In 1992, I was rediscovering my NY roots. Having lived in Lithonia, GA for six years at
that point, I wasn’t really a New Yorker anymore. Though I still enjoyed much of the rap music
that came from there, my growing fascination with West Coast gangsta rap had
nearly converted me by that point. I
wasn’t really feeling the then emerging generation of NY rappers. Brand Nubian and Leaders of the New School
just didn’t move me, at least not at first.
Their videos sucked, and their production left something to be desired
in my eyes. However, by 1992 I was
slowly coming back to the fray. Some
kids from Queens had started going to my High School. I liked their swagger, and in turn befriended
them. Another influence in that same regard
was my cousin, a native of the Parkchester section of the Bronx. He had just signed a deal with Wyld Pitch
records, and the B-Side of his first single
celebrated the home town in grand
fashion. As if some sort of omen, a film appeared on the scene that seemed to
cater to my feelings at the time.
