“It Seems Like There’s Been A Dark Cloud Over New York & The East Coast”

Written By S. Samuel

Newly signed Bad Boy Records artist French Montana has opened up on bringing New York rap back to the forefront and why 2012 is his time to shine for the East Coast region.

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At the end of the day, Montana believes continued support for the Big Apple will help keep New York-based emcees on top.

“It’s been so long for a New York artist to really [have an impact] that it seems like there’s been a dark cloud over New York and the East Coast,” Montana said in an interview. “It’s a blessing that me and other East Coast artists are finally getting our shine again. Artists like Meek Mills (who is from Philadelphia), myself…everybody. We just need more support, that’s all. A song like ‘Shot Caller’ is East Coast…it even has the Lords of the Underground sample from “Funky Child.” But it’s important that we make sure we also make music for everybody else like I did with “Choppa Choppa Down.” (VIBE)

Harlem rapper A-Mafia recently spoke to SOHH and said he felt the Big Apple hip-hop scene was underachieving.

“Weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak,” Mafia told SOHH when asked for his impression on the New York hip-hop scene. W-e-a-k. NYC is weak right now. Period. I don’t care who I offend, man. You know why New York is weak right now? They’re not doing what they want to do. They’re doing what they’re dictated to do and when you do stuff like that, it makes your craft weak. Listen man, [they need to] be [themselves] and represent the people that put them in the place they’re at in the first place. A lot of these rappers, they neglect the people that put them in the position in the first place. That’s when you lose. If the streets put you in position, it’s all right to make big records and represent other places and other people, but you gotta always show love to the people that put you in position. You can never neglect the people that put you in position and a lot of these big rappers, that’s what they do. They neglect the people that put them in position and then when they fall off, they try to always go back. The big rapper will always try to go back to the people that put them in position but it’s too late. That’s why I do this for the streets, man.” (SOHH)

Over the summer, Brooklyn’s Maino offered his take on the New York rap scene.

“Since I came on the scene, which would be like 2008, everybody’s been asking me, ‘What’s the state of New York hip-hop,’ but if you’re actually paying attention to New York hip-hop, there’s actually a lot going on,” Maino explained in an interview with DJ Skee. “It’s just that we haven’t been able to connect with the rest of the country all the time. It’s a lot of great music out there. There’s dudes like Lloyd Banks, you got Jim Jones, you got Fabolous, you got a lot of artists connecting but we got to get back into the habit of making music broad and music that not only New York can vibe to but the West Coast and the South.” (Skee Sports)

In July, The LOX’s Jadakiss credited artists like Maino and Jay-Z for keeping the Big Apple fresh.

“I feel New York is doing d*mn good,” Kiss said in an interview. “You still got me here, [Styles P], Sheek Louch, Fab, Uncle Murda, Maino, Joell Ortiz, Nas, Hov, you know. New cats, Fred the Godson, we good. We’ll be all right. Don’t worry about New York at all. We’re gonna be around. When the trumpets blow, we’re still gonna be here. For real.” (“Femme Fatale Mixshow”)

Check out French Montana’s “Shot Caller” music video below:

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Written by S. Samuel

Steven Samuel is the co-founder of SOHH.com.

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