BRONX TIMES REPORTER, FEB. 26-MAR. 4, 2021 9
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That year also saw the rise of Bronx
sensation Kurtis Blow, who was living
in Co-op City during his rise in the
1980s.
Blow even released a track titled
“The Bronx” in 1986, just some time
after bringing the Queens based group
“Run DMC” to an eventual position of
universal popularity.
The mid-1980s also gave rise to a fellow
Bronx rapper, Slick Rick, who was
inducted into borough’s walk of fame
on the Grand Concourse in 2018.
By the 1990’s New York’s rap scene
had shifted greatly into Brooklyn due
to the rise of The Notorious B.I.G. and
other affi liated acts such as Jay Z.
Bronx rappers like the late Big Pun
and Fat Joe managed to pull the city’s
rap spotlight back uptown by the late
1990’s with Big Pun’s track “I’m Not a
Player” and Fat Joe’s hit “Lean Back.”
It was these rappers and producers
along many others who evolved and
propelled hip hop into its modern era
of the new millenium, one which still
sees Bronx greats rise above the rest.
A block in Castle Hill was the stepping
stone for Jennifer Lopez while
the Moroccan born French Montana
reportedly attended Lehman High
School in his youth – not to mention all
the clubs where Cardi B performed at
prior to her own launch into fame.
Before moving to Atlanta and later
marrying Alicia Keys, a teenage Swizz
Beatz was mixing in the northeast
Bronx too.
Earlier this week on Monday, the
late Fred The Godson, a Longwood
native and regular guest DJ on Hot97
was honored and remembered on his
36th birthday by Fat Joe and the Bronx
community.
Photo by Miriam Quin