Memphis (2016) - full transcript
A cop who is an aspiring MMA fighter, a car salesman, a recovering addict, and a rap artist. Each have a complex relationship with money and a plan to survive and thrive in Memphis.
Memphis.
It s a rough place where
the slow economic rebound
still hasn't happened,
and it's a sure bet
for the top 5 list of most
dangerous cities in the States.
These four people have adapted a
complex relationship with money
just to survive there.
I wouldn't have
stopped using heroin
if I hadn't been
arrested, at all.
I would have kept
going until I died.
When I left prison,
I didn't have money,
but I had my time
back, so I was rich.
Working full time and busting
my butt as a police officer,
and busting my butt
in training, you know,
all that stuff's gonna pay
off eventually in the future.
Ah, nice!
24-5 in one day. One day.
Not two days, one day.
One city, four people,
and where they live is a
key part of who they are.
* I found a place
to sell my name *
* Along the markets promenade
* High prices
* Going down
* Oh the rice is burning brown
* And high prices going down
*
It's home base for FedEx
and Oscar-winning
rap group Three 6 Mafia.
But despite its musical rap,
Memphis struggles with crime
and poverty more than
most cities in the South.
The biggest building
downtown isn't a Wal-Mart,
it's a jail,
overseeing 2,600 inmates.
But Memphis is also the second
most affordable city in the US.
Housing costs are 20%
below the national average,
making it an easy
place for millenials
to gain a financial edge.
Tito Porter is one of them.
He rents his large four
bedroom split level house
in the suburbs.
My name's Tito Porter.
I'm 29.
I have five kids.
My oldest is 8, and
my youngest is 7 weeks.
We live in a house in
Memphis, Tennessee.
Good ol' small country town.
My three jobs are car
salesman, tax preparation,
and a barber.
I'm fixing up a car
I already sold,
and the client is just
waiting on me to deliver.
So I gotta get it out
before they get too anxious
and buy another car
from somebody else.
So if I can't get this
car finished in time,
then I lose about 3,400.
I try to make 2,500 a week
at least, you know.
My bills, you know, they equal
three or four grand per month,
so I like to have a surplus.
If you don't have a
surplus, you can't invest,
you can't make more money.
If you just make it,
that's what you'll do
for the rest of your
life, just make it.
*
I grew up in South Memphis.
It's probably the
bottom as far as poverty,
housing conditions,
the schools available,
the neighbourhoods, you know.
It's pretty run down.
And it's kind of hard,
just to be frank.
It's a hard neighbourhood
to grow up in.
It's like one of the worst.
A lot of businesses, they
don't open in South Memphis.
Tito was looking at a jail
sentence of up to 196 years
for a string of
crimes, mostly theft.
Consecutive sentencing
meant he could serve time
for every conviction.
I was arrested for
aggravated robbery,
and also crimes
that I didn't commit.
And upon each conviction, the
sentencing guideline rises,
and I had like 12, so
196 years was within scope.
When they tell you,
it's mind-blowing.
You don't know whether to cry,
you don't know whether to
commit suicide, it's just...
it's just hard to grasp.
It seems like a dream.
The judge allowed Tito to serve
his 12 sentences at the same
time, and he got out after
4 years for good behaviour.
When I left prison, I didn't
have money, but time is money.
And I had my time back,
so I was rich.
* Hey world, what's poppin'
* I go by the name
of Blac Youngsta *
Blac Youngsta is
from South Memphis,
one of the poorest
areas in America,
with an average
income in the bottom 10%.
Rapping got him out of there,
and he doesn't wanna move back.
I rap about the
struggle, the pain.
Like the shit I
talk about, real life.
I don't worry about no Hollywood
shit 'cause I ain't Hollywood.
*
I've been in the industry
probably like six months,
since I been signed to CMG,
Collective Music Group,
Cocaine Muzik Group,
whatever you want to call it.
*
24-5, one day.
One day.
Not two days, one day.
We just got started.
I ain't even through
with the week yet.
When I'm through with the week,
I'm probably like
100,000 or something.
Wanna see me make some money?
I'm gonna show you
how to make some money.
I'll show you.
- Payday.
- Payday.
What's up, bro?
What's up?
It's the king himself, man.
Yeah, what's up?
Yo Gotti is the CEO of CMG,
and my relation to
him, I'm his artist.
I look at him like a big
brother, he's my mentor.
Rap mogul and
Memphis native Yo Gotti
discovered Blac Youngsta rapping
in the streets of his hometown.
I was shooting a video in the
hood and he was out there
on the corner rapping, dancing,
doing these things with no beat,
just a cappella.
And then like the kids
and everybody walking by,
people around, they was
rapping the song with him.
So I noticed that like
whatever this is he's rapping,
they knew it.
And one thing led to
another, you know.
I just told him like
if you with it, man,
we can go try to
get some money together.
This the new rim?
These the new rims
you put on them?
They're Forges.
With Yo Gotti's help,
he produced a mixtape
and started playing shows.
The money poured in.
His fan base grew to
over 300,000 followers.
Yo Gotti bought
me a Lamborghini.
You know, he bought it because
I made him a lot of money,
we made a lot of money together.
I'm pushing hard.
What we gonna do about the tape?
Youngsta wants to keep his
fans happy and make money.
The only way to do that
is to make more music.
I'm working on a
mixtape right now,
it's called Young & Reckless.
This is my second once
since I've been signed to CMG,
so it mean a lot to me
to just see my fans
and see how they
gonna react to the music.
I love people's opinion.
Right now, my career,
honest to God truth,
I haven't got started yet.
We just really playing around.
I ain't even got a record.
I ain't got a single,
I ain't got shit.
I'm just playing around,
getting money.
Blac Youngsta has
fought to get where he is.
hat's the story other people
n Memphis can relate to.
Ah, I messed it up.
That's okay, that's alright.
I grew up in Memphis.
I dropped out of school
and I was doing drugs,
snorting cocaine.
I was on a horrible,
horrible path.
Martial arts definitely
saved my life.
Good! There you go!
Right on that cheek.
Good, good good good.
My name is AmberLynn Orr,
and I'm 23 years old.
I work full time as
a police officer,
and I work pretty much
full time as an MMA fighter.
I've been a police
officer for about 3 years.
The typical day for me
is 12 hour shifts,
which is pretty long.
I make 18.55 an hour, which
is... you know, it's not bad,
but you know, having a house,
and of course bills, and
fighting full time and training,
it gets kind of strenuous.
I definitely think police
officers are underpaid,
and it is a selfless job,
and it's a thankless job.
Driver, pull over to your right.
Driver, pull your
vehicle over to the right.
I'm seeing the worst of people.
I'm seeing people
when they're angry,
I'm seeing people
when they're mad.
A lot of people don't
like police officers.
I'll be on 301 just north
of just north of Nell Road.
There's a lot of media scrutiny,
and I don't think cops
are respected anywhere.
You know, every time
you turn on the news,
it's an officer shooting,
or officer did this,
or officer did that.
So there's nothing,
anything positive.
And it just makes this
job so much tougher.
What can I help y'all do?
What can I help y'all with?
14 Information, the
fire's picking up pretty fast.
At the end of the day,
it's hard to just
take this uniform off
and let it be over with.
But it's something
you learn to cope with
and start fresh the next day.
*
Memphis, other side of the
tracks is where you can walk
from the have to the have-nots.
You can walk from 3-storey
buildings to a duplex
that is boarded up one side
and open on the other.
Teenage heroin use in Memphis
is double the national average.
20-year-old Nathan Wilson
just got out of jail
for heroin possession.
He's trying to get
his money straight
the first time in his life.
I'm from Memphis, Tennessee.
I lived in the
Highland Heights part,
but I hung out in Nutbush a lot.
Nutbush is a notorious
white ghetto.
At least half the people
in the penal farm,
in the legal system that
are white, come from Nutbush.
And it's... scrub life,
is what we call it.
Nathan met his friends in a
rehab program called Drug Court.
Energy Drink Day.
Sounds like a great idea
on paper, great idea.
How many did you have?
At least six.
That's too much.
I'm in a program
called Drug Court,
where I have to take up to
21 piss tests a week.
We sign a waiver that says
it's a six month program
at the halfway house, but
it's really after 90 days.
Then we're eligible to move out,
and that will be coming up
in about a week.
I have to have everything
in order at the old house,
as far as rent.
I have to be a certain amount
into my 12-step program
until I'm eligible to move out.
Nathan, Garret and Flynn
all want to make money,
but random drug tests,
court dates, and AA meetings
make it hard to keep a job.
A criminal record is one thing,
but a criminal record with all
the stipulations and all the
time constraints that you've got
in this program, getting a job,
paying rent on a house
of your own, it's just--
it's not gonna happen.
We are in Lafayette Circle.
This is a house that I'm
hopefully gonna be moving in,
if the courts
deem that I'm ready.
Where's the flame come out of?
There ain't no flames,
it's electric.
It's electric.
So if a power
outage came, we screwed.
Cold, cold raviolis.
Cold raviolis.
This'll be the first house
that I could say is my own,
so it's a major accomplishment.
So you've got space
underneath your bed.
This bed looks really
comfortable, but it's not.
I'm so proud of you.
Nathan and his friends realize
that with their low paying jobs,
they'll cover rent with just
a few extra bucks to spare.
At minimum wage,
40 hours a week,
after taxes it would come
out to about 280 bucks.
You got $110 a week for your
rent, that's down to 170.
Then you got court costs,
which is $100 a month,
25 off that, so 145, let's say.
$5 a day for a pack of
cigarettes, 35 out of that.
So you got about
100 bucks to eat,
do anything you want to
do, and transportation,
'cause we have to be here,
we have to be there.
But on the flip side of that...
I had a drug habit, which
was way more than $20 a day.
So like when you're sober,
you're not necessarily
willing to do the things
that you were willing to do
to get high to get an
Egg McMuffin, you know.
I'm not gonna rob Flynn's
grandma for an Egg McMuffin.
I'm just not gonna do it.
There are 170
documented gangs in Memphis.
80% of the crimes committed
in Tennessee are drug related.
There's one cop for
every 300 people in Memphis,
5th highest police-to-citizen
ratio in the States.
AmberLynn is a cop, but
what she really wants to do
is be an MMA champion.
With 9 out of 10 wins
in her amateur career,
she's got a good chance.
I'm training
for my upcoming fight.
It's gonna be my
professional debut.
Starting off, you know, the pay
is definitely not that great,
but just getting the exposure
of being with Invicta
and having a professional
debut in Las Vegas is huge.
Amberlynn knows that she can
make 30,000 a year as a cop,
but her dream is to make
60,000 a night in the cage.
Let's go!
Training is definitely
gruelling and painful.
You know, your body, it just
gets broken down over time.
You know, there's
plenty of nights in here
where I sit on the floor after
practice for 5 or 10 minutes
'cause I literally
cannot get up.
Since I've become
an MMA fighter,
I've had my nose broken,
I've had lower back injuries.
I definitely need
surgery on both my knees,
but I don't have the
money to pay for that.
There you go.
'Cause I pulled a bit more.
Oh, okay.
I wish I could train
full time, but that's...
the biggest thing is
the financial pressure.
I'm not able to do that, which
in turn I think my skills lack
as a professional fighter.
Good, yes!
A lot of these other girls,
they don't have full-time jobs.
That's all they have to do.
How they do it, I'm not sure.
But right now, I'm just looking
to get my name out there
where I can make enough money
and dedicate 100% of my time
to MMA and training.
Blac Youngsta's going
to see his grandmother
in the house where
he was raised.
I had to take care of my
little brothers and shit,
like I had to be a man
at the early age.
I had to, 'cause I was a
hustler and I was selling dope.
My grandma used to go to sleep
late at night and shit.
It'd be 2:00, 3:00
in the morning.
I used to crack her window open,
and I used to be serving
motherfuckers out the window.
And I want my kids to
have a different future.
And I know I can change it,
you feel what I'm saying?
Hey, man!
Yeah, man, CMG!
CMG shit, man!
Young rich niggas
ahead of the shit, man!
CMG shit, know what
I'm talking about?
Yeah, man!
For real, Jack!
Hey, man!
You see that?
They love me, man.
My city love me, man.
Gotta keep that heat.
Grandma house right here.
People are allowed to
open-carry weapons in Memphis,
and in this South Memphis
neighbourhood, you have
a 1 in 15 chance of becoming
a victim of violent crime.
Because of that,
Youngsta brings his crew
to protect him and his money.
Watch everything.
Anything come through looks
suspicious, we bust 'em.
Ain't no talking or nothing.
Hey now.
How y'all doing?
Hey, Grandma.
Anything look
suspicious, shoot it.
Don't hesitate, shoot.
We at the queen
house, Queen Louise.
Queen of McMillan house.
Queen of McKillin'.
I'm gonna get you a queen bed.
You slept in a twin bed
all your life.
New bed, new house,
new everything.
I want that big-ass bed now,
I'll tell you what.
lmost a third of the people
in Memphis live below
the poverty line, including
Blac Youngsta's grandmother.
But not anymore.
He just bought her
she raised him in.
I love the neighbourhood.
I know everybody
in the neighbourhood,
and everybody know me.
Now I won't have to move.
Won't have nobody to tell
me nothing to do no more.
I got something belongs
to me and I'm proud of it.
One bedroom, one
bathroom, and one living room.
It was me, my three
little brothers,
and my grandma
and my granddaddy.
My Aunt Janice, she
got like seven kids.
So like half of the time
they was in here with us.
So we were like 15 deep
in this motherfucker.
We used to sit here, and
we used to have prayer.
Like our prayer was like,
"Thank you Lord for this food,
I hope I get some more."
I've been eating
leftovers all my life.
That's why I don't eat
leftovers no more, to this day.
I want a fresh plate.
No leftovers, no
warm up, none of that.
*
* Grew up in a
one bedroom house *
* I swear to God
* I ain't had no bed,
had to sleep on the couch *
Youngsta's manager, Brandon,
shows up with an advance
of 10,000, all in cash,
for an upcoming gig.
That's cheesy.
Yeah, man.
Oof.
Tennessee has the top
self-employed workforce
in the South, with over
36,000 people in Memphis
running their own businesses.
Tito juggles three of them.
D&P Taxes is a
tax preparation company.
We deal with small
tax, personal tax,
and business taxes as well.
We opened about 12 days ago, and
business has been phenomenal.
We didn't even expect it.
And so far, we've made $35,000.
From this batch
today, 15 clients.
That'll be at least
6,000 or 7,000 today.
TP!
My name is Shameka Porter,
and I'm his wife.
I'm an income tax preparer.
I'm comfortable
with both us working.
It's a hassle sometimes,
it's kind of hard,
but we can get the job done.
We're a team.
In an area where 96,000 people
use no financial institutions,
Memphis contains more tax
preparation and loan shops
than bank branches.
Tito's tax business offers
quick returns for people
who are likely to get refunds.
Some of them will take that
cheque and buy a used car.
Hello?
It depends on
what's your price range.
I got a few vehicles right now,
and I'll check the inventory,
I'll see what we got,
and I can...
I can give you a
call back tomorrow.
I saw a common link that
I could use to my advantage,
and it's cars and taxes.
I got a reputation for
having good vehicles.
When I got into the tax thing,
it was like they both coincide.
So they can come in walking
and they can leave away driving.
You know, it's a
win-win situation.
They win, and I win.
s, with an incarceration rate
double that of
the national average.
any time, there could be
er 4,500 people behind bars.
At one point,
Nathan was one of them.
I was raised by
my mom for most of my life.
That's the
frosted look, you know.
I had grandpa's suit on,
you know, was balling.
I think I'm gonna
marinate the steaks.
I'm gonna put them in
the foil, and yeah,
put 'em straight in
there, in the fire.
My mom's an alcoholic, my dad
was an alcoholic and addict.
So they have a saying
in recovery that
two sickies don't make a welly.
Well... you know what
I'm saying, here I am.
But the grill marks
really makes it taste better?
It does.
You eat with your eyes before
you eat with your mouth, Mom.
I've heard that before.
It's not just a
saying, it's facts.
You ever had a omelet
that had all those
different coloured
peppers in it?
Yeah.
Do you think the peppers
really taste different?
No, it's the mixture of it.
