking Korean)
\h\h- Are you really gonna temperature-check me, yo?
\h\h\hCome on, you know I’m the cleanest person
\h\h\hin the world, man. - Don’t come too close.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h(beep) All right, you’re good.
- You want to see \hmy test results?
- Yeah. \h- Huh?
COVID negative. \h\h- Hi, Teddy.
\h\h\h\hHow are you? - How you been, man?
You look good as (bleep).
Yeah, this is nice, though. \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Thank you.
- This is my first time \h\h\h\h\hin your shop.
- Diamond Tattoos \h\h\h\his my baby
that I built from nothing.
\hI had it now for 12 years.
The reason why I didn’t talk \h\habout it on "Black Ink"
\hwas ’cause I just wanted to, um, keep that private.
Diamond Tattoos is where \h\h\h\h\hI create art,
\h\h\hhave no drama, it’s my safe place.
- What’s up, man?
- So you’ve been working. \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Yeah.
I opened up a music studio \h\h\h\h\hon 125th Street.
\h\h\h- Oh, you did? I’m so proud of you.
\h\h\h\h\h\h- And now luckily Cease has informed everybody,
like, yo, the shops ain’t going nowhere.
Everybody still got their jobs.
\h\h\hAnd I just wanted to check in on everybody
and make sure they good.
\hYou ain’t get that group text?
- Yes, I did.
- Why didn’t you show up?
- Um...
you know.
\h\h- What’s wrong? Wanna talk about it?
- You know, ten years ago, \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hyou know,
I had my breasts done. \h\h\h\h\h\h- Mm-hmm.
- That (bleep) been \h\h\hmaking me ill
for about five years.
- They can make you sick? \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Yes!
\h\h\h\h\hWhat I had was breast implant illness.
I literally felt like \h\h\h\h\hI was dying
and getting rotten inside.
\h\h\hAnd I was having all types of symptoms.
I just didn’t talk about it \h\h\h\h’cause you know me.
- You shouldn’t feel like that. - (laughs)
- You got people you can talk to,
and I’m one of them. \h\h- Right, right.
- Nah, but that’s trash, that (bleep) making you sick, man.
I didn’t even know that \h\h\h\hthat can happen.
So what are you gonna do?
Like what is the steps \hto figuring it out?
- I already took my step.
I had the surgery \hto get them out.
\h\hEven though I feel great right now, I can’t even lie.
\h\hThis fear of dying just hit me real hard.
(speaking Korean)
\h\h\hI was so scared of not being able to--
to see my son again \h\hor my mom again.
I was just going through a lot.
- How do you feel? - Feeling like...
\hI’m pretty sure I’m gonna be fine.
\h\h\h\hI just hope that all my symptoms go away.
- That’s scary.
At least, like I said, \h\h\h\h\hyou was able
\hto figure out what the hell was going on with you before.
- But that was like, \hGod, like I wasn’t
even looking for that.
- But yeah, so like once you healing up,
are you coming back \h\h\h\hto the shop?
(intense music)
- Um...
You know, like I love Black Ink, of-- you know that.
- You’re not leaving us? Bae, you can’t leave us.
- I mean...
I’m so grateful for Black Ink.
But it was very overwhelming \h\h\h\h\h\hat the same time
\h\h\h\hworking at Black Ink and holding down my own shop
at the same time, and I had a baby.
I’m at a point in my life \h\h\hthat I have to make
\ha best decision for me and my son.
I’m just trying to figure \h\h\h\h\h\h\hthings out.
I’m not saying I’m leaving, \h\hbut right now, for now,
I’m focusing on my recovery \h\h\h\h\h\hand everything.
After I take care of that, \h\h\hthen I speak to you.
\h- Understood. That come first.
My phone line’s always open.
\hJust let me know how you’re doing.
- ♪ They don’t know ♪
♪ They don’t know they don’t know ♪
♪ They don’t know ♪
♪ ...that’s the way it goes ♪
♪ They don’t know ♪
(computer chiming)
- What’s going on, man?
\h\h\h\h\h- Paul, nice to meet you.
So my name is Arron Muller.
I’m a licensed \h\htherapist.
\h\h\h\hI’m happy that you’re here.
- I’m a little kind of \h\h\h\h\h\ha skeptic
when it comes to therapy and all that, you know?
