New Jersey Local Hip Hop Scene Highlighted In The Star-Ledger

We are not selfish. When we see mainstream news media shedding light on the New York-area hip hop scene, we are happy. Though we like to believe (and in some cases, it’s been proven), that our work covering the scene and its participants is the catalyst which helps some of these stories come to light, we’re perfectly content with our supporting role, covering the many great hip hop happenings in the New York metropolitan area, but eagerly pointing out when the mainstream media gets it right.

Remember, much of the reasoning behind covering areas outside of the particular “birthplace” of hip hop, is because we find that New York’s hip hop soul certainly extends to the areas immediately surrounding the Big Apple. We have long-touted the thriving underground New York City hip hop scene in our editorial mission statement and several pro-NY-hip-hop pieces, and similarly, through articles, music posts, or our thorough NY-area hip hop events calender, regularly shed light on some of New Jersey’s active hip hop scene and participants.

Happily, someone outside of our circle agrees. The Star-Ledger (and sister-site NJ.com) published a pretty good overview of many of New Jersey’s hip hop scene’s artists and participants, including some previously profiled on the e-pages of Birthplace Magazine. To us, it’s always nice to see folks we’ve already noticed get noticed by the real world, so again, we’re pleased that these hard working MCs, DJs and event promoters are receiving the shine we know they deserve.

While the piece is by no means exhaustive, it does showcase a few standout artists and events that are definitely representative of a New Jersey state of mind, including Rasheed Chappell, Silent Knight, Hip Hop Karaoke NJ, The Turntable Izm Show, Joe Budden, St. Joe Louis and more.

Check out Amy Kuperinsky’s excellent article, “Making a scene: A new generation of New Jersey hip-hop asserts itself” [The Star-Ledger/NJ.com]