When I found out that
Nathan had been arrested,
I was happy.
Because he had consequences,
therefore I was hoping this
would make a change for him.
His mom found him dead on
his porch two years earlier.
EMS brought him back to life.
I wouldn't have
stopped using heroin
if I hadn't been arrested.
Heroin was... was God.
I would have kept going until
I died, and died some more.
Nathan's mom refused
to pay his bail bond,
so he ended up in jail
with a year's sentence.
I just think
people don't change.
If they keep on
getting by with anything,
they're not gonna... why change?
He's got the drive that it
doesn't matter what it is,
he could do that.
* Hungry like the wolf
Memphis has
always been a big part
of southern hip hop.
Rappers from Memphis
love to rep their city.
Most working musicians here
earn less than $15,000 a year.
Only a very few will
ever break six figures,
and Youngsta's one of them.
He hopes his new mixtape
will allow him to command
up to $30,000 per show.
One more time.
Let me hear from
the top of my verse.
This mixtape right here mean
a lot to me 'cause it's turnt.
Every song, like boom, boom,
boom, like that popping.
You know how it is,
it's just like that.
I'm already hot.
I'm already booked up.
Me dropping this mixtape is
gonna just make it even worse.
Put out 14 songs, and if one
catch, we got the bag, we gone.
Like you make more money
when you got a hot single.
I asked them if this
feels like an intro.
You say it is or it ain't?
I feel like it ain't,
it ain't hard enough.
That's 'cause you
ain't make it hard.
Brandon is my manager.
He important to me
'cause he's like...
like he go get the money.
Brandon knows it's dangerous for
Youngsta to carry so much cash.
Just weeks before, Youngsta
was detained by Atlanta police
for carrying 70,000.
Youngsta, all he
talks about is money.
All he shows is money.
I mean, he made it that way
because he's never had it
the way he has it now.
These my babies right here.
Shit right here
mean a whole lot.
I spent 12,000 apiece for these.
12,000, 12,000, that's 24,000,
just the charm by itself.
My watch, this cost 45,000.
When you're a young,
black African American,
you gotta have this.
Like we're I'm from in the hood.
you hood rich with a hundred.
So like... I got way
more than a hundred.
It's part of a
young black man's life.
I used to ask him like,
"Bro, put the money in the bank.
It's getting overwhelming.
You can't even put
the money in your pocket."
He was like, "Man,
I've never had any money,
so for it to be on me like
this and for me to see it,
you can't even understand
the feeling that I feel.
'Cause me and you, you've been
there with this kind of money,
so you probably went
through this phase too.
So let me go through my phase."
And I can't do
nothing but respect it.
Bow-bow-bow-bow-bow
brr-bow-bow-bow!
While Blac Youngsta
has made a vow
to never eat leftovers again,
AmberLynn has to make her
food last for the entire week.
I just went to the
grocery store today,
so I've got like tons
of food for the whole week.
Fruit, chicken,
broccoli, cauliflower,
those are nutrients that
your body needs to be able
to push really hard
and keep on going.
But the healthy food,
it's really expensive.
The grocery store trip that
we made today was like $130,
and this will probably last us
hopefully a week and a half.
But it's gonna have to
last us a week and a half,
'cause I just got
paid on Wednesday
and I've got like $290 left.
That's why we buy
in bulk and we...
we ration out everything.
Woo!
Oh, that's a good one.
Thomas is my boyfriend.
He's my main trainer.
I think that one of the pros
to having him as my trainer
and my boyfriend is that
we understand each other.
What are you
gonna do with the meat?
Make some of it and
then freeze some of it,
with some bell
peppers and onion.
I think he probably walks around
a little bit heavier than I do,
but we both fight at
the same weight class,
which is kind of cool.
Cutting weight is one of
the most crucial parts.
With me walking
around about 155 pounds,
that gives me 20 pounds
to cut to 135,
which is definitely a
very, very strenuous thing
that your body
has to go through.
And there is definitely
a sense of urgency.
The quicker I can
get to the top,
you know, hopefully the
quicker I can get out.
AmberLynn has gotten clean,
which is hard to do in Memphis.
In the past decade, Tennessee
ranked 2nd for opioid use.
About three quarters of
these users turn to heroin.
Nathan Wilson was among them,
and now the Drug Court demands
that he checks in 20 times a
week to make sure he's clean.
If he misses a drug test,
he gets a penalty.
I've got community service.
Picking up trash.
I was five minutes late
for a drug screen.
I was just running late.
I tried to find
a ride, couldn't,
so I ended up walking up there,
and I was five minutes late.
And the person who takes
the screens was already gone.
If I'm late for a
drug test, when I call
my drug screen line in the
morning, my name will be there
and I'll go to court,
and it'll probably...
I'll receive probably
a 24-hour sanction,
which is a 24-hour
jail sentence.
And if I keep messing up,
they'll kick me out of
the program and I'll have to
do my year's incarceration.
So I'm okay for
another four hours,
then I gotta call again.
Having to call in three
times a day and having all these
obligations, it most definitely
can affect my employment.
First time something happens and
you have to tell your employer,
"Yeah, I've gotta do this.
I'm on a thing
called Drug Court."
It's called Drug Court.
They're gonna wanna know
what the hell you did.
And in my case, it's heroin.
And nobody wants to
hear the word heroin.
So yeah, it definitely
affects employment.
But on the flip side, if
you complete this program,
it's wiped from your record.
So it's a hell of a penance,
but if I can do this,
I can do anything, man.
Nathan's mistakes are
costing him time and money.
Tito isn't making
that mistake again.
He's got a buyer for a used
Buick, and if he can find
the right car, he'll
make $2,500 profit.
Right now I'm headed to the lot
to check out a couple vehicles.
Some days it's kind of hectic.
Being a dad, it takes
a lot of your time.
Especially if you have to
pick kids up, drop kids off.
So that's three hours
gone out of the day.
My wife just sent me
a text message,
and it said I do too much.
I rip and run,
I gotta slow down.
But I don't think I will stop.
Stopping is like
death, or like jail.
And jail is the 2nd worst thing.
So I can't see
myself slowing down.
If there's an opportunity where
I can make $10 or 10,000...
I'm gonna try to make both.
Hello?
I'm up here right now.
It's a whole lot
of Buick LeSabres.
What's the price range
you looking for?
All right, thank you.
Replace the grill,
replace the head lights,
and put a new bumper on
there and it'll be good to go.
It'll be a perfect car, almost.
That's how you
make money though.
It's easy.
My wife was there
every step of the way.
Even when I went to prison, she
was waiting on me to come home.
And she was just
my girlfriend then,
so that spoke volumes.
I realized that I wasn't
just living for myself anymore.
You know, I couldn't
make selfish decisions.
I had to make decisions
based on us as a whole.
I thought about
their quality of life,
and it made me change my life.
Like I did a 360.
Thanks for your help.
Thank you for your help.
I just give them
everything that I...
wished I had, you know.
So everything
that I wished I had,
I give it to them.
That's what made me
who I am today.
Blac Youngsta
knows that he has to make it
outside of Tennessee.
Brandon books him a show
in Chicago for $10,000.
And the last thing,
make sure you got that ice.
You're on point with
your ice and shit.
Put that big boy on first.
It's important that I'm here in
Chicago for me to gain fans.
The whole goal is
to be a superstar.
I wanna be everywhere.
I want Grammys,
I want everything.
I wanna be in the top
magazines, all the shit.
So like in order for me to
get that, it's gonna take
for them to ask who you
think should be in a magazine?
And all my folks
gonna be like, Youngsta.
But in order for that to happen,
I gotta gain my fans outside
of Tennessee, everywhere around
the world, to be on my side.
God sent me here to
put on a good show,
and that's what
I'm gonna do tonight.
* I had to go and
get somewhere else *
* Died right there
in front of my eyes *
* Laying on the
hospital bed and crying *
* You said your last
words, I thought I died *
* Screaming still
la la la la la *
* I swear to God
* I cross my heart
* My fingers ain't crossed
* Nah nah nah
It went great tonight.
I wish I would have sold
that motherfucker out,
you know, but I still
feel good about it.
I appreciate that
love like that.
I'm on camera, man!
You know what we
talking about, we turnt!
