- Hey, party people. [Kevin] We are headed to San Diego
for our first-ever tattoo convention.
Everybody's ready to bring they A-game
so we can make Katrina proud.
[cheers and applause]
Y'all got this [bleep] crying.
Katrina has a whole shop of people winning trophies,
and that's what we here for.
- Amber poured grease up in my [bleep] eyes.
- Bye, bitch!
- Honestly, I don't even wanna be around her.
- Whatever you choosin', it ain't with us,
alright, well, Alana, [bleep] you too then.
- I need the managers to come here
because this was our first convention...
- I appreciate the both of y'all.
It's gotten to the point where I'll be sad
to see either one of them go.
Y'all are neck and neck.
- You can't be around people
that's gon' detriment your brand.
- Right. I gotta separate myself.
[Ink Bomb] What am I doing at IAM if they're not
even supporting me and letting artists come to blows?
I'ma need to speak to KP once the dust settles.
- ♪♪ I be fishin' wit you bish ♪♪ ♪♪ I do what I want, hey ♪♪
♪♪ Tryna get a-- I do what I want ♪♪
♪♪ Hey, telling you ♪♪
♪♪ I do what I wanna ♪♪
♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪♪♪
- ♪♪ Ain't got no time for nobody else ♪♪ ♪♪ Nobody but yourself ♪♪
♪♪ It's so embarrassing ♪♪
♪♪ Thinking about yourself ♪♪♪♪
[tense music]
[ting]
- Oh, [bleep]. - [laughter]
- Let me get some love. - I was on silent over here...
[laughter]
How you doing? How's the family?
- Family's good, now.
I am happy to be back on my West Coast grind,
but I've been out in Wisconsin
because my daughter needed some help,
so I had to go.
And if you know me, my grandkids,
my family is my life.
- I feel good to have you back.
- On what level? - All as--
- What you been missin' - On all aspects?
- 'Cause I'll tell you what I've been missing.
- Ah! What you been missin'?
[laughter]
[Ink] I'm so happy to see Cory.
I really miss having my old head here at the shop,
and I've been having a real hard time laughing lately,
especially with the drama
that happened at the tattoo convention.
[door buzzing]
- Oh, [bleep].
- Nice to see you, it's been so long.
- How you been? - I've been good.
How're you? - I'm good.
- Like we've seen a ghost. - I know, like, [bleep].
- Let me tell you how it changed.
- Oh, yeah... - What happened?
- Alana and this one,
they don't see eye to eye anymore.
- We had got into it in the shop,
things had escalated...
- Alana threw keys.
- And we got into a brawl
at the tattoo convention.
I pretty much embarrassed myself and the whole team,
I lost my cool.
I'm not proud of the decisions I made,
but it's really literally
nothing I can do to take it back.
All I can do is look at this as a time for redemption
and just learn from it,
grow from it, and move forward.
- So where were KP and Tim?
- They popped up, walked around the event,
came to my booth, and then just dipped.
I haven't spoke to either one of them since.
- You don't support the artists,
this is where the artists start to say, you know,
well, why am I even here?
- That's basically kinda where I'm at with it, too.
[Cory] I'm more than disappointed
that Tim and KP made no effort
to make sure that their artists were okay at an industry event.
They care about the brand more than the artists,
it's just [bleep] up.
- It's basically the same thing
I've been doing since I've been in this industry,
tattooing solo. - Mm-hmm.
- Tim, he pulls up sometimes,
but you know, he's not working as an artist,
so he don't really understand,
like, certain things we can't relate.
My mind has been racing since the convention,
and I'm very disappointed.
It's good that Cory's back,
but it's already too late to salvage the negative feelings
that I've been having these past few weeks.
The damage has been done.
- It's kinda discouraging hearing that...
- Mm-hmm. - Things have kinda
changed a little bit. - Yeah.
- You're not happy, you're not happy,
know what I'm saying... - Has to be something wrong--
- So it just boils down to the common denominator.
If you don't appreciate me,
why the [bleep] am I gonna [bleep] with you?
After hearing about all the drama
from Mz. Ink Bomb and Amber, it's obvious that management
isn't in the right place.
- Do y'all think that,
like, the problems could be solved?
- Ugh, I don't know, I'm fed up, we all fed up.
- Yeah, there's a lot of [bleep] that has to be worked out.
- Be said, yeah. - Yeah.
- ♪♪ Welcome to the mucky stuff in the swamp ♪♪
♪♪ Everything corruptible by the law ♪♪
♪♪ Step into the mud, the slush don't wash off ♪♪
♪♪ Try your luck... ♪♪
[Barbie] Look how cra-- oh, my gosh.
[Nelly] Yeah, we racked up.
- It's only right, [bleep], it's only right.
We talked all that [bleep].
- All that [bleep]. - All that [bleep].
- That's what I'm talking about.
It was the first time Enigma went to a convention as a team
and even though Kat and myself couldn't be there,
everybody showed up and showed out.
But realistically, we all know if Bookie
would've been there, I would've won
first place in every category.
[chuckles]
- I didn't win any awards, bro, I was so sad.
