Whats Buzzing in the Streets – Page 86

Malik “ Phife Dawg” Taylor Street Dedication Ceremony

Someone in the crowd yells, “Can I Kick It?” The crowd yells back, “yes, you can!!”

Words cannot describe the energy of the crowd. I overheard one of the Politicians

say that they have never seen such a large crowd at a street sign dedication

ceremony. Nothing but love is what Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor was shown at the street

dedication ceremony on 192nd and Linden Blvd where he grew up. Represent, represent is what the remaining members of the Tribe did. Q-Tip and Jarobi spoke to the crowd and took pictures with the fans, as they anticipated the unveiling of the new street sign. Hundreds of family members, friends, and fans packed the street as the dee jay played A Tribe Called Quest music.Celebrities on hand included Craig G., Consequence, Busta Rhymes, Curt Flirt, Hurricane, Cool V, The Disco Twins, Pow wow, Kangol Kid, Big Jeff, and Mr. Walt (Da BeatMinerz). Memories of Phife were shared by his mom, Cheryl Boyce-Taylor , Senator Leroy Comrie, and Peter Rosenburg of Hot 97. Some people laughed, others cried, and we all prayed. The show of support for the family was overwhelming.

“See, I’m not the one to be taken advantage of, and if you really think about it, I got nothin’ but love.”

“Linden Blvd represent, represent

A Tribe Called Quest represent, represent.”
Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor

Gone too soon…..Your Legacy Lives on…..Your Impact will last a Lifetime

Malik “Phife Dawg’’ Taylor may you continue to Sleep In Beats…

Written By Venus Mizell

Street Line Wins Again!

Street Line wins again. Street Line won the BETA Award for Best Cultural award for the movie Perate. Read the article BX Times wrote about us.

A Dedication to Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor: My Letter to Phife