Yeah!
Yeah, they love my music.
They love the new shit
and they love the old shit.
I feel good about the
new mixtape for the drop.
It's gonna turn out good,
it's gonna be great.
*
To be the richest motherfucker
and the greatest motherfucker
to ever do this shit.
That's my endgame.
Next city, next show,
next dollar, man.
Next cheque, next
bag, next 10,000.
Blac Youngsta has risen so fast
he'll fall hard if the
money stops rolling in.
*
Despite the fact that
the murder rate in Memphis
is about 4 times
the national average,
AmberLynn has an
optimistic view of the city.
I want to bring
more awareness to Memphis,
and you know, show more people
that Memphis is an okay place.
I think a lot of people
hear Memphis, and they're like,
"Oh goodness, I'm
not gonna go out there.
I'm gonna get shot
or something like."
But there is places
where it is pretty nice,
and I would like for other
people to know that too.
Being a police officer,
up to this point,
is my only source of income.
I need to make money and
it's definitely hard on me
physically, I'm
paying the price for it.
Having just turned professional
in the rankings of MMA,
I have not made a
dime off of fighting.
You know, I can't quit my job.
As much as I would
like to train full time,
I just can't quit my job.
It's Payday for AmberLynn.
I just got paid this morning.
The money was definitely needed.
I was running on $8 for
about two or three days,
so this couldn't have
come at a better time.
For this pay period I had
95 hours, and I made $1,172.
*
Nathan landed a job at a sports
bar, and he needs to get $100
a shift to make his part of
the rent for the new house.
The problem is that at any
moment he can be called downtown
for drug testing
and lose his shift.
On a Friday, Saturday night,
I expect to make over $100.
This is the night I
come in and my head,
I'm gonna make rent tonight.
Working at a bar puts
Nathan at risk for drinking.
If he gets caught, it's
an automatic year in jail.
Sometimes it can be
a little stressful,
especially when people try
and buy you shots repeatedly.
I tell 'em if you're
gonna buy me a shot,
you also gotta buy me
a lawyer, bond money,
hand cuffs, breathalyzer test,
and it's just a lot cheaper
to get me root beer.
*
So that's what I made tonight.
$51 on a Friday,
and that ain't so good.
That ain't so good at all.
I'm just holding on to hope
that I can recoup this Saturday
and that it'll all work out.
'Cause if I get down about it,
I'll defeat myself
before I even begin.
But yeah, it's
definitely a disappointment.
To meet her goal of
making $60,000 per cage fight,
AmberLynn has to transform
her body, and that's not cheap.
This is $35.
This is $70, which definitely
can't afford that right now,
so we're gonna go
with the smaller one.
I have to be 135 pounds
for my fight.
If I don't make 135, then the
way that I look at it is they're
not gonna want me back and
I'm never gonna have a career.
$55.
Guess I'll pass on that.
Man, all this is complicated.
It's like being in a pharmacy.
At this point, we only
have two confirmed sponsors.
If those two offer $200 apiece,
the rest of the money
comes out of my own pocket.
$35.12.
I think the other one was
35 too, so 60, 70, 80...
- $90.
- Wow.
AmberLynn's mom Carla
manages her fight schedule
and promotions.
Now that she's pro, she
definitely needs a manager.
A manager takes 10%.
Then you've got trainers,
you have to pay 10% too.
So with me being her manager,
she doesn't have to
pay me right now.
The expenses are a lot.
We have the medicals, which
is from about $700 to $900,
all the money for food,
for protein, for supplements,
everything gets really expensive
in preparation for my fight.
Think I'm gonna get this one,
let's see where we're at.
Alright.
So 133.60.
Okay, so here's 60, and then I'm
gonna put the rest on my card.
Okay.
Thank goodness Thomas
gave me 60 bucks.
With his 60, I
put $73 on my card,
and I only had $93 on my card.
So that leaves me with
$20 for the next two days
until I get paid again.
In Memphis, about half the
people who go to jail end up
back there within three years,
and about 85% of those people
have been convicted of drug
related crimes and have to
check in at Drug
Court once a week.
What about it, man?
We straight?
Alright.
How's it going?
It's going.
Nathan thinks he might get
out of this system this week.
Drug Court Judge Tim
Dwyer knows otherwise.
As a general rule, we
like for them to stay
in the halfway house
about six months.
Our main emphasis, of course,
is to try to keep them
in a drug-free environment.
The house is getting
a little toxic, man.
Well, we'll stay in
touch with him about it.
He keeps us posted,
he's good about it.
You've gotten a
good report, and...
you know, I'm proud of you, man.
It's not up to him,
it's up to me,
it's up to his
counsellor, Mr. Flowers,
it's up to the men
at the halfway house,
if he's ready to move
on to the next level.
Well, you keep it up, man.
The judge says Nathan has to
stay in the halfway house
and can't move in
with his friends.
I'm not gonna be moving
into that house because
one of the guys relapsed there,
and then me and the guy
who owns the house
sort of got into it.
I lost my phone.
I've gotta call a screen
line three times a day,
but I don't have a phone,
so I gotta like find a phone,
which there's no payphones
in existence anymore.
It's stressful, but
I'm just holding on.
*
This the chopper.
This is my baby.
This is what I use
to protect my life.
Shit get real on the road.
Like sometimes folks
follow you from the club,
trying to rob you and stuff.
You gotta let the
window down and brrt.
You know, shoot it out.
Blac Youngsta's payday
is a new house
in a wealthy suburb of Memphis.
He paid $380,000 cash, upfront.
Yeah, welcome to my home.
This is my shit.
Boss man shit, young CEO,
young entrepreneur.
I ain't even moved in
this motherfucker yet.
I know one thing for damn sure.
You gonna put CMG...
I'm gonna put CMG in
the middle of the floor.
The light gonna
shine on that bitch,
CMG.
Gotta get you
a big-ass chandelier.
For real.
Motherfucking police
come in this bitch,
I'm gonna get the chopper and
stand up here like Scarface.
We're gonna have a shootout
right here, for real.
Uh, with the police though?
Yeah, whoever come
in this motherfucker.
Shoot out.
You've got the Lord up in here.
'Cause transformation has got
to come in all of our lives.
- Amen!
- Amen!
Hallelujah somebody.
Personally, I don't think money
is the main thing that creates
happiness, but it's the things
that you need money for,
you know, so I would
say money is a necessity.
It's a necessary evil.
Before we get ready to go,
let's bless the Lord
with our tithes and
offerings, amen.
Alright.
There's a line ready!
Fire!
I'm always
down for a competition.
I'm a very, very
competitive person,
I'm a very aggressive person.
If I see something that I want,
I'm gonna take it
and I'm gonna get it.
There's definitely an
expiration date on MMA fighting.
There's, of course, only so
many years that your body
can go through that
much destruction.
The crazy thing is, is that
the fighting is the easy part.
The training is
the hardest part.
You gotta have that heart
to keep going, to finish.
You can't teach somebody that:
they either have
it or they don't.
And that's what makes
really good fighters,
and that's what makes
legendary fighters.
*
I bought it 'cause I deserve it.
Coming from where I come from,
it don't happen like this.
Like, this shit right
here is a dream come true.
But I just gotta keep the
money coming in to keep this.
I can't keep it
without no money.
So if this house fuck up,
the house might cost me
40,000 to 50,000
getting it fixed.
So I gotta keep money coming in
in order for me to
live like this.
To be honest, I couldn't picture
where I'll be at in 20 years.
Five years, I hope
to have a degree.
I hope to be starting on
opening my own business.
I always thought if you
could have one bake shop
where you could like sort of
go around with the desserts,
I thought that'd be a good idea.
That's probably my
primary idea, yeah.
If you let money rule you,
and you don't rule the money,
you'll never succeed.
You have to reign
supreme over your dollar.
You have to make the
dollar work for you.
The Invicta fighting
championship sent through
my contract, that means
that the fight's on.
So we're going to Vegas.
Nothing's gonna
keep me from fighting.
After filming this,
AmberLynn tore the
ligaments in her knee.
It'll be 6 months
before she can fight again.
*
Memphis can be a tough place,
but these four people
have all proven you can
adapt and thrive there.
And like their city,
they've been down,
but they've made an
effort to come back.