- You stepped your [bleep] up, though.
- She served every one of...
- No, what was funny was, Deshay had walked off,
all of a sudden I was sitting there,
I hear, "Deshay Jones".
[overlapping chatter]
[laughter]
I heard "Kevin Laroy, color leg piece."
So I thought he won leg sleeve. I'm like, that's a wrap--
- Oh, you beat Kev? - No, I beat Kev!
[laughter]
- Man, he whooped his ass. - Ooh!
- Nelly won two in the same competition.
- Doubled up. - And then next,
you know, we look, Lemeir won one.
- I never experienced no [bleep] like that in my life, ever.
- Definitely all-star team, bro,
especially with you being here. - Facts.
- How was the house? - The house was nice, though.
- It was, the backyard was lit.
Somebody was boo'ed up at the house.
I ain't trying to point no elbows...
- Oh, yeah, yeah, we don't point no elbows.
We got a little jacuzzi action going on.
[indistinct chatter, laughter]
[Bookie] What happened?
- He was fraternizing. - With who?
- Think pink. - [laughs]
- Alana? - Ding ding ding!
- We have a winner!
- [door buzzing] - [Denai] Hi, guys.
[overlapping greetings]
- Oh, what up? - What y'all been talking about?
- How good of a job y'all did.
- Oh yeah, we did a good job, we did a good job.
- Y'all wasn't even competing with each other either,
that was the dope part. - We said, we was just like,
nah, not in a situation like that...
- We want everybody to win, so something like that,
we have to work together to make sure
everything runs smoothly.
- Y'all definitely was an asset,
not only did y'all make sure
that we were set to make our money,
y'all was also making money by selling that merch.
That logo on the back is fire.
- Kevin did that. - That's hard.
- Speaking of him, where is he?
- Kevin be random.
- He supposed to be talking about them.
- Probably too hard of a decision.
- Wow. - We need to figure out
what's going on. - [sighs]
Too be continued, child.
- To be continued.
♪♪♪♪
-♪♪ Alright ♪♪
♪♪ Don't get blinded by the lights ♪♪
♪♪ Keep it real with your people ♪♪
♪♪ Who been down all your life ♪♪
♪♪♪♪
♪♪ Alright ♪♪
♪♪♪♪
[doorbell rings]
- Katrina! - Oh, hey!
Why do you have on these hot-ass clothes
like you didn't know you was coming to Florida?
- I was in the airport. - There's nothing
like a best friend to help wash away the FOMO.
I've been missing the hell out of my Enigma fam,
so when Kevin told me that he was coming here to visit me
for a quick trip, I was all for it.
- Oh, my God, y'all got two of them things running around here?
- And look...
- Who is that? - How are you?
- Kevin is literally like family,
so this is not the first time that he's just popped up on me.
Him and I can take a little shot,
I can kick back, and I can not be more excited.
- Oh, my...
- Katrina got two childs, bro.
- Oh, my God, dang, back to back.
- He look like me, right?
- I didn't wanna give you that, but yeah, he do.
[laughter]
After cleaning up at this tattoo convention,
there's only one person in the world
I wanna come celebrate this [bleep] with.
Big boss lady herself Katrina.
I do miss my best friend being at Enigma,
and the last few weeks have been hectic as hell,
and I had to hop on a plane before anybody could stop me.
- Cheers.
To our first drink together in...
- A really long time,
under really good circumstances.
- Under great circumstances.
All them [bleep] awards that y'all brought home.
- That is some real [bleep]. - So how was the trip?
How did Nessie and Lemeir get along?
- Really good now that you say that.
- They did? - Yeah, like,
it was no nothing with them.
She really just wanted an award,
Nessie was the only one who didn't get an award.
- That's okay, I mean, she's only been
working with us for a few months.
- Yeah. - So it's a couple more years
of her sticking around, she'll be a top dog.
[Kat] When I did my first convention,
I didn't win [bleep], and it taught me resilience.
And that's how Nessie should look at the situation.
I'm just happy to hear that there was no drama
between her and Lemeir, and that they're
keeping their promise to stay professional.
It's hard enough being away from my team in the first place,
but it's even harder knowing that all these new people
are there and I'm not there to keep track of it.
Aside from the convention, like, we brought in new people,
and I met Barbie and Denai one time, you know?
And putting somebody in that position
to handle the back end of things when I don't
personally know them has been really hard for me.
- Yeah. - So please tell me
how they've been doing. - Okay.
- Non-biased. - Non-biased,
I'ma give you non-biased.
Barbie and Denai, they-- they work well together,
but you can tell they have, like, a deep seeded like...
- Rivalry? - Rivalry.
- Of course 'cause they both want the spot.
- But at the same time, it works.
- If I had to pick one, who?
I just need a straight answer.
Based on everything you've seen thus far.
- You are going to love Barbie for the business
and what she's doing... - Mm-hmm.
- But you are going to love Denai at branding stuff.
Like, all the things that you said that you want,
she has a really good opinion on [bleep].
And what the trip did reveal to me...
is you gotta come back 'cause this is actually your job.
