Subtitles by Phaeton
You are about to witness the strength of street knowledge.
Yo, this is Queen Latifah
Bringing a song to you About a place you might live
In case you don't understand It's called New Jack City
In case you still don't understand
I brought along Levert and Troop To kick the ballistics
Unemployment is up, says the Department of Labor...
... with nearly 200,000 more claims for unemployment last month.
Americans whose income is below the poverty line has risen to 2 million...
... compared to 1.6 million in 1979.
Economists say that the economic inequality...
... is at its worst level since the days of the Great Depression.
Over the last 3 years, the percentage of after-tax income for the rich rose 3%...
... while after-tax income for the poor fell.2%.
Homelessness is at an all-time high.
A drive-by shooting in Harlem resulted in the death of a 7-year-old boy.
Police say the shooting was drug-related.
Said a police source, "The kid just got in the way."
The bodies of 3 young black men were discovered in Marcus Garvey Park.
Police believe they were victims of a drug deal gone bad.
The identity of the victims has been withheld.
Firemen were summoned to extract a man from a ventilator duct of a building.
The man became trapped when he entered the duct in order to rob the premises.
The deficit now stands at an astounding $ 221 billion.
A reputed crime lord and 10 of his henchmen were gunned down today.
Witnesses said the gunmen rode past Mr. Armeteo...
... and sprayed the group with gunfire.
The shooting was the result of an ongoing turf war.
Biff...
...look at you now.
Nino, please!
Don't start bitching up.
You don't have my product or my money.
You got to give me another chance! Please!
Brothers don't wait to get paid.
Money talks. Bullshit runs the marathon.
So, see you, and I wouldn't want to be you.
The number of addicted infants born in Manhattan...
... has risen over the past few years.
Hospital officials say...
... that the care required by these tiny victims of the cocaine epidemic...
... has severely impacted the available resources for pediatric care.
In other news, an unidentified man found floating facedown in the East River...
... is believed to be another victim in an ongoing drug war...
... that continues to plague our city.
Get out of my shit.
Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
I like to pray before I start scrambling. Keeps people honest.
Say that shit, say that shit.
Do this now. What's your price?
Yo, man. For you, Bob Marley, 17.
For a key? You must be doing the dope. Bring this down.
You got to get realistic.
I'm talking about a lower price.
Down.
This ain't Delancy Street, and you can't Jew me down. That's my price.
Check this out, homeboy. God's on your side, right?
Why don't we do this reasonable? 14K, bam.
You want to do this correct or not? 17.
Let me see the money.
Come on. Let's do this, man.
What you know about that?
Everybody out! Get down!
Everybody down! Police!
You think you slick, you little punk, blasphemous dope-fiend bitch!
Spit in my face, I'm going to kill you!
- You fucking that kid up. - He's kicking his monkey ass.
Ease back, goddamnit! I'm a cop!
Shut the fuck up!
It's over. You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
I'm going to get paid.
If I make this, you're going to have to come out your pockets.
- Ain't made that shot in years. - Pay your taxes.
I'm like the IRS.
That's it! I love it.
What's up? Where you going?
It's the sign of the times
I got to get mine All I live is a life of crime
They got my back against the wall And my dick is in the dust
Remember when we was kids...
...we played for Reverend Oates? MO AB Bitty Squad?
I was 11, you was 13. We was the baddest backcourt...
...in Each-One-Teach-One.
We wasn't making no money then.
And now that we are, you're here living your Michael Jordan fantasy.
Business must be good.
It will be, brother.
Peep this out.
Freebase. So what?
Yo, man, you know the rules.
Us brothers don't be getting high.
Shut the fuck up and drive the car, you non-talking bastard.
You been making money outside the family?
I just been doing a little experimentation-type thing.
A little experimentation-type thing. Like what?
At the clubs, some of the guys step away from the blackjack table or the bar...
...to buy $50 or $ 100 worth of sniff.
I set them up in the back room with a hit of base...
...and 15 minutes after leaving the club, they'd be back with 2 and 3 people.
So what?
They ain't come back for the cocaine. They came back for the base.
You sound like this shit'll change the world.
