As many of you may know, Kool Herc, the DJ that cut hip-hop’s umbilical cord at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue during a party for his sister back in 1973, has asked hip-hop’s leading men and womenâ€"including Will Smith and Queen Latifahâ€"to pitch in and help raise the $3 million dollars needed to meet the $14 million demand to keep the legendary Bronx tenement out of the hands of a greedy developer.
New York City is currently undergoing a vicious attack against overzealous developers looking to turn our city into a strictly bourgeoisie to upper-class environment. And even though The Bronx has been slow to feel any brutal gentrificationâ€"unlike Brooklyn and Manhattan’s L.E.S and Uptown, the birth place of hip-hop is still feeling the heat, thanks to developer Mark Karasick, who bought the then affordable housing tenement from BSR Management back in February.
Pic via AMNY
Karasick planned to turn 1520 Sedgwick into an upscale, high-rent high rise.
Well at least the voracious bastard made an offer.
So now, the ball’s in Kool Herc’s court. The only problem is, there aren’t enough players on his team.
Many Brooklynites have seen what went down in Bed-Stuy. Bedford-Stuyvesant used to be called “Do or Die.†Now it’s called “Do or Die in the street after being kicked out of your apartment.†Where was Jay-Z when they took over the ‘hood? Nowhere to be found. Neither was any other notable rapper from Brooklyn as the wild fire spread from Fort Green to Bed-Stuy to Bushwick, Flatbush, and Crown Heights. Soon, you’ll have white people subletting in East New York’s notorious Pink Houses.
Not to be so … pessimistic, but most rappers have neglected New York City. So what makes Kool Herc think that any rapper is going to care? Especially those who made the Forbes list. They should be the last ones to give a damn. I could be wrong though.
And contrary to the blog title, where was Kool Herc when the city tore down the park by Yankee Stadium to build that stupid mall? Or whatever the hell that garbage is supposed to be.
Anyways, those interested in lending a hand to Kool Herc can do so online at Save1520.org
One thing I can say: The Bronx is putting up a fight. Can we say that about the other boroughs? Not really. And if Herc wins this battle, that will definitely be a good look.
what was Jay suppose to do
buy every piece of property in brooklyn to keep the rich from buying up the stuff then u probably say he monopolozing brooklyn for himself, just blame jay for your life b**tch
WHAT DO JAY Z HAVE TO DO WITH THIS YALL BLAM HIM FOR EVERYTHING AND THEM PEOPLE COULD DO WHAT EVER THEY WANT TO DO WITH THAT BUILDING THATS THEY PROPERTY
My Pops was a crack fiend and left when i was a baby. Dat nicca used to beat my moms too. Fuck jay-Z itz all his fault.
Wow, I am at work reading this stupid ass blog its HOVS fault, damn give me a job HOV, then I can do the pr work to explain why its not your fault sohh hires f-kng idiots. Akon should have just blamed on HOV, everyone else does
Jay-Z can't be held responible for what has happened here. The problem is the poverty in the community.Rappers can't save the hood. If they could, they would be politicians. Kool Herc is Dope (my bad, THE DOPEST) and he has a goal that can be and should be reached but every rapper can't be a community leader, and they shouldn't have to be.
What is Kool Herc doing besides begging for money and attention? Lets be real here. The "hip hop" of the 70's doesn't remotely resemble the hip hop of today. To be honest it doesn't resemble the hip hop of the 80's. These Bx "has beens" kill me with their whining. Most of these dudes are like 50yrs old and grandfathers. Get over it already. They lacked vision so they missed the boat. They never set out to be rappers to begin with they were wannabe funk artists and singers who lacked the talent it took to break through in that artform. They're irrelevant in every aspect and I wouldn't call them out if they'd just shut the fuck up and find a way to get money from what they "created" instead of always talking shit and griping. Were it left up to those Bx "legends" rap would've never left the parks and projects and no one would care about it. Not even these bloggers.
Look at what the true innovators of rap did out in Queens and take notes. Run-DMC didn't dress up in costumes like Zulu and Furious Five instead they were the first to start the trend of wearing clothes worn in the street. They were also the first to go Platinum, first on Rolling Stone, first on MTV, first to get a Grammy, first on Yo MTV, first to tour arenas and the list goes on. LL is literally the G.O.A.T. Salt and Pepa the first females to go platinum.
Before Rza and WuTang there was Marley Marl and the Juice Crew. Before Puff there was Russell Simmons. Before Bad Boy there was Def Jam. DJ Clue didn't create the mixtape format but every mixtape today follows his blueprint. He is the most successful mixtape DJ ever and he's also from Queens.