I don’t need nobody knowing \hall my personal business.
\h\h\hBut at the same time, who the (bleep) do I talk to
when I’m going through \h\h\hthe bull(bleep)?
- I have your packet here that you so wonderfully filled out.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Yeah. - And what you talked about
was that you have stress.
- Yeah. (scoffs)
2020 was just a (bleep) \h\h\h\hshow of stress,
excuse my French, but it was \h\h\h\hjust a lot going on.
\h\hSeeing the George Floyd, seeing the Breonna Taylors,
and seeing all the violence
that was happening \hin the streets.
And then, on top of that, \h\h\h\hcorona, you know,
\h\h\hand seeing so many people lose their lives.
It puts a lot on you, \h\h\hespecially when
\heverybody looks at you as the positive person.
\h\h\hYou know, when you get labeled "the positive one."
- That’s a heavy crown \h\h\hto, uh, to wear.
\h\h\h\h\h- Yeah. - So is that you--
is that Paul by nature, \h\hvery lighthearted?
\h\h\h- Yeah. I feel like that’s what people... see.
That’s what they assume.
And it’s like, you know, \h\h\h\h\h\h\hsometimes
\h\hI’m much more down than what people know, you know?
- That’s interesting. \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Yeah.
- So where did you-- \hwhere do you think
you got that, um, \hthat mask from?
- Um...
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hI guess from-- - Why did you have to put on--
Why do you put on that mask?
- I guess, man, \h\hjust, uh...
I guess maybe to hide \h\h\hthe bull(bleep)
that I’ve been going through \h\h\hall my life, you know?
- I would love to kinda dive into family history.
\hTell me a little bit about how you grew up.
- Um...
You know, the typical \h\h\h\h\h\hBronx tale
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hfor a kid in the ’80s, you know, um...
mom’s on drugs.
And I don’t even know \h\h\h\h\h\hmy father.
Didn’t really have a, \h\h\hwhat they called
a settled home for a while.
\h\hMoved around from one family member to another.
\h\hSo I went to a lot of different schools.
I went from the Bronx \h\hto a white school.
\h\h\hSo that was just a-- a culture shock in itself.
You know what I’m saying?
\h\h\hBecause, you know, you’re dealing with kids
that are making fun of you \h\h\h’cause you’re Black.
You know, I mean, \h\hso being that,
you get into fights
and everybody thinks \h\h\hthat it’s you,
but they don’t realize \hthe evil around you.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Wow. thinks - And then I went from
the white community area \h\h\h\hback to my mom,
back to the Bronx.
And so you had to really, \h\h\h\honce again, adapt,
you know what I’m saying?
\h\h\h\hAnd I guess that’s where the mask comes from.
So rather than me feeling pain \h\h\h\h\hfor whatever reason
or whatever I’m going through,
I just keep it moving \hand put the mask on.
I grew up during what they call the crack era, you know?
\h\hSo I didn’t really have the picket fence,
mom-and-dad situation, \h\h\h\h\h\hyou know?
\hWe never was really used to the concept of family.
\h\h\hWe didn’t have like the greatest relationship
in the family, us two.
- I think-- well, we’re not \h\h\h\h\h\hgonna go there.
\h- I currently don’t really communicate with my mother.
Anybody can have a kid,
but not everybody \hcan be a parent.
I just want to be better \h\h\h\h\h\hfor my kids.
\h\h\h- What are your main worries or fears?
(intense music)
- Something happening \h\h\h\hhonestly to me
and me leaving my family.
I don’t want my wife ever \h\hto be a single parent,
\h\h\hyou know what I mean, and my daughter not to have
\ha father and my son not to have a father.
So it’s just mainly \h\hkeeping us safe.
And I want to make sure
that I’m a really great parent, you know?
I’m Black in America,
\h\h\hand I’ve had numerous police encounters, you know?
During the pandemic, I dealt \hwith a police interaction.
The white guy had his gun \h\h\h\hout on us already,
ready to shoot. \h\h\h\h\h- Mm.
\h\h\h- That would be the worst thing ever,
to die senselessly.
- That is a lot, you know. \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Yeah.
- I just-- I guess maybe some people
were saying, "Brushing it \h\h\hunderneath the rug."
