Rhakeem turns
to Sonny:
RHAKEEM
(cont’d) |
| Maybe
you were a little tough on him... |
SONNY |
Well what am I gonna do? If he doesn't start pullin' his weight
then pretty soon somebody's gonna have to start shovin' it
into place... |
RHAKEEM |
| Yeah... But
I mean that name business. Look at us...Wilson and Percival.
Where do we get off? Sounds like we're butlers...or boyfriends... |
SONNY |
| But it ain't
the same. We got historical precedent to back us up. Take Sugar
Ray Robinson. You got any idea what his real name was? |
RHAKEEM
(shrug) |
| Ray
Robinson? |
SONNY |
| Walker Smith.
Tell me that don't sound like a fifth huggin' a thirty-eight...an'
I ain't talkin' about tits. Nothin' sweet about it. And the
toughest sonofabitch to ever come out of a tough state...Jersey
Joe Walcott. The only thing that ever stopped him was Rocky
Marciano's right hand. A lucky shot. Got any idea what his real
name was? |
Another
shrug.
SONNY
(cont’d) |
| Arnold
Cream. |
RHAKEEM |
| DAMN! He
should've gotten whupped just for bein' born... |
SONNY |
| An'
what about the greatest? |
SONNY |
| JOE LOUIS!!!
The Brown Bomber! Louis was his middle name. His real name was
Joe Louis Barrow. Now what was the problem with "Barrow"?
And come to think of it...what was the problem with "Black"?
The Black Bomber! |
RHAKEEM |
| Yeah! That's
some pretty heavy sounding shit! |
SONNY |
| Too heavy
for them times. But look...the way I see it...there's a difference
here. It's one thing if you don't like the way a name sounds,
or what it stands for. But it's somethin' else if you don't
like a name because what it stands for...is you. |
Rhakeem
pulls up an old 45 rpm vinyl and holds it aloft:
He throws it on
the turntable and lowers the tonearm. A song from an era of different
technical recording values fills the store, Johnny Wakelin &
The Kinshasa Band's --
BLACK
SUPERMAN - MUHAMMAD ALI
|