I don't know about all that change-the-world shit, but I do know...
...they be going crazy over this. And the bitches...
Oh, Lord! Them bitches, they do anything for this, man!
I had my jimmy waxed every day last week. You understand?
Several times a day.
Get the fuck out of here!
I know damn well ain't nobody sucked your shriveled-up dick.
You trying to dis me?
I'm just telling the truth. That's all I'm doing.
Several times a day, my ass.
All right, let me think about this a little bit.
You think this base...
...is the high-powered shit?
We going to come off like the Mob. You understand what I'm saying?
Welcome right here to the spotlite, where we make the beat right...
...and we can't fight. So leave your drugs and go home.
D.J. Clark Kent.
Rocking from turntable number 1 to turntable number 2.
Just like he want to do.
You going to frisk me too?
Yo, my boy, Nino in the house. Yo, Nino. What's up?
You want a flower?
I think you'll like him. Here he is.
What's up, crew?
Nino, your girl looks good.
You must like slumming, Kareem.
Why would a high-class guy like you leave a good computer job at the bank...
...come all the way uptown by gypsy cab...
...to work among a den of thieves?
I'm no dummy.
It's basic common sense and arithmetic.
The difference between them paying me $800 a week...
...and you paying me $8,000 a week.
I think my cousin also likes the fact...
...that you're in the tradition of Joe Kennedy.
Who?
Good. Because you got to rob to get rich in the Reagan era.
They running a strange program.
More poor and disenfranchised folks than this place has ever seen.
They try to act like it don't exist.
Meanwhile, the rich get richer...
And the poor don't get a thing.
Times like these, people want to get high. Real high and real fast.
And this is going to do it.
And make us rich.
I mean, what, people going crazy over this?
It look like cracked-off pieces of soap.
The Colombians and Dominicans have shown us the way.
The shit is large.
But we'll do it differently.
No more selling on street corners.
Change the product, you change the marketing strategy.
I've seen the future.
And its name is the Carter.
Hold up. The Carter Apartments, that joint is big.
We're talking about combinating and consolidating.
You're taking over The Carter?
We taking over The Carter. We going to bum-rush the whole damn thing.
Now just imagine, if the tenants cooperate, it's lovely.
They become loyal customers.
If they don't, fuck it. It's like in Beirut, they become live-in hostages.
We going to set up a lab here to make the product.
You hook up the computer, watch out for the workers, the money and the product.
The Duh Duh Man, Keisha, we need security...
...to ward off the rival crews, screen customers.
We also need lookouts...
...here, here and here.
Alert us of 5-0.
One place to make the product, one place to collect our money.
We will own this fucking city.
You's a genius, man. A pure, un...
Unadulterated. Would you please shut the fuck up before you have a seizure?
Hey, man, suck my dick.
It's a brilliant plan.
But one thing does concern me, though.
That curry-goat-eating, skinny-ass Fat Smitty.
He controls the Carter. Time to sing that fat bitch a lullaby.
Rock-a-bye baby.
He'll be hanging with Elvis.
Damn.
Crack.
Hey, dreadlocks. What did Bombock have to say? That bitch!
Let me speak with you.
Rastaman, I'm here to tell you Nino Brown says...
...your services are no longer needed in the community.
That's how you kill somebody. You get right up on the motherfucker and blam!
Blow his brains all over the sidewalk in broad daylight.
Rock-a-bye baby.
Brother, I think there's been a little misunderstanding.
Now look, you are going to give up those apartments, huh?
And you are going to turn over control of the Carter.
Because if you don't...
...this shotgun blows your big, fat head off...
...before you can get your clothes back on.
Is that clear?
Living
Living just enough
Living just for the city
Living living living just enough
And now we're living Living
Just enough
For the city
For the New Jack City
Do things do things do things Bad things with it
Almighty dollar
People don't let money
Don't let money change you
Don't let money change it
For the love of money People will steal from their brother
For the love of money People will rob their own mother
Money money
Just enough
For the city I live in
Living in a New
Jack
City
If you just say "no," what will you say "yes" to?
We say "yes" to education.
We say "yes" to dedication. We climb up...
