Stray Shots: Debating New York’s 5 Most Relevant Rappers (Right Now)

By all accounts, New York is the birthplace of Hip Hop. The music and culture that so many of us have come to know and love was birthed in parks and rec rooms in the Bronx, and it subsequently became the multibillion dollar goliath it is today. The West Coast’s dominance in the ‘90s, which was largely powered by Death Row Records’ epic run, shifted the power seat left of the Mississippi, which began a long run of searching for Hip Hop’s next Big Apple-based ambassador. The argument can be made that the South has subsequently taken the crown, which has led to the inescapable wave of “bring New York back” sentimentality. But what exactly do people mean when they ask for a return of New York’s dominance?

“Any time someone tries to make a song for the club, in New York at least, it doesn’t work,” noted Statik Selektah in a recent HipHopDX interview. “Look at Papoose and Red Café. They’re my friends, but they fucked up a lot of the buzz that they had going. They could’ve made those New York records and won with them, but everybody wants to put whoever is hot right now on the verse and put them on the hook. They followed that bullshit industry formula and it didn’t work for any of them.”

It boils down to the essential question of if those pining for a great New York hope want someone merely born and/or raised in New York or someone who exemplifies the sample-based, metaphor and simile heavy wordplay popularized in the early-to-mid ‘90s. Why choose between the two? In this week’s edition of “Stray Shots,” we’ll look at five of the most relevant artists with ties to the Empire State.

50 Cent And The Return Of G-Unit

Omar: I guess we should start this off with one Curtis James Jackson. It’s been 11 years since Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, and it’s still particularly difficult to escape the shadow of 50 Cent. I think the quality of 50’s music has dipped at times. And while I personally feel 50 is lyrically at least one tier below the likes of B.I.G., Jay Z and Nas, he’s suffered from some of the same creative lapses as all the greats. I think The Massacre and Animal Ambition are arguably two of his worst projects, but it would appear I’m in the minority there. Animal Ambition has been on the SoundScan charts 13 weeks, and it’s holding steady with over 110,000 units sold. It’s got an average Metacritic score of 53, but ask any devoted 50 fan if that matters. How powerful is 50? You can make a solid argument that Troy Ave rode an eerily similar formula of coke-filled, aggressive raps with catchy hooks to increased relevance and a few Billboard appearances while Fif was escaping Interscope. Add in some Mayweather beef and a sentimental yet lucrative G-Unit reunion (The Beauty Of Independence resides at the #17 spot on this week’s SoundScan chart), and 50 is winning even when he appears to lose. If that’s not relevant, I don’t know what is.

What To Make Of A$AP Rocky’s Regional Appropriation

Andre: 50’s been a heavy weight since his classic Get Rich or Die Tryin’ came off a wave of gritty records from mixtapes like Guess Who’s Back and No Mercy, No Fear. That’s definitely not a bad thing, but there’s been a few additions to the roster since then. Let’s talk A$AP Rocky. The Harlem cat with with Southern sensibilities took the world by storm when his song “Purple Swag” went viral. First, it featured the cutest white girl wearing a grill you’ve ever seen. Second, it felt like a culmination of Hip Hop West Coast, Southern, and Midwestern influences coalescing into one Uptown human being. The rumor mill went bezerk. Where was he from? Who was that girl? The YouTube views piled up. Then came the mixtape Live.Love.A$AP, which would feature some of the other members of the A$AP crew, bringing to light the likes of A$AP Nast and Ferg. For a while they seemed like New York Rap’s answer to OFWGKTA, but the spotlight remained on the ever fashionable Rocky, who’s the only one of them to drop a #1 debut. Signed to Polo Grounds, Long. Live. A$AP put to bed any hesitation over the kid’s star power and actual rhyming ability. But New York still felt dissatisfied, as the crew fielded numerous questions regarding their seemingly untraceable New York Rap DNA. What does New York really want? The album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. Let’s not even talk about the model girlfriends and endorsement deals, but it takes more than one charismatic emcee to call a whole city back.