- Okay. [laughter]
As soon as I get clearance to travel,
I'm on the next thing smokin'.
I trust Kevin's judgement because he knows
the ins and outs of Enigma and how high my standards are
when it comes to hiring for the shop.
And I know Kevin loves his girl Denai,
but he's really been able to stay professional.
So I'm gonna sit back and take a few days
to see Barbie and Denai in action before I make
my final decision.
So aside from the Barbie and Denai,
and I know we talked about this on the phone,
but now we're face to face, so tell me, really,
how's the day-to-day at the shop?
- Overall it's good.
Certain pieces with Nelly that like, dog,
it just-- it gets to be a lot.
I mean, the team managed to keep it cool
for the convention, but I just had to put
my feelings aside to keep Enigma as drama free as possible.
Things got elevated, but are we good?
- We moving past it. - We're moving past it.
- Let's get the [bleep] over it.
- I know that you and Nelly had your tiff,
but you think that everybody in the shop
also feels a way about her?
- Everybody feels a way, yes.
- She's been acting like...
a totally different person.
- I don't know if it's issues at home with the wife,
like, you know, family issues.
- Her teacher, I feel like,
is the source of a lot of her problems.
I've done sessions with him too.
I don't get a good vibe,
I don't, and that's me being honest.
[Kevin] I've met Nelly's spiritual advisor twice,
and he talked about himself like he was a god,
and his way the only way.
And when you're forced to cut off everybody
that cares about you, that's how people get lost.
- You have Nelly's religious beliefs,
her significant other, who was once your artist.
All of that [bleep] has nothing to do with the tattoo shop.
Whatever spiritual beliefs she is in, that shouldn't affect
none of y'all, and it is. - If you on a spiritual journey,
everybody should be feeling peace from your ass.
- Right. - I don't feel that from her,
you know what I'm saying, I'm made out to be
the bad guy because I'm the only one who addresses it.
- I think that a lot of Kevin and Nelly's issues revolves
around this one goofy-ass girl.
Like, Nelly was in her feelings
dealing with her wife, Kevin was in his feelings
'cause Nelly was feeling some way towards him,
like, they should just squash their differences
and put that [bleep] aside, because I've experienced
firsthand what negative energy can do to a working environment.
So I'm not gonna let this bad juju
bring down the rest of our shop.
- You're the missing puzzle piece.
You are the one who can fix this if it is to be fixed.
- Either fix it or figure it out,
'cause if y'all can't get that [bleep] together,
then one of y'all gotta go.
- I'm like, the last one there
that was there from the beginning.
So it's like, I thought they would give a [bleep],
but no one's reached out to me.
- You're thinking about too many other people
besides yourself too much, you need to just think about
what Alana wants.
- It's still up in the air about the managers.
- I just heard something different from Oliver.
- What was that? - That I got the job.
- Y'all acting like this,
and y'all know what I just overcame.
- You gotta put your foot down
even ten times harder right now to let 'em know,
this some [bleep] I'd never [bleep] tolerate.
- ♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪
- ♪♪ Ooh, you fly ♪♪
♪♪ Yeah, and I know ♪♪
♪♪ This is the way that it goes ♪♪
- Just put your name on me, eh?
- [laughs] It's not too late.
- Where we gonna put it?
- Anywhere? Your face? - Face?
Damn, that's how we doing it?
- I'm really thankful that Brandon was there for me
in San Diego, he's super sweet and I love hanging out with him.
But I'm still vulnerable from my last relationship,
so I'm really trying to take things slow.
But as a thank you for helping me,
I decided to give him permanent art
on his body from moi.
- So how you been after San Diego?
- It's been... weird.
KP hasn't even reached out to me at all,
which is surprising. - That's kind of foul.
- I just feel because I'm like, the last one there that
was there from the beginning,
so I thought they would give a [bleep],
but no one's reached out to me.
And I just feel like the whole way
they went about the situation was kinda rude.
I'm honestly really surprised KP and Tim haven't reached
out to me since the fight.
But if they think I wasn't representing IAM,
then they probably already had written me off
'cause that's what they like to do every time
they think that someone's hanging out with "the opps."
Alright, we gonna get you right.
- I think you're thinking about too many other people
besides yourself too much.
You need to just think about Alana wants.
- ♪♪ What am I doing here ♪♪
♪♪ Where do I go? ♪♪
♪♪ I've been running further down the rabbit hole ♪♪
[Alana] When I first met KP,
I was so excited to work at the first tattoo shop
in Compton at such a young age. - I think I might
offer you a chair. - Oh, my God!
[Alana] It was a safe space for artists,
the vibe was always uplifting.
But ego started getting in the way,
and people were getting fired, people were quitting.
[Nessie] I don't need to be here, bro.
[KP] After what you just said,
I lost all respect for you.
- He's scared, [bleep]. - No, I'm not scared of you.
- I, as a boss,
don't want your services. - Okay.
- If y'all don't wanna be here, y'all can just leave.
- Well, I wish you guys the best.
- We don't need you to manage Irk Art Music.
- You think I need you? - I don't need you.
- It just hasn't been the same since.
