The Plot Against Hip Hop by Nelson George

Author:Nelson George [George, Nelson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Music
ISBN: 9781617750243
Publisher: Akashic Books
Published: 2011-07-15T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

DA ART OF STORYTELLIN’ PART 1

D looked down upon Union Square from the second-floor cafeteria of Whole Foods and watched a squad of breakdancers pop, lock, wiggle, spin, and sweat on the long, gray stone steps of the crowded city park. Ever since the World Trade Center attack, when Union Square had become a gathering place for mourners, protesters, and folks desperate for community, D had found himself drawn to this public space, regularly stopping by to observe the chess players, beggars, lovers, haters, capoeira students, painters, jewelry sellers, and gawkers like himself, along with thousands of others who poured out of a subway station that serviced seven lines.

He chewed on curry chicken, brown rice, and cucumber while gazing at a five-man crew, armed with a new version of the old-fashioned ghetto blaster. Though it wasn’t a word D used often, the whole thing felt “quaint” to him, like some delicate little vase that had been preserved from antiquity. Maybe up close these were just some funky-smelling young hustlers from the hood (seven brothers and a Puerto Rican gal), but from across a wide avenue and above the park D saw echoes of the city’s grimy past.

Even back in the ’80s, when Union Square was a haven for junkies and dopemen, breakers armed with cardboard and JVC cassette players had claimed part of the park’s real estate. Their painter caps and fat-laced sneakers were as much a part of the city scene as Ed Koch’s “How am I doing?” and once windy, now demolished Shea Stadium.

As he munched on his curry, D watched the young dancers evoke a culture he remembered firsthand. They leaped and twisted their supple, toned bodies, paying homage to a legacy they were claiming and showcasing their athletic prowess. For the tourist, it was legendary New York grit and swagger—which, unknown to them, wasn’t nearly as pervasive as back in the day. D mused that to some New Yorkers the past was important only as long as you could charge somebody for a taste of it. If not, just move the fuck on.

Once outside Whole Foods, feet firmly planted on 14th Street, D took in the scene on the ground, watching the vendors crowded along the curb while shoppers brushed by him. He enjoyed all the crazy energy of it, the feeling of being caught in a whirlwind. Then down into the subway station and uptown to a busy day in the enchanted land of new-school hip hop.

D hopped off the N train at clogged Herald Square and walked west past Macy’s, Penn Station, and across Eighth Avenue on 34th Street. Despite his large body and black clothes, D got no slack from the women with stuffed plastic shopping bags who bumped and slammed into him as if the security guard was invisible.

So he was quite relieved to arrive at the Hammerstein Ballroom where VH1 was holding its annual Hip Hop Honors broadcast and much of his D Security team was employed for the night.

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