I've lived in Queens, NY for the past 7 years and I can tell you that there is no place like it in the world. Actually, if I had to compare it to any other place, it would be Toronto. This is because Queens is the most diverse county in the United States and you can find hundreds of different ethnic groups amongst it's 2.5 million residents. In fact, the 7 el train which runs from Manhattan to Flushing is nicknamed the "international express" because you can literally visit the world along each of the neighborhoods on the line.
Almost as diverse as it's residents is the deep entourage of hip hop stars and lyrical styles that have emerged from the thoroughest borough. From the early hip hop pioneers of MC Shan, Marley Marl, Craig G, Roxanne Shante, the Juice Crew, LL Cool J, and Run-DMC to the golden age lyricists of Kool G Rap, Nas, Nature, Big Noyd, Cormega, Mobb Deep, A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, Capone N Noreaga, Beatnuts, Royal Flush, Akinyele, Mic Geronimo, Organized Konfusion, Large Professor, Main Source, O.C., The Lost Boyz, Salt N Peppa, and Onyx, Queens has had a venerable reputation for forming the dominant sound of hip hop, that countless others have tried to imitate. In the new millennium, the sound of Queens has shifted to the club rocking styles of Ja Rule, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Nicki Minaj. No matter what the era or current sound of hip hop might be, you can rest assured that a rapper from Queens has helped shape it. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find any other place on earth that has a more dominant contingent of rappers or even artists in general period.
If riding the 7 train gives you a taste of the international flavor of Queens, I would coin the E train the "hip hop express" because it touches most of the neighborhoods that spawned these aforementioned legendary hip hop acts.
So let's catch the E at Port Authority and take a trip to the planet of Queens.
First stop on the E is Queens Plaza. Just a few blocks away past the Kennedy Fried Chicken, strip clubs, end to end bridge traffic, industrial buildings and thundering N, W, Q and 7 elevated trains overhead is the place where stars are born - the infamous Queensbridge Houses. Queensbridge is 6 large blocks of housing projects adjacent to the 59th Street Queensboro Bridge and home of some of the most legendary rappers to ever bless the mic. Let's get into the anthem, "The Bridge" by MC Shan. This is the famous track that incited a hip hop battle with KRS One from the Bronx who took it as a wrongful claim to the birthplace of hip hop. You love to hear the story again and again:
MC Shan - The Bridge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcFVXUKG9ZU
A decade later, arguably the greatest MC of all time, Nas, released unarguably the greatest album of all time, Illmatic. Below is my personal favorite hip hop song of all time "Nas Will Prevail" from Nas's pre-Illmatic demo tape, which later became "It Ain't Hard to Tell". This is Nas in his rawest form:
Nas - Nas Will Prevail
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6B9gWD59Cw
No visit to Queensbridge would be complete without a track from Mobb Deep who represented the borough of the dun language lovely on the classic Infamous album. Everyone knows "Shook Ones", but "Peer Pressure" off of their debut album Juvenile Hell is my favorite Mobb Deep track, produced by the man DJ Premier himself:
Mobb Deep - Peer Pressure
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THODZMhjWVI
Next stop, we'll take the E to Roosevelt Ave and transfer to the R to get off at Woodhaven Blvd in the Corona section of Queens. We can cut through Queens Center Mall and visit the menacing Lefrak buildings aka Irak, home of Capone N Norega, Kool G Rap and Polo, Akinyele, Prodigy at one point, and others. Here is a classic track from a team from out of Queens with the American dream, "Fast Life" by Kool G Rap and Nas. Incidentally, Kool G Rap is who Nas got his style from:
Kool G Rap, Nas - Fast Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp5EOREHcuY
Now let's get back on the E and transfer to the 7 at Roosevelt Ave to take a trip to Flushing, grab some authentic Chinese food and just hang out. Speaking of just hanging out, let's take a listen to Queens / Toronto based hip hop group Main Source's classic "Just Hangin Out" while we enjoy our steamed dumplings and General Tso chicken.
Main Source - Just Hangin' Out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT-RzqUjotE
After all of that food and train riding, I'm getting a bit tired so let's hop back on the E and visit our final stop, Jamaica Center. We can walk around and work off all of that food that we just ate in Flushing. Let's take a walk through the infamous 40 PJs, aka Southside, aka South Jamaica Houses, home of G-Unit, Onyx, Nicki Minaj, A Tribe Called Quest and many others. There is no more appropriate walking music for this neighborhood than Onyx's "Walk in New York".
Onyx - Walk In New York
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHJKFyZnrhg
For another Toronto connection to Queens, let's get a bit modern and jiggy with it with Baisley Park Houses native Nicki Minaj and Toronto's very own Drake on "Moment for Life":
Nicki Minaj, Drake - Moment For Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks3_kuRAzHs
If we're really ambitious, we can take the E to the J, get off at Broadway Junction in East New York, Brooklyn, then get on the A to Far Rockaway Queens, home of the classic hip hop group, Third Bass, but to tell you the truth I think I just have a bit too much gas from all of that Kung Pao chicken! I guess I'll just have to give you the "Gas Face" and call it a day. Thanks for taking the ride on the hip hop express through Queens with me. Until next time.
3rd Bass - Gas Face
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYp28tEAVvs