- ♪♪ I may never know how ♪♪
♪♪ I may never know why ♪♪
♪♪ But one thing I know ♪♪
♪♪ Is that I'm gonna be alright ♪♪
[Alana] I just feel like I'm at a crossroads right now.
And no doubt, KP and Tim gave me an opportunity
and were there for me for my breakup,
but I am not learning anything, so what's keeping me at IAM?
Especially if I'm not upping my game
how I wanted to in the first place?
♪♪♪♪
- ♪♪ It's okay ♪♪
♪♪ Let the worries of tomorrow melt away ♪♪
[Alana] To be honest, I'm really scared
to move my booth and be out in the world on my own.
Then again, I have to remember how afraid
I was to leave Jerris, and look where I'm at now.
I feel so much more freedom, I have my own apartment,
and I feel a lot better just taking care of myself.
But I also know I cannot stay stagnant anymore,
and I have a really big decision to make.
♪♪♪♪
Okay.
- Alright, let me check it out.
Man, I really [bleep] with this.
You did your thing.
- So next time, your place.
- Yeah, say less.
- ♪♪ We about to catch a vibe ♪♪
♪♪ Throw your hands to the sky ♪♪
♪♪ Leave your problems to the side ♪♪
♪♪ It's about to get loud 'cause tonight ♪♪
♪♪ We about to catch a vibe ♪♪♪♪
[Ryan] I ain't never been in a booth.
- [KP] What? - [Ryan] Ever.
[laughter]
- You gonna do a little R&B?
- I-I have nothing to say,
that's why I ain't never been in a [bleep] booth.
- It's always cool to see my boy Ryan Henry from Chicago.
You know, we linked up with the Battle of the Tattoo Titans
and it was all good vibes.
- What up, baby?
[overlapping chatter]
- A toast? - Toast?
- Cheers to 9MAG, New York, Compton, all of that.
- Since I've been dealing with the artists fighting
and hearing from Amber that Mz. Ink Bomb
and Cory have some [bleep] to say about the shop...
- I did talk to like, Ink Bomb and Cory,
and they not feeling, like, good with the shop.
- What Cory talking about, 'cause he ain't even
been around, so wha-- how do he get to come
and talk about anything? - Basically, like,
he just wasn't happy with the shop.
- Man, actions speak louder than words,
and at this point, I'm not happy.
[KP] So Ryan in town,
and he pulling up, tap in with me,
and he been dealing with a whole lotta shop drama
and I hope he got some wisdom to share.
- Anyway, how's the team?
- Basically, that old squad you seen me with,
they been gone.
I started over, a whole new squad.
And all of a sudden, I found out
my microblader and one of my tattoo artists
exchanged words, one of the artists
threw keys at her from across the room.
Then they went to the San Diego Convention,
my microblader threw green soap at the other one.
- Oh, word? - I'm like,
y'all acting like this and y'all know what I just overcame.
Now y'all wanna go somewhere and represent IAM like this?
- Damn, this deja vu. I went through that [bleep],
literally, like, two fights at conventions.
- I ain't got nothing to say to you.
- I don't give a [bleep] about it, bro.
Bye.
- [bleep] this [bleep]. - Let me enjoy my food...
[overlapping arguing/bleeps]
- When we going to represent as a team, as a brand,
and you [bleep] don't care because it ain't y'all brand,
you know what I'm saying?
I mean, what was the end result?
- Honestly, we ain't solved it yet.
Pops always be on that business side like,
"Son, it's business,
[bleep] all that emotion, just separate that."
My only way to separate it, I gotta be numb to it...
- That's my thing is... [stammering]
I didn't know how to have an in-between.
But because you are the leader,
and because you are in your position,
you can't just stay numb to it.
You gotta put your foot down even ten times harder right now
to let 'em know, like, hey, man,
this some [bleep] I'd never [bleep] tolerate.
You know, because, [bleep],
then they want to see me just fail out.
And what I did was wrong was,
I left my shop, they turned my shop
into a whole nother shop. - Damn.
- And they threw a "[bleep] Ryan Henry" party
- This is the last...
9MAG party, ever.
So we can all thank this [bleep].
[overlapping chatter]
- I got to a point where, like, I wasn't [bleep] with nobody,
wasn't nobody [bleep] with me, and then have to pick up
the pieces and transition into like, a'ight, man,
am I just gonna let them say [bleep] me,
or am I gonna, you know, be resilient
and be able to get through this?
[KP] In order to get to the root of these problems,
I think I'ma have to call another team meeting.
And everybody better be ready to get it off they chest,
or else I'ma have to just
rethink my whole roster.
- When you gotta reset some [bleep], reset it.
If you let people, they'd go off and [bleep] everything up.
Nip that [bleep] in the bud.
- Honestly, I'm overqualified,
I don't wanna be at the front desk answering phones.
So if Barbie is better for whatever the [bleep] going on,
like, I have a lot of strengths other places.
- Before you criticize, it'd have been respectful
if you'd have criticized in the moment and said,
well, I bring this to the table, something.
- So let's just air it the [bleep] out.
- ♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪
♪♪♪♪
- ♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪ - ♪♪ Yeah, we can't let the way ♪♪
♪♪ The world is shaking break us down ♪♪
♪♪ This is for my brothers and my sisters, hear me now ♪♪
♪♪ Won't bring us down, down ♪♪
♪♪ This one's for my people ♪♪
♪♪ This one's for my people ♪♪♪♪
- [grunts]
- You airballed.
- A little rusty.
So my son, Antonio,
he's 14 years old,
and basically,
he's the love of my life
and the reason why I'm motivated to get up
every morning and go get the bag.
So spending quality time with my son,
it definitely gets me away from the bull[bleep]
going on at IAM.
Trash.
What's up with the basketball team?
They not gonna let you play with bad grades,
I'ma just let you know now.
- I, like, failed one or two tests...
- What you mean failing one or two tests?
- It made my grade go down.
- We gotta work on that, man.
How you feel about a tutor? - It's alright.
- I'm serious, this stuff right here
gonna follow you for the rest of your life.
I'm hard on my son when it comes to his schooling,
and it's been hard for me to check up on him,
especially because I keep making these sacrifices for IAM.
And the only payback that I'm getting
is lack of management and shop drama
when I could be working somewhere else
or working for myself.
Make sure everything counts,
just like these baskets that you tryna make.
[cell phone rings]
What's up, Amber?
Out here playing basketball with my son.
What's going on?
Yeah, I don't know, we'll see.
Where everybody linking up at?
Okay.
Alright, you too.
I don't know if a meeting with KP is gonna fix everything.
Antonio is my top priority,
so at the end of the day, I have to see if IAM
can even fit into the equation.
Alright, you miss this,
I need that homework done.
- Alright. - You make it,
you don't have to worry about it.
- Alright.
[laughter]
Come on, man.
Let's go.
-♪♪ Gimme this, gimme that, gimme more ♪♪
♪♪ I got the spark ♪♪
♪♪ I want it all, want it all ♪♪
♪♪ I got the spark ♪♪
♪♪ I want it all, want it all ♪♪♪♪
- What are you doing? Is this oil?
- Yeah. - Hey, Ness,
that's coming out ridiculous.
- Isn't it? - Thank you.
- Enigma!
[all cheering]
What's up, Barbie?
- Won all them trophies and left.
- What up, third place?
- [record scratch] - [all exclaiming]
♪♪♪♪
[overlapping chatter/bleeps]
- You know I had to throw a little shade in there.
It's not every day an artist can say that
they beat Kevin Laroy in a tattoo competition.
I'm one of the select few, and I'm gonna enjoy it
as long as I can, at least until
our next convention where I can pull a Nelly
and sweep a whole category.
- Where the hell were you?
- I went to go see Katrina and [bleep].
- How she doing? - How's the babies?
- So cute, I'm happy for her.
I was telling her about the convention,
and she just happy that we were able to go there even
without her and still succeed.
Then she was talking about the managers...
- [overlapping chatter] - Look, look, now you have
my full attention 'cause I was waiting for you to get here
so we could talk about it. - She just said
she wants to come out here and make a decision for herself,
so I mean, it's still up in the air
until Katrina touches down.
- So, y'all ain't talk to Oliver lately?
- Uh, I be talkin' to Oliver all the time, yeah.
- Oh... - What ha-- what happened?
- I just heard something different from Oliver.
- What was that?
- That I got the job.
- Ohh...
- What're you-- uh-uh. - Oh!
- I supported you guys for three years now,
and it sucks that you didn't do the same for me.
- It'd have been respectful
if you'd have criticized in the moment,
I just don't like you looking like we did something to you.
- ♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪
♪♪♪♪
- I just heard something different from Oliver.
- What was that? - That I got the job.
- Ohh... - Hold on,
wait wait wait wait, Barbie, Barbie...
- So-- no, no, no, it ain't no "Barbie Barbie Barbie"--
- Barbie did not hear that... - I don't know,
I'm just saying what Oliver told me--
- But this is the thing, Oliver cannot make decisions
without the boss, which is Kat.
- Oliver's saying it came from Kat.
- I just left her, uh, like, 24 hours ago,
ain't no way in hell Katrina said that.
I'm pretty sure Barbie's not making this up.
Oliver probably did tell her she got the job,
but he's tripping, because at the end of the day,
it's Katrina's decision to make when she gets back.
Not Oliver's, end of story.
It's fake news, it's fake news.
- FaceTime him. - Oh!
- I'ma call him right now.
When did he tell you that? - Very recently.
- Okay, you don't wanna disclose when?
- More, like, today. - Today?
- Oh, [bleep], now. - He might be in trouble.
- Oh, he don't wanna answer his phone.
- So what happens if he hops on the phone
and he says, "I did say that?"
- Then congratulations?
- No, ain't no congratulations.
- Cut it with a knife in here, [bleep].
- How is Oliver making those decisions?
Like, the boss is not here,
he just made an executive decision?
I don't feel like it was fair for Oliver to let Barbie know
that he picked her for the position
and not let me know.
