NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
At the end of Highest 2 Lowest, did David King make the right decision by passing on Yung Felon’s proposition? Yes and no.
Even with the checkered past hanging over them, King did say that Yung had a banger on his hands. At one point, before he noticed that Yung was indeed the kidnapper, he was vibing out to his song while walking the Brooklyn Bridge. Even in the studio, King was telling Yung what he wanted from him.
That scene held plenty of weight, not just for the movie but Hip Hop at the present state that it’s in. Everyone sounds the same, raps about the same subject, and lacks creativity and originality. King was trying to give jewels to Yung, but his pride and anger were not allowing him to see or hear them.
Many will look at it and think there is no way they could work with a guy who kidnapped someone close to them and tried to extort them for $17.5M. However, it all made sense when they finally were face-to-face.
Yung Felon had a plan. After being released from prison, he wanted more. He wanted to change his life for his woman and their new baby. He wanted to rap, and he looked at the successful mogul from around the way as the path. But he never got a chance to come face-to-face with David King.
He gave his CD anyway, but King, as busy as he was, never had a chance to listen. From the outside looking in, Yung felt shunned by the person he looked up to. In the hood, that can be viewed as a betrayal, and Yung set his plan in motion.
Now, back to the end of Highest 2 Lowest, where it all came together, and at some point, King felt the compassion and understood the reason behind it all. That was the reason for the epic booth scene between the two. I really believe that King was trying to give Yung Felon a shot.
The issue was that the young rapper couldn’t get past his issues, which wasn’t really an issue. As King told him, he’s right there. What do you want to do? All Yung had to do was rap. Instead, he decided to pull his gun and shoot at King.
At that point, any soft feelings that were had for Yung, King let them fall to the floor. King knew the struggle, and he understood the pain that Yung had in him. The anger was real, but so was the respect and admiration. Hell, Yung named his firstborn after King. He was just hurt.
No father figure around, so like many of us in those environments, the streets become our father, and then one day you look up and see someone who came up just like you from the same neighborhood, making it big that you’re admiring from a distance. This is what made the climax of the Highest 2 Lowest so intense.
The end had me thinking what if he had chosen another route and not shot at King. Would King have had a change of heart and decided to work with him? Personally, I would have given him a shot. Water under the bridge for the simple fact that he did what he did out of anger and not knowing just how foolish it was. He wanted Smith to suffer, but he was like a little kid looking for his father’s attention.
But I also understood why King didn’t accept his proposal. Even after doing what he did to David King and his family, Yung Felon still wanted his attention. He knew that it was money to be made, but as King said, not all money is good money. Was King right in that decision? In an age where money seems to be everything, should King have put their differences aside and taken that route?
Highest 2 Lowest was more than a Denzel Washington and Spike Lee joint. It was a movie grounded in pride, loyalty, family, hunger, and revenge.
