Everyone is familiar with the instant beat drop on the classic hip hop cut “You Got Me” by the Roots featuring Erykah Badu. Erykah Badu’s vocal intro the deep lyrics of Roots’ lead, Black Thought, and the rest is history as you nod your head. BET’s attempt to tackle it served us a very steamy episode.

Directed by Director Erica Watson (Roubado), it was a definite spin on the song that many tout to be a ride-or-die, #relationshipgoals hood anthem.

Let’s dive into it.

 

“Telling me the things I’m telling her is making her hot”

Angie is a beautiful, disciplined, and talented dancer in the CIty of Atlanta with a new studio looking for some funding. She is best friends with fellow dancer Trina and they are tasked with choreographing a show that will keep the studio open.

Angie’s daily routine consist of a fruit and yogurt breakfast, green smoothie, early to practice, and alone to bed. Trina notices this and recommend what any friend would…some vitamin D.

Angie immediately dismisses her comment, but is excited to find out from Trina that she will be featured with her studio dancers on the cover of a dance magazine.

Enter Marcus, an extremely tall glass of chocolate milk, that is the photographer for the photo shoot. He instantly rubs Angie the wrong way – snapping pictures without notice and playing little tricks on her. You can only imagine it’s part of the game, as he returns at a later date to ask her out on a walk.

That walk turns into a late night visit from Marcus to Angie’s home. He brings her art to put in her studio and allows her to play with his camera. While standing behind her and giving physical direction on how to ‘point and shoot’, Marcus requests she let him take her clothes off and the sexual shenanigans that Trina has been wishing on Angie begin.

This escapade is the beginning of several intimate experiences they have together that leave Angie operating out of routine and wanting him so much more.

 

“She said she know this ball player and he think I’m pretty – psych, I’m playin’ boo.”

Trina doesn’t know about Marcus and Angie just yet. She ends up trying to help her best friend play the field by setting her up on a blind date with a close friend. Trina and her husband make it a double date and attend the blind date with her as a sign of good faith in the guy. The guy is very interesting, well put together, good job, etc. There is always a but. He just doesn’t do it for her ike Marcus, so she bails early to meet Marcus for more fun.

While in the bathtub together after another night of making love, Angie stupidly tells Marcus about the date she was on prior to their meeting up. As suspected from a jealous, sex-crazed man, he hops out of the tubs angrily and tells Angie that he should be the only one she is seeing.

Angie reassures him that he is the only one and that she was just having dinner with friends. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

“I’ve seen people caught in love like whirlwinds.”

During practice the next day, Trina hounds Angie for being a bad friend and running out on the date. Angie now tells Trina that she is spending time with Marcus, the photographer from the shoot.

Hell, Trina agrees that Marcus is a very attractive man and Angie reinforces that when she mentions how good the sex is. Trina is happy she is getting some, but reminds her of the task at hand. They have a show coming up that could change the status of the studio.

As we continue on, Marcus and Angie are in a mess of sex. Marcus is very controlling about their time together and during sex, he tattoos her body with marks of his ‘love’, and they are caught being intimate in public alleys. It’s so far from Angie’s typical behavior but she is going with the flow until…

 

“If you were worried bout where, I been or who I saw or…”

While Marcus is in the shower, Angie plays with his camera and take pictures of herself. When reviewing her photos, she sees hundreds of photos of other women in the camera and this disgusts her. She now feels played. She steals the camera’s memory card, runs to Trina, and they devise a plan to confront him about what is going on.

During the confrontation, Marcus tells Angie their time together was nothing more a whole bunch of orgasms. Nothing. More. Than. Sex. Angie is heartbroken.

I could share the episode’s conclusion, but I’d love for you to see how they give “You Got Me” a different ending than most would expect that is still fitting for the story Erykah, Black Thought and Eve  told back in 1999.

This is the last episode of Tales for the season and it’s been a learning experience for everyone involved – production and the viewers. I trust that this show will be worth the watch for Season 2 because their growth over the Summer shows they are listening to the audience.