“…please blame it on the Son of the Morning”
– Jay-Z
“The Son of the Sun reign supreme
Undisputed ruler, you can’t disturb the king
Imitators is wack, bad copies that He reject
Silly goats with big tits, they just Baphomets”
– Afonso the Great
Lincoln was in good spirits when he made it to Snot’s house that afternoon. It had been weeks since he met Ms. Eunice, and even though his mother still looked at him with fear in her eyes, and said silent prayers while she threw holy water at him from the doorway of his room at night when she thought he was asleep, Lincoln was determined not to let his mother get him down. He talked to Ms. Eunice regularly at Edwards Library and she was happy to get to know him better. He never engaged anyone at the library like he did Ms. Eunice and he would only spend time there if she was working. She taught him about a new devil every time they talked and the more he learned, the less sense he thought his mother made and he mostly pitied her for her fear of him. He decided that he wouldn’t allow her fear to eat away at himself, he wouldn’t let himself be so consumed by fear of imaginary devils and the various figures he learned about became cartoonish characters to him.
Snot and his cousin Brandon were under the covered driveway at Snot’s house and Lincoln was eager to see them. Since he felt less burdened by the feelings of his mother, he had more time to really think about what Brandon had suggested, that he write a song of his own. Inspired by Ms. Eunice ‘s lesson on Baphomet, Lincoln wrote a short rap about the pretender devil who was most likely a fabrication created as a means to discredit and demonize prosperous men who challenged the might of kings.
He didn’t give all the back story, but Snot and Brandon thought Lincoln’s lyrics were funny and sophisticated, like he was a member of the Wu Tang Clan. He hadn’t written the lyrics to a beat, but there was a natural rhythm to his words that Brandon caught while he listened carefully each time he made Lincoln repeat the rap, and then he plucked out a melody on his guitar that Snot followed with his keyboard. By the end of the afternoon, through the heat of the high sun, and just as a breeze was blowing through, cooling the boys who were sweating in the work of creation, they had a solid start to their first original song. It was short and Lincoln wrote more lyrics while they concocted the melody, and he worked on it for months before he was satisfied.
They debuted the song at Ladoga’s annual Winter Festival talent show held in a renovated movie theater in downtown. The Winter Festival is a major event for the town and is always well attended. The talent show is the culminating event of the week-long festival that showcases art from nearby schools, features vendors selling food and crafts, as well as rides and games. Even though Brandon lived in a nearby town, he was allowed to participate in the talent show because a majority of their act lived in town. The prize that year was a thousand dollars and a performance on a local news station that broadcast out of Charlotte, North Carolina.
The talent show is always a mix of acts, sometimes dancers, a few times magicians or illusionists, a couple of juggling acts over the years, but the Winter Festival talent show of the preceding decade or so had become a musical showcase of Ladoga’s best musical acts. The choir of the Pewter St. Baptist Church always entered, there were a handful of solo vocalists with talent to bring the audience to their feet in ovation, groups of three or four males or females with impeccable harmony, and rappers who were asked to perform songs that were family friendly though there were always a few acts that some in the audience murmured had been too edgy. A few years before Lincoln and his friends performed at the Winter Festival, rap was almost banned because so many people complained about the obscenities used by many of the rap acts, but it was eventually reinstated with the understanding that explicit language was forbidden.
The Pewter St. Baptist Church choir had a solid record at the Winter Festival talent show. The church was a megachurch founded in Ladoga and its choir reflected the demographics of the congregation; an even mixture of white, brown, and black faces that sang songs with crisp discipline and the soul usually associated with black churches. They held the record for the most first place finishes in the talent show, they’d won a total of nine over the many years that the festival was held. Many complained when the Reverend Doctor Lloyd Wright sat on the panel of judges because of the obvious conflict of interests, but that had only happened once.
When Lincoln walked out onto the stage, he was happy in front of the crowd. He hadn’t told his father that he was performing, and he and his mother were enjoying the ice skating rink as he stepped to the microphone. His brother, Anthony was there in the crowd with a group of his friends and they all cheered loudly for Lincoln as Brandon played the cool, laid back melody on his guitar, and Snot slinked around it on the keys. Lincoln had found the place that made him happy and he felt that he was absorbing the lights that shone down on the stage. His lyrics flowed easily, he was charismatic, articulate, and funny. He moved around the stage, interacted with Snot and Brandon, and then the crowd. It was a one of a kind performance and they were the clear favorites to win the whole thing. As the winners were being announced, the crowd chanted the name of Lincoln’s act, they called themselves The Morning, and they didn’t stop until Lincoln and his friends were declared the winners.
After the exhilaration of the talent show, Lincoln went home with his brother and they talked excitedly in Lincoln’s room. It was the best day of Lincoln’s young life, but it would prove to be short-lived.
Before The Morning was allowed to claim their prize, there was a controversy about the lyrics of Lincoln’s rap. The performance had been recorded and copies were sold for a small fee. Members of the Pewter St. Baptist Church choir scrutinized the performance and were appalled by the blatant references to Satanic themes. Members of the choir brought this to the attention of the church pastor, who penned a letter to the editor of the Ladoga Daily that was published before the scheduled televised performance of The Morning. In the letter, the Reverend Doctor Lloyd Wright cited references in the lyrics to Lucifer and Baphomet, and he posed a question to the town; if they wanted to be represented in the local news by kids rapping about how cool it is to identify with Satan.
There were protests against the results of the talent show, and eventually the win was rescinded and given to the second place finisher.
When the Reverend Doctor’s letter was published in the paper, Richard and Zora were made aware of Lincoln’s performance at the talent show, and they had both been shown a video. Lincoln was grounded and was only allowed to leave his room for school. He wasn’t allowed to speak to Brandon or Snot. He wasn’t allowed to listen to music.
“I just don’t understand where all that came from son,” Richard said to Lincoln as he stood before the boy with his arms crossed at his chest. He had just laid out the terms of his punishment and he never looked the boy in the eyes, who stared pleadingly at his father, not truly understanding what he’d done wrong and sad that he was losing the only parent that saw anything good in him.
“Me and your mama want the best for you son. We don’t want you falling into evil, bad things. That’s the kind of music you listen to? Devil stuff?”
“No daddy,” Lincoln said softly, on the verge of tears.
“We just want what’s best for you,” Richard continued. “You ain’t listening to that devil music no more, and you going to Wednesday night Bible study with me for the time being.”
Lincoln didn’t understand how to explain the song to his father. It was just fun, and it was based on stuff Ms. Eunice had taught him to make him feel better. But the explanation was irrelevant. The whole thing was all Zora needed to be certain that her son was the devil she thought he was.
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