Just some thoughts..:

So if you asked me what I personally thought The “NNY” was, I’d say unity. Really, the idea sparked during an old Vibe interview with Smoke Dza, where he coined(?) the term. Or should I say, was the first person *I* heard use it. The basic idea ideology was simple: When all the NY Legends retire/fall off/disappear, etc – What happens next? Where does the city go from there? Nas can’t rap forever. Neither can Jay, or 50, so on and so on.

The rappers coming up under the new era would have to take responsibility for the city and the direction it goes in. I most certainly agree with him. But – let’s take that a step further. Beyond rap. Beyond music. Can that not apply to almost every other facet of entertainment? art? media? Whether you like it or not, the “out with the old, in with the new” aspect will eventually take place. It’ll be up to you to carry on the tradition. When you read the backstory or hear it first hand from some of the top tier streetwear brands – you realize many of them are friends and have been friends for years. Came up together. Friendly competition will always be necessary to further the progression of all those involved. Lets dip back to what I first mentioned for a sec – Unity. 90s (NY) rappers had a sense of unity. Sure, everyone had their own factions/cliques/etc. But there was healthy competition and unity among peers. For awhile though, we lost that. It became dog eat dog. (50, I’m looking at you.)

Fast forward to the present, I feel as if we’re getting back to that mindstate and solidarity among artists. Infact, I SEE it when I go to shows. There’s lots of love in the underground. It’s truly a beautiful thing to see. Many of which have either been posted on the site, facebook, tumblr or supported in some way or another (Jae Tips, Tray Pizzy, Dave East, Wordsmiff, Faze One, ReQCartier, Kamo, Abso, L.A., Creative Gold, JY, Dom O Briggs, Breeze Montana, Allen York, etc. There’s so many of you – I’d need an entirely different post to cover it all lol. Much respect either way!) What I’m saying is – I’d like to see that be the mindset of the entire city, regardless of what it is you do. Rap, design, blog, videographer, photographer, – whatever! We all have our own boroughs that we’re from, teams that we rep, and mentalities – but in the end, we all from New York. Carry on the tradition.