Much has been said about Bushwick. The Brooklyn neighborhood has been namechecked in think pieces, fashion magazines, and tv series. Lots of people have flocked to the neighborhood in the wake of its increased popularity. While some natives have opted to relocate in search of less hipster saturated pastures others have stuck it out because they know there’s no place like home. DJ and producer Statik Selektah is celebrating that sentiment across the country.

He recently teamed up with Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey to provide neighborhood flavor to some of the most unique neighborhoods in the country. The event was open to the public and future events will be as well so make sure to keep an eye out for the next one.

In the interest of full disclosure I have to say that I avoid “Brooklyn Brooklyn” (aka anywhere the A or F doesn’t go) like some of ya’ll do Sallie Mae but this trek was totally worth it.

I hopped in a Lyft with my new best friend Stephanie from The Social NY straight from Curlfest. We were starving and straight up dehydrated after spending the day running around in the sun. Us splitting my stash of sunflower seeds in the car didn’t help matters much either.

But we arrived to the warehouse party of everyone who didn’t grow up in tri-state area's greatest dreams and were greeted with some awesome refreshments.

There were tacos, tunes, and treats galore including a fully equipped pop-up barbershop.

Seriously where else can you get a shape up and shot of whiskey?

While the tacos helped us rally Lion Babe literally gave us life with a surprise performance.

This was my fourth time seeing them live and they never disappoint.

I was feeling Lucas’s Killa Season tee too.

Following their performance I slipped backstage to chat with DJ Statik Selektah about his love for Bushwick. “I’ve been here for twelve years and there’s just so many legendary stories and times I’ve had here. It means a lot” he said “I think a lot of other cities could learn from this neighborhood as far as art and music and everything”.

On hip-hop taking a turn towards it’s DJ centered roots he said “it’s cool that the kids are learning it now. There was a generation gap for a long time where the kids were so focused on the rappers or the singer but the DJ is the backbone of it. The tastemaking part is every important because we curate what people here whether it's on the radio on in the club. No blogger is ever gonna take that from us.”

Young M.A., who joined him on stage later in the evening, is a literal representation of his taste making abilities. Gesturing towards the sliver of sun setting on the street on the side of the stage he said “I brought Young M.A. out a block away last year and she did ‘OOOUUU’ for the first time so it’s bugged out that we right back here and she’s a star now.”

He rejected fears that hip-hop is completely abandoning its lyrical traditions stating that “We’re in a beautiful place. Jay-z got the number one album. Kendrick got ones of the biggest albums of the year. Drake got one. Joey Badass. There’s so many people that are really rapping keeping it alive it’s amazing.”

He’s placing his hope for the neighborhood in family “I’m raising a daughter here. That’s life right there. She walks around points at all the colors and the grafitti not really understanding it yet but she dances to the music.”

With companies like this choosing to give back to communities they profit from hopefully we’ll all be dancing for summers to come.

#music #Brooklyn #Bushwick #hiphop #hiphop #StatikSelektah #LionBabe #YoungMA #femalerappers #JackDaniels #tacos