Dear Phife,

As I write you this letter, I’ll be as strong as I can. There’s no other way for me to express how much love I have for you and the Tribe. It all started 2 years ago. Now, I grew up on hip hop, and that includes you guys Tribe too. Y’all music was always dope to me but I became an overnight fan 2 years ago. I was at home on my laptop, on Tumblr just scrolling through my dashboard, reblogging stuff for my blog and it was a picture of you guys, including Jarobi that popped up. Black and white, standing side by side. I reblogged the pic of y’all and said to myself how long it’s been since I’ve actually heard y’all music. It was that moment that started everything for me. I immediately started listening to y’all albums all the way through for the first time and something in me sparked up this feeling I never got before. I even heard your joint “Ventilation: Da LP” and loved it too. After hearing y’all albums all the way through, I found myself watching y’all music videos, researching and looking y’all up, watching interviews, saving photos on my laptop and then I saw the documentary. It was the best shit I’ve ever seen but at the same time, it hurt me to see you and Tip beefing like that. That I don’t feel comfortable with seeing or hearing about. Besides the drama y’all two had, I found myself a die hard fan overnight. Everything about you guys was absolutely moving and inspiring to me. As a hip hop fan whose a singer, I wish to have the same elements in y’all music in mine someday. Y’all taught me politics, self righteousness, being proud of who I am, all at the same time, never changing who I was to be something I’m not and that’s why I love Tribe so much. Fast forward to July 18th, 2015. This was the day I finally got to meet you guys. I found out on Instagram maybe a day or two before and I was so amped and hyped to meet you guys. That was the same day my little cousin was having a birthday party but I missed it because I stood on that line waiting to meet y’all. I remember wearing a purple bucket hat, white t-shirt with a purple one underneath, my ripped Levi Jeans and Grape 5 Air Jordans. I didn’t have anything on me but $15 so I couldn’t buy any merchandise, which was a blow to me but when I finally met you guys, I was excited, scared, stuck, frozen, amazed, there was a rush in my stomach and my heart was beating super fast. Q-Tip told me he liked my style, I’ll never forget that, Jarobi was kinda like he didn’t want to be there but he was cool too, then I met you and told you how hilarious you are on Instagram and you said to me “Thanks my man.” I shook Ali Shaheed’s hand and you guys signed my poster. After that, I returned back to the Bronx with this smile on my face. It felt like I just went through an enlightenment. I had a totally different feeling from that day. Now this is the part of the letter that’s gonna be really hard for me dawg but I gotta tell you how it affected me. The day you left us, it was the same day as my cousin’s 23rd birthday and three days before my 22nd. It was around 10 at night. Someone posted a link in one of the hip hop groups I’m in on Facebook saying that you past. I was confused and automatically got angry. I was angry because I remember years ago, someone spread a rumor that you already did and you appeared on an interview like “Here I am!” waving with this smile on your face in a joking way like you always do. I saw the link was from DJ Chuck Chillout’s Twitter account so I hit the hashtag “RIP Phife Dawg” and my heart started racing. I only saw but 30 posts and I just brushed it off because I was sure you were still here. I went to sleep and ended up popping back up around 5 in the morning. When I pop up out of my sleep, something isn’t right. I grabbed my phone and saw that I got a text message from a friend of mine and the text said in these exact words, “Hey Clone, did you hear about Phife? He died” this