“Just to Get a Rep” quotes from Luke Cage

Luke

[to Dan] Hey, what was Mike Tyson like?

[chuckles] I know you're sick of telling that story. He whooped Mitch Green fine, didn't he?

Mike Tyson is a real nice guy.

Luke

But he hit like a beast.

Bobby

Yeah, well there was beauty in that beast. You can't control what people say. Just be the best man that you can be. And always make sure they spell your name right.

Luke

Where'd she get the gun?

Yo, I plead the eighth.

Luke

You mean the fifth.

Yeah, that shit. I plead the fifth.

Cottonmouth

There he is. Dishwasher Lazarus. You want your old job back? It costs to be a savior. Ask Jesus.

Luke

You started all this. This is me finishing it.

Cottonmouth

You want Harlem, it's expensive.

Luke

I don't want Harlem. I just want you to stop messing with it.

Cottonmouth

It's my home. You don't know a damn thing about it.

Cottonmouth

[eulogizing Pop] Henry Hunter was my mentor. An old friend. He taught me streets the hard way. I'll remember the sound of his fists, but that's how he got his name. Pop. But he changed, he evolved. See, Harlem could do that to you. Some people saw war-zone, Pop always saw pasture, a breeding ground for art history, for greatness. From Billy Strayhorn, Teddy Riley, Big L, ASAP Rocky, all those brothers, came from right here. All because of people like Pop. I believe that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and that's how we have to look at Pop's death. They never caught the shooter, but I have faith that he is right in the depths of Hell. I miss Pop. I promise you with all my might, and even though we are being attacked on all sides by foreign interlopers, strangers with arcane abilities, I promise you I'll stay true to what we have right here. 'Cause that's what Pop would've wanted.

Luke

[eulogizing Pop] I asked Pop once why he didn't want people to curse in his shop and why we had to wear these ugly smocks. He said: these kids need to see a man go to work, every day, and be in the presence of men in uniform putting in work. I didn't want to walk in late, but I was trying to do what Pop always did, help those in need and protect them from the forces that would do them harm. At first, it was selfish, because my name was attached to it. Then it got bigger. If we try to protect only ourselves, without looking out for those people closest to us, then we lose. Pop never forgot his people. Where some people saw hard rock kids, he saw precious jewels. He reminded me that diamonds are formed by pressure, covered in dirt, but when you polish them, they shine. Pop saw the shine in everyone that walked in his barbershop, he cut their hair, he listened to their problems, and he made them feel better about the world, themselves. We have to strive on a daily basis to do the same for each other, and sometimes that's gonna mean standing up to a bully, especially if he calls himself a friend. I don't believe in Harlem. I believe in the people who make Harlem what it is.