Silver Poles

***Silver Poles*** was a "weekly soap opera" by Lupe Fiasco, posted to his Instagram. There was a total of three episodes, ultimately being canceled as Fiasco explained, "Weren't hitting our weekly ratings numbers 😢". It centers on a stripper club, Funhouse, narrated by an unknown female protagonist who looks for a certain man in the audience. It ends on a cliffhanger, with somebody firing a gun.

## List of episodes

 2
 3

## Episode 1: Money Time

She's gotten used to the smell.

When she first started dancing for Funhouse, she hated the mix of expensive perfume and expensive marijuana that is always strongly present, even far back in the kitchen. That's why she started wearing wigs because she hated the weed smoke getting absorbed into her real hair which meant she had to wash it thoroughly every morning after work.

Funhouse has a "smoker friendly" policy. Most of the customers vape instead of smoking cigarettes but weed is still overwhelmingly the drug of choice. It caught her off-guard at first, especially seeing how all of the security are off-duty Memphis police officers.

*It's funny how the rules out there don't always apply in here*, she always thought. That was one of the many things she learned not only about the world but also about people in general in her relatively short career as an exotic dancer. Things ain't always what they seem to be around the silver pole. She hears DJ Bank Boy call her name on the mic and knows she's up next after Toy finishes this song. She downs a shot of straight Remy Martin then gets up and walks toward the door of the locker room.

Madam J smirks and sucks her teeth loudly at her as she walks past her toward the door. Red playfully slaps her on the butt and does her signature call and response rap routine to the room full of sinfully exposed women, "It's 2 A.M. in this hoe... bad bitches on the grind, throw a band up in da err, 2 A.M. that's my money time!..."

She smiles at Red as she leaves the locker room and makes her way to the stage. It's Saturday, so he should be out there tonight... She hopes...

## Episode 2: A Dollar for Your Thoughts

DJ Bank Boy asks the mixed crowd of well-to-do dope boys, casually dressed, slick haired finance types with the subtle but absurdly expensive wrist watches and the very attentive and very curious but reserved femme fatales who are peppered around the packed club to give it up for Toy. The response is disorganized but appreciative.

Toy scuttles pass her, clutching a mass of currency in various denominations and disappears into the locker room. DJ Bank Boy then alerts the crowd to get ready for "the one and only"... He drops the sultry southern down tempo beat with the obscene lyrics that she likes to dance to, and she sensually struts her way out onto the runway.

She teases and taunts fluidly and sensually but traditionally. She then turns around and reaches out to grab the silver pole in the center of the stage. It's always a rush when she first touches it. More like an intense wave that washes through her entire body. She gets a strong metallic taste in her mouth and it's like her conscious mind gets pulled and stretched away from her body.

She methodically searches the room looking for his thoughts. She finds them and tries to focus in on them through the noise and chaos of all the other thoughts in the room. His are always different, that's why they standout. Never sexual. Always dark... And she's always dying in them!...

## Episode 3: Fun & Money

She passes Red coldly on her way back to the locker room. What she saw tonight really did a number on her mind. She didn't even pick up the piles of cash that littered the stage. Soon as her obligatory two songs were finished, she just walked off stage in kind of a focused daze.

Red had a concerned look on her face and wanted to reach out to her to figure out what had happened but in that moment her first song dropped, and she quickly trots in her red high heels to the stage to start her performance. Red loves being on stage. She loves the attention more than the money. Red is a crowd favorite. Playful and with a body that is truly out of this world. She really knows how to get the crowd going and regularly sends the club into a money throwing frenzy. Looks like tonight will be no different. It's no wonder why she needs to have personal bodyguard wherever she goes. She's a real star. Much bigger than Funhouse. Much bigger than Memphis to be honest. Once she gets the right opportunity, she's gonna be huge. Everybody knows it, especially Red.

In the middle of her dance, Red yells to DJ Bank Boy to play that new song from The Weekday that just came out. DJ Bank Boy gives her a thumbs-up and quickly back spins the bouncy trap joint and drops in the new record. It's only been out for a couple days but as soon as the bass hits, the crowd goes crazy and of course the money begins to fly.

Red grabs a bottle of champagne from one of the tables close to the stage that's surrounded by local pro football players. She takes it straight to the head with one hand while she spins around the pole with the other. She stops and gestures up to DJ Bank Boy as if to toast him and he gestures back in kind with his own bottle. The fun has only just begun, and Funhouse is starting to turn all the way up... Then gun shots ring out...

## References

1. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@lupefiasco)". *Instagram*. November 23, 2015.