was when I knew it was for real. I went to Instagram and immediately, my whole entire feed was flooded with you. I was stuck, confused, hurt, angry, upset, this wasn’t supposed to happen yo. On the morning of March 23rd, I had a dentist appointment that day. Right before I left my house, I finally cried, I finally broke down yo. Me and you just met 8 months before that, you were so cool and down to earth, I felt like a family member was taken from me. I cried for about an hour thinking about you and the rest of Tribe. I was thinking about life, about hip hop and the state that it’s in, all of these things came to my head because you were no longer with us. The entire day, I just remember everything being so slow. Time had stopped but the world kept going. My head was spinning and I was in a slump. That had to be the longest day of my life. 2 days before my birthday which made it even worse. A month later, there was a memorial for you in St. Albans. I skipped classes just to be there for you, I had to be. Right after my math class I left school, hopped on the train at 149th Street-Grand Concourse and was on my way to your hood. It’s a long ass ride to get out there but it was worth it. I met other fans, including my bro Shenron, Ralph McDaniels was out there, I missed the part where they handed out free shirts with your name on it and it was raining and so cold but it was worth it. I don’t think I could’ve been able to handle myself if I didn’t go. The next morning, this dude I went to high school with saw me in the papers honoring you. It made me feel like I was this poster guy for you, for Tribe. It was my name, my picture, your picture underneath it and it said I was honoring YOU. So much love I was receiving from my hip hop peers. I was a proud fan of you dawg, nah fuck that, I AM a proud fan of you. Now, lately, you guys have been on top of the world again and it’s amazing. We Tribe fans always wanted a new album from y’all and y’all did that for us. It was hard but at the same time exciting to hear your voice again. The album is amazing and “We the People” is fucking amazing too. I read about you and Tip being on good terms throughout he making of the album, I knew you guys were. I was hoping you two were. I love y’all brotherhood, we needed y’all back in hip hop again, we needed to see that, to feel that, to know that. Just last week, I went to the pop up shop. I didn’t get the shirt I originally wanted but it was worth it. I just wish the people who worked at the shop wasn’t so selfish to be the ones wearing all the merchandise and tell us fans there’s no more stuff. That pissed me off yo but I’m happy I got something. I’m gonna wear it forever, as well as my custom made t-shirt that my guy Curtis made for me. Yesterday, we finally celebrated the street naming after you. I missed the part where they finally showed the sign but I had to be there once again for you. So much love and good energy was out there for you. I seen your wife too, she’s so strong and beautiful too. I heard about your mom being there too, she’s also so strong and beautiful too. Jarobi was right in front of me but I was too scared to ask for a picture. I froze up. I went back home mad about that but then I remembered the time I met y’all last year. Yo Phife, this letter is to tell you how much I miss you and love you, how much the fans, your family and hip hop misses you. It don’t have to be your birthday, a Tribe Tuesday, a Tribe album anniversary for me to represent, I’m always representing. People remind me everyday how much I put on for hip hop culture and I think about you automatically. When my time comes when I’m in the game best believe you’ll be honored in the best way possible in my own way. I do it everyday but still. Man, Happy Birthday Phife. I love you and miss you again. Rest in beats King. It’s Tribe 4 ever and it’s always you 4 ever! You on point Phife? You always were!

