Sunday, October 26, 2008

If It Wasn't for the Bronx...

"...This rap s**t probably wouldn't be goin' on." -Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz.
Just a reminder to Chuck D of Public Enemy. Apparently, there is a Long Island Music Hall of Fame, and Roosevelt's own Public Enemy has been inducted. This is all great.

If you want to read the whole Newsday Article click here.

The reason we're covering this is two-fold:
1) the weekends are really light in the blogosphere, AND
2) Chuck D seemed to disparage the Bronx (or at least Bronx rappers) in some of his comments.

In the lead paragraph Chuck states:

"People used to come from the Bronx and from Brooklyn with a chip on their shoulders, thinking that just because rap started there that they'd be better," the Public Enemy leader says, with a laugh. "I destroyed them, man. I would tell people when they were coming into Adelphi, from the Bronx or from Brooklyn or other parts of New York City, 'The vibe is in the Bronx and Manhattan, but you ain't got the vibe. You ain't fly with all the jive. Don't come here thinking you're all this.' They definitely called me 'country bumpkin,' but I was gonna bust their --. They're not gonna sound louder or stronger. That's just not gonna happen." [Newsday]

Listen Chuck, we're not saying the Public Enemy isn't the best rap group to come out of Roosevelt, we're just saying that the Bronx has produced many more (and better) hip-hop artists than the entirety of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. A little respect for the origins of your craft would be nice too.

We have a deep respect for hip-hop. In fact, if you didn't know our name is derived from KRS-one's famous BoogieDown productions. BoogieDowner wants to drive home the fact that the BoogieDown is the Bethlehem of Hip-hop. A global movement all started in a humble abode, namely 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. That's kinda like a manger, no? Maybe the Bronx could have its own hip-hop hall of fame? Maybe house it at 1520 Sedgwick? We'd be able to fill that thing just with rappers from TerrorSquad.

By the way, does anybody really think Flavor Flav would have been able to hang on St. Anne's Avenue in the 80s without getting clowned? Just wondering...
And if you ever forget the status of the Bronx in the rap world remember Fat Joe's lyric:
"The Bronx mothered this rap shit."


*pic of Chuck D courtesy of www.s9.com, pic of Fat Joe courtesy of www.hiphoprx.com*
~ErLu

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

BoogieDowner wants to drive home the fact that the BoogieDown is the Bethlehem of Hip-hop. A global movement all started in a humble abode, namely 1520 Sedgwick Avenue.
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