With Home Team Woes, Why Bring NY Back?

Written by Drew Ricketts

When artists can make grand pronouncements like “Hip Hop is Dead” and gain both momentum and widespread accord, the age of nostalgia is upon us. Terms like Old School have been run into the ground; and now, the demand for “real shit” and “that Ol’ this or that” is the ubiquitous antonym to the transitioning, chart-driven anthems carting the music along. This is why I’m hot, after all. Particularly prevalent among these traditionalists dirges is the constant outcry over the death of New York rap. As a native of the City that Never Sleeps, I can sympathize with the disdain at being slept on. However, after issuing the usual arguments about it being the birthplace, or various legends calling it home, or real lyricism being borne out of cracks in the Furious Five’s cement, the complainants usually revert to more stale reasoning (i.e. the South has no real credibility; New York has a lot of great music still undervalued; everyone else is getting shine). The resultant response from Big Apple rappers has been to release a deluge of New York resurgence songs, possibly meant to re-establish the grandeur of Wu/Biggie/Nas days but often falling perilously short of that goal. I liken it to my other favorite dying New York institution: the Knickerbockers. The laughable motley crew of NBA has-beens cluttering the Knick roster resembles most closely the ruinous New York rap scene reaching for its glory days but to no avail. Listed below are the epitaph songs about NY and their respective Knick team counterparts. Vibe with me.

“Welcome to New York City” by Cam’ron and Jay-Z as compared to the 1999 Knicks team

The rolling pianos and courtroom-theater affect of this song signifies a thematic shift from casual New York ode to post-9/11 urgency and despair. Although the ’99 Knicks made their dramatic eighth-seed drive well before the Towers fell, they embodied the same bruised shell of a team that Cam and Jay do in this song, especially among swirling rumors about the Roc’s less-than-dynastic demise. While Jay-Z’s verse approaches triumph, it is still hinged upon times long gone, and hustler-era reminiscence: “I’m a B.K. brawler/Marcy projects hallway loiterer/Pure coke copper, get your order up/I bring em to Baltimore in the Ford Explorer/It’s gonna cost you more if I gotta get em to Florida.”

Patrick Ewing’s teams held fort more sturdily than Marcus Camby, Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston ever could but they made strident efforts to achieve the mid-90′s swagger of Knicks past. With an injured Ewing gazing misty-eyed from the sideline, they could manage only one victory against Tim Duncan and The Admiral. Cam’ron reminds me of this lost Ewing with his gibberish-inspired blam-with-the-blammers-jam-with-the-jammers verse. What exactly he means to convey here is a total enigma and it reeks of defeat. Jay-Z represents the core of testy New York guards while Cam is the depleted frontline leaving the team more vulnerable than ever. Sometimes trying to stoke excitement with words can lead to inflated inauthenticity. Neither of these teams were able to achieve a pure union. I doubt Jay and Cam even recorded this song at the same time, or consulted with one another because of the brewing hatred between them. The Knicks may not have had internecine conflicts aired out but I somehow doubt Latrell Sprewell’s angst molded well with Allan Houston’s puritanical ethic. A city divided.

“I’m From New York” by Ja Rule, Fat Joe and Jadakiss as compared to the 2003 mid-season Knicks

For a moment in 2003, the return of Stephon Marbury to his hometown seemed a godsend. After a few tumultuous years with the cross-river New Jersey squad and some promising but prematurely arrested playoff runs with the Phoenix Suns, it was as if he could return to phoenix-like stature in the Garden. When 50 Cent reached national prominence by copying Southern style and bathing it in New York sing-song drawl, other rappers quietly took exception. Mainly 50 had become a hypocrite for disparaging Ja Rule’s style and then doing an exact replica, albeit with more thuggish bravado, less ecstasy-induced crooning. So when the good guys decided to team up to expose 50 as a fraud, carpetbagger on this song, the city breathed a sigh of relief. Similarly, Marbury brought necessary reprieve after the loss of one star after another…only to be replaced with aging veterans galore. But it was all Fool’s Gold.

“I’m From New York” served its purpose as a veiled shot at 50 but no real change came. Ja Rule’s sputtering career continued to sputter; Jadakiss’s potential was limited to just that after a lukewarm album received few accolades; and 50 rolled on while dispatching the Game and subsequently Young Buck. The bad guys won.

The New York Knicks were bolstered by Starbury’s return but briefly. Soon, he could be aggregated with the other aging Jalen Roses and Tim Thomases of the world, now an unremarkable player past his prime. The song itself inspired fans to reconsider New York but it was a wail in the dark at most with lines like: “But now that Ma$e is back, I think I’d much rather find a menage/And everybody talkin crazy how they’re AK spit/But we know this investigatin, and they ain’t spray shit.” In theory, three New York rap icons should be able to topple one but in this case the whole was less than the sum of its parts. In theory, a point guard with Iverson-like skills should be able to lead any team into the playoffs but…no cigar.

