Highest 2 Lowest

The film opens as music mogul David King (Denzel Washington) of Stackin’ Hits Records is on a phone call. King expresses remorse for majority interest in the company but now hopes to buy back majority ownership to stop another big label from buying them out. King then goes to find his wife Pam (Ilfenesh Hadera), who talks to him about her own endeavors in the music business. King takes his son Trey (Aubrey Joseph) to his basketball game at school with his friend Kyle Christopher (Elijah Wright). Trey talks to his dad about a new up-and-coming artist that he thinks could sign to Stackin’ Hits. King ends up leaving despite saying he would stay and watch. He joins Paul (Jeffrey Wright), Kyle’s father and King’s driver and friend. King goes to Stackin’ Hits, where he meets with one of his partners, Patrick Bethea (Michael Potts), to discuss a plan to buy back majority ownership, feeling that the label that wants to buy them will just sacrifice quality artists for AI nonsense. Despite Patrick’s initial objections, he agrees to King’s offer to put up most of his personal assets, like his penthouse and artwork from black artists. King returns home to tell the news to Pam, who thought that he was going to be slowing down and spending more time with her as Trey is set to go to college, though she still vows to support her husband. Moments later, he gets a phone call from a mysterious caller, informing him that Trey has been kidnapped. Police immediately arrive at the King family’s apartment. Detectives Higgins (Dean Winters), Ball (LaChanze), and Bridges (John Douglas Thompson) question King about Trey, particularly if he might know if anyone closet to the family could be involved. The cops also question Paul, as well as

Trey’s coach (Rick Fox). Later, police inform the Kings that Trey has been found, and they bring him back to his parents. However, the kidnapper has mistakenly abducted Kyle instead. King receives a phone call from the kidnapper (A$AP Rocky), who demands $17.5 million in Swiss francs in return for Kyle. The kidnapper says that the plan was always to get to King, regardless of the boy. King suddenly becomes reluctant to pay the ransom because it could jeopardize his ownership deal. Paul pleads with King to help get his son back, while Trey expresses disgust and disappointment at his father’s hesitance. After spending the night reflecting, King eventually comes around and agrees to pay the ransom. After gathering the money, King is called by the kidnapper to tell him where to make the drop, as well as to include Pam’s Cartier bracelet, which she gives up without argument. Followed by the detectives, King packs the loot in an Air Jordan backpack that has a GPS tracker in it. He takes the subway from Borough Hall on the way to Yankee Stadium. The kidnapper tells King to go between the train cars to make the drop. One of the kidnapper’s accomplices pulls the emergency brakes, causing the train to grind to a halt and making King drop the backpack, which falls between the tracks and is caught by another accomplice. Detectives chase the bag grabber through the streets on his bike, which is crowded because of the Puerto Rican Day parade, and gives the criminals opportunities to switch bags with each other. Eventually, Higgins chases one of the crooks on foot, but his bag is full of junk, and the money is gone. Kyle is released and later found at a park but returned home to Paul. A video of

King on the subway goes viral, and he becomes a heroic figure (“Da Black Panther of Da Boogie Down Bronx”) for his role in getting Kyle back. However, King is informed by one of his lenders, Gabe (Wendell Pierce), that his actions have caused the ownership deal to go under since investors think that King does not have the money for the deal, and that he might be guilty of fraud because his assets were put up for the money that was meant for the deal, and he used it for the ransom. He is given to weeks to come up with the money before they walk away. King listens to a rap song that he recalls Kyle describing as being played while he was captive. He goes to the hospital and plays the song for Kyle and the detectives, which he confirms is the same song that was playing. The song is from a rapper named Yung Felon, and King figures he was the kidnapper. Since the police will not investigate the lead, King and Paul grab guns and track down Yung Felon’s address to get the money back. King goes into his apartment and doesn’t find him but meets his wife Rosa (Princess Nokia) and their son, who was named after King since Felon (real name Archie) apparently looked up to King as an inspiration. King makes Rosa think that he wants to sing Felon to Stackin’ Hits after hearing his demo, so she gives him the location of the recording studio he is in. King and Paul go to the studio, where King personally goes to confront Felon. Felon describes how he once idolized King and was never able to get his attention until the kidnapping. The two exchange words in the form of a rap battle,

which ends with Felon trying to shoot King. King chases Felon out into the streets and into the subway. They fight between train cars until King gets the upper hand and knocks Felon out. The cops arrest Felon and recover the stolen money. King, Pam, and Trey visit Paul in the hospital since he was injured during the gunfight. King offers him a chance to be part of his new label, but Paul says it’s time for him and Kyle to start a new beginning. Yung Felon becomes the most streamed rapper due to his newfound reputation. He accepts a plea deal and 25-year sentence in exchange for meeting with King one more time. King visits him in his cell, and Felon tries to convince him to sign him to Stackin’ Hits now that their union could prove profitable. However, King tells Felon that he is leaving Stackin’ Hits and starting a smaller label. As he leaves, Felon can only curse King out in anger. Back at home, the Kings meet with a young artist named Sula (Aiyana-Lee), as Trey had recommended her to King. They listen to her song, “Highest To Lowest”, and the three are moved by her incredible voice. King asks Sula if she is ready to take on all the challenges that comes with the music business. After she says yes, King says it’s time to get to work. Related Movies: *CUT TO THE CHASE*Brought to you by David King is a major music mogul for record label Stackin' Hits. He is in the middle of trying to buy back ownership of the company to stop another label from buying them out. Just as he gathers the money needed for the deal, he is informed that his son Trey has been kidnapped. Trey is later found

and returned home safely, as the kidnapper mistook his friend Kyle for Trey, and now has the boy held for ransom in exchange for $17.5 million in Swiss francs. King is conflicted about paying the ransom, even though Kyle is the son of his loyal friend and driver Paul. Eventually, King comes around to the deal and follows the kidnapper's instructions on making the drop on the train in Brooklyn. The kidnappers get away and collect the money, and Kyle is released. While King becomes a hero to the public for his actions, he is in danger of losing the deal and potentially being sued for fraud because the money he spent on the ransom was meant for the deal. King learns that the kidnapper was an up-and-coming rapper named Yung Felon, who idolized King to the point of naming his son after him. King is led to the recording studio by Felon's wife, leading to an exchange of words and a gunfight. King chases Felon into the subway and fights him before knocking him unconscious. Detectives arrest Felon and recover the money. Felon becomes popular on music streaming sites for his newfound reputation, but when he proposes that King sign him to his label, King announces he is going to start a smaller label. King later meets with a young artist named Sula since Trey recommended her to him, and he is impressed enough by her talents that he agrees to sign her.