New York: Day Six - Lower East Side

‘

It was Hip hop 50 that brought me to New York, but this city has birthed or enhanced so many other styles of music I love, from Boogaloo to Disco to House to Punk that I couldn't come here without paying some kind of homage to it all. So today I ventured into The Lower East Side of the city, where on first glance it might seem like the area’s only entry into Hip hop history is the Beastie Boys.

This is far from true mind you. In fact you could even argue that Hip hop as we know it was formed there, given that it was largely the Downtown art scene of the early 80s that first tried to push the idea of there being a cohesive four elements to it.

Of course I'm definitely not trying to take anything away from the Bronx in saying that. It's still very much where Hip hop was born. It all starts there with the DJs, the rappers and the breakers, and to some degree graffiti, although that was a little more widespread across the city.

However, whilst those early clubs and galleries who brought graffiti and Hip hop to the LES neighbourhood were definitely a factor in me wanting to come here, it's probably more to do with the Punk, Post Punk, Hardcore Punk and even Jazz musicians that lived and made their names around here. My original intention was to make pilgrimages to the venues that incubated those styles, and I started to do just that. Now though, I’m not entirely sure what I thought I might gain from it.

I should have learned my lesson from yesterday, when I visited the sites of Harlem Renaissance era Jazz clubs. Even if the buildings are there, it can be almost impossible to reconcile them with their historical context. I visited the site of Slugs, but it’s almost impossible to picture the tiny bar where Sun Ra and his Arkestra held down a regular Monday night jam in the 1960s. The same is true of the Pyramid, that seminal 80s and 90s venue where the drag, punk and art scenes all converged, and where Rupaul, Nirvana and Red Hot Chili Peppers all had their first New York gigs. I visit the sites of both the 57 Club and the Mudd Club, as well as The Fun Club, those integral venues of the early 80s, where Art, New Wave, Punk, Dub, Disco, Hip hop and Electro came together. I tried to get a feel for the Electric Circus, where Sly and the Family Stone, Dr. John, Deep Purple played in the 60s, and of course I visited the sites where both CBGBs and the Filmore East (plus The Saint after it) once stood. But these buildings no longer stand out from those around them. Even the occasional plaque giving mention to their pasts doesn’t really feel like it does justice to the importance of these places, and there’s something depressing about them now being banks or other such boring businesses. I thought just knowing the history of these places would be enough, but whilst their stories will forever inspire me regardless, I think I was missing another key element to bring their history to life for me. 

Of course I did have the music which certainly helped. Music is a great narrator, and more often than not it’s a reaction to, or interpretation of, the environment it was made in, so my Lower Eastside playlist proved to be the perfect soundtrack. And I’m not entirely sure whether the area enhanced the music or vice versa but something definitely clicked between the two (Free Jazz has never made more sense). However I think this is where a walking tour can make all the difference. Somebody with a local connection and local insights, guiding you through the area. I’ll have to remember that for next time. I already have the Hush Hip hop Tour booked for Harlem and The Bronx so I’m glad of that, but what I needed was somebody like Chava.

Chava was the tour guide for the Tenement Museum which I visited early in the day. Interesting, engaging, honest and passionate in her work, she took us around two of the museum's apartment exhibits, which once belonged to families from Poland and Puerto Rico in the 50s and 60s respectively. I learned so much about the area and its history, but time is limited so I won’t get into that for now, but suffice to say go and visit it should you ever find yourself in New York. 

Despite the fact that time and gentrification have all but erased the places I’ve mentioned, and there seems to be little else but bougie art galleries, coffee shops, eateries and fashion stores to take their places, this is still one of the most wonderful areas of any city I’ve been to. The whole district is a living art gallery, and whilst two of the Lower East Side’s favourite sons Basquiat and Keith Haring have long been coopted back into the art world that in many ways they were a reaction against, the legacy of their work and that of the graffiti artists who inspired them is everywhere here. The walls are covered with street art, and even though the creeping corporate murals of fashion designer labels, or middle of the road pop stars might also find themselves on the walls here, they can’t compete with the sheer volume of magnificent art on display. There also seems to be a will amongst the residents here to hold onto a sense of community and creativity in the face of gentrification. Let’s hope that spirit never fades.

I was planning to finish the night at either the Nuyorican Poets Cafe’s open mic, or an old prohibition era bar called The Backroom who have a live swing band every Monday night. However a beatbox friend of mine, Hobbit, told me about a live Hip-hop jam called The Jelly which happens at C’Mon Everybody, a cool little bar with a small live space in Brooklyn, so I headed over there instead. Turns out there wasn’t much Hip-hop happening at all, but the house band were laying down some funky enough grooves with a couple of great guest singers dropping various generations of soul and rnb covers. When it came time for the jam session, rather than a free for all they called up various musicians and one singer at a time. It was perhaps more like live band karaoke than the jam sessions i’m used to back home, but with more instrumental solos. The sheer level of musicianship and quality of singers was unreal though. It felt like the kids from Fame had taken over the building. Everyone in the crowd seemed to take a turn on stage, and not one of them was anything but accomplished. There was also a real sense of community in the room, I could tell a lot of them were regulars, but they were all very warm and welcoming to us newcomers. Definitely a lovely Monday night out, I’m pretty sure this city never actually rests.

If you’ve been keeping up with my daily reports then thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time and maybe see you back here tomorrow again. My plan is to spend a little more time here in Brooklyn, after I’ve popped over to the Wu Tang District of Shaolin Island.