Source: Guy D’Alema / FX
Atlanta might be the only show on television right now that consistently outdoes itself each episode. Episode 3, “Money Bag Shawty,” sticks to this seasons theme (we will get to that later) while brilliantly pointing out how wealth applies to Black people in the United States of America. Oh and another amazing cameo that had everyone hollering at the end of the show.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The episode opens up with a white woman who is clearly in distress. She decides to record a video to voice her displeasure about a Paper Boi song she and her young daughter heard on the radio. While her white tears were flowing down her face she recited the very raunchy lyrics while her daughter sits in the background. Atlanta may seem like a show that sometimes has no direction but nothing is done on this show without a purpose.
If that video looked familiar to some of yall that’s because it indeed happened as pointed out by Atlanta viewers on Twitter. A white woman took the same course of action for the Vince Staple’s song “Norf, Norf”. Atlanta took it there and brilliantly spoofed the whole ordeal.
https://twitter.com/DAMNlookatHIM/status/974467151783329793
White tears are delicious, they are so good in fact they helped Paper Boi’s new single go gold. To celebrate the trio of Paper Boi, Earn and Darius hit a restaurant/bar for some libations and toasted to those glorious white tears.
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Photo: FX
CONTINUED
Source: Guy D’Alema / FX
Darius and Paper Boi visit bootleg Chance aka Clark County at the studio. Clark is working on tracks while his other set of hands or his goons are playing dice. Clark asks Paper Boi if he wants to get on a track with him. Alfred agrees but first he has to get right and smoke something before he gets in the booth. He offers Clark some but the YooHoo rapper declines saying he doesn’t smoke or drink. He hops in the booth and to Alfred and Darius surprise he immediately starts rapping about smoking weed and drinking two of the things he said he does not do.
While he’s dropping the verse the program crashes cause Clark to lash out at the white engineer. The first time he Clark tells him he won’t put hands on him but he’s not the only one with hands.
While trying to preview a song for Paper Boi the program crashes again. Clark is clearly upset and decides to get up and leave. His goons are those hands that will be on the white engineer, they tell Darius and Al to leave and they heed the warning. The running gag of the whole studio scene was this poor engineer on thin ice the entire time because the equipment wasn’t working.
https://twitter.com/IAmGuzzyBowen/status/974470628710510592
We sincerely hope that engineer made it through the night.
CONTINUED
We get our first Van sighting of the season when Earn returns to her crib. He may not have a home but his important mail still comes there.
She greets Earn with a story about how her homegirl stunted on her by buying VIP tickets to the Beyonce concert while leaving everyone else to have regular seating. Atlanta must have known something we didn’t cause Jay-Z and Beyonce just announced OTR II tickets yesterday.
This show might have the same ability as The Simpsons. Anyway, Earn receives the check in the mail he was looking for and decides to take Van out for the weekend. Don’t worry this won’t be a repeat of last season’s date where Earn was pinching pennies every chance he got. This time he’s got money. Their first stop on their stuntastic night is a bougie dine-in movie theater to watch the new Fast & Furious film, we also want to note that before this episode of Atlanta played FX aired a Fast & Furious movie.
Atlanta veterans know things never go according to plan when it comes to Earn. When it comes time to pay for the two VIP tickets he decides to use a $100 dollar bill. The ticket agent tells Earn they don’t accept $100 dollar bills, so then he presents her with his debit card. She then informs him that she has to make a copy of both his license and card everytime he uses it. Earn isn’t feeling and decides to leave. Before he and Van can walk out of the theater he notices a white dude pays with $100 dollar bill. He approaches the white dude and is stopped in his tracks when the white guy flashes his concealed weapon. Twitter immediately pointed out the racist hypocrisy.
Their next stop is the hookah spot, hopefully, they will take Earn’s $100 bill without incident. Before they walk in Earn gets searched and has to pay $20 to get in. If you guessed he used that bill you damn right he did and the bouncer takes it no problem. Once inside, Van and Earn and going over the menu trying to decide on which flavor of Hookah they want. Before they can make their selection two police officers roll up on them accusing Earn of using a fake $100 bill. Earn immediately talks to the manager who happens to be also a Nigerian scammer. Even though Earn points out the bill is real and has a watermark the manager doesn’t believe him and wants Earn to rip up the bill.
Earn tells him no and decides to take his money back, but he still has to pay for stepping inside the hookah spot.Before they leave the premises the cop tells Earn he knew the money was real and that manager was just being a dick. Twitter immediately had to speak on the scene.
https://twitter.com/JetLifer734/status/974471644231208960
https://twitter.com/trappakhan/status/974471096413155328
https://twitter.com/GaMadeMarcus/status/974471172158042117
https://twitter.com/jwheels74/status/974471574161117185
Ain’t that about a bitch? Earn decides to take his money where he knows it will be appreciated, the strip club.
CONTINUED
Earn is on serious stunting spree still. He picks up Darius (minus the all-white outfit), Paper Boi and new fan favorite Tracey in a white limo to go to Onyx. Nothing wrong will happen here, right? Of course, it does this is Earn we are talking about here. They get a table and order a bottle of 1800 tequila, Tracey wanted Henny but Van doesn’t drink that. Earn goes to the bar to get some singles and quickly learns that the strip club is the ultimate jig. The bartender tells him there is a 20% surcharge on the singles on top of the $200 minimum.
The jug didn’t start there, Earn was also told that table they bought came with a bottle. He learned the hard way that he had to pay an additional $200 for the bottle of tequila. A stripper comes and offers him a lap dance he directs her towards Van and the stripper dances in front of her not even for a minute. She then turns and demands Earn pay her $20 for her lackluster effort. Twitter wasted no time point out Earn got robbed at the strip club.
https://twitter.com/rashad________/status/974473256655867905
Now the moment that really capped off this amazing episode was its cameo. Outside of the strip club, Mike Vick is hustling folks by racing them. You think Earn would be smart and keep it moving right?
W R O N G
Earn decides to step up to the plate and challenge the former NFL quarterback. They line up and the race starts but we never really get to see what happens but we really don’t need to cause we know Earn didn’t stand a chance.
We zap to Earn and Van in the limo and she reminds him that he was going up against Mike Vick. Twitter completely lost their mind at the sight of Mike Vick hustling drunk strip club patrons and Earn out of their money.
https://twitter.com/GregYRN/status/974474639035465728
Seriously Earn why would you race Mike Vick? We can’t wait to see next weeks misadventures of Earn and his friends.