...to a higher station of new spiritual motivation...
...to make a positive impact on our nation.
Sergeant, I'm talking to you.
I want to know how drug pushers can take over an entire apartment building...
...right under your nose.
If you lived in The Carter Apartments, there'd be cops all over the place.
Hey, don't walk away. Listen to me!
I fought for this country. We pay taxes and we're prisoners in our home.
I told the Commissioner you were running late.
- You got those files? - Right here.
Let's hope he buys it.
Peretti and Appleton. No way, Stone.
Who else you got?
- They're the ones I need. - You kidding me?
Nick Peretti almost killed his partner in a chase, Appleton's on suspension.
Probation.
Semantics, Stone.
These 2 are trouble.
You and I know the system wasn't ready for this epidemic.
Crack came on the scene and spread like wildfire.
But now I got the mayor and the governor on my back...
...and I need some results. Fast.
You get me Nino Brown.
Forget Peretti and Appleton. The risk is too high.
With all due respect, sir...
...you still don't get it.
You're not giving me what I need to win this war.
I need cops that know these streets.
I need new jack cops to take down a new jack gangster.
What you call a risk...
...I think is our only shot.
You got your men.
But I don't want any waves.
Not a goddamn ripple.
Who the hell is this psychedelic blotter-acid fool?
Be cool.
This is Detective Nick Peretti, a crazy motorcycle-freak, reject cop, like you.
A wild man no one else wanted.
He means I'm expendable.
Whatever, man. What did you come here for? To watch me exercise?
I came here to lay a name on you. Nino Brown?
His sidekick, "Gee Money" Wells?
Call themselves the Cash Money Brothers.
Used to stickup twobit jewelry stores.
Yeah, thrill-seekers, wanna-be gangsters. I hate them. So what's up?
What's up is this. We need some evidence.
Evidence of murder, drug trafficking...
...racketeering, tax evasion. Anything.
We've never been able to make anything stick on Brown.
No shit. 1/3 of the department's on Nino's payroll.
The other 2/3 don't care unless it affects their community.
What you saying?
Listen. I've been authorized to set up...
...an independent drug-fighting unit and I'm picking you.
- Why me? - What do you mean, why you?
You're from the neighborhood. I can trust you. And I know you give a shit.
So what's the catch?
There's no catch, man. Why you got to say that?
Because I know your ass, Stone.
Peretti goes with you.
This big biscuit-head looking...
Listen! It's not going to be another one of your wild-ass solo acts.
Peretti is the only cop I could find crazy enough to team up with you.
This is my shot.
And you fuck up, it's all on me.
I want to thank you because you know I want to get back in this war.
But this guy, man...
You in or out?
I'm in, all right?
What do you mean, Frazier won't give up the apartments?
I'm not asking him, I'm telling him! I'll handle that fat bastard myself!
- We're honored. - No, I'm honored. Really.
We understand you have a new Peruvian connection.
So what of it?
We know you've started to centralize operations at the Carter.
And you didn't notify Don Armeteo, who takes such things as an insult.
Your point?
My point is you fucking guys are cutting us out of our agreed upon 10%.
It's time we renegotiate.
I'll tell you what, message boy.
You go back and tell Don Armeteo:
No renegotiating. Fuck that.
The Cash Money Brothers are a self-contained unit now.
But you come see me next week.
And I'll hook you up with some of them collard green linguinis and shit.
Chicken Alfredo. Chitlins Alfredo.
Maybe get a better suit!
Fuck you.
Nino, I don't know.
Frankie's an all-right guy.
Fuck them scungili - eating motherfuckers.
This is our thing. They don't want to roll with it, we'll roll over them.
This moolanyan must have an MX missile instead of a cock, he gets so high.
Our snitch was right.
Nino and his Cash Money monkeys...
...are dealing with those spicaroos up on Broadway and 171 st.
They don't even deny it.
Nor does he accept our partnership no more.
Now, Gee Money, he was cool.
It was that testa dura, Nino.
You know what I say. You lay down with Peruvian dogs, you get Spanish fleas.
Soon Nino will itch.
We'll be there to scratch the hell out of him.
