There you go. Thank you, Arthur.
And I hope I can count on your vote tomorrow.
What are you talking about?
The Uptown Business Council elections.
I believe I would make a great leader.
And I think a certain American president would agree.
No, I haven't been part of that council for 15 years.
Oh.
I see.
Uh-huh. Yeah, a'ight.
Thanks for letting me know, man.
Hey, Franco,
was that the '90s calling to say
they want that sweater back?
Nah, it was my friend calling.
This dude I grew up with just died in a car accident.
Oh. Sorry, man.
Great burn, wrong time. Story of my life.
Ah, that's terrible, kid. Were you close?
I mean, kind of.
I met him when I was painting
on his wall in his neighborhood.
And he thought I was tagging his crew's block.
His "crew"? You mean he was a gang member?
You were friends with a guy in a gang?
Come on, Arthur, look, you grow up in this neighborhood,
you gonna know a few dudes.
True dat.
What? I know some dudes, too.
No, I don't.
And the dope thing about Bam-Bam was that he respected my skills.
So much that he made sure I stayed out of his crew.
You know, so I could focus on my art.
Pretty much protected me.
Wait a minute. Bam-Bam died?
Did you know him?
Well, I arrested him a lot.
Most of our conversation was me reading him his rights.
Occasionally, he'd throw in a
"Get off me, bitch."
But that was mostly to James.
Sorry for your loss, Franco, but Bam-Bam had quite a record.
Drug trafficking, assault. All right, look,
but he was trying to get away from all that.
I mean, I bet you ain't know that Bam-Bam would give money
to people who fell on hard times, too.
Yeah, money he made selling drugs.
Look, I'm sorry,
but the guy was no saint.
All right, James.
Last one to the squad car gets to drive.
I said "the last one."
You know, for a cop, he's not a great listener.
Yo, Arthur,
would it be cool if I brought some friends back here?
You know, after the funeral tomorrow?
Chill out, catch up?
Yeah, yeah. Sure, kid. All right.
Wait, you're gonna let him bring his gang friends here?
They're not in a gang.
Well...
Most of them are not in a gang.
Well...
Well, you're lucky I'm not president yet,
because such things will not be tolerated
under the Fawz Al-Shahrani regime.
"Regime"?
Sorry, I sound like a dictator.
I meant empire.
What's up, everybody?
Glorious, glorious day.
Sweatpants must not know about Bam-Bam yet.
He ain't gonna take this well.
Yo, Sweatpants, I got some news, man.
As do I. Boom.
"Local Chicago kid wins $50 on a scratch-off ticket."
Donut holes for everybody.
That's dope, but listen up, man.
That's not even the dopest part.
So I went to get myself a sub, right?
Turns out the fridge was broken,
and they weren't sure about the meat or the mayo,
so they gave me the sandwich for free.
Man...
That's disgusting.
But Sweatpants, man...
Listen up, man. I...
Oh, no way. Remember Sonya?
The girl who said she never wanted to see you again?
Here's a twist, she does want to see me again.
It feels like International Sweatpants Day.
He's too happy, I can't do it.
I got this, kiddo.
The key is to ease into it.
Hey, Sweatpants, how's it going? Good.
Bam-Bam is dead.
Man, I still can't believe Bam-Bam's gone.
Yeah. But you know what?
Let's pour one out for Double B.
Yeah. Miss you, man.
RIP, Bam. Love you, man.
Well, I still work here, so I should clean that up.
Arthur, donuts for my colleagues.
You're looking at the new president
of the Uptown Business Council.
I won in a landslide.
No one else ran, huh?
No, s-someone else ran.
It's not that big of...
Arthur, this is Manfred. He owns a gay paper store.
It is a paper store. I just happen to be gay.
Right, right.
He runs it with his buddy.
He is my husband.
And he's working as my cashier,
while he tries to pass the real estate exam...
again.
Well, it's nice to meet you, Manfred.
And, uh, congratulations, Fawz.
Thank you.
Arthur, I cannot believe
you let those gang people in here.
Listen, anyone with a shirt and shoes
and a hole to put a donut in is welcome here.
But, Arthur, we are trying to attract
upscale businesses to the neighborhood,
not scare them away.