You know what I’m saying? Like taking your problems
\h\h\h\h\h\hand just, ah. - Yeah, that rug gets high
\h\hafter a while. - Yeah, and I think
that’s where I’m at right now.
\hI think that my rug is a little too high.
- I think that’s one thing \h\h\h\h\h\hwe can explore.
I’m glad that you’re here to process that,
that you recognize that there’s \honly so much that I can take.
And, you know, I do need help and that it’s okay, you know?
- Being Black in America, \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hit’s hard.
I think that more Black people \h\h\h\h\hreally need to talk
about their mental health.
’Cause we all have \h\h\hsome traumas
that we really need to get out,
especially during these times, man.
I really appreciate this, \h\h\h\h\h\h\hArron, man.
\h\h\hLike this is a good start, man.
And, um, hopefully \hwe can get into
a few more sessions, you know?
- You guys didn’t see \h\hDonna’s Instagram?
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Nah. - She treated Alex’s mom
\h\hto a BBL. - What’s that?
- A Brazilian butt lift.
- Oh, no. - (laughs)
\hThe three kings have entered the building.
- Yeah, I want to show y’all \h\h\h\ha little something.
- There was a situation on 125th where there was a break-in.
♪
- ♪ Hit that overdrive ♪
♪ Work that overtime ♪
♪ 9-5, not anymore ♪
♪ Ain't enough to give me some ♪
♪ Boy, you know you love that ♪
- Yo, how you doing over there, Jake?
- He said it hurt. - (bleep).
(laughter)
- Hey, okay! - Hey!
(cheering)
- What's up, Puma? What's going on?
Looking extra COVID-free.
- My therapy session went A-okay,
and I'm slowly but surely getting back to myself
and interacting with others outside of my home.
But for right now,
it's strictly Black Ink business only.
- Ay! - Ay!
- Yo, yo, yo, yo. - What's up?
- Hey. What's good, bro?
- You guys didn't see Donna's Instagram?
- Nah. - Definitely didn't see it.
- She, um, treated Alex's mom to a BBL.
- What's that?
- A Brazilian butt lift.
It's when they like liposuction you
and then put it in your butt. - Ooh.
- So you said Donna bought Alex mom's an ass.
- Yes.
- Oh, no. (laughter)
- Ceaser!
- What's up, y'all? Oh... - What's going on, boss?
- The three kings have entered the building.
There must be something special going on today.
- Yeah, I want to show y'all a little something.
- There was a situation on 125th where there was a break-in.
(intense music)
- First you lose 113, then we gotta go through a pandemic
to come back and find out that 125th was robbed?
That (bleep) is (bleep) up.
- The perpetrator stole all the body jewelry
and $5,000 in cash. - Whoa!
- Which drop wasn't done that day
that Walt was supposed to do.
- And on top of that, Walter came here the other day.
We have suspicions it was him.
And he basically told me
that he was stealing money out of the register.
He admitted to that,
but he said the break-in wasn't him.
- Now, this is the footage of the break-in.
I just want y'all to look at it
and then y'all tell me what y'all think about it.
All right, Feezy, press play.
- This is right in front of the shop?
- This is 125th.
As you can see, the person goes right to the door--
and you know there's several doors before our door--
and go right in.
Regularly it's locked all the time.
- This person obviously know where they going.
- They look like they know where they're going, yeah.
- Yeah, you know what I mean?
And that's what bothers me because
Walt was supposed to lock up that day.
Go to the other video. - All right.
- Now this is the perpetrator walking out.
- Stop playing.
(Spyder) That looks eerily familiar.
(Tatti) This looks like Walter.
The walk, the style,
the way that he knows exactly where to go.
- And then on top of that, the day after,
Walt had the same clothes on.
- What? - What?
- Can you see what the hat says? - Gray, gray sweater, white hat.
- Had the same clothes on the next day?
- Oh, that's crazy. - I know.
(Krystal) And then on top of that,
one day I was shorted.
- It turned out that instead of the price
that we're giving him, he'll write down a different price
and keep the rest of the money. - Hell yeah.
One tattoo was like 1,200, and he claimed like 800.
- That's (bleep) up.
- I waited to tell Cease about Walt skimming off the tattoos,
just because I didn't want to put myself in that situation.