“New York” by AZ feat. Ghostface and Raekwon as compared to surprising Knick rookies

The better New York rappers have often aged gracefully, daring to raise standards as they matured. AZ is one such case. He has placed himself consistently among the prized lyricists of his time after starting out with only a cult following. Ghostface, too, has been the complete rapper that his Wu-Tang compatriots often deigned to be but could not match. His eccentricities, ear for soul music and effervescence make him a behemoth in a city of aspiring behemoths. The two match with Raekwon on “New York” off of AZ’s A.W.O.L., an album that uses nostalgia as an aid rather than a hindrance. There is a respectable symmetry of verse, humility and grit that make the song an understated banger, flaunting both sirens and creeping bass. Ghostface specifically adopts a vociferous shout to get his point across about, “[The] New York borough, keeping it thorough/Bunch of snakes in the grass, stay creepin’ like squirrels/Cuz a snitch gon’ crack that nut, don’t give a fuck/Did ten hours long and try to wrap us up/He dry snitching, post up in the whip with a fly wisdom/Hopped out to get a dutch, but he left with his wig splittin” and other shadowy metropolis imagery.

David Lee, Nate Robinson and Channing Frye do not ring bells among casual NBA fans but to a Knick fan they mean everything. When a team is weighed down by star power and the looming trade clouds, youthful energy can invigorate an otherwise dead affair. For all the perplexing trades, the Knicks draft picks resound as the quiet courage and admirable skill to offset the chaos. In this same way, these three rookies dazzled upon entering a fractured picture, the three Hip Hop veterans put forth their humble song to rise above the detritus.

“Where It Started” by Hi-Tek feat. Jadakiss, Talib Kweli, Papoose, Raekwon as compared to the 2006-7 Knicks

A season of promise…either the ragtags won with Isiah or he would be fired for not delivering on his decisions. Stephon Marbury was unchained. Jamal Crawford dropped a 50-spot for only the second time in his career on maaad made buckets in a row. QRich looked like he finally got over Brandy long enough to have a decent game or two. Even Eddy Curry awoke from a preternatural giant’s slumber to become one of the best centers in the East (I know…I know). After all was said and done however, the results were dismal. Their lack of unity caught up to them; injuries beleaguered an already fragile unit. Garden-goers were left to ponder abstract “What Ifs” for yet another season as Knick castoffs like Matt Barnes, Ben Gordon (traded his pick) and Kurt Thomas thrived elsewhere. And Walt Clyde Frazier used his bold syllogisms for phrases like “Knicks meandering” or “quizzical shot selection.”

Hi-Tek’s well-intentioned New York tribute gave Brooklyn a gust of energy the summer it leaked to the airwaves. Talib and Rae dropped admirable verses. Jada came in with a torrent of formidable references to Jordans, haze, Ari, dust, hawk-work and other grimy details. It seemed as if everything might be all right. Unfortunately, the song stretches for one Papoose verse too long and the beat has less fervid jump as it wears through four spots. Hi-Tek has never shied away from the New York associations even though he is a Cincinnati product. Indeed, he can count at least one classic New York record to his credit with Reflection Eternal. But in this case, he may have bitten off more than he could chew by inviting a gaggle of emcees to rip his understated, elegant beat. The joint nature of it is too much force, not enough synthesis…sort of like when you build a basketball team of only guards and small forwards. You might be able to intrigue opponents with an array of skills but you’ll create discord expecting everyone to share at all times. While Jada, Rae and Talib might be comfortable deferring to the chemistry, Papoose might want to score 50. It’s a tough proposition.

Waiting for the messianic return of the New York scene, perhaps quintessential to the formation of rap music, is a futile enterprise. Living up to the legend is never easy and perhaps the reason why so many NY point guards make the leap to the NBA after being hyped, but do little else. (Here’s looking at you Omar Cook, Erick Barkley and Sebastian Telfair.) The promise of greatness comes but once in a music cycle. There are fans of eighties hair-bands who eagerly await the reinvention of Poison or some other past great. Unfortunately, dwelling on relics only importunes a frustrating vision. In reality, Hip Hop has taken great elements from all parts of the globe to become something much grander than its presupposed nexus in New York. Cuba, South Africa, Brazil, France, UK, Japan and others have suffused it to many people who will create something entirely new after this. Understanding the path is just that, a peculiar continuum, allows followers to move with it, rather than call for its growth to stop in one place.

Honorable Mention New York Shits

New York Sh*t – Busta Rhymes feat Swizz Beatz

Crooklyn Dodgers Remix – Chubb Rock, Jeru the Damaja, OC

Crooklyn Dodgers 3 – Mos Def, Jean Grae, Memphis Bleek

We Run NY – Tru Life, Joell Ortiz, Lumidee

NY NY – Lloyd Banks

4,3,2,1 – LL Cool J, DMX, Redman, Canibus, Method Man

Where It Started – YouTube video

That Ol’ New York Rap with B-Boy Grunt

Stray Shots

Rick_James-Deeper_Still-2007

Cashis – The County Hound EP

Tank – Sex Love & Pain

Tank-Sex_Love_And_Pain-(Bonus_Tracks)

Ludacris-Jackson-5-The-Re-Release-Therapy-Album

Eminem – Curtain Re-Call

VA-DJ_Clue-Its_Me_Snitches-2007

TapeMasters Inc Presents T.I. versus T.I.P Pre-Album Release Mixtape

Stray Shots