I don't feel like I've lost anything because
at the end of the day, Kat's the boss,
and she's gonna make the final decision.
- The job's not yours just yet, okay?
- I'm not tripping... - It's not yours just yet...
[overlapping chatter]
It's about Katrina, and what she wants.
- Right. I'm kinda fuming inside,
'cause Denai and Kevin are really downplaying
what Oliver told me,
and Oliver legit said I got the job.
I'm actually not by the way Denai is acting.
We both worked hard for this, but I am confused by Kevin.
He's acting like he doesn't want me to be the manager here.
- If Barbie is better for whatever the [bleep] going on,
like, I have a lot of strengths other places.
- Oh, tell us. Educate us.
- I do brand growth, brand awareness, strategies,
honestly, I'm overqualified.
I don't wanna be at the front desk
answering phones, I have been an entrepreneur
for going on seven years,
I want to play on my strengths.
And right now, I feel like I can't do that.
- Just let it simmer down.
It's displaced emotions right now
based off of something that came from Oliver.
Denai, ma'am, you basically shooting yourself in the foot.
Like, this whole job description includes all of that.
Answering the phones, all that stuff.
Humble yourself a little bit
and understand what you signing up for.
Ain't no need talk down to no position, especially
when you'e given a big opportunity to work at Enigma.
- Barbie, how do you feel about it?
'Cause I'm very clear on how Denai feels.
- I wanna be here, it's obvious I wanna be here
'cause I'm even here when cameras aren't here.
I put in the work, I put in the time.
- I've definitely been here
when the cameras are not here as well...
[overlapping chatter]
- The back and forth, I'm just like,
I know my worth just like she knows her worth.
And I know it's not just a receptionist job,
there's more that goes along with it that
I know I can do, but she has the marketing stuff,
so maybe she can do stuff when she's not here.
- From the way Denai delivered
the way she felt about the position,
I feel like she underestimating Barbie and her capabilities.
They both got small businesses,
but Barbie put together a full event
that her and Danielle did,
so she good with project management...
- I'm like, really, really happy with the outcome.
- Yes. - Like, it turned out great.
[Danielle] Everybody's booth looking good.
- Oh, I made sure. - [Lemeir] On top of that,
she really know how to connect with every artist
and every person, so Barbie goes
way beyond answering phones.
- Alright, well, then,
let's let Katrina make the ultimate decision.
She will be here in due time, baby.
- Can I talk to you outside?
♪♪♪♪
- Like, what is the issue?
- That escalated quickly.
What's up, why you crying?
- I just got a lot going on.
Like, a lot a lot.
Like, the vibe I got was like,
"yeah, right, what you mean," you know what I mean?
It just gave me an awkward feeling.
Like, 'cause I just got this good news like,
yes, I got the job, and then it's like,
ehh, no, slow your roll, no, you didn't,
you need to slow down, I got a vibe like,
yeah, stay in your place.
- I think you handled it very well,
I feel like you haven't said one thing
to downplay anything that she's done.
- Listening to Kevin and Denai
it's actually kinda triggering.
I almost felt like I was back at IAM.
So the old me really just wanted to snatch her wig off,
but I had to stop, breathe, and think and show like,
this is not the vibe at Enigma.
That's the IAM vibe, and I'm not that person anymore.
- As much as I like Denai, I just didn't like
the switch-up of the energy.
Even saying that you're like,
"personally, I feel like I'm overqualified for the position."
I feel like that's like... - So then why are you even here?
- "Honestly, I'm better than this [bleep],
so am I hired or not?" Like, I don't like
that she had to bring that up in order to stand on her ground.
For real for real, I'm actually really shocked
that like, Denai is kinda throwing shade towards Barbie
and being condescending towards her.
Barbie's handling it well,
but I'll tell you right now,
if she would talk to me like that, mm-mm.
I mean, this whole situation is messed up, but Denai
honestly just looks like a sore loser because
nobody's even lost anything yet.
- I'm standing my ground, I'ma stay being the person I am
so they have every reason to say yes.
- I wouldn't worry, know what I'm saying,
keep the same energy, you know what I'm saying,
boss bitch vibes, head high.
- Got this, lemme get it back together
before I go up in there, can't let nobody see me sweat.
- Lemme see, lemme see...
[overlapping chatter]
- Thank you, Nessie. - Of course, babe.
Keep it cute.
[Ink Bomb] The situation at the tattoo convention
could've been diffused
if y'all two or somebody were there.
That's what pissed me off.
That [bleep] was embarrassing as [bleep].
- ♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪
- ♪♪ Yeah, we prepared for whatever ♪♪
♪♪ Yeah, we prepared for whatever ♪♪
♪♪ 'Cause you know we do it better ♪♪
♪♪ Yeah, we prepared for whatever ♪♪
♪♪ Yeah, we prepared for whatever (ever) ♪♪
♪♪♪♪
[Cory] I am glad that KP and Tim wanted to meet
about the dynamics of the shop
because a lot of other people's perspective
is that you just don't give a [bleep],
and it needs to be fixed very quickly,
otherwise, be ready for a fall.