Who would be wearing Bling if it wasn't for Queens? Did you ever see the micro silver chains Melle Mel wore while dancing like Michael Jackson back before he took steroids? And to this day the biggest selling rapper out of NY is none other than 50 Cent who hails from Queens. where else? While KRS-One was sleeping in cars and homeless shelters in the Bx somewhere Queens was making noise in the streets and dominating the industry. Paving the way for his Dr. Seuss rhyming ass to earn a living.
All the Queens haters (especially the bloggers on this site) should check themselves. The Bx may have invented the "wheel" so to speak but Queens took that wheel and gave the world a "luxury vehicle" to ride. The reason why no one remembers or respects these cats is because they just didn't do enough for long enough.
Manhattan keeps on making it, Brooklyn keeps on taking it, Bronx keeps creating it, BUT Queens ELEVATED it!
Queens Reigns Supreme!
Well its about F U C K E N time you people realize about Gay-Z. Why are Gay-Z D I C K riderz crying about everything not being his fault? Almost everything is his fault.
Beans=Flop
Freeway=Flop
Cock-A-Fella=Flops
Def Jam artist=Flops. When people put effort into things and the boss don't do shit for you.. Its cause they don't wanna see you replace them. But someone that aint Gay-Z is gonna save that piece of Hip Hop history. But don't count on Gay-Z. He's too busy thinking that someonre is gonna take his imaginary spotlight that he thinkz he got.
niggas act like Jay-Z is the only nigga in NY with mad guap.....negro please its other people with money that can be asked the same thing as Jay-Z.....I'm not even on Jay like that but stop blaming that man for everything and take responsiblity for your own shit
All I Can Say Is WooooooooooooooW
Rather than spend money on saving the buildings of low income people I'd rather Kool Herc and everyone else put their efforts into education and job training programs in those neighborhoods so that those people aren't forced to live in crime ridden, low income projects.
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Nimrod,
I'm shocked at your statement, but will attribute it to youth. And as sure as I am sitting here some young person will be saying the same thing about current rap icons in 20 years as that rap will sound differant from today's.
I think any fan of hip hop music period should send at least 5$ to this man's fund to save that building. Yeah I'm from ATL but I repect my history! Tell cool Herc to leave an email or number where niggas can call or send money. Think about it if Nelly sold 8 million albums if just 3 of those millions put up a dollar then we straight. Them hollywood rappers probably wont chip in so we gotta do it!
Oh my bad I see the web address now
First off I want to give you mad props for even posting a blog entry like this. This topic is extremely important and anybody who gives the slightest damn about the working class or the poor would care about this issue. That comment you made about the Forbes list is right on point and as of now every commenter completely missed what you were getting at. All these rappers "rep" their hood but do not give a damn about the corporate.elite takeover of their hood and the eviction of poor (usually black and latino) people.
Yeah so, much respect man. Keep up the good work.
Now @ Essex: Compared to these other people your comment was very rational. But I think you are wrong to a certain degree. I don't think (I may be wrong because it isn't the clearest) he was trying to say that Jayz is at fault for gentrification. That would be ridiculous. But what is important is that Jayz, the Forbes list rappers, and a handful of others, consistently "rep" their hoods but don't actually give a damn about them. We can argue that hip hop is art and as you said it is not their job to be community leaders. And you have a good point with this. It is not their responsibility. But, as people still in the hood, I don't think any of us should be fooled by them. I don't think we should buy their second rate albums, go to their concerts, or even be proud of them. Why even acknowledge someone who claims to be proud of your neighborhood, has made vast amounts of money off of that same neighborhood, then, when push comes to shove, doesn't give a god damn about anybodies well being in the town?
Lastly @Nimrod: That may have been one of the most ignorant comments I've seen in my life and I'm from Queens. It seems like you didn't even understand the topic. You wrote, "They're irrelevant [old school BX rappers] in every aspect and I wouldn't call them out if they'd just shut the fuck up and find a way to get money from what they 'created'... Were it left up to those Bx 'legends' rap would've never left the parks and projects and no one would care about it."
That may be the most ignorant shit i've ever heard in my life. So if they were on the Forbes list they would get your respect? Otherwise they're crap? Music shouldn't be commodified that brutally. Thats whats wrong with hip-hop now. People with ideas like this have too much leeway now a days. Ideas like this are why D4L, Hurricane Chris, and others are saturating the scene. And why half rated 50 cent and no talent Jim Jones are two of the most popular. Money equates Bad music.
And much respect to ATOWNSTAYZDOWN and Bird.