1700 hours.
Suspects hand out consumables and the natives are restless.
Yo, shut the fuck up, man.
Ten years as a low-life, murderous bum.
Nino's trying to purchase a conscience. I ain't buying this Robin Hood bullshit.
Oh shit, that's the kid I shot!
Why don't you lose weight? You look like a boiled yam wearing a belt!
What's up, baby? Glad to see somebody cares about the needy.
Why don't you give me a turkey?
Look at your funky black ass. First you want to be a stick-up kid.
But then you got shot. Now you's a basehead.
You're messed up. Your life is crap.
I know I look like stir-fried shit.
Hook me up with some food.
There's a line. You got to wait.
Give this man something to eat.
Hook me up.
This all I get?
You want more?
I'm a veteran.
Here. How's that, all right?
Clean yourself up, maybe I'll give you a job.
All right, man.
Want to buy a turkey?
I'm going to keep an eye on him.
You don't deserve that turkey. I hooked you up for that last get-high.
Why I got to be owing you?
I was prom queen of King High School.
This is beneath me.
You were the prom queen. Now you're the prom fiend.
Look at you.
Hey what?
Didn't I hook you up? Didn't I walk those 6 blocks...
...to get that pipe from that Iranian who tried to beat me out of $5?
Didn't I speak to your mother after the bitch called me a homeless bastard?
Add all that up...
...and the fact that I'm a man who can beat your ass, I say it's my turkey.
Get away! Get the fuck away!
Stop beating on her! Stop it!
Let go of me, man.
You chump! Beat her up over a turkey. You're a poor excuse for a brother.
Shit, man! Fuck! Shit! It's a cop! It's a cop!
Shut up!
Shut up or I'll blow your brains out.
Don't hurt me.
- Shut up! - I know I was wrong to beat that girl.
Crack has got me.
I got no control over it. I tried to kick...
...but the shit be calling me. It be calling me. I got to go to it.
- I need help, man. - Come on, man.
- We got a crack monster. - Your mother's a monster.
- Hold him. - What you writing?
"Pookie" Benny Robinson. Your name.
- I'm trying to help you. - You ain't helping nobody!
- It's for your own good. - Fuck you, man!
They'll hook you up.
I'm going to die!
They're going to help you. They'll help you.
I had pretty much everything I ever wanted.
Everything I thought I wanted.
I always had a need for acceptance.
All my friends were doing it.
Thought I could quit anytime.
That's when I woke up in the hospital.
It's a very simple program.
We only ask that you don't use or drink one day at a time.
Don't leave before the miracle happens.
This program has revolving doors.
But just because you go out, don't mean you can come back in.
It's crazy, because...
...I did everything. I whored. I ripped my family off.
I was so scandalous, I would even sell my baby's Pampers.
I have a crack baby.
He was born blind.
I know why he's blind. Everybody knows why he's blind.
I kept telling myself I was going to kick, but I never did.
I'm a junkie.
I'll be one the rest of my life.
It's the first time I've ever been away for so long...
...and personally, I hope I never see you motherfuckers again.
When I get out, I'll just take everything one day at a time.
One day at a time.
Chill out. You been out two minutes and already you want a job.
It's not just a job. You saved my life.
Let me pay you back. Let me help you bring Nino down.
He promised me a job. I'll take his money...
...and report to you.
I don't know.
You know what will happen if I stay on the streets.
I need to be a part of something. If you don't believe in me, who will?
Cool. You've been inside, checked out the operations.
All right, Pookie. Parks, come help me out.
Tell me what goes on in this dump.
It took me a while, but I've been through the whole joint.
First, at the entrance, you got to show a membership card to this runner.
It's like a video club.
Nino's got it hooked up like Mission: Impossible.
Walking through that courtyard's like a nightmare.
It's a nation full of zombies.
You're escorted to the 2nd floor where a worker rings a buzzer and a code.
A little panel on the wall opens up, you get the crack.
The code, the buzzer where that go?
The call goes to the "Drug Store" where they make the crack.
I heard they got everybody in there butt naked. Titties hanging...
Nino don't trust a motherfucker.
