2/26/07, 2:15 am EST

The Definitive Guide to Episode Seven: “Lupe and Other Fiascoes”

ACT ONE

Joe, Jason and associate editor David Swanson meet with the kids and ask for pitches. Russell talks about Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco, saying he’s heard four tracks from the as-yet uncompleted album. Joe assigns it to him.

Krystal pitches Brook Hogan, to which Jason immediately responds that a piece on her might warrant a blog item, nothing more.

Krish pitches the new artist Cassie, whose MySpace page is hugely popular and who has just signed with Bad Boy records. Jason and Joe both agree she’s the perfect subject. Krish is pleased.

Krish goes back to the fishbowl and interviews Cassie on the phone while Tika and Krystal try to do their work. She hangs up and brags that Cassie would’ve wanted to talk to her forever.

Russell strolls through the office with his new attaché case and runs into his mentor, Jenny, who seems unimpressed. She advises him to a) turn in his Lupe Fiasco story and b) not leave at 5:30. He walks away muttering, “This is whack.”

In the fishbowl, Krystal works on her Brook Hogan blog item, which focuses on the pop-tart’s affinity for grillz. Krish offers to help her drop some hip-hop references into the piece.

That night, Krish is home laboring over her Cassie piece. She speaks about how hard she plans to work in the remaining weeks and that nothing is going to get in the way of her accomplishing her goals.

The next day, the pieces are all due. Krish meets with Jason and David, who tell her that she did an excellent job with the form and the tone of the piece, and that it will be running in the next issue of the magazine.

In the fishbowl, Russell conducts a phone interview with Lupe Fiasco. Russell’s questions about the style of Lupe’s album and his political views regarding black Muslims and terrorism provoke Lupe, and the interview gets increasingly rife with tension.

David Swanson meets with Krish to go over revisions on her Cassie article. He explains that the article is shipping that night so he made some changes to it, and she should look it over to make sure they’re alright with her. She jokes that as long as her name is spelled right, she’s fine with any changes, but when she returns to the fishbowl and reads it through, it becomes clear that she’s not alright. She tells Tika that she feels like David dumbed it down and changed it entirely, and storms off to talk to him. Tika tells us that she admires Krish for her authenticity and her ability to stand up for herself, but fears it might hold her back in this environment. Krish leaves a note for David saying she has a few corrections for her piece.

ACT TWO

The “Breaking” section of the magazine is closing at the end of the day. Krish meets with David and makes her case. David explains that much of the editing he did was for space. She returns to the fishbowl indignant and says that if anyone shelves any more of her writing, she will throw up on his or her desk.

Jason meets with Russell and tells him that his piece needs more quotes from Lupe. Russell says he’ll be able to do a follow-up interview and hand in his revised piece the next day. Jason reiterates the tight deadline he’s under.

Krytal’s Brook Hogan item is published on the Web site. As soon as she sees it, she gets angry because her byline reads “Krystal Simpson” rather than “Krystal Jagger,” which she insists is her nom de plume. She goes and speaks to Joe, who maintains that he will not allow her to publish under the name “Jagger,” just as he would not allow someone to publish under the assumed name “Cobain” or “Springsteen.”

ACT THREE

Joe comes to the fishbowl to tell the kids that DMX is performing an impromptu concert in Harlem and asks who’d like to cover it. Krish immediately volunteers. Joe says he appreciated her hussle. Krystal jokes that she doesn’t even know what DMX stands for.

Krish heads to Harlem and watches DMX from the sidelines. After the show, she talks her way onto the tour bus for an interview.

Russell finally gets in touch with Lupe’s publicist to reschedule his interview and is informed that Lupe has asked for another writer to interview him. Jason speaks to the publicist and calls Russell back in to discuss what’s happening. He explains that Lupe felt that Russell asked inappropriate questions about politics. Russell tries to defend himself by explaining that the political discussion was in keeping with Lupe’s identity as an artist. Jason tells him he did all he could and that Lupe refused to talk to him.

Krishtine asks to see her Cassie piece and discovers that it’s been made into a bigger, longer article — the lead piece in the breaking section. She’s thrilled and sets off to the fishbowl to brag.

Jason meanwhile sits with Joe and talks about how impressed he’s been with Krish lately, saying that she’s strong-willed but she’s a hard worker and she’s turned out consistently good writing. Krish sees that her DMX item has appeared unchanged on the Web site and is very pleased.

Russell speaks to a friend about the Lupe fiasco and says again that he’s disappointed in himself for messing up another opportunity.

Krystal receives a package at the office containing a Tiffany necklace that says “Jagger.” There’s no note, so she doesn’t know who has sent it.

The initial proofs for the magazine’s issue are being circulated and Krish’s DMX item was so well-done that the magazine has decided to make it into the Music Q&A. Tika looks at the pages, muttering that Krish has done a really good job and berating herself for not coming up with the Cassie story.

[Krystal’s blog item on Brook Hogan is her only published work for Rolling Stone to date. Russell’s Lupe Fiasco story never made it into “Breaking.” Krish got her name in Rolling Stone, impressing the magazine’s staff.]