S. Samuel
CNN's Capone recently shared his thoughts on the status of New York rap and why artists from the Big Apple should place their egos aside and begin working more closely together.
Capone believes that his one-album deal with rapper Raekwon‘s IceH20 label could inspire other collaborations.
“You know, it’s good for New York right now. Because if we can do it, a lot of other people can do it, man,” ‘pone said in an interview. “You never know, New York could just make one super group, you know what I’m saying? We just need to come together. And I think by IceH2O/Thugged-Out/Militainment coming together, that just shows that no matter how big of an artist you are, you can always merge with other big artists and make magic. And that’s what we’re doing, making magic.” (Hip Hop DX)
Last month, New Jersey rapper Joe Budden gave Twitter suggestions on how New York rap could make a return.
“i really liked Loon btw…. he needs to come back,” Joey wrote early Tuesday (February 23) morning. “& call me crazy, but Juelz [Santana], Jimmy [Jones] & Cam can bring New York back… I really believe that. The lox back on a major could bring NY back too…. A Rae & Ghost album… More $ behind Kiss… i’m tellin y’all, i know how 2 fix this sh*t !” (Joe Budden’s Twitter)
Cam’ron recently applauded Jay-Z for the effect his Blueprint III release last fall had on the New York rap game.
“Jay-Z done made it look real good,” Cam said in an interview. “Jay-Z just sold 530,000 so it’s still looking good. Whenever there’s ever anybody out in New York still doing over half a million in a week, it’s still available. I don’t really f*ck with Jay but I got mad respect for anybody who makes money and anybody who still sells that much records after having a lot of albums out. Jay-Z really definitely did help out New York a lot.” (Hip Hop Beef)
Artists like 50 Cent have vowed to unite artists from the Big Apple with events including last October’s This Is 50 Fest concert.
“I wanted to make a festival that didn’t necessarily have to have an artist [who has a] single in rotation at the time,” 50 explained in an interview last fall. “That doesn’t directly reflect good hip-hop. It reflects marketing dollars spent by the major corporations, the companies. Tonight we have everybody that means something to us musically in one spot. When I bring Cory Gunz, Trav, Maino…Now we got Jadakiss out here. This is real! Tell me anywhere else you can go where you can see everybody. It represents different portions of hip-hop. You got the Lox, the new young gunners Cory Gunz, Trav, Maino. Jimmy [Jones] and Juelz [Santana] coming. They say New York City, we don’t actually get along, that’s not true. We could work together and get more money than we can get apart, and they gonna see us do it in the future.” (MTV)
Check out some past CNN footage below:
