Biting The Big Apple

I was only there for about a week. Yet that was all it took. I have fallen in love with New York.

Admittedly, I did find it a bit difficult to look past the countless bags of trash that are amassed on the city sidewalks at night. And yes, there are very unique scents that seem to be characteristic to New York in its entirety. And yes, descending into the subway tunnels felt a lot like walking down the first flight of stairs that lead to Hell. And yes, the humidity there makes me feel gross. And yes, some of the people do seem to be uber standoffish. And yes, I did fear that someone was going to either snatch my wallet or touch my butt when riding on crowded subway cars. And yes, I did wish that getting around was as easy as hopping into someone’s personal vehicle at times. And yes, it does appear that New York could very well be America’s most expensive city. And yes, I do think that the air there was potent enough to shave about 7.4 years off of my life.
Yet, once you look beyond these minor complaints, you’ll be able to see that I LOVE NEW YORK!

The greatest thing about life on the Eastern seashore is the close proximity to Europe. And I do not love this simply because tickets to London are cheaper in New York than they are in Los Angeles. Instead, it is the visible importation of European city design and architecture that pleased me so. The congestion of the city, which is a curse to some cities, is instead a gift from New York to its visitors. Step foot in Manhattan. Aimlessly walk with your head down. If you should manage to avoid being hit by an angry cab driver, I guarantee that you will stumble upon some noteworthy building, statue or other cultural artifact.

Actually taking up residence there would be no easy task. Nevertheless, the trip to New York is one that should be made by all lovers of city life and those who are intrigued by cultural melting pots. In essence, New York is one massive cultural experiment. Name a type of person. Name a type of food. Conjure up imagery of the most ridiculous circumstances capable of existing under the loose thresholds of reality, and you’ll likely be able to find it in New York.

Although the city did manage to force me into relieving my account of about a grand, it was the activities accompanied by no cost of admission that hooked me the most. It was standing in Times Squares as a tourist and being approached and then chastised by others tourists for being a tourist incapable of assisting them in the pursuit for further tourist activity. It was the ride on the subway. It was sitting between a Blackberry-addicted businessman on one side, and an avant garde student from the fashion institute on the other side. It was the police force in front of Radio City Music Hall with their assault rifles. It was the NYSE and the daily buzz along and around Wall Street. It was the unsafe driving of foreign taxi drivers. It was the two 30+ Italian guys and the Dutch courage that accompanied their alcohol consumption which led them to want to quarrel. It was the odd guy behind the counter in Starbucks. It was getting off of the train and overlooking the plight of Jamaica, Queens. It was getting back on the train and transporting to one of the comfy cottages in Long Island. It was the ride into Brooklyn Heights to live life like The Huxtables. It was the taxi ride across the Brooklyn Bridge that ended at Wall Street and immersed me in the lifestyle of investment bankers. It was running into Alex Rodriguez and then people watching while eating at Serafina. It was flirting with the waitress at the pizza place. It was the scores upon scores of beautiful women that paraded around the streets of NY, showcasing beauty unparalleled by most forms of beauty that I had seen up to that point in my life. It was sitting on the subway and realizing that the seat next to me would not be taken because I am a perceived by many as an intimidating Black man. It was leaving NY and being able to say that I ate at a place that serves nothing but rice pudding. It was taking the tour through the UN and hearing Jay Z receive multiple shout outs for his humanitarian efforts in Africa. It was the countless number of events and activities and images that are now embedded in my mind that knocked me off of my feet and made me fall face-flat in love with New York.

I rolled all of things little things into a ball. I flavored this ball with both the good and the bad. I painted the ball red and added a stem on top. And last, but not least, I took a bite out of the city. I took a bite out the Big Apple. And much to my surprise, I loved the taste.

September 11th marks the era…

Clearly this won’t always be the case, but September 11th falls on a Tuesday this year. For the first time since bin Laden’s boys came through and crushed the buildings, artists will be able to use the date as ammunition for their pending releases.

The fall of the Towers did not prevent Jay Z from releasing the first volume of the one-volume-too-many-and-there-were-only-two Blueprint series. Much to the delight of New Yorkers and hip hop heads across the globe, Jigga dropped a classic. Start to finish, the album overflows with a soulful vibe that few would have come to expect from a hardened veteran coming out of one of New York’s housing projects. But it happened. And quite frankly, the rap world hasn’t been the same ever since.

Kanye West ushered in a new regime of music. West left his imprint all over the Blueprint. Although he may not have been the lead architect in the venture, he wasn’t very far behind Mr. Carter. Without West’s foundation, it is uncertain whether or not the album would have managed to firmly solidify Jay Z’s position as the G.O.A.T. – sorry LL!

Now Mr. West finds himself in strikingly similar position. With his pending release next Tuesday, Kanye has a unique opportunity to elevate his superstar status to a level rarely reached by rap acts in a pop-driven American culture. Because of the musical drivers in American society, many view “going pop” as a viable channel to attaining the glitz and glamour associated with winning the hearts of White America. Artists seem to stand at a fork in the road that forces them to choose between going left and keeping it real, or going right and crafting friendly albums aimed toward achieving mass consumption.

Next Tuesday, music fans will be privileged to watch Mr. West assert his lyrical muscle and showcase his musical genius while going up against 50 Cent’s third major release, Curtis. Fans will be forced to once more make a statement about the current state of rap music and the direction in which it’s headed. Given the early arrival of both albums on underground music sites, I’ve had the opportunity to listen to each project a number of times. And I can only pray that hip hop fans casts their votes with me in hip hop’s version of Election Tuesday.

Now, this discussion could easily shift into one aimed at identifying the merits found in the mixture of tough talk and corny pop found on 50’s album versus the musicality and the message found on Kanye’s album. But not everyone views the game through the same lens as me. So I’ll let Kanye assist me as I close:

Good morning
On this day we become legendary
Everything we dreamed of
I’m like a fly Malcolm X
Buy any jeans necessary
Detroit Red cleaned up
From the streets of the league
From an eighth to a key
But you graduate when you make it up outta the streets
From the moments of pain
Look how far we done came
Haters sayin’ ya changed
Now ya doin’ ya thang

Hopefully it’s time to get away from the high school raps that grown ass men continue to spit. Time to get away from the talk of guns going off and drugs being sold. Kanye West is right – it’s time for Graduation!