Maalik Howard lives and writes in Virginia. This is his first poem to publish at vox poetica. 

Jay-Z Negotiating Tidal Deal, 2017
Inspired by the style of David Wohjan
By Maalik Howard

The man from Marcy Projects in Brooklyn,
Once avid dope dealer who staged 8 golden ropes around his neck,
Complementarily heavier, if not as heavy, his wrist and finger assortments,
Walks into the Tidal building confidently plush,
A black Tom Ford suit, heavenly white dress shirt, black tie,
And as for ostentatious jewelry assortments?
A single banded wedding ring will suffice.

An older white man with similar taste greets him and they begin to discourse.
Sean, this is a golden, this can be a prelude to an even bigger deal
The office spoke of crisp upscale modernism,
Definitive sleek furniture shapes, an OCD cleanliness.
It overlooked Manhattan from what seemed to be as many stories as the deal was worth

The white man interjects—
Sprint is asking for 33% equity for $200 million dollars
He looks the white man glaringly in the eyes as if attempting to find a false sense of judgment,
Then followed small waves of head nods
Then bigger ones,
Then the distinctive laugh of exhilarated approval.
Not bad for a kid from Brooklyn