Omar: But that’s the debate, right? Some contingent of New Yorkers don’t want to claim Rocky because despite being from Harlem, he—and by association some members of the Mob—appropriate elements of Southern Rap. It’s like that meme circulating around Twitter where Noah from The Notebook keeps asking Allie, “What do you want?” A$AP provided some innovation, and it was likely based on the subgenre that has been more or less dominating since Rocky was born. It yielded a #1 debut album. But rather than engage in an endless loop like the Gosling/McAdams meme, let’s move on to one Action Bronson. Thoughts?

Lights, Camera, Action Bronson

Andre: Burst onto the scene with a flow eerily similar to Wu-legend Ghostface Killah. It was like bizarro world for a while. The flow was there, the non-sequiturs hitting like acid rain, but a lot of the gruff (I’ll murder ya!) was gone and replaced by comedy and food references. Dope was the only word that came to mind. And then his Blue Chips mixtape hit. I was already feelin’ the Flushing, Queens product. He was a former Chef. He was like 300 pounds and had Pop culture references for days. It was New York Rap the way I like my New York Rap, but he was updating us for the 21st century by taking it back to the past.

“Know I hit you with the drop kick, Marty Jannetty,” anyone? But Blue Chips, the Shaquille O’Neal, Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway, and Nick Nolte super-friends feature was up there to me as one of the best hood sports movies of all time. So his album couldn’t disappoint; it didn’t. It had all the fixin’s, and with stellar production from the likes of Party Supplies and Brooklyn beat junkie Harry Fraud not to mention harrowing tales of rock bottom fiends on songs like “Hookers At The Point.” Action was proving he was more than a Rap blog think piece come alive Weird Science style. He’s more than a Rapper, though and that’s his blessing and curse. He’s on Vice doing “Fuck, That’s Delicious.” He’s legitimately hilarious and charismatic on camera and on the mic. Let’s not forget about punching fans in the face. But he’s never dropped an “album.” I’m not even sure if that means anything in this era anymore, but it matters to New York. It’s gotta be stacked up there against any of the cornerstone records that have come through NY before, and it’s got to be judged. Without that, it feels like something is missing.

Omar: What are these albums you speak of? It’s entirely possible we’ll be in space Timbs one day talking to our kids about albums the same way we talk about typewriters and floppy disks. It’s been dope to see Bronsolino step out of the shadow of Tony Starks and evolve into the cooking, rhyming, mid-song-port-o-potty-using rhyme animal he is now. New York apologists bitch about their mainstream representatives who don’t adhere to the laws of boom bap. But doing so would likely relegate them to the status of Your Old Droog or being the next Red Cafe. When he’s not doing wild shit we love like rhyming over “Tequila” by The Champs, Bronson is giving folks the best of both worlds. The deal with Vice/Atlantic for Saaab Stories sounds like the kind of progressive hustle Macklemore and Ryan Lewis used to make a small fortune from pimping tracks about visits to Goodwill. If that’s what it takes to keep Action Bronson from having to shill and make a “club song,” then more power to him. Speaking of guys without proper, retail albums, one of New York’s more popular up-and-comers has yet to place any product on shelves. Where does Joey Bada$$ rank within the discussion?

Debating The Merits Of Joey Bada$$

Andre: Let me just say that 1999 will always hold a special place in my dungeon of a Rap heart by being so unabashedly NYC in a place where that sort of thing is totally frowned upon. Listening to that album was the living embodiment of Highlander running around some dystopian Rap future cutting off heads. Does Joey Bada$$ dream of electric Pete Rock samples? We’re not sure but “Waves” ranks right up there for me in terms of slice of life NYC shit with Hov’s “Where I’m From” and Nas’ “Life’s A Bitch.” The Pro Era crew was type nice too, and they followed up 1999 with P.E.E.P the aPROcalypse, which allowed CJ Fly, Nyck Caution and the rest of the team to come screaming off the top rope. But it didn’t last. Joey’s next project, Summer Knights, met with decidedly less fan-fare, and we’re really not sure why. It’s similar to the first in both style and tone, maybe even a bit more mature, but it’s missing some secret ingredient. And that’s NYC Rap right now. It’s got a lot of the same elements that we loved back then, and we still love it. But it just feels like it’s missing some secret ingredient. Maybe the city is too clean now. Too puerile. Maybe the rich kids won and the war is already over. Either way, he’s got both Statik Selectah and Premo in his corner, so if there’s a chance at a 2014 version of hopping between cars on the J or dodging stickup kids (now skate Hipsters) and drinking quarter waters (now vegan cupcakes), then it’s probably Joey who’s going to midnight maraud into that starry night.