Ill Na Na: The 20th Anniversary Edition!

On November 19th, 1996, a young, hardcore chick from Brooklyn, who is my all time favorite female MC, released her debut album. 20 years later, the album is still a masterpiece from beginning to end. Banger after banger, hit after hit, there are no misses on this joint right here. Yo, I hate saying “female MC” because their sex shouldn’t be the focus, it’s the skills that matters and this chick right here definitely got the skills on the mic and that’s why she’s my top favorite. When I listen to her, she’s raw, she’s hard, she’s hood wit it, she’s got the balls, the attitude, the style, and sexy all at the same time. Very hard but feminine at the same time. Skin dark like dark chocolate and has a in-your-face style too. The 18 year old was Brooklyn’s own Foxy Brown. 1996 may be the year she released her debut album but it was the year before that when she appeared as a guest on LL Cool J’s remix to the joint “I Shot Ya” and to me she had the best verse. Foxy from the beginning was a beast. She gives me goosebumps when I listen to her. People pin her and Lil’ Kim against each other from the beginning since they both came out probably a week from each other. They may be similar in some ways but Foxy does something to me that Kim doesn’t. Now, “Ill Na Na”, straight banger and I’m not exaggerating. There are absolutely no skips when this joint is on. The album starts off with the “Chicken Coop” intro that’s in true, legendary Trackmasters style. That deep voice that lures you into what’s about to come through your speakers and gives you an introduction of what you’re about to witness, a little history of the team that’s behind Foxy, the label, the year, everything and then finally it’s “Foxy Brownnnnn, the Albummm.” Isaac Hayes makes an appearance at the end of the intro and then there’s the cross fade transition into “(Holy Matrimony) Letter to the Firm.” How ironic because the song samples Isaac Hayes’ “Ike’s Mood, Part 1.” Foxy spits an entire joint dedicated to her The Firm peers, Nas and AZ. Next, it’s “Foxy’s Bells.” Foxy gives you a LL Cool J “Rock the Bells” but on her own twist. She pulled it off in a great way too. Then, we hear the soft sounds of Teddy Riley’s group BLACKstreet on the joint “Get Me Home.” Now I have to clear this up right now. I notice sometimes, here and there, people say it’s “Gotta Get Me Home” when it’s just simply named “Get Me Home”, okay people? A’ight, let’s keep going. This joint was one of the singles off the album. It’s a certified banger and a automatic classic for both Foxy and BLACKstreet. It’s a song to me that never gets old. It’s timeless shit. Chauncey Black was no joke on the vocals and this was around the time when they had new members in the group. Next, “The Promise”, Havoc of Mobb Deep is on this one. This is the Foxy that I love. She brings you that street shit, her stories of being around men who hustle and do street shit and the guy promises her that everything will be straight but in the long run, things will eventually get ugly and of course they do. This part of the album is like a story of a woman whose trapped in a bind. She’s surrounded by these hustlers and she wants to get away. The short interlude “The Set Up”, she wants to leave her man because she believes the relationship isn’t working out but he’s not taking her seriously and then these dudes run up on him who represent for her and protect her by killing him right there on sight. “If I” comes on. It’s a joint that’s the answer to the interlude. She talks about what would happen if she could rewind time back to when life was good. Her life and relationship changes when she starts to blow up and become an artist. Great storytelling. An original purpose in hip hop that I love. “The Chase” is another hard joint about the street life. Running around just trying to survive. “Ill Na Na”, the album title joint, my dude Mef appears on this one. What I love about Mef is that he has a special way of collaborating with people. It’s not just a normal joint featuring Method Man, he actually blends well with other artists by feeling out their vibe and feeding the listeners who he’s vibing with on the track. He’s the perfect collaborator to me. This joint shows love to Foxy about her style and who she is. She almost gives the men a taste of what she likes and what she’s about at the same time giving the ladies some inspiration to be proud of the women they are if they relate to her style and ways. “No One’s” a smooth joint with the smooth sounds of Khadijah Bass. The joint comes from The S.O.S. Band’s “No One’s Gonna Love You.” It works very well over a hip hop track. I honestly don’t think this joint would work with anybody else on the hook and chorus. “Fox Boogie” is hands down my favorite joint on the album just because Kid Capri is on the track. He provides all the flavor and party vibe on the track. This is the joint you put on at parties when everybody come together and have their red cups and everybody is singing along to “Uggggghhhh, na na na naaaaa!” Foxy keeps it strictly Foxy style still. Giving the people who the fuck she is. That cocky rapper joint. Everybody has their cocky tracks and that’s okay. That’s the best part about hip hop: the boldness and rebelliousness. It’s a beautiful thing. The joint transitions into “I’ll Be”, another single released from the album and my boy Jay-Z appears on this one. This is the joint everybody knows when it comes to Foxy Brown. That Rene & Angela sample was genius too. Foxy and Jay have that 90’s Bonnie & Clyde thing going on before he had Beyoncé. The album ends on a continuation of the intro and Isaac Hayes says the last things that he wanted to say before the beat stops. Hands down, this album is my all time favorite when it comes to women in hip hop. Truly a masterpiece. I enjoy it every single time I listen to it. I get this movie in my head of almost a hood version of Romeo & Juliet. I remember posting about this album on it’s 18th and 19th anniversaries too and Foxy showed me love with kisses and heart emojis. She’s truly my heart when it comes to women MC’s. See how I switched it up? But still. I hate the label regardless. It’s safe to end this on a good note. I can finish the movie in my head I have while listening to this album with her video of “Big Bad Mamma” featuring Dru Hill. Stephon Marbury pops up on the sofa across the room from her and goes “Ayo Fox! Why you ain’t at the ball yo!?” It’s the Cinderella story of a hood girl who made it through the shit she been through during “Ill Na Na” and now she’s a survivor. Fox Boogie Brown is definitely bad as hell. Salute to a legend, one of hip hop’s ILLEST women on the M-I-C. Love you Fox! Word, one love.

