Fireworks 3 and 4

Chapter Forty-Six

    Theories ran rampant from a jaded, reality-show-plagued public. There were some who thought that Drake's and Mia's entire relationship was staged for the sake of promo. Others believed that the relationship was real but their split had been staged. The logical reasoned that using a baby, text messages that cast Drake in a borderline evil light were a bit of a stretch for the sake of promo.

    Meanwhile, Mia was making good on taking her reconciliation with Drake slowly. She still had her music and her collaboration with Cardi to focus on. In the light of her patching things up with Drake, she reviewed her lyrics to decide whether or not she wanted to change anything. But why should I change anything? She wondered, sitting in the living room of her condo with her feet propped up on the couch. What happened still happened, and what I went through is still valid. It's still a story to tell. My feelings towards the media and some of the more aggressive fans are still valid. It's a conversation that still needs to be had. Just because I'm working things out with Aubrey doesn't mean I should sacrifice my art just to spare his feelings. Right?

    Tapping the end of her pen against her bottom lip, she sighed and turned her head to look out of the window. As expected, her fans were going ham on her in the comments. How could she take Drake back? Sure, he was fine as shit, but didn't she remember what he'd done to her? Didn't she remember the tone he'd taken with the mother of his own children? Three years wasn't long enough to many of her fans. According to vast majority of them, she shouldn't have taken him back. Girl, where is your dignity? One of the fans had written in a comment underneath Mia's most recent Instagram post. These days it's as if women don't even have standards for their men. We just take whatever kind of treatment they're willing to give us. You're a public figure. You need to be a better role model for our little girls. If you had a daughter, would you want her going back to some guy who'd slept around and had a baby on her? Chile the desperation. [smh emoji]

    Chile, the privacy invasion. But this was the life Mia had chosen to live. There was no expected privacy when you were attempting to be one of the best artists out there, and doubly no expected privacy when you were any kind of involved with one of hip hop's hottest artists. Drake lived a high profile lifestyle. He liked to flaunt his money, his partying, and once upon a time, his conquests. There were still treasured people and events that he held close to the vest and was private about, but once you opened the door and invited people into even a glimpse of your personal life, they tended to want to kick the door wide open to reveal the rest. Such is fame and the life of an entertainer. What you chose to show, what you chose to explain in your lyrics or your art medium, were never quite enough. They were on the verge of being enough, but your true followers always wanted just a little bit more than you wanted to give. Both Eminem and Dave Chappelle spoke on this when they recounted times they were in a bathroom stall and fans were hounding them for autographs in between pee splashes. Stories such as those weren't exaggerated tales. Mia's rise to stardom hadn't brought her quite to that level yet, and she wasn't necessarily looking forward to the day that she was at that level.

    Her fans more often wanted to talk with her, hold conversations. A few of them asked for autographs, but usually in situations where autograph-signing was warranted.

    Cardi even took up on Mia's behalf. Neither one of them had publicly announced their collaboration, but Cardi often sounded off on her opinions on social matters. "Okay, I'm curious about something," she said, seated in what looked like a studio with her hair pulled back from her face. Squinting her eyes, she looked at the camera, then away from the camera. "Tell me why everyone likes to butt into other people's business? Like, look...I get it. There are artists that are your faves and you want to know everything and you want to put your two cents in when you think someone is going down a path that will hurt them, but for instance when it comes to a celebrity's romantic relationship, or their family relationship, it just bugs me out how people think they even have enough information to make any kind of suggestion as to what I should do with my life. Like...you hear a couple of rumors here or there and you think you should tell me whether or not I should be with my man? Mia drops her man for three years. Okay, three years. Do you know how long he had to have been hurting? We never heard about him with any other bitches. And she might just be low key as shit with hers, but I never even heard about her dating other guys. They spent time apart, worked on themselves, and now they made this decision to try to work things out and how does anybody think they have the right to butt their head in and say that they shouldn't try to work things out? Aren't we all human? I mean, I'm just saying. I'm just asking for a friend. You know? Or...asking for myself. Why is that? When it comes to how I raise Kulture, why do people think they have the right to tell me what I should and shouldn't do with my own child? Huh? Like... worry about you and yours. Nothing wrong with giving a suggestion out of love, but it gets to a point where it's like okay now chill with all of that, it's getting to invasive. Pun very intended, nah mean?" She cackled and chuckled in her trademark way and shook her head. Then she drew her face closer to the camera on her cell phone and widened her eyes. "I'm all for getting feedback from my fans, but there are lines there. And trust me, we are going to have further discussion about where that line is. Look for my next single." The camera cut to black, and the video transmission ended.

    Mia shook her head, laughing. People could say what they wanted about Cardi, but she made marketing look effortless. With one quick live video, she'd given the perfect introduction to their collab.