You've been here more than me!
This shit man, this
shit so fucking nice.
This shit a dream come true.
It s a rough place where
the slow economic rebound
still hasn't happened,
and it's a sure bet
for the top 5 list of most
dangerous cities in the States.
These four people have adapted a
complex relationship with money
just to survive there.
I wouldn't have
stopped using heroin
if I hadn't been
arrested, at all.
I would have kept
going until I died.
When I left prison,
I didn't have money,
but I had my time
back, so I was rich.
Working full time and busting
my butt as a police officer,
and busting my butt
in training, you know,
all that stuff's gonna pay
off eventually in the future.
Ah, nice!
24-5 in one day. One day.
Not two days, one day.
One city, four people,
and where they live is a
key part of who they are.
* I found a place
to sell my name *
* Along the markets promenade
* High prices
* Going down
* Oh the rice is burning brown
* And high prices going down
*
It's home base for FedEx
and Oscar-winning
rap group Three 6 Mafia.
But despite its musical rap,
Memphis struggles with crime
and poverty more than
most cities in the South.
The biggest building
downtown isn't a Wal-Mart,
it's a jail,
overseeing 2,600 inmates.
But Memphis is also the second
most affordable city in the US.
Housing costs are 20%
below the national average,
making it an easy
place for millenials
to gain a financial edge.
Tito Porter is one of them.
He rents his large four
bedroom split level house
in the suburbs.
My name's Tito Porter.
I'm 29.
I have five kids.
My oldest is 8, and
my youngest is 7 weeks.
We live in a house in
Memphis, Tennessee.
Good ol' small country town.
My three jobs are car
salesman, tax preparation,
and a barber.
I'm fixing up a car
I already sold,
and the client is just
waiting on me to deliver.
So I gotta get it out
before they get too anxious
and buy another car
from somebody else.
So if I can't get this
car finished in time,
then I lose about 3,400.
I try to make 2,500 a week
at least, you know.
My bills, you know, they equal
three or four grand per month,
so I like to have a surplus.
If you don't have a
surplus, you can't invest,
you can't make more money.
If you just make it,
that's what you'll do
for the rest of your
life, just make it.
*
I grew up in South Memphis.
It's probably the
bottom as far as poverty,
housing conditions,
the schools available,
the neighbourhoods, you know.
It's pretty run down.
And it's kind of hard,
just to be frank.
It's a hard neighbourhood
to grow up in.
It's like one of the worst.
A lot of businesses, they
don't open in South Memphis.
Tito was looking at a jail
sentence of up to 196 years
for a string of
crimes, mostly theft.
Consecutive sentencing
meant he could serve time
for every conviction.
I was arrested for
aggravated robbery,
and also crimes
that I didn't commit.
And upon each conviction, the
sentencing guideline rises,
and I had like 12, so
196 years was within scope.
When they tell you,
it's mind-blowing.
You don't know whether to cry,
you don't know whether to
commit suicide, it's just...
it's just hard to grasp.
It seems like a dream.
The judge allowed Tito to serve
his 12 sentences at the same
time, and he got out after
4 years for good behaviour.
When I left prison, I didn't
have money, but time is money.
And I had my time back,
so I was rich.
* Hey world, what's poppin'
* I go by the name
of Blac Youngsta *
Blac Youngsta is
from South Memphis,
one of the poorest
areas in America,
with an average
income in the bottom 10%.
Rapping got him out of there,
and he doesn't wanna move back.
I rap about the
struggle, the pain.
Like the shit I
talk about, real life.
I don't worry about no Hollywood
shit 'cause I ain't Hollywood.
*
I've been in the industry
probably like six months,
since I been signed to CMG,
Collective Music Group,
Cocaine Muzik Group,
whatever you want to call it.
*
24-5, one day.
One day.
Not two days, one day.
We just got started.
I ain't even through
with the week yet.
When I'm through with the week,
I'm probably like
100,000 or something.
Wanna see me make some money?
I'm gonna show you
how to make some money.
I'll show you.
- Payday.
- Payday.
What's up, bro?
What's up?
It's the king himself, man.
Yeah, what's up?
Yo Gotti is the CEO of CMG,
and my relation to
him, I'm his artist.
I look at him like a big
brother, he's my mentor.
Rap mogul and
Memphis native Yo Gotti
discovered Blac Youngsta rapping
in the streets of his hometown.
I was shooting a video in the
hood and he was out there
on the corner rapping, dancing,
doing these things with no beat,
just a cappella.
And then like the kids
and everybody walking by,
people around, they was
rapping the song with him.
So I noticed that like
whatever this is he's rapping,
they knew it.
And one thing led to
another, you know.
I just told him like
if you with it, man,
we can go try to
get some money together.
This the new rim?
These the new rims
you put on them?
They're Forges.
With Yo Gotti's help,
he produced a mixtape
and started playing shows.
The money poured in.
His fan base grew to
over 300,000 followers.
Yo Gotti bought
me a Lamborghini.
You know, he bought it because
I made him a lot of money,
we made a lot of money together.
I'm pushing hard.
What we gonna do about the tape?
Youngsta wants to keep his
fans happy and make money.
The only way to do that
is to make more music.
I'm working on a
mixtape right now,
it's called Young & Reckless.
This is my second once
since I've been signed to CMG,
so it mean a lot to me
to just see my fans
and see how they
gonna react to the music.
I love people's opinion.
Right now, my career,
honest to God truth,
I haven't got started yet.
We just really playing around.
I ain't even got a record.
I ain't got a single,
I ain't got shit.
I'm just playing around,
getting money.
Blac Youngsta has
fought to get where he is.
hat's the story other people
n Memphis can relate to.
Ah, I messed it up.
That's okay, that's alright.
I grew up in Memphis.
I dropped out of school
and I was doing drugs,
snorting cocaine.
I was on a horrible,
horrible path.
Martial arts definitely
saved my life.
Good! There you go!
Right on that cheek.
Good, good good good.
My name is AmberLynn Orr,
and I'm 23 years old.
I work full time as
a police officer,
and I work pretty much
full time as an MMA fighter.
I've been a police
officer for about 3 years.
The typical day for me
is 12 hour shifts,
which is pretty long.
I make 18.55 an hour, which
is... you know, it's not bad,
but you know, having a house,
and of course bills, and
fighting full time and training,
it gets kind of strenuous.
I definitely think police
officers are underpaid,
and it is a selfless job,
and it's a thankless job.
Driver, pull over to your right.
Driver, pull your
vehicle over to the right.
I'm seeing the worst of people.
I'm seeing people
when they're angry,
I'm seeing people
when they're mad.
A lot of people don't
like police officers.
I'll be on 301 just north
of just north of Nell Road.
There's a lot of media scrutiny,
and I don't think cops
are respected anywhere.
You know, every time
you turn on the news,
it's an officer shooting,
or officer did this,
or officer did that.
So there's nothing,
anything positive.
And it just makes this
job so much tougher.
What can I help y'all do?
What can I help y'all with?
14 Information, the
fire's picking up pretty fast.
At the end of the day,
it's hard to just
take this uniform off
and let it be over with.
But it's something
you learn to cope with
and start fresh the next day.
*
Memphis, other side of the
tracks is where you can walk
from the have to the have-nots.
You can walk from 3-storey
buildings to a duplex
that is boarded up one side
and open on the other.
Teenage heroin use in Memphis
is double the national average.
20-year-old Nathan Wilson
just got out of jail
for heroin possession.
He's trying to get
his money straight
the first time in his life.
I'm from Memphis, Tennessee.
I lived in the
Highland Heights part,
but I hung out in Nutbush a lot.
Nutbush is a notorious
white ghetto.
At least half the people
in the penal farm,
in the legal system that
are white, come from Nutbush.
And it's... scrub life,
is what we call it.
Nathan met his friends in a
rehab program called Drug Court.
Energy Drink Day.
Sounds like a great idea
on paper, great idea.
How many did you have?
At least six.
That's too much.
I'm in a program
called Drug Court,
where I have to take up to
21 piss tests a week.
We sign a waiver that says
it's a six month program
at the halfway house, but
it's really after 90 days.
Then we're eligible to move out,
and that will be coming up
in about a week.