New Designer Alert!

Dawn Ellison is her name and she has a dual clothing line called Code31/EPA. It was created out of necessity. She was injured on the job in 1996, and with no income coming in, Dawn went to her first gift—which was drawing. So, Dawn then created Empty Pockets Apparel in 2000 because she had no income. Some customers weren’t too receptive to the name at the time, so she later created Code31. Now, both lines have been receiving love. In the end, Dawn decided to run with both. Being on disability has hindered her. Getting out an abundance of products at once however with the exposure in movies and artists and comedians wearing her clothing line, she gained the attention and sales have slowly increased. Her ideal? she wanted to create a clothing line that people could appreciate and afford, while still having money in their pockets. Looking good at reasonable cost is her answer to the urban community. Dawn is making her acting debut in a new movie titled Rise and Fall and her clothing lines will be featured as well.

Written by Street Line

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: The Legacy of Sean “Puffy” Combs

From being Father MC’s backup dancer, to being an intern at Uptown Records back in the late 80’s/early 90’s, to becoming one of the world’s biggest hip hop moguls. Sean “Diddy” Combs, the man behind the greats like Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, The Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, 112, Total, and more, the man behind the music that all started in 1994 when the birth of his label Bad Boy Records started. Bad Boy is not only legendary for its roster of artists but it was a part of the East Coast/West Coast beef that took place in the mid-90’s along with Death Row Records. Musically, Diddy is the man and Bad Boy was shit. If you’re a Death Row fan, we might not get along. LOL! Growing up, Bad Boy took over my apartment. There was Biggie, Faith, 112, Shyne, Carl Thomas, The LOX, Mase, the whole crew, non-stop playing on the radio. Now business wise, I’m not a fan of Diddy. It’s just a little suspicious to me that artists come and go. The most we hear from an artist on Bad Boy from the past maybe 10 years is 2 to 3 albums tops, 5 hot singles, 3 or 4 music videos and then we never hear or see anything else after that. Regardless, Diddy is the go to man for the hottest party records of the year. He knows how to get a party started and he’s definitely a successful businessman whose on of hip hop’s biggest moguls with a legacy that never dies. In his words, “Cause we can’t stop, cause we won’t stop. Bad Boy 4 life!”

Haunted Hill 2016 Presents: Cypress Hill & Naughty By Nature

On the night of October 28th, 2016, I had one of the greatest experiences of my life. It was the Naughty By Nature/Cypress Hill Haunted Hill 2016 show downtown at Terminal 5. Last week, DJ Kay Gee himself direct messaged me inviting me to the show for free. I was so hyped and pumped about the show. Fast forward to yesterday. Last night, I got there around 5:30, the show starts at 7 but the show really started around 8 or 9. I spoke to the supervisor about me not buying ticket and instead I was invited for free. I got a wristband, went inside, told the lady behind the glass window that I got a free invite by one of the guys in the show. I hand her my ID and she pulls out an envelope and gives it to me. The envelope had my ticket already inside with another wristband written “VIP” on it. I go upstairs and wait probably another 30 minutes to an hour and then we go to the place where the show was gonna happen. I get there and Naughty by Nature merchandise was set up so I knew they was gonna perform first. Kay Gee walks out, notices me, points me out and gives me a peace sign. Then one of their men came up to me and gives me another wristband but this one was an invitation to actually get on stage right beside them during the show but I decided to stay in the audience because I didn’t want to lose my spot way in the front. I could’ve kissed the stage, that’s how close I was. Then, Kay Gee starts spinning a couple of classic hip hop joints and out comes Vinnie and Treach and we went ballistic in the crowd. They came out on “O.P.P” but I knew they was gonna perform that joint before Kay Gee played it because he played “ABC, 123” by the Jackson 5 and that’s the sample on “O.P.P.” Hit after hit, classic after classic, Naughty was tearing down the house. Treach even threw “You Down Wit O.P.P.” stickers and his sweaty towel and I caught both. I was too fucking hype. LMAO! At the end of their performance, Kay Gee walks up to me and shows me more love and I pointed at him and yelled “Yo, Thanks Kay Gee!” and then Cypress Hill came out. They tore it down too but to be honest, I don’t know too much about their stuff except for the usual joints. I was 100% turned up with Naughty, with Cypress, I was in and out but regardless I enjoyed the show. My boys Todd and Ashanti from school came through too and we us three left together. I left that show with a O.P.P. sticker, Treach’s sweaty towel and NBN skully hat my boy Todd copped for me. I also left wanting to cry so bad, I had the greatest time of my life. For my first hip hop concert, I got more than I expected and that’s what made it all so amazing to me. I still can’t get over all the love I was given by Kay Gee. Feels good to know that I’m being recognized for my love of hip hop culture. Real definitely can spot the real and I can always say that what Kay Gee did for me was more than real. This is definitely another hip hop moment for me I’ll never forget.

