> Before the beef, there was brotherhood.
Before the mic battles, there were shared dreams.
This is the story of CJ and Blaze—before the rivalry.
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Three Years Ago – Umoja Youth Centre
Back then, Blaze wasn't Blaze yet.
He was just Brian Omondi, a loud, confident sixteen-year-old with a natural swagger and a chipped tooth that gleamed when he laughed.
And CJ?
He was thirteen, shy, hoodie too big, always clutching a battered notebook like it was armor.
They met on a dusty Tuesday during Open Mic Club at Umoja Youth Centre.
Brian had just bodied the mic with a freestyle about street power and survival.
> "They call us shadows, but we shine like sins,
Learned life from the gutter, now I battle to win."
The room clapped, but CJ stood frozen near the wall.
"You write?" Brian had asked, stepping down from the stage.
CJ hesitated. "Kind of."
"Then spit. No stage fright here. We all bleed ink."
CJ opened his book. Palms sweating.
> "Life gave me silence, so I answered with sound,
Paper was my mirror, now I'm flipping the ground…"
The room fell silent.
Then: applause. Brian whooped the loudest.
"Yo, you're raw," he said, clapping CJ on the back. "You and me—we're gonna run this city someday."
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From Strangers to Brothers
That year, they were unstoppable.
Practicing freestyles on rooftops until curfew.
Recording tracks on Tico's dad's old laptop.
Sharing fries, heartbreaks, and dreams of headlining Nairobi's biggest block parties.
They called themselves BarCode — two voices, one fire.
They were more than a crew. They were family.
CJ even introduced Brian to his mom, who would save an extra chapati for him after night rehearsals.
"Brian's like your big brother, CJ," she'd say.
CJ believed that.
Until… everything changed.
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The Fall – One Mic, One Spot
It was the night of the Eastpoint Uprising Talent Showcase. One slot. One shot to perform in front of radio scouts and industry insiders.
CJ and Brian both wanted it.
They agreed to submit as a duo—BarCode.
But hours before the submission deadline, CJ found out the truth from Tico:
> "Bro… Brian submitted a solo track. Left your name off completely."
CJ raced to confront him at the youth center.
"You said we'd rise together!" CJ shouted.
Brian shrugged. "Look, you've got talent, sure. But this city only remembers the loudest. I gotta take my chance."
CJ's fists clenched. "You stabbed me for a spotlight?"
Brian stepped closer, smirking. "Nah. I just realized I shine better without shadows slowing me down."
That night, Brian performed solo—his first stage name echoing through the mic: "Yo, it's BLAZE!"
CJ sat in the back of the crowd, heart shattered, notebook unopened.
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The Afterburn
From that night forward, BarCode was dead.
Blaze rose fast, throwing shade at CJ in subtle bars:
> "Used to roll with ghosts, now I haunt the charts."
"Left the pen pal, now I write in gold."
CJ never clapped back—until now.
Years later, CJ would become the name on everyone's tongue. And Blaze?
He would remember the boy he left behind.
And fear the man he'd become.
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End of Flashback
Next Chapter Tease:
Now that CJ's star is rising, Blaze's old wounds come crawling back—and this time, he's not just coming for the crown. He's coming for revenge.
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