As council president,
I ask that you expel them immediately.
No, Fawz.
Okay, I didn't want to have to do this,
but I command you!
Oh.
Why didn't that work?
'Cause you're not a wizard.
Bam-Bam touched so many lives, you know?
Yeah. I was starting to get into drugs.
Then, he saw my passion for rhyming and pushed me.
Yeah, into the rap game?
Cooler. Children's literature.
My latest book,
Captain Lance France and his Banana Pants Dance,
come out next month.
I'm doing a signing at Barnes & Noble.
Whatever. NBD, which means...
I know what it means, Big Mike. What about you, Vince?
Bam-Bam's the reason I became a dentist.
You know, I was just a nerd with fresh breath,
but he saw something more in me.
And now, I have a Porsche and a hot wife
who only loves me for my money.
Wow, man. That's the dream.
Well-well, I remember
when Bam-Bam saw me tagging up the neighborhood, right?
A-And he said I should become an artist.
And it changed the direction of my whole life.
You're an artist?
I thought you worked here.
I do. You know, while I'm working on my art.
Yeah, I-I put in a lot of hours here at the shop,
and, you know, it's hard to find the time, but...
Well, you got to work that creative muscle.
For me, every day,
it's wake up, meditate, banana pants.
Right, right. B-B-Banana pants.
It-It's okay, Franco.
Everybody goes at their own pace.
You'll get to it someday.
Yeah.
Well, you know, one day I'll fulfill my dreams,
but, uh, right now, it's time to fill those Boston creams.
Nice rhyme.
You ever thought about children's books?
Nah.
Good.
Hey, kid, your friends are still outside.
What are you doing here?
Man, I just had to finish those Boston creams.
Oh, boy. Look, I-I know you're sad,
but the custard gun is not the answer.
It's not just that.
Seeing all my friends made me realize
that Bam-Bam put all this faith in my art,
and what have I done with it? Nothing.
Hmm. You know, when I was a kid,
I wanted to play harmonica in a blues band.
Yeah, I wanted to be one of the great ones,
you know, like Little Walter or Sugar Blue.
I was gonna be "Sugar Jew."
Man, you own a donut shop, you are "Sugar Jew."
Yeah, I know.
Anyway, I got busy running the shop,
marrying Joanie, and, uh, life just got away from me.
I mean, my dream just passed me by. Hmm.
I've been meaning to paint.
But I get so tired after work.
And, you know, canvases are expensive.
Oh, come on, come on. Those are just excuses.
Huh? Come on.
You're a resourceful guy, right? You're a street artist.
Hey, wouldn't it be great
if you could show the world what Bam-Bam saw in you?
Yo, Arthur,
you just gave me a great idea, man.
Damn right I did.
What was it? All right.
I mean, you got the biggest canvas on the block, dude.
Yeah. The outside wall of your building.
Oh. It's perfect.
You want to paint on my wall, huh? Uh-huh.
My clean, beautiful brick wall
that I just had sandblasted 30 years ago, but...
Oh...
It's perfect. It's big a-and it's blank,
and best of all, it's free.
Oh, what the hell. Go for it. Yeah?
Yeah. Oh. Thanks, Sugar Jew.
Sugar Jew, that's a good name. Sugar Jew!
Yo, Arthur. Oh, boy.
You're here early. No, no, no. I was up
all night painting the wall. Man, I was in the zone, man.
Just... the ideas are just coming out of me.
Ah, I'm sorry, I'm a little hopped up right now.
I ran out of custard, moved on to jelly.
Mmm.
I ain't never gonna die!
All right now, just hand over the gun.
Mm-mm. Nice and easy.
All right, come on. You got to see this, man.
Huh? Come. Come on, come on, come on,
come on, come on, come on.
Come on! All right, all right.
All right, check it out.
Oh, my God.
That's Bam-Bam.
Yep.
It's the man who looked after me and believed in me.
Bam-Bam, I love you, bruh.
Boy, that's so big, you could see it from...
everywhere.
I know, right? And behind him is the Uptown I remember.
You know, the Uptown where you went grocery shopping
at the liquor store, you know?
The Uptown that set cars on fire
when the Bulls won the championship.
The good Uptown.
Thanks for letting me do this, man.