♪♪♪♪
[KP] So after talking to Ryan,
I realized I can't keep going with this bull[bleep] drama
when we supposed to be grown and adults.
After everything IAM has been through,
I gotta dead this [bleep] ASAP,
and whatever's meant to be will be.
- Thank y'all for coming.
- We missing somebody. - Alana.
- Yeah, where she at? Ain't nobody talk to her?
- No. - You ain't talk to her?
- Nah, nobody talked to me. - You talk to her?
♪♪♪♪
[KP] I know it's a lot of mixed feelings,
so hopefully we can come up with some type of solution.
- I was telling Amber earlier...
- Hi, everybody.
- What? How you doing, Alana?
- Hey!
[Alana] When I got Tim's text
that we were having a team meeting,
I thought about not showing up.
I mean, aside from getting invited to this,
I haven't heard from anybody
at this table since the convention.
I figured I wasn't gonna hear from Amber,
and that's fine with me, btu I just really hope she
doesn't get all defensive and worked up
and get everyone else on the same page.
I wanna be the bigger person
and see what they have to say and speak my piece.
- We kinda just putting everything on the table
and we kinda all lost that connection,
and we tried to pick it up.
Some things got said at the shop,
and then a fight break out.
So I knew that the convention thing wasn't gonna work.
No championship team I heard of was in there
fighting with each other before the game.
- Amber, I could tell you felt a way towards me.
I'm sorry I threw the keys at you, so I'ma just
leave it like that, no hard feelings.
- It should've never got to that place.
I'm sorry for putting my hands on you,
and I just wish it never happened.
But at the end of the day, it's just like,
to get checked and called out in front of everybody
where I work there all day, it was just like, it could've
been handled differently.
[Amber] I know I messed up at the convention,
but I'm really glad that we got to discuss this
like mature adults,
and I considered reaching out to her,
but I'm glad that I waited
and I had time to process everything before I did.
- The situation at the tattoo convention could've been
diffused if y'all two, or somebody was there.
That's what pissed me off. - Yeah.
- That [bleep] was embarrassing as [bleep].
♪♪♪♪
- I hate that none of us even got together
afterwards to talk about it.
I would wish that at least one person would've reached out,
and I would've been totally okay with
having a normal conversation like this right after.
I just feel like, in the moment,
it should've just already been fixed as a team.
And then the conversation I had with you, Tim,
I thought you would be like, well, let's all talk about it,
but you kinda brushed it under the table like it was nothing,
and that's just not what I had expected.
I've stood by you and supported you guys for three years now,
and it sucks that you didn't do the same for me.
- I just don't like when it's like,
"y'all didn't do this, y'all didn't do that,"
and it's like, come on, we grown.
And now we here, and you looking like we did something to you,
that sound like some Barbie [bleep].
- I never said nobody did nothing to me.
I'ma always love you guys, y'all are my brothers,
but I just kinda seen how things are going,
and it's just-- I just don't think it's for me anymore.
♪♪♪♪
[KP] Well, I'm sorry you feel that way.
I didn't feel like you was actually all the way in
because you hardly coming in for work.
Once you got the tattoo at Enigma,
the fighting and all that, that's why I was just
kinda frustrated.
- You are literally the reason why
I'm standing at this [bleep] table,
and I'll never say anything bad about y'all,
I'll never in my life disrespect you, KP.
But me choosing to go is nothing to do with your shop,
it's that I feel like I need to be somewhere where I have
five different artists sitting down with me
and teaching me, it's finally time for me to put myself first
and invest in myself.
[Tim] Here we go again.
♪♪♪♪
- Sounds like a mature decision.
- I want nothing but the best for you, chase it.
But you gotta put [bleep] into it.
[Tim] You wanna walk, that's cool.
We still got love for you.
But at the end of the day, it's business.
- Well, I said what I have to say,
love y'all, appreciate y'all,
um, but I'm about to head out.
♪♪♪♪
- ♪♪ Ooh-ee, cleaning up ♪♪
♪♪♪♪
[Alana] I'm really disappointed in the way
my journey's ending at IAM.
After the convention, I just feel like
I was unheard, and honestly,
this really made me take a step back
and try to figure out what my next move is.
Not a lot of people would've given a 20-year-old a chance
to be in a tattoo shop, let alone have their own booth,
but KP did.
Hi, KP. - Oh, what up, what up?
We got an extra player, so welcome her.
- Sis is cute. - She got raw talent.
- Even though I'm not exactly where I thought I would be
three years later, I'm still extremely grateful
for the opportunity and the people I've met.
[all exclaiming]
[laughter, chatter]
Oh, my God!
[KP] I like this vibe right here, man.
[Alana] Every one of you is like my family.
I love all you guys, and I appreciate today.
I don't know what's gonna happen from here,
all I know is that I'm not gonna give up
and wherever I end up, it's gonna be
the best place for me because I didn't end up
coming this far to just stop.
♪♪♪♪
- ♪♪ I do what I want ♪♪ [Tim] All good.
She gon' need us.
- There's some things that I see breaking down
that aren't conducive for us to move forward as a shop.
