The Ryerson Adventure Part 2

Chapter 2: Gangsta's Paradise

Maybe five minutes from leaving McDonalds, Tony and I find ourselves on the corner of Yonge and Dundas, sandwiched by two crazy looking gangstas who either forgot to put lotion on their lips today or…ahem. Anyway. The gangstas are promoting Toronto based underground rappers. One gangsta is stacking a pile of CDs into my hands, I glance quickly at my companion and realized to my dismay that Tony as well has succumbed to the same fate. I try to tell gangsta#1 that I have no money, but he can’t hear me because he busy stuffing burnt CDs in my hand while reciting the dopest line of tha hottest tracks. (Now I’m not knocking the hustle, but if you remember from chapter one I’m in the beginning stages of a journey here, and I do not appreciate this nuisance.) Wait, what’s this, the gangsta seems to have forgotten the next line and there’s a pause in his recital. I take the opportunity to shake my head vigorously. The non-verbal cue is picked up and the CDs are taken back from me, which is a great thing but now gangsta#1 has joined gangsta#2 and they are both handing Tony, CDs now! While thinking what I can do, I realize that there is an actual dialogue between the two gangstas and Tony.

“Do you like underground?” Gangsta#1 asks Tony with a sarcastic look, I guess because Tony’s complexion can be described as ‘white’.

“It’s all I listen to.”

“Oh yea, ever been to a show?” I’m yelling in my head, o no! Tony! Tonyyyy! Stellllaaaaaa, I mean Tonyyy! Don’t answer that question, it’s a trap!

“Yea, I’ve seen a couple.”

The gangstas are now smiling, (which is not a pretty thing by the way, as one of them has more crack on his face then a sidewalk) but they know they have Tony right where they want him, once he can’t name an underground artist they’ll…kick his ass or something. But then something happened that nobody expected. Instead of stuttering blubbering and generally not being able to think of anything Tony shrugs the question off and says, “Iunno, Binary Star.”

Now this certainly seems important, because the gangstas start turning in circles, and keep repeating Binary Star over and over.

“O shit son, you’re the first dude I’ve heard say Binary Star.”

Gangsta#2 immediately removes all the CDs from Tony’s hand and replaces it with a single CD which he assures Tony he will like. Now this is not what I expected, as I stare at Tony with a new found respect, he rummages in his pockets, and puts $2 in the gangsta’s hand which seems like a fair trade to everyone involved in the transaction. I would not want to be a journey with any other man, and as it has just started I am sure this is going to be a journey I one day write down in a blog. We head north.

To be continued.