Wow y blame jay-z?? Evry topic this hiphop blogs some1 gotta bring hov's name in some how.. Is it he's fault ur babydady aint there for he's child? Is it he's fault that college tution is so damm expensive? Lets all blame him cause some of us r poor, wtf leave him alone... he worked for he's money. So should we al do..
WE MEANING ã³ AND I CAN DO A LOT SHIT 2 Help DA PEOPLA IN AFRICA, BUT NONE Of US AINT DOING SHIT.. So stfu ã³ stupid bloger
Whoever wrote this is stupid. I live in NY and this was on the news the other day. The people in the building already raised $11 Million. You are acting like Kool Herc raised the 11 million himself . The people started the fight. Most people do this when the landlord wants to sell the building the tenants take over and it usually becomes a co-op. In Brooklyn the people are not putting up a fight. What they did was clean up those neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Just like they are doing in Harlem. It does raise the value of the property so most people can't afford it but think about the ones who bought years ago that are sitting on a fortune right now.
@Bird
Youth? You may not agree with my opinions and that's your right but the facts I presented are irrefutable. Did I lie about any of the facts I presented? NO! What youth do you know who even knows the history I put down? Apparently your youth prohibits you from knowing that part of the history or maybe you're from the Bx and biased like these bloggers.
@Resist
I mentioned true rap trailblazers like Run DMC, LL, Marley Marl, Russell Simmons and the like. Take your ready made rebuttal about D4L somewhere it applies.
This is a blog and I can express myself about any aspect of the topic I see fit. You're not from Queens so stop fronting and if you are you're suffering from an identity crisis.
I challenge anyone to point out 1 lie in my post. I don't expect the Queens bashers to like it. I put it out there to to deliberately fuck with y'all. The wounded animal makes the most noise. Thank you for identifying yourself... Shall we continue?
nimrod was totally off subject. one, two jay-z can probably give a fuck less about niggas getting kicked out their own crib especially if its some motherfuckers that are probably the up most ignorant and using the hood as an excuse to sell crack and not get a real job. three what i think kool herc is doing is real and needs to be done cause if you think this is not just happening in new york its in every up north hood white folks buy the shitty property that we dont take care of fix it up raise the rent and move people in that can pay the rent. then soon as you know it your hood aint a hood no more and your moving down south real talk!!!!!
Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne) tried to put ya'll up on game in the classic Boyz in da Hood !! It would seem very meaningful if some Boyz from the Hood would do something about it. It is unfair to blame Jay Z;however, given his latest real estate ventures it really would be a great gesture not only for Brooklyn but for HIP_HOP!!! But I do say, Jay Z aint the only Boy or Girl from the hood!! I ain't from BK, I am form Jacksonville, FL, Duval Co., better known as The Bang'em, I can make a donation, and will, I LOVE THE HOOD, no matter where the HOOD is at, I LOVE HIP HOP it proved we can solve our own problems !!
Chi-Town MidWest says...
Well its about F U C K E N time you people realize about Gay-Z. Why are Gay-Z D I C K riderz crying about everything not being his fault? Almost everything is his fault.
Beans=Flop
Freeway=Flop
Cock-A-Fella=Flops
Def Jam artist=Flops. When people put effort into things and the boss don't do shit for you.. Its cause they don't wanna see you replace them. But someone that aint Gay-Z is gonna save that piece of Hip Hop history. But don't count on Gay-Z. He's too busy thinking that someonre is gonna take his imaginary spotlight that he thinkz he got.
January 17, 2008 7:42 AM
You still on my dick nigga? What did you braid my pubic hairs into a rope so you could have a better grip on my nutts?
@sightseeing
I don't think I'm off subject at all. What is the subject? Jay-Z should be more like Kool Herc? Well forgive me for showing why that makes no sense. People have been promoting lies for so long it's being accepted as fact. Herc is irrelevant and I showed why. That's very much on topic.
@ the Blog Writer
I'm too busy trying to give them mother fuckers in Africa clean drinking water. It's not my fault these old rap pioneers didn't have any business sense to own what they have created. I swear niggas is stupid
I don't know who be on my dick more Chi-Town MidWest, Beyonce or your bitch ass Reckless
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Save the buliding for what? Because Herc lived there?! And who exactly is he? He's full of himself and people caught up in his myth are just as delusional as he is.
Fuck Jay Z, Will Smith, and Queen Dike Latifah. If your a grown ass man looking for a hand-out your need to kill yourself. If you can't take care of you and your you need to put a bullet in your head. Only hoes rely on someone else to give them hand outs
A real blog topic! yyeeaaa see i knew u had it in u....big ups to kool herc man gentrification is not a joke, i'll be breakin bread on this 1 & i hope everyone else that can, does. It would be nice if some big name rappers or other nyc-bred celebrities got behind this project, they could get that $3 mill. like it was some chump change, but waiting on them makes about as much sense as hoping to find a leprechaun with some gold. Them niggas is rich bougie bitches now they dont give a fuck about the hood or any1 in it plain & simple. But like i said imma do my part monetarily & do my best 2 spread the word.
