Hip-Hop In NYC

How immigrant and descendant-of-immigrant Hip-Hop Artists connected and interacted with the City That Never Sleeps

History of Hip-Hop

Originated late 1970’s in the South Bronx

Has its roots in the Jamaican tradition of toasting—stream of consciousness, boastful poetry and speech over music (DJ Kool Herc)

Originators include DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Melle Mel, etc.

East Coast Hip-Hop

The original form of hip-hop

As opposed to old school and west coast hip-hop, east coast hip-hop has a strong emphasis on lyrical creativity and dexterity, multi-syllabic rhymes and complex metaphors

Also a strong emphasis on social consciousness and empowerment, as opposed to the laid-back attitude of old-school rap and the gangbanger mafioso rap of the west coast

Nas

born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones on September 14th, 1973.

became steeped in African culture through both his father, a famous African Jazz musician and self instruction from Five Percenter lessons, Quran scriptures and the Bible.

Grew up in the Queensbridge projects in Queens, one of the original hotbeds of rap.

“New York State of Mind” by Nas, selected lyrics

“Crews without guns are goners/In broad daylight, stickup kids, they run up on us”

“I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death”

“Be having dreams that I’m a gangster—drinking Moets, holding Tecs/ Making sure the cash came correct then I stepped”

“The city never sleeps, full of villains and creeps/ That’s where I learned to do my hustle had to scuffle with freaks”

“New York State of Mind” by Nas, lyric interpretation

Grew up in an area where crime was an everyday part of life

Nas uses braggadocio to depict the mindset he needed to be able to survive and thrive in this atmosphere

NYC is known as the city that never sleeps, which is supposed to be an endearing way to describe the vibrant nightlife and general thrum of the city. However, Nas flips this to say that he never sleeps because sleeping is a cousin of death, in other words sleeping is just another way to fall behind in the rat race that is living in an impoverished area.

With his rhyme about dreaming about being a gangster, Nas describes the new American Dream for the impoverished immigrant culture in the NYC hip-hop culture: not getting out of the struggle, but becoming rich and more powerful in the same paradigm.

Grandmaster Flash

Born Joseph Saddler on January 1st, 1958.

Originally from Barbados, grew up in the South Bronx, one of the early strongholds of Hip-Hop along with Queensbridge. Also an area large in crime.

One of the pioneers of the art of DJ’ing.

“The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, selected lyrics

“I can’t take the smell, I can’t take the noise no more/ Got no money to move out, I guess I got no choice”

“She went to the city and got social security/ She had to get a pimp, she couldn’t make it on her own”

“You’ll admire all the number book takers/ Thugs, pimps, pushers and the big money makers/ Driving big cars, spending twenties and tens/ And you want to grow up to be just like them”

“The Message” by Grandmaster Flash lyric interpretations

“The Message” is a grim portrayal of the inner-city life, as depicted by one of the earliest and most important names in Hip-Hop.

Flash describes how much you can be grinded down by the constant reminders of desolation and depravity in the inner city, and remarks on the fact that there is no way out for the people.

Flash sympathizes with the inhabitants of the inner city, describing how the kids become drawn to the powerful figures in their neighborhoods, who more often than not are involved in illegal trades. Essentially, the ghetto becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for the young children of poor immigrants in the inner city.

Similarly to Nas, Flash evokes the new American Dream of getting out of the struggle by becoming a powerful gangster, although Flash also sees that this only enables the system in an endless circle.

Notorious B.I.G.

born Christopher George Latore Wallace on May 5th, 1972.

Of Jamaican descent (both parents), grew up in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn.

Universally held as one of the greatest rappers of all time, renewed East Coast/NYC rap scene at a time when the West Coast was dominating the mainstream.

“Juicy” by Notorious B.I.G., selected lyrics

“Born sinner, the opposite of a winner/ I remember when I used to eat sardines for dinner”

“I made the change from a common thief/ To up close and personal with Robin Leach”

“We used to fuss when the landlord dissed us/ No heat, wondering why Christmas missed us”

“Juicy” by Notorious B.I.G., lyric interpretation

This song is a personal declaration of triumph for Notorious B.I.G., the child of Jamaican immigrants. It depicts his struggles growing up in a poor and crime-ridden section of Brooklyn; how he worked his way up and made it out of the struggle that traps so many.

Biggie reminisces on eating sardines, having no heat in his small apartment, and transitioning his life from being a common criminal to someone admirable. He wrote this song with the hopes that its depiction of his triumphs would inspire others from his situation to rise above and make something of their lives.

Conclusion

From all three artists, we see how rough it was growing up in the poor, crime-ridden immigrant culture of NYC during the beginnings of Hip-Hop.

Through their revolutionary music, they were able to depict their interactions with the city on a scale such that it resonated with generations upon generations of kids and even adults in the same situation as they were.