By Rita J. Egan
In the early 1970s, a new genre of music called hip-hop emerged from the Bronx. As the years went by, the music became more popular, and some hip-hop artists were joined by the Long Islanders. On Sunday, June 11th, a special concert was held at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in Stony Brook to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the genre and the local entertainer, featuring several artists who started their careers in Suffolk. A discussion panel will be held. , Nassau, Queens, Brooklyn.
Members of Son of Bazerk, Kool Rock-Ski (The Fat Boys), DJ Jazzy Jay, and DJ Johnny Juice Rosado (Public Enemy) will perform. There will also be a panel discussion with Rosado, AJ Roku (JVC Force), Dinko D and Milo Inde Dance (both Leaders of the New School) and special guest Ralph McDaniels (Video Music Box). In addition to the performance and Q&A, the Hall of Fame will unveil a statue of his hip hop artist and actor LL Cool J, who will be inducted into the Fat Boys Hall of Fame.
Limehoff Vice Chairman Tom Needham said the event was in line with the organization’s ultimate goal of representing and presenting different types of music. He added that the area has a lot of talent, including hip-hop artists, some already inducted into the local Hall of Fame.
“When people think of music on Long Island, they simply think of Billy Joel, but there are so many hip-hop artists who live and make music here. ” said Needham. “I think the average Long Island resident sometimes doesn’t know that.”
Rosado, who has been with Leimhoff since its early days and joined Public Enemy in 2008, said the idea for the panel came from a tour he took in 2012. He and his fellow artists came up with the idea. A panel press conference will be held before the show. He said concerts need some context and he feels the Q&A helps provide that.
“Especially in a museum or hall of fame like this, I think it’s important to know about the artists, what they’re talking about, and why Long Island has been such a great incubator for this kind of act. he said.
The event will give several entertainers the chance to visit the venue for the first time, including JVC Force’s AJ Rok aka AJ Woodson. Woodson, now editor-in-chief of Black Westchester Magazine, said he was delighted to hear about the event from Rosado.
“Long Island rap needs to be celebrated more, it’s not celebrated the way it should be, but it’s been a very strong region that has contributed so much to hip-hop,” the journalist said. .
a little history
In addition to being a member of Public Enemy, whose song “Fight the Power” was featured in the 1989 film Do the Right Thing, Rosado has worked with various artists and composed film scores. Composed. He recalls the early days of hip-hop as being similar to the trajectory of jazz.
“A lot of it wasn’t well received by the established greats and others of the time, so we had a hard time launching it,” he said. “But along the way there were some groundbreaking moments like when Run DMC did ‘Walk This Way’.”
The 1986 hit was a cover of Aerosmith’s 1975 song, and the hip-hop version performed better on the charts than the original. Rosado added that hip-hop artists have started sampling the classics, and many artists like Aerosmith have made a comeback.
Woodson said hip-hop started as a means of self-expression and now influences “every form of entertainment at this point.”
Of Long Island artists, Needham said that in the early days of hip-hop, many artists were made to feel as if they had to say they were from New York City during interviews.
“Actually, it was the record company,” he said. “Their strategy many years ago was that if someone was from Long Island, they would rewrite their history a little bit to make it look like they were from New York City. I didn’t think it was cool to say I’m from Long Island, where there are so many different artists.”
At a panel discussion on June 11th, attendees will be able to find out how many of these entertainers formed their first group.
Woodson said she moved from Mount Vernon to Central Islip when she was seven years old. After his parents divorced and his father moved back to Mount Vernon, Mr. Woodson decided to attend high school there. He was a frequent visitor to Central Islip and returned to Long Island after graduation. One day a neighbor asked him about William Taylor (B-Luv) and Curtis Andre Small (DJ Kurt Cazale). They are fledgling young DJs and a friend told him about a party they were throwing. When he attended, a friend asked Woodson if he could take the microphone.
“Me and B-Luv were going back and forth with mics,” he said. “It wasn’t really a battle, but we were rhyming back and forth and everyone was talking about how great we sounded.” The party was a turning point in Woodson’s life as he began making demos for . JVC Force was responsible for the 1988 song “Strong Island,” which sampled a phrase said by Public Enemy’s Chuck D on the Adelphi University radio station. The song made me realize that there are hip-hop artists from Long Island such as Public Enemy and Eric B. and Rakim.
Cassandra Jackson, also known as 1/2 Pint of Sons of Bazaar, joins group members Tony Allen “Bazaar”, Gary Pep Stanton “Daddy Law”, and DJ Johnny Juice on June 11. to appear in The show will be a tribute to Son of Bazaar member Jeff “Almighty Jerwell” Hite, who passed away a few months ago.
Jackson’s musical journey began in Freeport. She said before her sophomore year in college, she was playing basketball in the park with her friends and was “thrash-talking” when someone approached her and she said, “I think I’m going to set a record for her.” Said, said She was surprised that someone approached her on the basketball court and said that to her, but she gave him her number and he met her grandparents. It turned out to be her Shockley, producer Hank, a member of her team The Bomb Squad, who introduced her to Townhouse 3, which eventually became her Son of Bazerk. She said she remembered people growing up in Freeport.
Being part of a group and performing was “very unrealistic for me,” she said.
“It was the epitome of hip-hop,” she said. “I would bang tables in the lunch room, rhyme on the back of the bus, that sort of thing, and then I would actually go into the studio and do what I’ve been practicing with my friends, and then I’d actually get on stage and do it. Tell and act.”
Jackson said it was important to preserve the history of hip-hop. She still makes music and works on documentaries. An administrator at Roosevelt High School’s Alternative Her Learning Academy, Jackson runs an alternative program that incorporates hip-hop into its curriculum. “More than just music, hip-hop stands on the shoulders of previous movements, and music is a way of expressing it: how we feel, who we are, and how we feel. It’s a way of expressing what we’re trying to say.”
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A hip-hop 50th anniversary concert and panel discussion event will be held on Sunday, June 11 at 2:00 pm at the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame at 97 Main Street in Stony Brook. Admission to this event is free ($19.50 for adults, $17 for seniors and veterans, and $15 for students with ID). For more information, call 631-689-5888 or visit www.limusichalloffame.org.