It means everything to me.
Yeah, sure. Sure, kid.
All right, I'll see you at work.
Yeah.
Huh.
I didn't know he spelled "Bam-Ba""
with a gun. Yeah.
Bad, isn't it?
What? Having a gigantic gang member
on the outside of your shop?
In a city where it takes almost nothing
for gang violence to erupt?
Yeah, it's bad.
Franco, the mural is absolutely amazing!
Thank you, Maya.
And the fact that the sun is setting
in the east and the "L" train is going in the wrong direction
doesn't trigger my OCD at all.
One, two, three, four, five, touch your nose, sit down.
You know, it's really inspiring to see you chase your dream.
Maybe I should get my old bluegrass band back together.
I didn't know you were in a band, Tush.
Yeah.
Had a band called Tush 'n' Jugs.
I played the jug,
and my ex-girlfriend Barb had a great ass.
Hmm.
It feels so good to be painting again, you know?
Which, honestly, wouldn't be possible
without Arthur encouraging me.
Right, right.
Arthur, don't you love the mural?
Oh, yeah, yeah, it's great.
It's too bad it's gonna rain this weekend.
Probably all get washed away.
Do you know how paint works?
Arthur, you have to come see what's going on out there.
It's chaos! What are you talking about?
There's a huge crowd of people
in front of that gangster painting.
They're hugging each other and singing sad Boyz II Men songs.
I got to check this out.
You know Boyz II Men?
Yes, when your country was constantly invading my country,
you left some of your CDs behind.
Yo.
Look at all these people!
Wow, Franco, this is truly impressive.
Yeah?
It's so lifelike.
Looks like he's mad at something across the street.
Franco, man, this is lit, man.
Thanks, homie.
Bam-Bam would have been so honored.
Yeah.
You really captured his childlike whimsy.
Hmm.
Wow, Arthur.
Your mural has really attracted some nice people.
There's a guy with a tattoo of a face on his face.
Someone's gonna get killed.
Franco, whatever happened to painting a nice bowl of fruit?
Oh. I see we have a Cézanne fan.
No, I just like fruit.
Excuse me, Fawz.
Excuse me, excuse me. Fawz, you need to do something.
This crowd is blocking all of the foot traffic
to Pretty Parchment.
What's Pretty Parchment?
My gay paper store! Oh.
You were elected to promote the new face of Uptown,
and this is not exactly the face we had in mind.
Now, don't make me demand a recall vote.
Is that a threat?
Yes.
Okay, just confirming.
Arthur!
Everyone is very upset!
This is your wall.
You have to do something about it.
What the hell do you want me to do?
Uh, o-okay, okay.
Let's go inside and talk about it. Go on.
James, make sure things don't get out of control.
Okay.
Keep it moving, please.
Do not block the street or sidewalk.
No, no, no. You-you have to show some authority.
Use your tough voice.
Right, right.
Keep it moving.
Please do not block the street or sidewalk.
That painting has got to come down.
Yeah, he's right.
It doesn't take much for gatherings like that
to get violent.
And people can get hurt.
Yes, as commandant
of the Business Council, I must insist.
Commandant?
"President" was a little blah,
and-and "Generalissimo" was too ethnic.
Oh... Look,
the neighborhood is changing.
New stores are moving in,
and they don't want to lose business
because of scary images like that. You're right.
That's the Uptown that we're trying to leave in the past.
I get it, I get it.
But I-I just encouraged the kid to start painting again.
So how am I gonna tell him to get rid of it?
What if he doesn't have to take it down altogether?
Maybe he can just make a few changes.
He better. Otherwise, there's a city ordinance
that prohibits incendiary public displays.
Really?
I'm not sure, but it sounds good.
Mm. Well, you know,
actually, the city can take it down
if there are enough complaints.
That was amazing, man. I'm like a celebrity out there.
I got my first groupie.
Hey, Miss Dolores!
She grabbed my ass when she hugged me. Oh...
Franco, I'm glad she likes it.
But your art project has caused a big problem for your boss.
What's she talking about?
Well, you see, Fawz says the...
the mural maybe has to come down.
Not maybe, baby.
We are going to get a city order.
O-Okay, but we can fight that, right?