Nino's one sick genius.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste. What happens at the Drug Store?
After that, you can take your goodies home or stay at the Enterprise.
What's the Enterprise?
What am I, your ghetto tour guide?
They got all this equipment and you don't know shit.
When you're smoking crack, they say that you're "beaming up to Scotty."
You're going to another world.
Crack is the final frontier. That's why they call that room the Enterprise.
People sit down and light that glass dick and take a hit.
That's some scary shit. Their eyes look like a rocket ready to blast off.
Nino has most of the apartments?
Man, are you deaf, or what? The boy controls the whole place.
Nino Brown's a mad scientist.
What did Marvin say? "The boy that made slaves out of men"? That's Nino.
That's deep.
Happy New Year!
Welcome to the Spotlite with the Flavor Flav.
Everybody say "Happy...
...New Year!"
The fruit of our hard work.
The belief in the entrepreneurial spirit.
The new American Dream.
A toast.
A toast to my family, in life...
...until death.
Happy New Year.
To CMB. On and on.
- Am I my brother's keeper? - Yes, I am!
Am I my brother's keeper?
I am!
Look at it.
A big reason for this success is you.
But this ain't about success.
This is about survival.
We ain't going out like Puss Head, shot up over a $ 10 bag. You know?
You got to be smarter than that.
We got to look out for one another.
I feel the same way.
Nothing and no one will come between you and me.
Never.
Right?
I love you.
I love you too.
Let's go get busy.
Frank Needles out here.
Let him in.
My ace-boon-coon! How you doing?
Happy New Year. What's a matter...
...too rich to toast the New Year with an old friend now?
If it isn't the thinking man's Rocky. How are you doing?
Great. Love the hair.
The Don and I, we was thinking, let's let bygones be bygones, all right?
We congratulate you on your new success, and as a show of our good faith...
...a gift from the Don.
Open it.
To the moolanyan in charge.
All the best, babe.
You motherfucking creep! Think you'll get away with that?
I just did.
Step the fuck off, Gigantor.
Now get their silly, spaghetti-eating asses out of my office.
Frank, come on. Let's go. Let's get out of here!
It's total slamboyancy in the Spotlite tonight.
You're about to get rocked by some cool, mellow fellows from Brooklyn.
I'm talking about Aaron, Damien, Teddy, Slim, Guy.
Give it up.
Slim, give a little bit of bass.
This is the sound That get harder and get down
Everyone must know
We've been here before And we're going to give you more
It's time to let it show
Music is funky
Girls are so fly
So sweet and fine
Gee Money, come here, come here, come here.
That the skeezer you met at Frankie's strip joint?
Yeah, Uniqua.
What's up, brother? You fucking her correctly, or what?
Once, but I just met her. You know, I need time to get to know her.
I heard that.
Lord, have mercy.
You want to play rough?
Say hello to my little friend.
The world is mine.
And the brothers too, now. Don't forget us.
The world is yours, Nino.
Only you won't be as careless as Tony Montana, now will you?
You absolutely right.
I like this girl of yours.
He ain't got no papers or a leash on me.
You know what happens when dogs don't have a leash.
They run the streets and fuck everything in sight.
It's true. I ain't got no papers or no leash on her.
But nothing comes between us.
The world is mine!
All mine!
What the fuck are you doing up there?
A man like you, Nino, needs to leave a legacy.
A son. A mark to let the world know that he was here.
You know, you absolutely right.
Shit. It ain't like I ain't been trying. Ain't that right?
She can't have kids.
She can't fuck, either.
Maybe that's why she can't have no kids.
That ain't right, man. That ain't right.
- She can't? - She can't.
Too bad.
You're goddamn right that's too bad.
Nino, you need to go get your girl.
You're right. I tell you what.
If I was you, I'd be looking for the pimples on her booty.
Why the fuck did you have to say that shit?
I told you before she couldn't make no babies!
I love you!
And now you're taking me for granted. How can you do that?
This is corny! This is soap-opera shit!
- You act like I owe you something. - You do.
I don't owe you jack.
Okay, you did give me a couple of books to read.
And helped me build the brothers. But I was your ticket out of a boring life...