I have to have everything
in order at the old house,
as far as rent.
I have to be a certain amount
into my 12-step program
until I'm eligible to move out.
Nathan, Garret and Flynn
all want to make money,
but random drug tests,
court dates, and AA meetings
make it hard to keep a job.
A criminal record is one thing,
but a criminal record with all
the stipulations and all the
time constraints that you've got
in this program, getting a job,
paying rent on a house
of your own, it's just--
it's not gonna happen.
We are in Lafayette Circle.
This is a house that I'm
hopefully gonna be moving in,
if the courts
deem that I'm ready.
Where's the flame come out of?
There ain't no flames,
it's electric.
It's electric.
So if a power
outage came, we screwed.
Cold, cold raviolis.
Cold raviolis.
This'll be the first house
that I could say is my own,
so it's a major accomplishment.
So you've got space
underneath your bed.
This bed looks really
comfortable, but it's not.
I'm so proud of you.
Nathan and his friends realize
that with their low paying jobs,
they'll cover rent with just
a few extra bucks to spare.
At minimum wage,
40 hours a week,
after taxes it would come
out to about 280 bucks.
You got $110 a week for your
rent, that's down to 170.
Then you got court costs,
which is $100 a month,
25 off that, so 145, let's say.
$5 a day for a pack of
cigarettes, 35 out of that.
So you got about
100 bucks to eat,
do anything you want to
do, and transportation,
'cause we have to be here,
we have to be there.
But on the flip side of that...
I had a drug habit, which
was way more than $20 a day.
So like when you're sober,
you're not necessarily
willing to do the things
that you were willing to do
to get high to get an
Egg McMuffin, you know.
I'm not gonna rob Flynn's
grandma for an Egg McMuffin.
I'm just not gonna do it.
There are 170
documented gangs in Memphis.
80% of the crimes committed
in Tennessee are drug related.
There's one cop for
every 300 people in Memphis,
5th highest police-to-citizen
ratio in the States.
AmberLynn is a cop, but
what she really wants to do
is be an MMA champion.
With 9 out of 10 wins
in her amateur career,
she's got a good chance.
I'm training
for my upcoming fight.
It's gonna be my
professional debut.
Starting off, you know, the pay
is definitely not that great,
but just getting the exposure
of being with Invicta
and having a professional
debut in Las Vegas is huge.
Amberlynn knows that she can
make 30,000 a year as a cop,
but her dream is to make
60,000 a night in the cage.
Let's go!
Training is definitely
gruelling and painful.
You know, your body, it just
gets broken down over time.
You know, there's
plenty of nights in here
where I sit on the floor after
practice for 5 or 10 minutes
'cause I literally
cannot get up.
Since I've become
an MMA fighter,
I've had my nose broken,
I've had lower back injuries.
I definitely need
surgery on both my knees,
but I don't have the
money to pay for that.
There you go.
'Cause I pulled a bit more.
Oh, okay.
I wish I could train
full time, but that's...
the biggest thing is
the financial pressure.
I'm not able to do that, which
in turn I think my skills lack
as a professional fighter.
Good, yes!
A lot of these other girls,
they don't have full-time jobs.
That's all they have to do.
How they do it, I'm not sure.
But right now, I'm just looking
to get my name out there
where I can make enough money
and dedicate 100% of my time
to MMA and training.
Blac Youngsta's going
to see his grandmother
in the house where
he was raised.
I had to take care of my
little brothers and shit,
like I had to be a man
at the early age.
I had to, 'cause I was a
hustler and I was selling dope.
My grandma used to go to sleep
late at night and shit.
It'd be 2:00, 3:00
in the morning.
I used to crack her window open,
and I used to be serving
motherfuckers out the window.
And I want my kids to
have a different future.
And I know I can change it,
you feel what I'm saying?
Hey, man!
Yeah, man, CMG!
CMG shit, man!
Young rich niggas
ahead of the shit, man!
CMG shit, know what
I'm talking about?
Yeah, man!
For real, Jack!
Hey, man!
You see that?
They love me, man.
My city love me, man.
Gotta keep that heat.
Grandma house right here.
People are allowed to
open-carry weapons in Memphis,
and in this South Memphis
neighbourhood, you have
a 1 in 15 chance of becoming
a victim of violent crime.
Because of that,
Youngsta brings his crew
to protect him and his money.
Watch everything.
Anything come through looks
suspicious, we bust 'em.
Ain't no talking or nothing.
Hey now.
How y'all doing?
Hey, Grandma.
Anything look
suspicious, shoot it.
Don't hesitate, shoot.
We at the queen
house, Queen Louise.
Queen of McMillan house.
Queen of McKillin'.
I'm gonna get you a queen bed.
You slept in a twin bed
all your life.
New bed, new house,
new everything.
I want that big-ass bed now,
I'll tell you what.
lmost a third of the people
in Memphis live below
the poverty line, including
Blac Youngsta's grandmother.
But not anymore.
He just bought her
she raised him in.
I love the neighbourhood.
I know everybody
in the neighbourhood,
and everybody know me.
Now I won't have to move.
Won't have nobody to tell
me nothing to do no more.
I got something belongs
to me and I'm proud of it.
One bedroom, one
bathroom, and one living room.
It was me, my three
little brothers,
and my grandma
and my granddaddy.
My Aunt Janice, she
got like seven kids.
So like half of the time
they was in here with us.
So we were like 15 deep
in this motherfucker.
We used to sit here, and
we used to have prayer.
Like our prayer was like,
"Thank you Lord for this food,
I hope I get some more."
I've been eating
leftovers all my life.
That's why I don't eat
leftovers no more, to this day.
I want a fresh plate.
No leftovers, no
warm up, none of that.
*
* Grew up in a
one bedroom house *
* I swear to God
* I ain't had no bed,
had to sleep on the couch *
Youngsta's manager, Brandon,
shows up with an advance
of 10,000, all in cash,
for an upcoming gig.
That's cheesy.
Yeah, man.
Oof.
Tennessee has the top
self-employed workforce
in the South, with over
36,000 people in Memphis
running their own businesses.
Tito juggles three of them.
D&P Taxes is a
tax preparation company.
We deal with small
tax, personal tax,
and business taxes as well.
We opened about 12 days ago, and
business has been phenomenal.
We didn't even expect it.
And so far, we've made $35,000.
From this batch
today, 15 clients.
That'll be at least
6,000 or 7,000 today.
TP!
My name is Shameka Porter,
and I'm his wife.
I'm an income tax preparer.
I'm comfortable
with both us working.
It's a hassle sometimes,
it's kind of hard,
but we can get the job done.
We're a team.
In an area where 96,000 people
use no financial institutions,
Memphis contains more tax
preparation and loan shops
than bank branches.
Tito's tax business offers
quick returns for people
who are likely to get refunds.
Some of them will take that
cheque and buy a used car.
Hello?
It depends on
what's your price range.
I got a few vehicles right now,
and I'll check the inventory,
I'll see what we got,
and I can...
I can give you a
call back tomorrow.
I saw a common link that
I could use to my advantage,
and it's cars and taxes.
I got a reputation for
having good vehicles.
When I got into the tax thing,
it was like they both coincide.
So they can come in walking
and they can leave away driving.
You know, it's a
win-win situation.
They win, and I win.
s, with an incarceration rate
double that of
the national average.
any time, there could be
er 4,500 people behind bars.
At one point,
Nathan was one of them.
I was raised by
my mom for most of my life.
That's the
frosted look, you know.
I had grandpa's suit on,
you know, was balling.
I think I'm gonna
marinate the steaks.
I'm gonna put them in
the foil, and yeah,
put 'em straight in
there, in the fire.
My mom's an alcoholic, my dad
was an alcoholic and addict.
So they have a saying
in recovery that
two sickies don't make a welly.
Well... you know what
I'm saying, here I am.
But the grill marks
really makes it taste better?
It does.
You eat with your eyes before
you eat with your mouth, Mom.
I've heard that before.
It's not just a
saying, it's facts.
You ever had a omelet
that had all those
different coloured
peppers in it?
Yeah.
Do you think the peppers
really taste different?
No, it's the mixture of it.
When I found out that
Nathan had been arrested,
I was happy.
Because he had consequences,
therefore I was hoping this
would make a change for him.