Well, uh, maybe it would be easier
if you just make a few tiny changes.
Changes like what? Well, I mean,
you can change that pot leaf on his hat
to a four-leaf clover.
And, um...
a-and turn the gun into a rainbow.
I-It's a painting, not a box of Lucky Charms.
Well...
If you really want to symbolize Uptown,
perhaps you could, uh, do a portrait of its leader.
Uh...
Maybe, maybe standing like this.
You know, with-with jets flying overhead or...
maybe an eagle.
Look, Franco, you are a very talented artist,
but to put a convicted criminal on the side of a building,
you cannot expect to make everybody happy.
It's art. It's not supposed to make everybody happy.
I got work to do.
Hey, come on, kid, why... why are you so stubborn?
If you make a little change, everyone will be happy.
Except me!
Like, why aren't you helping me fight 'em on this?
Because I agree with them.
What?
You said you liked it.
Technically, I said, "Oh, my God."
Oh, my God.
Hey, look, look, I run a business here.
I sell donuts.
I don't want any trouble.
That guy was a gang member.
I'm sick of y'all saying that.
That was only one side of him, all right?
Haven't you considered, like, without Bam-Bam,
I wouldn't be here right now?
I'd probably be locked up.
Or worse.
Franco, I've been thinking.
It doesn't have to be an eagle!
It could be a dragon.
Oh, boy.
So much for the Tush 'n' Jugs reunion tour.
What happened?
Barb isn't interested.
She's made a life for herself out in Kankakee,
working the T-shirt cannon for the Kane County Cougars.
I guess I was
just a rung on her show business ladder.
Which way was she climbing?
What's all that?
Fawz's council convinced the city
to paint over Franco's mural.
They're about to start, so I just grabbed all this stuff
from the shrine. Mm.
Wasn't there a giant teddy bear out there?
Oh, I brought that home for my lady.
Fine. I get scared at night.
Yeah, all right.
Hey, Franco, want to go out there with me
and take one last look at the mural?
Nah.
I already lost Bam-Bam once this week.
I ain't trying to do that again.
Kid seems pretty down.
I wish I knew what to do.
Wow. Look at all these cards.
Bam-Bam really helped a lot of people.
I guess there was a whole other side to him.
It sucks that Fawz's council
has all the influence in this neighborhood now.
What about the people that grew up here?
They should have a voice.
They do.
It's Franco.
Now take a picture of me
to document my first great achievement
as leader of the Fawz Neighborhood Council.
That's not what it's called.
It is now, by executive order.
We don't have those.
We do now, that was my first executive order.
Hey! Don't touch that wall!
That painting stays.
What are you talking about? I thought you didn't like it.
I don't. I hate it, like a lot of people.
But a lot of other people like it.
They think it's great!
This mural has touched a nerve,
and isn't that what art is all about, hmm?
Well, it's too late. The council has spoken.
Oh, yeah? For whom, huh?
I know this is not your vision of this neighborhood, yeah,
but his vision is just as valid as yours.
So I'm gonna fight that city order.
Because Bam-Bam was part of this neighborhood.
And you can't just whitewash that away.
I guess they can whitewash it away.
Hmm.
I can't look at this.
Aw, kid, I'm sorry.
Yeah, it sucks.
But I do appreciate you having my back.
Yeah? Mm-hmm.
That speech you gave was badass.
I thought somebody was gonna assassinate you.
Or you were gonna fall off the curb.
Yeah, I almost did.
You know, now that I have a new blank canvas,
I'm already thinking about my next piece.
Hey, really? Yeah.
Okay, so what's the subject?
A'ight, picture this:
it's a Black Jesus... Black Jesus...
... riding a skateboard... Ooh.
... holding a rocket launcher.
Can't you just paint a bowl of fruit?
Here you go. Thank you, Arthur.
What are you doing?
Uh, Tush is now my food taster.
You know, I've made some enemies in my first 48 hours in office.
Not the whole thing, man!
Huh. Well, if it ain't Chicago's finest art critic.
I did something nice for you, so don't make me regret it.
I took a picture of your mural before it came down.
Oh. Thank you, Randy.
Come here. Mwah.
You even framed it.
Yeah, I'm a Chicago cop.
Framing's what I do best.