<\/p>\n
New York isn\u2019t dead, says Maxelle Talena in the latest of tQ\u2019s dispatches from the North American underground. It\u2019s being killed. From jumpstyle to hardcore punk, from hip hop to garage rock (for those who can\u2019t afford a garage), she introduces five key artists keeping the flame alive<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
It\u2019s 2011, and luxury brownstone owner\/avatar for everyman New Yorker Michael Rapaport (who will go on to campaign for disgraced former governor Andrew Coumo as well as disgraced outgoing mayor Eric Adams, both of whom oversaw massive waves gentrification) is wearing a T-shirt that reads \u2018Brooklyn\u2019, standing in an alley, providing the intro to the video for \u2018What Happened?\u2019<\/a> by NYHC-turned-pop-punk-turned-hardcore-again novelty act H2O. He wants you to know that he has some questions. \u201cDo real men wear drainpipe jeans and mascara? <\/a>What happened to CBGBs? [\u2026] What happened to WKTU Disco \u201892? Where\u2019s Mr. Magic? What happened to rap music? What happened to the passion? [\u2026] How many Ramones are still alive?<\/p>\n Aside from the fact that there are readily available answers for all of these questions, Rapaport displays the same hypocritical sentimentality that fuels the every \u201cNew York is dead\u2019 thinkpiece. Unlike Nas<\/a> or Steve Ignorant<\/a> proclaiming the death of the genre they helped pioneer, making a bold statement in order to provoke and challenge their contemporaries, New York\u2019s menagerie of death notices is more often than not the product of a transplant lamenting the loss of their favourite second-wave-gentrification bar or cafe to make way for a third-wave-gentrification bar or cafe.<\/p>\n New York still has a thriving DIY punk scene, for example, musicians throwing shows wherever they want\u00a0 regardless of permission, occasionally securing permits for\u00a0park benefits, like when the legendary 90s crust band Detestation performed in Maria Hernandez Park in order to raise money for Bushwick Street vendors, who deal with constant harassment from\u00a0the NYPD egregiously cracking down on selling churros without a license.\u00a0Yet, you can still find plenty of New York relics who\u2019ll tell you that punk is dead, the type who long for a time before The Casualties \u201cwent woke\u201d (replaced their singer following allegations of sexual assault).<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not just the relevance of punk that\u2019s up for debate. Ever since creating hip hop, New York has been something of a helicopter parent to the genre \u2013 overly concerned about rappers\u2019 wardrobes or annunciation. It\u2019s been a long-standing tradition for New York rappers love to claim they are \u201cbringing New York back\u201d \u2013 or even hip hop itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n However the likes of Bub Styles and legendary photographer Gee\u2019s Chinatown Sound videos showcase rappers\u2019 lyricism at its rawest, without the pearl-clutching or complaints about 15-year-olds experimenting with different syllable patterns. Partial proceeds of their merch drops are also donated to the Chinatown First program, giving back to the neighbourhood they chose to represent.\u00a0<\/p>\n