On the Come Up is a novel about fighting for your dreams, even if the odds are stacked against you. In the novel, sixteen-year-old Brianna (or Bri) Jackson wanted to be one of the greatest rappers of all time but the odds were stacked against her. She struggled to get her come up, as she was labeled a hoodlum at school and was financially unstable but she was able to achieve her dream when she freed herself from being a white man’s puppet. Brianna initially poured her anger and frustration into her first song, On the Come Up, which went viral for all the wrong reasons. Upon choosing to be herself, she was ushered into personal acceptance and success. Changes that Brianna underwent throughout the novel were personality changes, as she …show more content…
In the beginning of the novel, she desired to become one of the greatest rappers on her own terms---as herself---but soon learned that the music industry had something else in store for her. Once Supreme, a top rap artist manager, became her manager, she was put into a hoodlum rap persona, which gradually overtook Bri’s true personality. She took on this persona because she felt like she had to, as she and her family struggled to survive and as she wanted to express her experiences to the public. Upon taking this persona, her personality slowly changed. She got into fights, lost her temper, and behaved aggressively toward those who criticized her. She even pushed away her Aunt and mom, as well as one of her best friends, Malik because of her this. As Bri felt the controversy of her come up, she faced the question of whether she should would continue being perceived by the media as a hoodlum or would change---to portray herself. At the end of the novel, Bri went through another change, as she freed herself from her role as a hoodlum to her true self. She quit being Supreme’s puppet when she rapped a freestyle rather than the rap created by Dee-Nice, at the Ring, resulting in Supreme ending their contract. Bri decided to be herself, indicating that she would continue to be herself as a rapper rather than someone else. She ended her transformation staying true to herself and her