(FreshAsFrankie) A number of notable acts have bubbled out of Brooklyn over the past several years, including Joey Badass, Troy Ave, Desiigner and Young MA to name a few, who’ve exhibited an array of styles representative of the borough’s musical diversity. Many fans will say that the streets haven’t truly gotten behind a movement from the birthplace of Biggie Smalls since Bobby Shmurda and his GS9 crew were bringing the gritty sounds and raw visuals reflective of their free and rebellious youth. That is until now.
Over the past several weeks the hardcore intensity of Tekashi 6ix9ine’s vocals, coupled with the infectious hook off of his single “Gummo” has begun to recapture that 2013-2014 energy. And radio is taking notice.
Tekashi recently set up a live stream for his fans, during which he notified followers that Hot 97 was about to play the song for the first time. As Funk Flex ran the record back repeatedly it appeared that he was floating between two worlds, with his feet firmly planted on the block and his mind in the clouds as the possibilities came to surface in the surreal moment. Then came Flex’s bombs, and the legendary DJ name-dropping the hot young rapper while shouting one time for Brooklyn.
“To be honest with you, I don’t even know how to feel. Like, n****s playing me on the radio. Like… I know some n****s be paying for that s**t, some n****s be just paying the DJ and s**t but I never thought I was gonna have a hot record to actually spin on the radio,” said 6ix9ine. “You know what I’m saying? That s**t just bugged out to me because I don’t make radio music. I don’t make club music, so that s**t real crazy.”
The visual for “Gummo” certifies the song with the kind of life that’s going to continue to generate from the Blood rapper’s Scum Gang clique when they officially roll out the video for Tekashi’s next single, “Kooda.” Snippets from the “Kooda” video have been floating around the net and show Bloods and Crips flooding the Utica Avenue and Fulton Street stop along the A/C subway line, together.
The degree to which they are evidently united in the visual serves as a glaring sign of the potential Tekashi bears to call rap music’s attention back to the city at a street level. At one point during the video’s teaser, an affiliate of the rapper’s entourage lifts up his shirt to reveal a graphic of Bobby Shmurda and Rowdy Rebel. All of the dots seem to be connecting for a similar kind of Brooklyn resurgence.
Source: boxden.com
Dee Beasley is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of FreshAsFrankie.com. After starting out as a musician-producer he went on to study the music business and work in Urban Promotions, followed by artist management. Mr. Beasley entrepreneurial spirit has led him to launch numerous businesses in music and fashion marketing. He’s a huge fan of the ’80s and ’90s Hip Hop and R&B, and he’s a firm believer that Hip Hop Music will never die.