The Evolution of Ciara: The First Lady of Crunk & B

The year was 2004 when she popped up on the scene with her debut single and album with the same name. Petey Pablo provided a verse and Jazze Pha was the man behind the sound. It wasn’t the first time we heard this sound on radio. The first time was Usher’s club banger “Yeah!” featuring Lil’ Jon and Ludacris and was released the same year at the same time but it was this beautiful, young, talented and fresh faced singer on the scene named Ciara who gave us the beautiful sounds of the combination of Crunk and R&B music. Nobody else had pulled off the sound before her and not too many people understand that she pioneered the sound in a dope way and what she brought to the game. When you’re a music fan like myself, it’s easy to point out what’s new, fresh, and dope at the same time and it definitely worked in Ciara’s favor. I can honestly point out that the reason she’s so underrated is because she’s from Atlanta and the South had a lot to prove that they also had something to say, props to Andre 3000. Anyways, when Ciara first came out, I thought she lacked vocal ability and power in her voice. I remember when “Goodies” first came out, the moment I heard it, I wasn’t so fond of Petey Pablo alone and then I couldn’t stand the sound of Ciara’s voice but that song is a reflection of the Atlanta sound and wave at the time. After “Goodies”, there was “1, 2 Step” featuring Missy Elliott, “Oh” featuring Ludacris and my all time favorite Ciara joint “And I.” “And I” was a slow ballad that was the first joint Ciara ever written, that’s what I read a long ago. It wasn’t a hype track like the other singles, it was a slow joint but it was a dope ass joint. Ciara caught my attention full on when she came back with her second joint “Ciara: The Evolution.” This album to me is her best work. She stepped it up a whole lot. She went from being the young Atlanta girl fresh outta high school to being this full on entertainer. She went from the honey brown/blonde hair to jet black. She had the whole futuristic look with the silver and shiny clothes, she was dancing more and stepping out of her comfort zone and showing a more hyper Ciara. Her voice was definitely different too but she sings low like Janet Jackson. This is the Ciara I personally loved. I also remember when her second joint dropped because “Get Up” came out for the “Step Up” movie soundtrack and then there was “Promise”, “Like a Boy” and “Can’t Leave ‘Em Alone” featuring 50 Cent. Ciara had this whole Janet Jackson thing going in this era and it worked. She kept that Janet Jackson vibe up and kept putting out more and more bangers and albums. She’s a dope artist whose very underrated. She’s far from her “Goodies” days and is now a mother to a son named Future, who she named after the Atlanta native rapper, who she formerly had a relationship with. Ciara will go down in history as one of the illest artists of all time. She may not be so appreciated like she should be artistically now but eventually, people will catch on. They should’ve been caught on. She will continue to get more and more dope on this evolution in her career. I’m anxious about what she’s gonna do next.

Miss Thang: Happy Birthday Monica

The year was 1995 when her debut album released. She was a 14 years old, Atlanta native and was a part of the younger artists crew when it came to R&B. It was Aaliyah, Brandy and of course Monica. “Miss Thang” was released in July 1995, and Monica was definitely one of the greatest voices heard at the time. With a string of hits underneath her belt, Monica to me is underrated and doesn’t get the credit she definitely deserves. Hits like “Before You Walk Out of My Life”, “Why I Love You So Much”, “The First Night”, “Just One of Them Days”, “Still Standing”, “Street Symphony”, “Angel of Mine”, and her two very biggest joints to me are “The Boy Is Mine” with Brandy and “So Gone.” Monica to me was always good and I definitely enjoyed her music but she used to be boring to me. She would just sing, she didn’t do anything else but now, today, I can listen to her for a while. Her 2003 album “After the Storm” is my favorite album of her. It was the only album I heard from beginning to end, the only Monica album I own, besides a single CD of “So Gone”, and after hearing her other albums, it was the most dopest one to me; “The Boy Is Mine” would be my second choice. The Monica we all know and see today is married with three beautiful children and she’s still singing her ass off and looks amazing too. I love seeing both hip hop and R&B legends be this person of greatness. We grew up on their music, album after album, banger and banger, and they’re still here with us while we give them all of our love and appreciation. Monica is also seems to be super down to earth and a very cool person. I would love to meet her someday. Salute to a legend. Always and forever will be the legendary Monica aka Miss Thang.

New blogger. Nina Fayli

Hi my name is Nina Fayli I’m a new blogger for Street Line. I’m an actress/model. I’ve been in Law & Order SVU, Gotham, Blue Bloods, billions, The Get Down, PPRESSED. I’ve modeled for African American Brides, and Permission to name a few. Follow me @NinaFayli on TWITTER and INSTAGRAM