You know, but then it's like now all these other things
are happening, and I'm seeing this footage.
So I feel like I need to tell Cease
what else Walt's been up to.
And then the day before they broke in,
he-- it wasn't his shift, he was so drunk.
Like fooling around and came and counted the money.
- He just showed up. - To count money.
- Literally just showed up out of nowhere.
- Took the money out the register.
It was so weird, I'm telling you.
♪♪
♪
- And then the day before \h\h\h\h\h\hthey broke in,
he-- it wasn’t his shift, \h\h\h\h\hhe was so drunk.
\h\h\h\h\h\hLike fooling around and came and counted the money.
I worked at 125th the day \h\h\h\h\hof the break-in.
We got there probably \h\h\h\h\h\hat 12:00,
\hand that’s when they realized that the door was cracked open.
\h\hNot for nothing, since the first day,
I suspected that it was Walt.
- He just showed up. \h- To count money.
\h\h\h- Literally... - Took the money out \h\h\hthe register.
\h\h- (Puma) What? - It was so weird.
Everyone was looking at him \h\hlike, what the (bleep)?
(overlapping chatter)
\h- ...and we’re all looking at him like,
what the hell is he doing? \h\h\h\h- Yeah, like this.
- And then that’s when \hI was like, oh, yo,
\h\h\h\h\hwhat’re you doing? - Why you counting my money?
\h\h- And he was like, I’m counting my money.
\h\hI’m like, oh... like, what’s going on over here?
- It was weird.
It was so weird, I’m telling you.
- See, I had my doubts before.
But now, all them (bleep) is thrown out the window.
Walt has betrayed his family \h\hfor some (bleep) paper.
You can’t be around me no more,
you gonna have to pay \h\h\hthe consequences
of betraying me, bro.
- So now what?
- This is harder for us \h\h\h\h\h\hthan y’all.
We knew him longer than y’all.
And it hurts us even more
because we came from the bottom with him.
We’ve been friends \h\hfor 20 years,
\hbut he decided to stab us in the back.
So Walt is no longer with us.
He’s kicked out the family, he’s kicked out the company.
He’s gone. No one is to talk to Walter anymore.
And I mean it.
- I totally get why Ceaser \hwants to kick Walt out.
But at the same time,
I’m a little worried \h\habout him, man.
Everybody’s had their \h\h\h\hdark moments.
(bleep), even me.
\hEverybody deserves at least one or two,
or maybe three chances \h\h\hto get it right.
The thing is like, me being who I am,
I’m (bleep) worried, because I don’t know
if this (bleep) is going through something mental,
like is he addicted \h\h\hto something?
Like, where’s all your money \h\hgoing to that you cons--
- Alcohol. \h\h- Nah.
Nah, liquor don’t cost \h\h\h\h\h\hthat much.
- There ain’t no more excuses.
\h\h\hWe done accepted some-- a lotta bull(bleep) from Walt.
We could keep using excuse \h\h\h\h\h\hafter excuse,
he’s a grown-ass man \h\hwith three kids.
- Wow, I’m... mind blown.
Do you think Jess knows?
- She gonna know \hsomething soon
’cause he can’t come here. \h\h\h\h\h- That’s on him.
\h\h\h\h\h\hThat’s his family. - I really hope he doesn’t try
and like, pull up. \h- (sighs) Well,
we’ll see when that day comes.
But this meeting’s adjourned, y’all.
A’ight, y’all? \hThank y’all.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hSee y’all later. - Peace, love, and hair grease.
- Peace out. - Peace out.
- Did you see that video?
The guy even walks like you.
You’re drunk again?
- Bro, I’m stressed out.
I just got overwhelmed \h\h\h\h\hwith life...
♪
♪♪
- ♪ Shorty tryna play with my head ♪
♪ Got me like whoa ♪
♪ Homie always begging for bread ♪
♪ There was my bro ♪
(Puma) The whole Walt situation
kinda bothers me for just this one reason.
He never called me and asked me for help.
Were you really that (bleep) up,
or were you just being selfish at the moment?
And if you were just being selfish at the moment,
are you really down with this whole family dynamic?
Or are you just out for self?
(sighs)
(Walt) Yo.
What's good, man? - What's up, man?
It's (bleep) crazy seeing this (bleep) without the sign.
