Source: Gary Gershoff / Getty
Last week on Black Ink Crew: Chicago, Van’s former “apprentice” Evenita returned and dropped a bombshell claiming he smashed Charmaine in Vegas. Despite the explosive rumor, Charmaine’s boyfriend doesn’t believe it and is still set on making her his wife. He plans a trip to Myrtle Beach to pop the big question, and of course, the gang is invited.
The episode opens up with Neek and Charmaine at the dog park. The couple uses the moment to talk about Evenita’s ridiculous claim that Van smashed Charmaine in Vegas. Neek doesn’t believe the rumor at all and hits Charmaine with a fake marriage proposal. Neek obviously loves to play practical jokes on his girlfriend. On last weeks episode, he played a cruel joke on Charmaine making her believed he moved out of the couple’s apartment. In reality, he just moved their furniture and belongings upstairs into a bigger apartment.
Neek then suggests the couple head to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to check out a safari there. Little does Charmaine know though that her boyfriend has something up his sleeve and plans to make this trip very special.
Speaking of 9Mag, back to the shop the crew is also discussing Evenita’s outrageous claim that Van smashed Charmaine. Bella claims she didn’t invite her to the party in the first place. Van double’s down on his denial of not having sex with his “sister” claiming it didn’t happen because Charmaine was on her period. But when did that really stop a guy from cheating in the first place? We believe Van in this instance.
Danielle shows up and announces that Neek is close to proposing to her cousin and that he wants everyone to be at Myrtle Beach to see it go down. Now Bella wasn’t invited, but Neek didn’t necessarily say he didn’t want her to be there either. She ultimately decides to stay behind at the shop.
When the crew arrives in South Carolina, they are instantly reminded why the south is still a bit behind in the times. When they stop in a convenience store, they are greeted by a ridiculous amount of merchandise bearing the confederate flag. To make matters worse, the Black woman working the cash register is not too thrilled that she has to wear a confederate flag t-shirt. Van sees the opportunity to peddle some of his merch and gives her a Chicagorilla shirt to wear instead.
When they finally arrive at the rental home we see Phor is FacetTiming his new boo, we will meet her later. When asked about her during his confessional, he gushes about her and says he is “very happy.” Charmaine and Neek show up, and she is thrilled to see her 9Mag crew is there. The joy is quickly sucked out of the building when Bella surprisingly shows up at the house.
Despite Charmaine not being happy at Bella being there, the two do manage to hash things out like two grown adults. Bella apologizes for her involvement in the whole Evenita situation, Charmain accepts and allows her to stay.
Now, typically when the 9Mag team goes on trips, there is usually tons of drama that follows. This time around, they instead opt for an educational journey. Van takes the team to a local rice plantation where the guide explains to them the life expectancy of slaves working there was 3-5 years. Charmaine, who has been a staunch critic of Lily’s rampant used of the n-word used that revelation from the guide as one of the reasons she was so against people like Lily saying the word.
Now it’s time to meet Phor’s new boo, and she is a familiar face in the Black Ink Crew circles. Phor opens the door to reveal it’s none other than Sophia Body, the same girl that got Ceaser in trouble with his ex-fiancee Dutchess. Oh and she was also Jaquae’s girlfriend on Love & Hip Hop: New York, so she is no stranger to these reality television streets.
The crew wastes no time interrogating her either. Bella immediately asks if she has slept with Phor with her replying she hasn’t slept with anyone in 2 years. She also added that she has had a crush on the tattoo artist/rapper for a very long time. Van digs deeper, asking her about the situation with her and Ceaser. She, of course, denies anything happened between the two of them.
Meanwhile, Phor has no idea his ex, Nikki Nicole — who has been romantically linked to 50 Cent — is on the way along with Van’s boo Jenn. During their ride to the house, she reveals she reached out to Phor when it was revealed he was battling depression. She points out that he ignored her, and she thought it was foul because he cheated on her birthday.
When she finally arrives, Phor is not too thrilled to see her. After a talk with Sophia, Nikki and Phor go outside to have a private discussion. Phor tells her that he misses the friendship they once had because she knew that he was dealing with depression. He also thought it wasn’t genuine of her to reach out to him via Instagram and that the breakup was one of the factors that led to his depression. She counters by suggesting that her effort should have counted. Phor eventually opens up and tells Nikki that he still loves her and that he was glad the two of them were able to clear the air.
Could this spell trouble for his new relationship? Twitter had plenty to say about the episode. Hit the gallery below to see all the reactions to Sophia Body below.
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Photo: Gary Gershoff / Getty