His mom found him dead on
his porch two years earlier.
EMS brought him back to life.
I wouldn't have
stopped using heroin
if I hadn't been arrested.
Heroin was... was God.
I would have kept going until
I died, and died some more.
Nathan's mom refused
to pay his bail bond,
so he ended up in jail
with a year's sentence.
I just think
people don't change.
If they keep on
getting by with anything,
they're not gonna... why change?
He's got the drive that it
doesn't matter what it is,
he could do that.
* Hungry like the wolf
Memphis has
always been a big part
of southern hip hop.
Rappers from Memphis
love to rep their city.
Most working musicians here
earn less than $15,000 a year.
Only a very few will
ever break six figures,
and Youngsta's one of them.
He hopes his new mixtape
will allow him to command
up to $30,000 per show.
One more time.
Let me hear from
the top of my verse.
This mixtape right here mean
a lot to me 'cause it's turnt.
Every song, like boom, boom,
boom, like that popping.
You know how it is,
it's just like that.
I'm already hot.
I'm already booked up.
Me dropping this mixtape is
gonna just make it even worse.
Put out 14 songs, and if one
catch, we got the bag, we gone.
Like you make more money
when you got a hot single.
I asked them if this
feels like an intro.
You say it is or it ain't?
I feel like it ain't,
it ain't hard enough.
That's 'cause you
ain't make it hard.
Brandon is my manager.
He important to me
'cause he's like...
like he go get the money.
Brandon knows it's dangerous for
Youngsta to carry so much cash.
Just weeks before, Youngsta
was detained by Atlanta police
for carrying 70,000.
Youngsta, all he
talks about is money.
All he shows is money.
I mean, he made it that way
because he's never had it
the way he has it now.
These my babies right here.
Shit right here
mean a whole lot.
I spent 12,000 apiece for these.
12,000, 12,000, that's 24,000,
just the charm by itself.
My watch, this cost 45,000.
When you're a young,
black African American,
you gotta have this.
Like we're I'm from in the hood.
you hood rich with a hundred.
So like... I got way
more than a hundred.
It's part of a
young black man's life.
I used to ask him like,
"Bro, put the money in the bank.
It's getting overwhelming.
You can't even put
the money in your pocket."
He was like, "Man,
I've never had any money,
so for it to be on me like
this and for me to see it,
you can't even understand
the feeling that I feel.
'Cause me and you, you've been
there with this kind of money,
so you probably went
through this phase too.
So let me go through my phase."
And I can't do
nothing but respect it.
Bow-bow-bow-bow-bow
brr-bow-bow-bow!
While Blac Youngsta
has made a vow
to never eat leftovers again,
AmberLynn has to make her
food last for the entire week.
I just went to the
grocery store today,
so I've got like tons
of food for the whole week.
Fruit, chicken,
broccoli, cauliflower,
those are nutrients that
your body needs to be able
to push really hard
and keep on going.
But the healthy food,
it's really expensive.
The grocery store trip that
we made today was like $130,
and this will probably last us
hopefully a week and a half.
But it's gonna have to
last us a week and a half,
'cause I just got
paid on Wednesday
and I've got like $290 left.
That's why we buy
in bulk and we...
we ration out everything.
Woo!
Oh, that's a good one.
Thomas is my boyfriend.
He's my main trainer.
I think that one of the pros
to having him as my trainer
and my boyfriend is that
we understand each other.
What are you
gonna do with the meat?
Make some of it and
then freeze some of it,
with some bell
peppers and onion.
I think he probably walks around
a little bit heavier than I do,
but we both fight at
the same weight class,
which is kind of cool.
Cutting weight is one of
the most crucial parts.
With me walking
around about 155 pounds,
that gives me 20 pounds
to cut to 135,
which is definitely a
very, very strenuous thing
that your body
has to go through.
And there is definitely
a sense of urgency.
The quicker I can
get to the top,
you know, hopefully the
quicker I can get out.
AmberLynn has gotten clean,
which is hard to do in Memphis.
In the past decade, Tennessee
ranked 2nd for opioid use.
About three quarters of
these users turn to heroin.
Nathan Wilson was among them,
and now the Drug Court demands
that he checks in 20 times a
week to make sure he's clean.
If he misses a drug test,
he gets a penalty.
I've got community service.
Picking up trash.
I was five minutes late
for a drug screen.
I was just running late.
I tried to find
a ride, couldn't,
so I ended up walking up there,
and I was five minutes late.
And the person who takes
the screens was already gone.
If I'm late for a
drug test, when I call
my drug screen line in the
morning, my name will be there
and I'll go to court,
and it'll probably...
I'll receive probably
a 24-hour sanction,
which is a 24-hour
jail sentence.
And if I keep messing up,
they'll kick me out of
the program and I'll have to
do my year's incarceration.
So I'm okay for
another four hours,
then I gotta call again.
Having to call in three
times a day and having all these
obligations, it most definitely
can affect my employment.
First time something happens and
you have to tell your employer,
"Yeah, I've gotta do this.
I'm on a thing
called Drug Court."
It's called Drug Court.
They're gonna wanna know
what the hell you did.
And in my case, it's heroin.
And nobody wants to
hear the word heroin.
So yeah, it definitely
affects employment.
But on the flip side, if
you complete this program,
it's wiped from your record.
So it's a hell of a penance,
but if I can do this,
I can do anything, man.
Nathan's mistakes are
costing him time and money.
Tito isn't making
that mistake again.
He's got a buyer for a used
Buick, and if he can find
the right car, he'll
make $2,500 profit.
Right now I'm headed to the lot
to check out a couple vehicles.
Some days it's kind of hectic.
Being a dad, it takes
a lot of your time.
Especially if you have to
pick kids up, drop kids off.
So that's three hours
gone out of the day.
My wife just sent me
a text message,
and it said I do too much.
I rip and run,
I gotta slow down.
But I don't think I will stop.
Stopping is like
death, or like jail.
And jail is the 2nd worst thing.
So I can't see
myself slowing down.
If there's an opportunity where
I can make $10 or 10,000...
I'm gonna try to make both.
Hello?
I'm up here right now.
It's a whole lot
of Buick LeSabres.
What's the price range
you looking for?
All right, thank you.
Replace the grill,
replace the head lights,
and put a new bumper on
there and it'll be good to go.
It'll be a perfect car, almost.
That's how you
make money though.
It's easy.
My wife was there
every step of the way.
Even when I went to prison, she
was waiting on me to come home.
And she was just
my girlfriend then,
so that spoke volumes.
I realized that I wasn't
just living for myself anymore.
You know, I couldn't
make selfish decisions.
I had to make decisions
based on us as a whole.
I thought about
their quality of life,
and it made me change my life.
Like I did a 360.
Thanks for your help.
Thank you for your help.
I just give them
everything that I...
wished I had, you know.
So everything
that I wished I had,
I give it to them.
That's what made me
who I am today.
Blac Youngsta
knows that he has to make it
outside of Tennessee.
Brandon books him a show
in Chicago for $10,000.
And the last thing,
make sure you got that ice.
You're on point with
your ice and shit.
Put that big boy on first.
It's important that I'm here in
Chicago for me to gain fans.
The whole goal is
to be a superstar.
I wanna be everywhere.
I want Grammys,
I want everything.
I wanna be in the top
magazines, all the shit.
So like in order for me to
get that, it's gonna take
for them to ask who you
think should be in a magazine?
And all my folks
gonna be like, Youngsta.
But in order for that to happen,
I gotta gain my fans outside
of Tennessee, everywhere around
the world, to be on my side.
God sent me here to
put on a good show,
and that's what
I'm gonna do tonight.
* I had to go and
get somewhere else *
* Died right there
in front of my eyes *
* Laying on the
hospital bed and crying *
* You said your last
words, I thought I died *
* Screaming still
la la la la la *
* I swear to God
* I cross my heart
* My fingers ain't crossed
* Nah nah nah
It went great tonight.
I wish I would have sold
that motherfucker out,
you know, but I still
feel good about it.
I appreciate that
love like that.
I'm on camera, man!
You know what we
talking about, we turnt!
Yeah!
Yeah, they love my music.
They love the new shit
and they love the old shit.
