Pay to Play

The murder of a rapper puts Charlie to work analyzing the mathematics of the music business, in the same week that Amita's parents come to town, and Megan has asked for a week off without discussing it with Don.

Title
The de facto antonym of 'fair and open', this indicates a situation where, to get in the game, there is a price up front - an ante. There is also a suggestion that unmet debts may prove bad for one's health, and perhaps that everyone involved has skin in the game. The term is now commonly used for the gray area of the intersection of politics and business, and the buying of political favors.

Trivia
Jeff Warren and James "B Tip" Brown were not given a credit for this episode even though they had names in the show which were "Reese and "Repeat".

Goofs
When Sinclair is interviewing Derek they are shot at in a drive-by shooting. David and Liz run out to see the shooter's car drive away, which leads to a shot of Derek walking outside and collapsing with an obvious gunshot wound to his left chest.

The wound pattern is unlikely given how he was sitting when the shooting began and even if it was the case his back was to the window so there should have been a bleeding wound in his back as well. This is not present when the camera pans down to Derek lying face down on the sidewalk.

Crazy Credits
[This appears on the beginning of the episode] 7148 hip hop albums 3.6 billion gross sales dollars 186 radio stations 3 artists