Its real funny how O'Heads want to step out in the limelight acting like they Superman and believing they can save the world. Seriously where were these dudes at in the 90's now all of sudden they want bring there punk ass back into to the media. I feel whatcha saying Nimrod.
How is saving a projects going to save Hip Hop? Who cares about a projects? They need to tear down every project in NY.. They all breed crime and negitivity.. Kinda like hip hop!
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@ nimrod
Save the building for what? Because our people live there. Niggas aint askin 4 no fuckin handout, like some1 up top said the tenants already raised 11 mill. on their own they just lookin 4 a lil bit of help. If u can't relate to needing a hand then you're most likely a lil child up in here & u get all the help u need from momma nigga. & u can diss BX innovators all u want on here but it seems like u got some issues with the percieved irrelevance of queens in hiphop. Nigga it aint the BX's fault no1 cares about Queens man so stop hatin boy
Nimrod said:
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They lacked vision so they missed the boat. They never set out to be rappers to begin with they were wannabe funk artists and singers who lacked the talent it took to break through in that artform.
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You asked that someone point out anything that wasn't true about your statement and I chose the above our of many.
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Rap (later for hip hop) was not even a known genre of music in Herc's day. People like him and Grand Master Flash had the VISION to bring it to a wider audience. While they may have favored the funk beats of the day, the fact remains they were RAPPING, not singing. Do the funk beats of The Chronic and Doggystyle make Dr. Dre and Snoop wannabe funk stars? They had talent which is why rap is here today.
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Please believe that almost all black artists from the 50s to the late 70s got raped with a big dick by the industry which is why they don't have any money today. Unlike today's rappers who get the money and just fuck it up, the early cats didn't even get it. They paved the way for artists today to get a fair cut of the music proceeds.
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The industry shitted on the pioneers and now you got youthful fans of artists and not the genre of rap music shitting on them as well. I tell ya.
No one can save the hood. The feds have seen to that. I live in Chicago and the big white developers are buying anything within 50 miles of downtown which encompasses the West, South and near west Suburbs. These areas are predominately Black and we can't do anything about it. There are some cases where change is for the better. The fact is, this is an old problem thanks to the confluence of drug abuse, miseducation of the Black Man and marginalization of the Black woman. It won't be stopped by some rapper or mogul buying one property at a time. It should have been stopped a long time ago.
As far as who created hip hop and Nimrod's off topic post. Who cares. All of your great hip hop history intellect means nothing. Learn to pay respect to the ones that got us here. What you said is kind of like comparing the civil rights movement of the 1960's to the current watered down version that we have today. They were ridiculed and mocked just like Bambaataa, Flash and Herc were back in the day. Now, along comes a crossover group like Run DMC and it's all of a sudden acceptable to be an MC. Don't confuse a struggle with progress. Let that last thought marinate young'n.
Real conversation... aside from herc being irrelevant he has no claim whatsoever to post 70's rap or recorded rap. Did he ever record any music? No. He fell to the wayside not long after carrying his turntables off the elevator of that building he's trying to save. This guy and people like Grandmaster Caz are embarrassments to themselves. Always talking about what they did. If what they did was so great they wouldn't have to remind anyone. Tell that nigga get a job.
@ Nimrod
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Yeah Queens did grind it out and we definitely made many of great contributions to what the game has become.
But this issue here is bigger than that. Its about the survival of the everyday hardworking middleclass man. I'm loving what Herc and the people of 1520 Sedgwick are doing. Re-investing in ourselves and buying into our hoods is the only way to stop the gentrification from totally wiping us out of our homes.
I get what the blogger is saying, and he's not blaming Jay-Z. He's just saying that there were people from the hood who were in positions to help and chose not to. Jay was and is under no obligation to reach back and help or to offer assistance to those who may need it....but it would've been nice if he or someone like him did. Thats what the Jews do, which is exactly why they own most of New York including almost all of Brooklyn.
@Ernie Frazier
I did pay homage to the ones that got us here. Maybe it went over your head.
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Yo word is born I swear Eskay just did that same post about 2 days ago.. Shout out to my dude Eskay!
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nyc_minded says...
