New York: Day Eleven - Reggae Vs Hip hop
A friend of mine once went to Peru. The day before she was due to go on a day trip to Machu Picchu, she got steaming drunk and totally missed it. She didn't have the heart to tell her family that she'd never actually made it to the most iconic site in South America, so she made up stories about her wonderful visit there, and had to recount them time and again, for years at family gatherings.
With this in mind, it's tempting not to admit that today I never made it to the block party at 1520 Sedgewick Avenue, the birth place of Hip hop. Out of all my plans this week for Hip hop's 50th Anniversary, this might have been the most iconic offering. Maybe even more so than the Yankee Stadium celebration. I don't even have booze as an excuse.
The reason is fairly long winded but, the quick version is I'd had to head back to Brooklyn in the morning and I was running late with all my plans. The Bronx was just too far away, and having been hit heavily with Hip hop classics for 10 days, I decided on something a little different.
Hip hop is my all time greatest love, but having spent my early years in the heavily Carribean areas of London such as Ladbroke Grove, White City and Hackney, Reggae is my first and longest love affair, and the line up that VP Records had put together at Summer Stage in Central Park was seriously impressive for a free concert. It might also be true that with Boomtown on back over in the UK this weekend, I was missing those big live Reggae acts.
Central Park is an awesome space. It’s so surreal, looking out at the huge skyscrapers from inside a lush green sanctuary. It almost feels like a theme park, “Welcome to Nature World.” It’s a great backdrop for this particular showcase of artists, leaning more to the Roots Reggae side and largely covering acts from the VP subsidiary Dub Rockers, a label that seems to be trying to reconcile the popular West Coast US scene of largely all white bands, with artists from Jamaica.
Soul Rebel Project who play first could easily be one of those West Coast bands but are actually from Massachusetts. They put on a solid performance, including a respectable Sizzla cover which goes down well. They also play their new single on Dub Rockers, ‘G Town Ride’.
The rest of the line up are all Jamaican, and up next is one of my favourite up and coming artists from the island, Blvk H3ro. He’s not on the label but has a new album dropping next week and treats us to some of the new tracks along with some classic covers and his earlier tunes such as the hit ‘It Nuh Easy’ and his Wayne J dancehall collaboration ‘Original’ which is a big favourite of mine.
This is his first time in New York (I managed to catch his first London show a few weeks ago too) and you could tell from the tepid crowd reaction at first, but by the end they’re fully invested and so hopefully this won’t be his last.
FYAH are up next, comprised of former Raging Fyah members with Elton Earlington on lead vocals, whose soulful voice is put to good use on their cover of ‘Let’s Get It On’, as well as an Alton Ellis medley and their original songs which hit the spot perfectly. Whilst I’d say that the band aren’t quite as powerful as their previous incarnation yet, they’re still a mighty force and do a great job at winning the crowd over.
The final two acts of the evening are established firebrands and VP veterans. Both Chuck Fenda and Anthony B have an excess of energy and really put the work in live. By now the crowd are singing along, and their sets confirm that I made the right choice coming here this evening. I’d have been more than happy for the night to end there but I’d bought tickets for a Reggae Vs Hip-hop Boat Party and even got a hotel booked nearby as it wasn't due to finish until 4am.
Actually let’s talk about the hotel for a second. The first thing you need to know about New York if it wasn't clear already is that it’s seriously expensive. So I’m grateful that the Carlton Arms hotel existed near the boat terminal, as it was the only place anywhere near affordable for me. It’s a real quirky art hotel, or maybe hostel would be a more honest description. It’s got two stars with no frills at all but it’s friendly and the rooms and halls are painted by various great artists. I’m told there’s a few Banksys around the building also, though my room is definitely not one of those places.
It’s decorated by founding Kiss guitarist and vocalist Ace Frehley, there’s even a little nod to the band one one of the panels. The paintings are awesome, however it’s certainly an acquired taste! The only way I can describe it is, a gothic nightmare ayahuasca trip. Maybe not the best imagery for a peaceful nights sleep, though to be fair the concierge gave me the option of multiple rooms and as I was in a hurry I just picked the closest one and stuck with it.
Down at the marina, I’m trying to figure out which boat I‘m supposed to be on. I can make out two very different queues at first. One is an all black crowd, dressed all in white. I’m dressed inappropriately for that one, I fit more with the other queue who are white but dressed almost entirely in black as I am. However their t shirts suggest that Hardcore Punk band Murphy’s Law will be playing on this boat. Probably not the one.
There’s a lot of people and an air of chaos down there but I eventually make out two more queues. One is entirely made up of Latinos and the other is the most mixed of the bunch, around 70/30 Black and Latino, I correctly assume this is for my boat, although nobody I ask is entirely sure.
I forget how much social anxiety can kick you in the nuts when you’re on your own and not drinking, but it’s a warm night and the view is already impressive before we leave dock, so I try and just breathe and enjoy that. We’re there a while though and the music is quiet as hell so I nearly leave the boat a few times thinking this was probably a bad idea. everyone is younger than me, and there will be no escaping til 4am once we set off. Eventually I get into a conversation with two lovely kids from Georgia, a fashion student who is studying locally and his sister who is just visiting. She is dying to dance and wants to know what moves I can do. Turns out, not as many as her, but at least once we move the music is turned right up.
There’s no straight up Reggae in this Reggae Vs Hip-hop Party, only Dancehall and Reggaeton, and the Hip-hop played is pretty much everything that I haven’t heard whilst being here, mostly Southern club stuff and Drill. I’m good with that though, and even better once they start playing Soca, Afrobeats and Jersey Club.
The boat itself is plush but gloriously tacky inside, with a light up dancefloor that is packed with people wining, twerking and generally having a lot of fun. I get adopted briefly by a wild Bangladeshi crew who are full of testosterone, booze and ketamine. They want to take me out to a bar one of them owns for a lock in.
Once upon a time maybe, but when the boat docks briefly for a 911 ambulance call, I take the opportunity and sneak off to bed. I make peace with the ghoulish faces on my wall and try to ignore the huge storm that has just started outside. Looks like I left the boat just in time. I can’t believe my days in this city are nearly over though!