- No (bleep), nothing, right? - Yeah.
- It's kinda weird standing in front of the shop, man,
all closed down, sign is gone.
This was the beginning of it all.
This little corner in the world
saved our lives, man, and kept us out of
a lotta trouble, kept us from doing a lot
of stupid (bleep) in our lives that could've resulted in
who knows what.
- What's up with you, man? You all right?
- There's a lotta things that's going on that
I'm not all right with, you know what I mean?
Now, I'm pretty sure you've been talking to...
- Just like, basically I'ma be brutally honest with you.
It looks like you definitely robbed the spot, man.
Which is like, totally wack.
- I had absolutely nothing to do with no break-in.
- It all kinda points at you.
- Listen, lemme tell you something, Puma, all right?
I'm not gonna lie. I did the dumb (bleep)
by trying to alter the pricing on the tattoo
and short the shop expecting to cover it up
before it came out.
But unfortunately, the break-in happened
and then everything just spilled out.
- Did you see that video? - I saw the video.
- The guy even walks like you.
The person knew everything, and you got everybody
saying you're constantly borrowing money,
you're drunk again. - Bro, I'm stressed out!
I haven't been getting any sleep--
- I don't get no sleep, I got a one year old.
- I just got overwhelmed with life,
these bills, all these responsibilities.
- Welcome to being a man.
We all deal with that (bleep).
- All right, this whole pandemic (bleep) me up,
with this child support (bleep), I was facing jail time.
During this pandemic, I wasn't paying
child support for months due to not being able to work.
I found myself backed in a corner,
I reacted, and it backfired.
That (bleep)'s really what it is.
I'm not trying to make no excuses,
but that's what was going on with me
to cause me to move the way I moved.
- If you really, really needed it,
you didn't have to do that, you could've even said something
rather than trying to do it on the low.
That's what makes it so bad.
You could've wrote it in a note,
"Walt's taking an advance of yadda, yadda, yadda."
- But I've been reaching out to Ceaser long before that.
I hit him up. I literally was trying to talk to somebody.
I'm trying to do the right thing,
and it's hard, but I'm not out here doing none
of that crazy (bleep), I'm not throwing my life away
like that, bro, I'm not. - Walt, you did, though,
by making that one dumb mistake.
I've known Walt for a really long time,
and I was really hoping that Walt was gonna
come up with some evidence that just proved,
ha, it wasn't me, look!
But after listening to Walt,
I kinda believe it was him now, man.
Even if Walter didn't rob the shop,
he still stole from the register,
and child support is really not the reason you
should be giving for robbing your job,
let alone your brothers, man.
Man, I think you kinda lost the Black Ink family, yo.
I'm sorry to even tell you that, but things are done.
I'm not even supposed to be talking to you,
but I just wanted to talk 'cause I felt bad.
Like, he got kids to feed, bro,
he needs his daily income, what is he gonna do?
Everybody acts like they don't care no more,
and I feel like I'm the only one that does still care.
But be safe, man.
- I appreciate you, Puma, man.
- Hold your head, bro. - Yeah.
Same to you, man. - Yeah, man.
(Walt sighs)
- I lost my family.
I don't want it to be this way,
and I wish that it wasn't this way.
I've definitely been an essential part of
the building of Black Ink.
- ♪ Only thing I know, even though you got bread ♪
♪ You can always get more 'cause it's all about ♪
♪ The money, money, money ♪
- I'm a big believer in allowing time to do its job.
And in time, I definitely believe we'll be able
to sit down and talk.
- ♪ Know all the customers full names ♪
♪ You just all about the money, money, money ♪
♪ All about the money, money, money ♪
- To supporting Donna! Cheers!
- Donna, this (bleep) is good.
- I really put my foot in that sauce.
Not literally but, you know, figuratively,
- I hope not. - These mother(bleep)s
is thinking that I broke into the shop.
I let 'em know I took money from the register.
- What? Why would you do that?
What the (bleep) is going on
that you felt the need to do that?
- You did a pretty good job with this.
- Thank you, I would love to come back on board full time.
- I'm not gonna lie, Tatti, know what I mean,
I don't know what positions there is right now.
I wanna thank everybody for coming out
and helping with this event.
Black Ink Kids is giving out 150 coats.
- Hey!
♪♪