Omar: When I listen to Joey, I never get feeling he’s concerned with crossing over, so I think he’s won half the battle. I don’t think he caters to the lowest common denominator, which will limit his commercial popularity, unless he has a singular breakthrough moment that appeals to Pop heads. And that’s a truly beautiful thing. He’s got the wordplay, the ear for production and the right cosigns. He’s actually from New York, and he leans towards things that have historically been embraced by Hip Hop fans while remaining progressive. He’s also reportedly sitting on at least one previously unheard Dilla beat. The issue will always be if some (not all) of Joey’s cultural touchstones like DJ Premier, Nas and Big Daddy Kane cause listeners who don’t pick out the nuances of his style to inadvertently categorize him as a ‘90s throwback rapper (see Droog, Your Old). And we know Joey doesn’t like that. I’m not sure if those clamoring for New York Rap can have their cake and eat it too. But hey, while we’re on the subject of cake(s), there is one more native New Yorker out there making noise and ringing up sales. That would be one Onika Maraj, more commonly known as Nicki Minaj.

Ladies First: Does Nicki Minaj Hold The Crown?

Andre: In 2010, Kanye West went on the record to say that Nicki Minaj was the scariest Rapper in the game and she was the one to look out for. Without a doubt, I’m sure numerous people thought he was insane. Now? Not so much. She’s a bonafide superstar whose toed the line between Pop and Rap beautifully. She deftly weaves serious bars through Pop sensibilities (depending on which personality is speaking) and right now, she’s New York’s latest great claim to the throne. It’s been a long time coming, but she’s gone from Jamaica, Queens to finding her way into Gucci’s camp to Beam Me Up Scotty, where on the opening track she says the way to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is about “who wants it the most.” At this point, Lil Wayne (say what you want, but the mans A&R game is serious) already had his hooks in the Trini born, Queens-bred emcee with the multiple flows and the hips that don’t lie. And the Rap purists out there will complain about her Pop records as though that were a knock against her, but in a world where Kanye West can make 808’s & Heartbreak and Yeezus and in a game where Andre 3000 can win with a song like “Hey Ya,” are the rules not just different now? Fast forward to 2014 and her fourth studio album The Pink Print is on the way, and can you tell me who’s honestly had a more varied, incredible year than Nicki Minaj? It’s time to give the title up. Sometimes the king is a queen.

Omar: I’m just chilling waiting for the comment section below to explode after reading the above statements. New York, and by extension the Hip Hop it produces, is completely different than when Nas, Biggie and Jay Z were vying for the title of King of New York. Things have changed so much so that when New York rappers are brought up, Jay isn’t even mentioned anymore because he’s evolved past “just” being a New York rapper or even (by his own admission) “just” a rapper anymore. Comparing mid ‘90s New York Hip Hop to the current incarnation is like comparing ‘70s NCAA players in short shorts and knee pads to Michigan’s Fab Five. I think it’s the same way with Nicki, who borrows Lil’ Kim’s swag on a whim, can rock a Foxy Brown styled baritone patois and then ride confectionary joints like “Starships” to the top of the charts. She’s not constrained by the same rules as an OG like MC Lyte or even someone from a decade earlier like Remy Ma. Does that make her any less New York? Until someone in a respectable position wants to help everyone come to a consensus about what exactly defines representing New York in 2013 (geographical location? style? sound?), then the debates will rage on.

Omar Burgess is a Long Beach, California native who has contributed to various magazines, newspapers and has been an editor at HipHopDX since 2008. Follow him on Twitter@omarburgess.

Andre Grant is an NYC native turned L.A. transplant who’s contributed to a few different properties on the web and is now the Senior Features Writer for HipHopDX. He’s also trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot. Follow him on Twitter@drejones.

RELATED: Watching The Throne – New York’s Drought Of Rap Kings [Editorial]