In case you missed it, the FBI released a report labeling âblack identity extremistsâ a rising threat to Americaâs law enforcement. Although the black republic is unclear of what the threat is, Tales was right on time with this weekâs episode.
In â99 Problemsâ, the sixth installment of Tales first season, we see Lifetime movie Surviving Comptonâs Rhyon Nicole Brown, lead on BETâs The Quad, Peyton Alex Smith, and seasoned actor Charles Malik Whitfield in their attempt to take down a racist mayor. Forming a new conception of Jay-Zâs controversial hit about being a black man in America and the somewhat banned music video from 2004, Executive Producer Irv Gotti and Director Tasha Smith (When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story) had a lot to live up to.
Letâs jump right into it.
âIf you having girl problems I feel bad for you son, I got 99 problems and a b*tch ainât one.”
Young lovers Germaine and Miles are the leaders of their campus Black Lives Matter group when Mayor Christopher Crest announces during a press conference that the city council has passed an ordinance declaring âall participants, and supporters of the so-called BLM domestic terrorists.â
Germaine and Miles put the pressure on their members to not be scared as SWAT picks up all the black people on campus. One of their members helps them escape arrest by sending them out the back door. A contact at Black Lives Matter National instructs the young couple to go underground into a safe house operated by a man named Blu. Germaine agrees to go underground only if Miles joins her.
âI don’t know what you take me as or understand the intelligence that Jay-Z has, I’m from rags to riches, niggas I ain’t dumb.â
Once arriving at the safe house, itâs breaking news that the hunt is on in the city for the couple. The news picks at their background, accusing Miles of an unconfirmed sexual assault charge and likening Germaine to her imprisoned father who was an activist as well.
BLM National sends down the message that they need to leave the safe house and meet with a courier in a public park. When meeting the courier, they are directed to âhide in plain sightâ for now and reminded that âthey know what they got themselves intoâ. The courier leaves, but not before handing them âThe Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglassâ and mentioning that everything they need to know moving forward is on every page of the book. They rummage through the book looking for notes, but only see the bookâs text and mostly dismiss it. Ultimately, the memoir is a clear directive on how to abolish a system and in Douglassâ time the system was slavery.
âI tried to ignore ’em, talk to the Lord, pray for ’em, cause some fools just love to perform.â
Germaine and Miles get all the cash they have and move to a motel after almost being caught by police when walking the streets. At the motel, a video surfaces on the dark web with the mayor calling his black staff âniggersâ while around his peers. Feeling that they have their target right where they want him, their BLM National contact Rashida gives them access to the source of the video and they meet him in the park late at night.
The source, named Bennett, used to work for the mayor and says he will gather emails that expose the mayorâs racist behavior for them to retrieve at the same place in the park tomorrow. In the meantime, he tells them to attend the Mayorâs private dinner that evening and get video of his behavior with donors on the scene.
Rashida sets them up with server outfits and cameras so they can tag the room before it opens up to guests. With the cameras on site and social media on fire, the racist dinner attendees are exposed. Germaine and Miles are caught for a moment and beat by security before the black kitchen staff steps in to help them get away and back to the motel.
âTrying to play the boy like he’s saccharine, but ain’t nothing sweet ’bout how I hold my gunâ
Germaine and Miles cleanup at the hotel before heading out to meet Bennett at the park for round 2 of exposing the mayor. Germaine spots his dead body first before they both take off running back to the motel. Blu and the courier surprise the two when they come out from the back of the motel room and reveal that Bennett sent all the emails out to CNN and the DOJ before being murdered. The on-the-run lovers are relieved and look forward to returning to the outside world although they now have a firm understanding that they will never be free.
The episode concludes with the couple returning to campus and continuing to protest âNo Justice, No Peaceâ. Mayor Crest is arrested for money laundering.
Because the beat for â99 Problemsâ is so reminiscent and telling, they were able to use it powerfully throughout the episode without overdoing it. It was great casting and Tasha Smith did an amazing job directing. This was her second time acting as a director.
The last episode of the season we will see Tales take on The Roots âYou Got Meâ. This rap classic already has a stellar story in its music video, so I hope they keep up the good work theyâve been giving us in the second half of its debut season.
Tales airs Tuesdays on BET.Â