- Before you criticize, it'd have been respectful
if you'd have criticized in the moment, and said,
"well, I bring this to the table,
I can help you make this here," something.
- So let's just air it the [bleep] out.
The way the shop is managed right now,
it can't be like that no more.
I'm frustrated with the breakdown,
but I can assume what's going on.
So the ultimate goal is the music, right?
- Well, the brand is Ink Art Music,
so they all together.
- I'm asking where you guys are at as far as where
the direction needs to go because if the direction of
the shop is just a side hustle for you guys, yeah,
it looks like who gives a [bleep] about the shop?
Because it's to the point where people are gonna start going,
well, I'm gonna step away, I don't wanna do this.
- But it's like, we gonna have people bumping heads
'cause we don't have that artist that I told everybody,
oh, we gonna have Cory,
so I was counting on you to fill that void
because I already knew I was finna be doing music.
So the things we talked about,
you was a part of helping that change,
and then you had to leave.
- I know I had to get out of town for family,
but I also had to get away from the energy.
I stepped away partially to analyze the whole situation.
I'm still giving this the opportunity to say,
you know what, this is what I don't like,
this is what needs to change,
and this is what has to [bleep] change.
And just because I don't like the way something is being
ran right now, doesn't mean that I'm ready to [bleep] bail.
But if it doesn't change,
it's gonna be on the way out.
I'm not saying that I'm leaving the shop yet,
but my confidence level in how the shop is being managed
and run is at an all-time low.
The path that I was trying to create for IAM,
I don't know if it's possible anymore.
It's about the communication at this point.
- Since we laying feelings on the table,
I had so much expectations coming into the shop,
I was expecting us to like, be there as a family
so I could at least learn from you,
you know, just being around each other.
And then when the tattoo convention happened,
I respect y'all for popping up, you know what I'm saying,
but my thing is what made me pissed, y'all left.
I basically told them today, like, look, I can't share
this booth with y'all no more.
KP, I know you probably ain't have no tattoo machine,
but we could've took turns.
I just wanted you at the [bleep] booth with me,
you know what I'm saying?
It's just beginning to be a little bit too much
coming to the shop and being solo.
- I hear y'all, and I could be there
with Ink Bomb and sit there and tat all day
and make her feel comfortable,
but we just gonna do a little more
on the music side of things.
- I'm kinda getting tired of it now.
I need like, motivation around me,
you know what I'm saying?
[Ink] This is a little unexpected
and disappointing to hear.
It sounds like KP and Tim aren't open to changing
their management style.
So why have a meeting if
you're not open to changing anything?
I got love for both of y'all,
but I'm walking as well.
I'm going back as a solo artist.
- Makes sense. - I ain't gon' lie,
I'm happy for you, I understand whatever you doing is
to benefit you, and I support that.
I do like working here,
you guys exposed me to more people.
I've like, grown, of course, and I'm thankful.
I'm gonna miss you, and I'm sad.
- No, for real, I really had a connection with you,
and Cory, and Tim, and you too, KP.
If y'all need me, I'ma be there.
It's always gonna be some vibes there.
[KP] I'm proud that you even
came and put in how much you did.
I wish it didn't unfold like this,
but as long as we respectful, we there for each other,
like, let's get it, I know it's gonna come back around.
And I'll see you on the top.
- I appreciate you.
♪♪♪♪
- Guess we can wrap it up,
but I'm glad we had this meeting.
I know where everybody stand.
- Told you, I ain't going nowhere.
- Same.
- I'm staying.
- Damn, I wasn't expecting to lose two artists in one day.
I guess Ryan was right.
It's a revolving door, and people come in and out.
I can't even be mad no more.
- Alright, y'all.
- I just haven't found the right artists
that can see my vision like I do.
The most frustrating thing now,
I gotta pause the music to focus on almost rebuilding
the shop from scratch again, and I'm not feeling that.
- Oh, miss bartender?
- I need something to go numb.
- Anything? - Yes, ma'am.
Appreciate you.
- Going forward, we going backwards right now.
It ain't one thing, it's another.
- And at the end of the day, I'm the one taking the L.
So right now, I'm not making no excuses for nothing,
I just gotta figure it out and go from there.
[all cheering] - Back in this bitch like I never left.
What the [bleep] is up?
It feels so good walking in the shop.
I'm just hoping everything can go smoothly
from here on out so I can finally get back to business.
- You definitely did, but we're not gonna even address him.
- That's 'cause she "deebo'ed" herself in here.
- He didn't have that energy when my mother[bleep] toes
was in his mouth, just know that.
♪♪♪♪
- Two of my artists, they done walked.
- Now you got more obstacles.
- And I can't even get in my vibe with the music,
so I be feeling disconnected.
And I'm like, man, is the shop
taking me away from what I love?
- Are you okay? - Saying it right now
is gonna make it real, but, um,
I got served divorce papers.
Y'all asked me to be open and honest with y'all,
and I think the best thing for me to do right now
is to take some time to myself.
- Can I be honest?
I feel like all that's bull[bleep].
♪♪♪♪
- ♪♪ MTV ♪♪