A Village Historian Falls in Love with Hip-Hop’s Greats
The journey from avoiding hip-hop to loving it was short once this historian got to know some of its originators personally.
Because I prefer melodic songs with no shouting, I never listened much to hip-hop. Yet, in the past three years, I have become an ardent fan because I got to know some of the hip-hop artists themselves.
This change in my thinking started when I covered a historic 50th Hip-Hop Anniversary concert at Hempstead High School for a local paper in 2023. Interviewing Melle Mel, and hearing the onstage words of Guy “Master Gee” O’Brien of the Sugar Hill Gang, Hempstead’s own Andre “A+” Levins, and others, revealed to me the drive for truth and unity behind the glam.
Additionally, I just saw a powerful documentary film called “The Sixth Borough: The Legacy of Hip Hop on Long Island.” It played at the Hofstra University Student Center Theater this past Saturday, May 30.
The film’s producers titled the film “The Sixth Borough,” referring to Long Island, because Black families who moved out to Long Island from New York City in the 1960s and 1970s kept their connection to their former boroughs — and to the music developing there.
According to producer Andrew Theodorakis, who attended the screening, the film took ten years to make. I can see why: the filmmakers’ starting point was complete respect for the artists, and respect unlocks the door for a wealth of revelatory details, not only about the artists’ backgrounds, but about their dedicated artistic process.
The Black teenagers who got together in Long Island basements and backyards during the mid to late 1970s possessed genuine verbal and rhythmic genius. They also had limitless energy and an unflagging determination to make their creativity known.
The movie shows how they took inspiration from cassette tapes that came out to Long Island from basement DJ dance parties in the boroughs. Pulling ideas from other music genres ranging from James Brown to Disney, they crafted their own sounds, with new rhythms, new humor, new fun, and new calls for love, peace, and societal justice.
They defined themselves with one-of-a-kind names: Marcel Theo “Biz Markie” Hall (Patchogue), Craig Mack (Brentwood), Clifford “Method Man” Smith (Hempstead), Keith “Shocklee” Boxley (Roosevelt), Albert “Prodigy” Johnson (Hempstead), Carlton “Chuck D” Ridenhour (Roosevelt), Parrish "EPMD" Smith (Brentwood), William “Rakim” Griffin (Wyandanch), Kelvin “Posdnuos” Mercer (East Massapequa, Amityville), Vincent “Maseo” Mason (Amityville), and David “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur (Amityville) … to name just a few.
They generated hits under group names like Public Enemy (which rehearsed at 519 S. Franklin St. in Hempstead), De La Soul, and EPMD. With help from producers like Bill Stephney (Hempstead), who gave them a strong start on Adelphi’s WBAU 90.3 FM, they set audiences dancing across the world and inspired generations.
“The Sixth Borough” has gone to multiple film festivals regionally. I hope it gets picked up by streaming platforms and major studios. The honesty and sheer productiveness of these artists should be widely known.
My personal thanks for seeing “The Sixth Borough” at Hofstra go to event coordinators LaShawn Lukes (who is the president of the New Greater Hempstead Chamber of Commerce), and to Hempstead Mayor Waylyn Hobbs, Jr., Deputy Mayor Jeffery Daniels, and Hempstead Village Trustees Noah Burroughs, Tanya Carter, and William Whitaker.
Find out more about “The Sixth Borough” on Instagram (@sixthboroughfilm) or by searching the film title on any Internet browser.
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