...when your rich doctor daddy was making house calls at Harlem General.
What's up with that? Right?
When your kleptomaniac mother was housing shit in Bloomingdales.
Don't throw no shit in my face...
You ever touch me again, I'll...
Yeah, I'm aware of that situation.
Stone, your man hired an ex-dealer.
I know it seems a little unconventional. Appleton and Peretti report to me.
- Is it out of control? - Don't worry.
Don't blow this.
- Does the Commissioner know about this? - No, not yet.
Good.
I told you about that new-jack-cop shit.
I give you a chance and you hire a notorious crackhead. What's with you?
Why don't you get off my dick?
When you're ready to put your sideline ass on the frontline, let me know.
Excuse me. Is this some kind of black thing?
Yes, it is, so keep your toy Mafia butt out of it!
Fuck the Mafia! I'm going to wax your high-yellow, narrow-ass butt!
Cool it!
Relax, all right?
If you won't handle this, why don't you send the white boy...
...inside the Carter with the National Guard?
What we need is a videotape of this whole operation.
We need evidence of the financial records to make it work.
I work there. I'm the lookout from 7 p.m. To 7 a.m...
...in one of the apartment windows.
I had to fill out an application. They asked if I still got high.
They remember me from before.
Because I was one of their first loyal customers. I used to get fucked up.
Cracker barrel, cracker ass.
I got it, I got it.
This belt is really a video camera.
These wire transmitters will be taped to you for sound.
It'll send your communication to us, as well as sounds and images around you.
It will also pick up shit you can't even hear.
You'll be great. You're the best man for this job.
You're a fucking genius.
Your mother.
Pookie, we're counting on you.
You can help us bring down CMB.
Try this on.
You with it?
I'm with it, man.
Let's roll with it.
Put it on.
Pookie, come here, man. Come here.
You know, I told Gee Money how good you been.
How you've been bringing in lots of customers.
And you're just a lookout.
Anything that makes them more money they like.
This might be it.
We're promoting you.
Check it out.
Soon. Let's get going with it.
Jackpot! System!
He's inside! Yes!
This kid's been bringing us a lot of business.
I'd like to take a shot at one of those computer terminals.
- Can you program PASCAL? - Can a white man dance?
I guess not. But people change, they lose interest.
Today's your lucky day, homeboy. I'm promoting your ass.
You still on the pipe?
No way.
Good. Real good.
Because you'll be working in the Drug Store.
I'm glad you got confidence in me.
See you.
- Keep an eye on that kid. - Why? What's wrong?
He's light-fingered. Keep an eye on the product.
I don't think Pookie's ready to be in a room full of crack.
I'm ready. Don't I look ready now? I was born ready.
Ready to die.
Stay out of this.
He's already on the inside. With a little more time...
...we'll have enough information to put Nino away for good.
In my opinion, we get him out...
If I want your opinion, I'll give it.
I'm against it.
- But it's your call. - And your funeral.
We told them, man.
Ready? Shit.
You better be ready, because you owe a lot of people.
You owe me. You owe yourself.
You owe the whole community.
You even owe my mother. Yeah, that's right.
A junkie just like you killed my mother in 1974.
Didn't take money or jewelry.
Just took her life.
I don't know what you got left in your so-called rehabilitated body.
But you better find something because you owe a lot of people.
A lot of people. You owe, Pook.
You got skim milk in them titties?
One and a-two and a-three and a-four...
I'll give you something to look at.
Superfly, there's something wrong with your boy.
What's happening with Pookie?
I have no idea.
You should, he's your plant.
Cool out. You're jumping the gun.
But something's wrong with your guy.
"Four score and seven years..."
- Is that a secret code for help? - No, it's a black thing.
I'm tired of your stuff. I'm tired of this dude.
What's wrong, fool?
Just doing a workout. This is a tough job. Got to stay in shape.
A workout like this boosts worker morale.
You think I'm stupid.
You're a high motherfucker.
You 5-0?
- Shit! His cover's blown! - Let's go!
Are you 5-0?!
Take him outside...
... and kill him! And blow the building!
Help me! I'm going to die!
Let's go!