@ nimrod
Save the building for what? Because our people live there. Niggas aint askin 4 no fuckin handout, like some1 up top said the tenants already raised 11 mill. on their own they just lookin 4 a lil bit of help. If u can't relate to needing a hand then you're most likely a lil child up in here & u get all the help u need from momma nigga. & u can diss BX innovators all u want on here but it seems like u got some issues with the percieved irrelevance of queens in hiphop. Nigga it aint the BX's fault no1 cares about Queens man so stop hatin boy
January 17, 2008 9:40 AM
LOL @ a little help = 3 million
Nope I can't relate to gettin any hand-outs because that has never happened to me. Just like on these blog people in my everyday life wish me the worse because I'm a hater, so I've never been lucky enough to receive any hand outs
I'll say it again only hoes get hand-outs. If you’re a grown ass man & can't provide for you and your family then you need to do everybody a favor and put to slugs in you head - fuck freeloaders
"I can't help the hood if I'm one of them. So I got rich and gave back to me. That's the win win."
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Gay could have done more for the hood that made him,but so can most of your favorite rappers.Look @ R-Kelly the phony r&b thug he got all the Chi supporting him but he dont even bring out CHI artists and there is plenty talent here.All of them so called rich rappers,actors,singers churches,and all these people makin money off n!ggas need to step up for the next generation of black babies because this 1 is 2 busy lookin at Gay rappers as role models because they got like 1% of what Bill Gates,or Carlos Slim got.N!ggas be 2 busy killin over crumbs while whitey gettin it for real.They takin the whole world and we talkin bout 1 project building.All them rich niggas need to come 2gether,yea Gay_-z got like $300 somthin mil not 500 like all yall think,but who is in control of it and makin money off it some WHITE investment firm makin more than him off his sh!t,and they aint gon advise u to buy back da hood cause they want it.Niggas always wanna b cool sh!t we b 2 cool we gone loose.We can take this shit back still educate self bout this realestate its best to actually own a piece of the pie than rent it.
Jay Z says...
"I can't help the hood if I'm one of them. So I got rich and gave back to me. That's the win win."
Jay Z says...
@ the Blog Writer
I'm too busy trying to give them mother fuckers in Africa clean drinking water. It's not my fault these old rap pioneers didn't have any business sense to own what they have created. I swear niggas is stupid
I don't know who be on my dick more Chi-Town MidWest, Beyonce or your bitch ass Reckless
January 17, 2008 9:18 AM
January 17, 2008 9:50 AM
mayo says...
Gay could have done more for the hood that made him,but so can most of your favorite rappers.
January 17, 2008 9:52 AM
@Poor People
Everytime something happens people got they hands to Jay Z or Oprah. You bums get a job and get off public assistance.
If you got 2 arms, 2 legs, and speak English GET A JOB. Illegals don't even have that but they working. And they ain't got their hands in George Lopez or J'Lo's pockets
Nimrod through me off so much with the disrespect I couldn't even address the building situation.
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First of all, middle class people don't live in the projects. Poor people do. Gentrification is effecting everyone, not just poor people. In my town in Jerz imminent domain is getting middle class white folks pretty much forcibly removed from their properties to make room for the rich. Jay is a rich dude who wants to not only stay rich, but get richer. He is the enemy where this topic is concerned. Herc can forget about him saving that building unless its going to make him some money.
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That is not a diss to Jay who I love and admire. That is just real. Get with the times or get left behind.
@Sutphin Boulevard
Peace to the God! I respect your response and in truth I agree with it. I just felt like being an antagonist today. Every time I come on this site I see so much hate to Queens artists. Our accomplishments receive no consideration or acknowledgement. I took this opportunity to bomb these haters with FACTS that they are either not aware of seek to conceal.
I'm all for helping the poor but the premise under which Herc is operating is flawed and seems to be self serving. I can't co-sign that.
The topic is a very serious one made silly by the bloggers attempt to tie hip hop into it. It's bigger than hip hop. Rap fans have really bought into the notion that hip hip is omnipotent because of the constant barrage of foolishness fed to them by sites of SOHH.
In any event stay up and be blessed while I have fun provoking these Queens haters. LOL!
I think they should call this site NahRight2... Just a suggestion.... Peace and blessings! LOL
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My instrumental game is heavy!
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ATL = All Trannies Live says...
@Poor People
Everytime something happens people got they hands to Jay Z or Oprah. You bums get a job and get off public assistance.
If you got 2 arms, 2 legs, and speak English GET A JOB. Illegals don't even have that but they working. And they ain't got their hands in George Lopez or J'Lo's pockets
January 17, 2008 9:55 AM
You need to get up get out and get something
Don't spend all you time trying to get high
You better get up get out and get something
Because you and I got to do for you and I
Thats why
-O u t kast (so get up off your ass)
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