I feel good about the
new mixtape for the drop.
It's gonna turn out good,
it's gonna be great.
*
To be the richest motherfucker
and the greatest motherfucker
to ever do this shit.
That's my endgame.
Next city, next show,
next dollar, man.
Next cheque, next
bag, next 10,000.
Blac Youngsta has risen so fast
he'll fall hard if the
money stops rolling in.
*
Despite the fact that
the murder rate in Memphis
is about 4 times
the national average,
AmberLynn has an
optimistic view of the city.
I want to bring
more awareness to Memphis,
and you know, show more people
that Memphis is an okay place.
I think a lot of people
hear Memphis, and they're like,
"Oh goodness, I'm
not gonna go out there.
I'm gonna get shot
or something like."
But there is places
where it is pretty nice,
and I would like for other
people to know that too.
Being a police officer,
up to this point,
is my only source of income.
I need to make money and
it's definitely hard on me
physically, I'm
paying the price for it.
Having just turned professional
in the rankings of MMA,
I have not made a
dime off of fighting.
You know, I can't quit my job.
As much as I would
like to train full time,
I just can't quit my job.
It's Payday for AmberLynn.
I just got paid this morning.
The money was definitely needed.
I was running on $8 for
about two or three days,
so this couldn't have
come at a better time.
For this pay period I had
95 hours, and I made $1,172.
*
Nathan landed a job at a sports
bar, and he needs to get $100
a shift to make his part of
the rent for the new house.
The problem is that at any
moment he can be called downtown
for drug testing
and lose his shift.
On a Friday, Saturday night,
I expect to make over $100.
This is the night I
come in and my head,
I'm gonna make rent tonight.
Working at a bar puts
Nathan at risk for drinking.
If he gets caught, it's
an automatic year in jail.
Sometimes it can be
a little stressful,
especially when people try
and buy you shots repeatedly.
I tell 'em if you're
gonna buy me a shot,
you also gotta buy me
a lawyer, bond money,
hand cuffs, breathalyzer test,
and it's just a lot cheaper
to get me root beer.
*
So that's what I made tonight.
$51 on a Friday,
and that ain't so good.
That ain't so good at all.
I'm just holding on to hope
that I can recoup this Saturday
and that it'll all work out.
'Cause if I get down about it,
I'll defeat myself
before I even begin.
But yeah, it's
definitely a disappointment.
To meet her goal of
making $60,000 per cage fight,
AmberLynn has to transform
her body, and that's not cheap.
This is $35.
This is $70, which definitely
can't afford that right now,
so we're gonna go
with the smaller one.
I have to be 135 pounds
for my fight.
If I don't make 135, then the
way that I look at it is they're
not gonna want me back and
I'm never gonna have a career.
$55.
Guess I'll pass on that.
Man, all this is complicated.
It's like being in a pharmacy.
At this point, we only
have two confirmed sponsors.
If those two offer $200 apiece,
the rest of the money
comes out of my own pocket.
$35.12.
I think the other one was
35 too, so 60, 70, 80...
- $90.
- Wow.
AmberLynn's mom Carla
manages her fight schedule
and promotions.
Now that she's pro, she
definitely needs a manager.
A manager takes 10%.
Then you've got trainers,
you have to pay 10% too.
So with me being her manager,
she doesn't have to
pay me right now.
The expenses are a lot.
We have the medicals, which
is from about $700 to $900,
all the money for food,
for protein, for supplements,
everything gets really expensive
in preparation for my fight.
Think I'm gonna get this one,
let's see where we're at.
Alright.
So 133.60.
Okay, so here's 60, and then I'm
gonna put the rest on my card.
Okay.
Thank goodness Thomas
gave me 60 bucks.
With his 60, I
put $73 on my card,
and I only had $93 on my card.
So that leaves me with
$20 for the next two days
until I get paid again.
In Memphis, about half the
people who go to jail end up
back there within three years,
and about 85% of those people
have been convicted of drug
related crimes and have to
check in at Drug
Court once a week.
What about it, man?
We straight?
Alright.
How's it going?
It's going.
Nathan thinks he might get
out of this system this week.
Drug Court Judge Tim
Dwyer knows otherwise.
As a general rule, we
like for them to stay
in the halfway house
about six months.
Our main emphasis, of course,
is to try to keep them
in a drug-free environment.
The house is getting
a little toxic, man.
Well, we'll stay in
touch with him about it.
He keeps us posted,
he's good about it.
You've gotten a
good report, and...
you know, I'm proud of you, man.
It's not up to him,
it's up to me,
it's up to his
counsellor, Mr. Flowers,
it's up to the men
at the halfway house,
if he's ready to move
on to the next level.
Well, you keep it up, man.
The judge says Nathan has to
stay in the halfway house
and can't move in
with his friends.
I'm not gonna be moving
into that house because
one of the guys relapsed there,
and then me and the guy
who owns the house
sort of got into it.
I lost my phone.
I've gotta call a screen
line three times a day,
but I don't have a phone,
so I gotta like find a phone,
which there's no payphones
in existence anymore.
It's stressful, but
I'm just holding on.
*
This the chopper.
This is my baby.
This is what I use
to protect my life.
Shit get real on the road.
Like sometimes folks
follow you from the club,
trying to rob you and stuff.
You gotta let the
window down and brrt.
You know, shoot it out.
Blac Youngsta's payday
is a new house
in a wealthy suburb of Memphis.
He paid $380,000 cash, upfront.
Yeah, welcome to my home.
This is my shit.
Boss man shit, young CEO,
young entrepreneur.
I ain't even moved in
this motherfucker yet.
I know one thing for damn sure.
You gonna put CMG...
I'm gonna put CMG in
the middle of the floor.
The light gonna
shine on that bitch,
CMG.
Gotta get you
a big-ass chandelier.
For real.
Motherfucking police
come in this bitch,
I'm gonna get the chopper and
stand up here like Scarface.
We're gonna have a shootout
right here, for real.
Uh, with the police though?
Yeah, whoever come
in this motherfucker.
Shoot out.
You've got the Lord up in here.
'Cause transformation has got
to come in all of our lives.
- Amen!
- Amen!
Hallelujah somebody.
Personally, I don't think money
is the main thing that creates
happiness, but it's the things
that you need money for,
you know, so I would
say money is a necessity.
It's a necessary evil.
Before we get ready to go,
let's bless the Lord
with our tithes and
offerings, amen.
Alright.
There's a line ready!
Fire!
I'm always
down for a competition.
I'm a very, very
competitive person,
I'm a very aggressive person.
If I see something that I want,
I'm gonna take it
and I'm gonna get it.
There's definitely an
expiration date on MMA fighting.
There's, of course, only so
many years that your body
can go through that
much destruction.
The crazy thing is, is that
the fighting is the easy part.
The training is
the hardest part.
You gotta have that heart
to keep going, to finish.
You can't teach somebody that:
they either have
it or they don't.
And that's what makes
really good fighters,
and that's what makes
legendary fighters.
*
I bought it 'cause I deserve it.
Coming from where I come from,
it don't happen like this.
Like, this shit right
here is a dream come true.
But I just gotta keep the
money coming in to keep this.
I can't keep it
without no money.
So if this house fuck up,
the house might cost me
40,000 to 50,000
getting it fixed.
So I gotta keep money coming in
in order for me to
live like this.
To be honest, I couldn't picture
where I'll be at in 20 years.
Five years, I hope
to have a degree.
I hope to be starting on
opening my own business.
I always thought if you
could have one bake shop
where you could like sort of
go around with the desserts,
I thought that'd be a good idea.
That's probably my
primary idea, yeah.
If you let money rule you,
and you don't rule the money,
you'll never succeed.
You have to reign
supreme over your dollar.
You have to make the
dollar work for you.
The Invicta fighting
championship sent through
my contract, that means
that the fight's on.
So we're going to Vegas.
Nothing's gonna
keep me from fighting.
After filming this,
AmberLynn tore the
ligaments in her knee.
It'll be 6 months
before she can fight again.
*
Memphis can be a tough place,
but these four people
have all proven you can
adapt and thrive there.
And like their city,
they've been down,
but they've made an
effort to come back.
You've been here more than me!
This shit man, this
shit so fucking nice.
This shit a dream come true.