There is an evident renaissance taking place in hip-hop right now and it is being led by groups of young, hungry emcees who make up the modern-day (b)east coast.
Hot 97 radio host Peter Rosenberg has played an integral part in preserving classic, New York hip-hop for years through his roles on the station’s weekday morning show, Cipha Sounds with Rosenberg, and Sunday night show, Real Late with Peter Rosenberg. A$AP Rocky recently admitted in a Hot 97 interview with Rosenberg that the disc jockey was playing his music before much of anybody knew of A$AP Rocky.
Earlier this month, Rosenberg teamed up with Ecko Unlimited and some of New York’s best up-and-coming artists to release the mixtape “The New York Renaissance.” The tape includes arguably the new voices of New York hip-hop with songs from Joey Bada$$ and Pro Era, Action Bronson, A$AP Rocky, Flatbush Zombies, Dyme A Duzin, World’s Fair, Smoke DZA, Kris Kasanova, Troy Ave, The Kid Daytona and others.
The production throughout resembles ’90s, boom-bat style led by producer Harry Fraud on the tracks, “A Day in the Life” featuring Joey Bada$$ and “Compliments 2 the Chef” featuring Action Bronson. “Compliments 2 the Chef” is Bronson’s New York anthem in which Fraud provides an upbeat, summertime vibe that balances out the Bada$$ track, “A Day in the Life,” in which Fraud sets the scene of the cold, dark city streets through piano and horns.
The rest of the mixtape leaves the listener with a sense of the New York pride these artists have with references to the infamous, fist-fighting ’96 Knicks and even the Brooklyn Nets’ iconic new arena, The Barclays Center. A sense of confidence in the belief that New York rappers are on another level than the rest of the country is also felt throughout “The New York Renaissance.”
Three relatively unknown artists to look for on and after “The New York Renaissance” are Kris Kasanova, Dyme A Duzin and Troy Ave. Congratulations to Peter Rosenberg for putting together a unique and much needed New York based mixtape.