Bitches to Rags

"Bitches to Rags" is the second episode of the third season of the Adult Swim original series The Boondocks. It is set to be aired on May 9, 2010.

Synopsis

When Thugnificent's new album flops, and the IRS is threatening to end his lavish lifestyle, he is then faced with the horror of having to get a real job.

Plot

Granddad wakes to find a repo man attempting to repossess Dorothy, his car. But, it turns out that the repo officer is taking the wrong car from the wrong house; he was looking for Thugnificent's home.

Thugnificent is preparing to release his first album in four years, "Mo Bitches Mo Problems". Riley visits Thugnificent's house to play video games. He notices that Thugnificent's home is in disarray. Thugnificent assuages Riley by stating that everything is fine, faking a phone call with Warren Buffet, where he falsely states that he will let him borrow $8 Billion. When Riley turns on the television, he sees the video for 15-year-old rap sensation Sgt. Gutter's "Crank That Artichoke", and begins doing the dance associated with the song. A frustrated Thugnificent then tells Riley about his new album, and plays him some new songs. Riley is dismayed when he hears that every song on the album uses the Auto-Tune effect, but Thugnificent notes that it's the hottest sound.

Thugnificent is a guest on the DJ Vlad radio show, where Vlad constantly reminds the audience and Thugnificent that he's old. After Thugnificent reminds everyone that he's still a fan of The Notorious B.I.G. - a fact that makes him look even older, he pulls out a sheet of paper and reads a list of current rappers that he may or may not be a fan of. Absent from that list is Sgt. Gutter, whom Thugnificent despises, starting a rap beef. Thugnificent pleads to his MySpace fans to support his album and beef with Sgt. Gutter. It is a colossal failure in record sales. His record label later drops him. Later, Sgt. Gutter responds to Thugnificent's internet video with a response of his own on YouTube, calling Thugnificent old. He supposedly calls Thugnificent's mother, who reprimands Thugnificent for starting rap beefs with young boys.

Macktastic has since gone back to pimping, and Flonominal has gotten himself a regular office job. He visits Thugnificent and tells him to do the same at the same place he is working. Thugnificent appears at an interview, where he tells the hiring manager that he is only getting a job as a temporary measure, because his rap career will blow up again, and he will take Flonominal with him. The hiring manager looks up Thugnificent and notices that the two were both rappers in the Lethal Interjection Crew, and not only refuses to hire Thugnificent, but has Flonominal fired at the same time.

Down to his last resort to pay for his $132,000 mortgage payment owed to the IRS, Thugnificent decides to start selling crack. The problem with this venture is that neither he nor Flonominal know how to actually make crack. The two try watching a rap music video for the instructions before finally looking up the procedure on Wikipedia. Thugnificent's first night out selling crack is a disaster, with one sale having to be refunded due to the crack rocks being burned. A young fan also notices Thugnificent, which humiliates him as the fan questions why his latest album used so much Auto-Tune. Thugnificent gives up. He makes one last desperate call to a "Steve" at a record label that once tried to sign him. Steve offers him $150,000 as an advance for a new Thugnificent album, rather than actually buying cocaine. With Ed Wuncler III and Flonominal in tow, Thugnificent visits Steve's home, where a young boy is randomly setting off fireworks. Ed becomes annoyed that he's not there for a drug deal and learns that he's not going to be making any money. He starts a gunfight, where he is shot (since Ed constantly wears a bullet-proof vest, he is not wounded). Thugnificent runs from Steve's house, his record deal off the table, and passes out in the street in front of the Freeman's home. Granddad finds him and brings him inside, where the family pleads with Thugnificent to get a job to no avail. The IRS later visits Thugnificent at his home and begins foreclosure proceedings. The next scene shows Riley excitedly waking up to hear Thugnificent's "Bootie Butt Cheeks" blasting from a car stereo outside. We see Thugnificent ghost-riding his delivery truck. He is working as a delivery man - his trademark hair now cut - and delivering a package to the Freeman home. He has a cameraman with him. When Granddad wonders why, Thugnificent - now going by his given name of Otis - tells him that he's filming a reality show. Since "the music industry is dead", Otis is going for "that Flavor Flav" money.

Cultural References

• The scene of Thugnificent trying to sell cocaine with Ed Wuncler III to the record exec is taken from the movie Boogie Nights.

• Sgt. Gutter is a reference to teenage rapper Souljah Boy Tell 'Em. His song "Crank That Artichoke" and its accompanying dance is a reference to Souljah Boy's smash hit Crank That (Soulja_Boy)

• Sgt. Gutter's feud with the "old" rapper Thugnificent is a reference to the real-life feud Souljah Boy had with rapper Ice-T. The two also traded internet videos to further their beef.

• "Mo Bitches Mo Problems", Thugnificent's latest album, is a play on the name of The Notorious B.I.G.'s single "Mo Money Mo Problems".

• The episode title Bitches to Rags references Thugnificent's first appearance in the series in the episode The Story of Thugnificent, where MTV aired a documentary about Thugnificent called Rags to Bitches.

• Though Flonominal appears in this episode, he is not voiced by Busta Rhymes. Macktastic does not appear in this episode.

• Thugnificent ghost-riding what appears to be a UPS truck mirrors his first appearance in Woodcrest, where he was ghost-riding what appeared to be a Hummer.