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Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s regulations against large soda cups in restaurants may have been blocked by the courts, but local hip-hop artist Awkwafina is putting him on notice anyway.
“Hey Mayor Mike Bloomberg, help me understand!” she declares in a video released today. “Our giant margaritas are going to get banned. Are going to get banned … Please don’t take my freedom, my giant margarita.” Read More
While many people and elected officials have simply followed the Weather Channel’s decision to call the snowstorm hitting the Northeast “Nemo,” the mayor of one city in Connecticut has decided to come up with his own name for the blizzard and it’s a reference to the late, great rapper Notorious B.I.G. In a series of tweets sent today, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton has used the #SnowtoriousBIGII hashtag to refer to the storm.
“Wind is definitely picking up,” Mr. Boughton wrote this afternoon. “This is becoming an old school storm. #OG #snotoriousBIGII” Read More
This month’s issue of GQ features an interview with Florida Senator Marco Rubio in which he talks about his favorite rap songs. When the interview went live online last week, many people took note of Mr. Rubio’s rap knowledge, but Politicker couldn’t help but notice he appeared to mistakenly describe hip hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa as a member of the rap group Public Enemy. However, after reading the print version of the issue it is clear that the discrepancy was caused by an edit made by the magazine and not any rap errors made by Mr. Rubio. Read More
At a highly anticipated press conference in the middle of Times Square, Queens State Senator and potential mayoral candidate Malcolm Smith took Lil’ Wayne to task for saying he doesn’t like New York City in an interview earlier this week. The senator began by repeating Mr. Wayne’s offending comments for the benefit of the handful of reporters who braved the crowds of tourists to witness Mr. Smith’s denunciation of the rapper.
“Let me read you a statement, one word–a couple of words that came from Lil’ Wayne today and here’s what he said: ‘I. Don’t Like. New. York,” Mr. Smith said, slowly reciting each outrageous syllable of Mr. Wayne’s five word comment for emphasis.
Mr. Smith went on to explain why he took “strong exception” to Mr. Wayne’s comments and would like the rapper to issue a formal apology. Read More
Queens State Senator and potential mayoral candidate Malcolm Smith has beef with Lil’ Wayne. Mr. Smith is holding a press conference in Times Square this afternoon to demand an apology from Mr. Wayne after the rapper expressed his distaste for New York in an interview with MTV News this week.
“The rapper publicly said he flat out don’t like New York. New York City is the birthplace of the Hip Hop music movement,” a press release from Mr. Smith’s office said. “Millions of New Yorkers listen to his music every day. His comments outraged his local fans and residents. The group today will be demanding an apology of the hip hop star.” Read More
Move over Marty Markowitz, Ruben Diaz Jr. has taken the crown as New York’s rappingest Borough President.
A little over a month after Brooklyn’s Mr. Markowitz rapped a few bars with Wu Tang Clan member GZA, Mr. Diaz, the Bronx Borough President, joined hip hop legend Doug E. Fresh on stage at Bronx Week Sunday to perform his hit song “La Di Da.” Their duet was captured on video by an audience member. Read More
Rappers are more often associated with bling and fancy cars than legislative maps and council resolutions, but one Queens hip hopper is melding his music with one of the city’s most hot button political issues–redistricting.
Himanshu “Heems” Suri, one of the members of the rap group Das Racist, is releasing his hotly anticipated solo mixtape “Nehru Jackets” in conjunction with SEVA NY, a community organization that’s currently focused on raising awareness about the potential consequences the remapping of local political districts that will occur citywide later this year will have in the Queens neighborhood where he grew up. Mr. Suri’s mixtape will be accompanied on several songs by young SEVA members who rap and sing in Punjabi. Read More
With an estimated net worth of $100 million, rapper 50 Cent is definitely among the one percent, but he’s not against the Occupy Wall Street protests that are sweeping the nation. Fiddy took to Twitter late Sunday night to give the demonstrators some advice and explain how he thinks his new energy drink can solve the problem. Read More
