Empire State of Mind

Dear New York,

So I know I'm not the only person with a great love of Jay Z's song "Empire State of Mind." The only problem is I didn't really know/understand half of the lyrics (although that didn't stop me from singing along). I'm not from New York City and most of the references went right over my head. However, I put in much research to figure everything out and found this website and thought it was too good not to share with other non-New Yorkers who didn't know what a dollar cab was either. oh and when you get a chance you should check out the other songs on Rap Genius. Enjoy!

http://rapgenius.com/lyrics/Jay-z/Empire-state-of-mind

Verse 1 - Jay-Z]
Yeah, I'm out that Brooklyn
Now I'm down in Tribeca
Right next to DeNiro
But I’ll be hood forever
I’m the new Sinatra
And since I made it here
I can make it anywhere
Yeah, they love me everywhere
I used to cop in Harlem
Hola my Dominicanos
Right there up on Broadway
Brought me back to that McDonalds
Took it to my stash spot
560 State street
Catch me in the kitchen like a Simmons whipping pastry
Cruising down 8th street
Off-white Lexus
Driving so slow but BK is from Texas
Me I’m out that Bed-Stuy
Home of that boy Biggie
Now I live on Billboard
And I brought my boys with me
Say what up to Ty Ty, still sipping mai tais
Sitting courtside Knicks and Nets give me high fives
Nigga I be Spiked out, I can trip a referee
Tell by my attitude that I most definitely from

[Hook - Alicia Keys]
New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can’t do
Now you’re in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let's hear it for New York

[Verse 2 - Jay-Z]
Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game
Shit, I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can
You should know I bleed Blue, but I ain't a Crip, though
But I got a gang of niggas walking with my clique though
Welcome to the melting pot
Corners where we selling rocks
Afrika Bambaataa shit
Home of the hip-hop
Yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab, holla back
For foreigners it ain't fair, they act like they forgot how to add
8 million stories out there in the naked
City, it's a pity half of y’all won’t make it
Me I gotta plug Special Ed "I Got It Made"
If Jeezy's paying LeBron, I’m paying Dwyane Wade
3 dice Cee-lo, 3 card Marley
Labor Day Parade, rest in peace Bob Marley
Statue of Liberty, long live the World trade
Long live the king yo
I’m from the Empire State, that's:

[Hook]

Welcome to the bright light

[Verse 3 - Jay-Z]
Lights is blinding
Girls need blinders
So they can step out of bounds quick
The side lines is lined with casualties
Who sip the life casually, then gradually become worse
Don’t bite the apple, Eve
Caught up in the in-crowd
Now you're in-style
And in the winter gets cold en vogue with your skin out
The city of sin is a pity on a whim
Good girls gone bad - the City's filled with them
Mommy took a bus trip and now she got her bust out
Everybody ride her, just like a bus route
Hail Mary to the city you're a Virgin
If Jesus can’t save you, life starts when the church ends
Came here for school, graduated to the high life
Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight
MDMA got you feeling like a champion
The city never sleeps, better slip you a Ambien

[Hook]

[Alicia Keys]
One hand in the air for the big city
Street lights, big dreams all looking pretty
No place in the World that can compare
Put your lighters in the air, everybody say "yea!"

Joe

Waffles Nam Nam

Dear NY, I really want a waffle from the waffle truck, wafels and dinges. Sooo good but I can never seem to find them. Sadface. Go NY! Find them!!!

Now because I can't keep up with their location I decided to follow them on twitter because they are indeed delicious. I found out that a few days ago they were in my neighborhood but I missed them! So I thought I would express my displeasure with a tweet at them.
 Here's how the conversation went:

dgtclassy 

@waffletruck I missed you when you were in park slope. That makes me sad. haha 
waffletruck wafels and dinges

It makes us sad too. RT @dgtclassy: @waffletruck I missed you when you were in park slope. That makes me sad. haha

Their response made me feel so great! So I think everyone should go find the truck and get a waffle!!!

Dana
dgtclassy for the twit heads

Chess Masters

Dear New York, do you have chess on the mind?

Check out the stairs of Union Sq at almost anytime of the day, any season of the year. Almost being the key word. Even we sleep sometimes. They'll be there though. Heckling you to go play. Sometimes, its even difficult to pick someone to go lose to. Its not everyday you can pick who's gonna beat you and where. Its better then being beaten on the street or in some alley way or on your way home. Not that this happens very often. I mean really. This is New York City.


Chess Master by ~BonsaiTree13 on deviantART

Dana

After Hours in Union Sq

Dear New York, why do all the interesting people meet up on one Saturday night every month?

Amanda and I left a bar we had been hanging out at and traveled from Brooklyn to Manhattan, slowly because you decided that all the trains had to have work done so they couldn't run. We were going to hangout in Union Square because we somehow came to the decision that interesting things always happen there. (We haven't been wrong yet but that's not important.)

After getting McDonald's (Wendy's was closed), we sat down to watch everyone coming and going and over all just chilling in Union Sq. There were a bunch of bmx bikers doing some awesome tricks, some skateboarders whom probably had some sort of death wish, some dancers, some people doing handstands up and down the stairs, and a gathering crowd of hip hop enthusiasts and spoken word artists. Nothing new right? Well the rappers, gather once a month just to rap. They call it a cyphor and they love meeting new people who might rap with them.

Here is the conversation Amanda had with one:
Rapper: Can I have a hug?
Amanda: Yeah I guess...
Rapper: Can we make it intimate?
Amanda: Sure I guess.

Needless to say, they like that we came to watch them again and wanted us to rap with them. However, neither Amanda nor I rap so that was a no can doobie doobie do. But when I got home at 5 in the morning I was delirious with exhausted and mildly inspired enough to write this poem.

This girl that I know.
was neither here nor there,
She was life.
She just flowed,
through my fingers,
I couldnt quite keep with her pace.
For she reached past the stars
and took off
into space.
I tried to follow,
tried to run,
...and run,
....and run,
Because I was like the moon,
on an endless chase
after the sun.

Insane right? Dear NY, you have some very interesting people hanging out in Union Sq.

Dana

The Q Train

Dear New York, your population is kind of insane.

I was taking the q train into Manhattan the other day. This is nothing unusual because I hang out there on a very regular basis. What was very strange was not the group of performers on the train but how they were performing. Half way to the Canal Street stop they started break dancing on the train. I don't think I've ever seen someone do flips as quickly. And I give them major props for doing it on a moving train with so little space. Though, I wont lie, I was waiting for them to kick someone and for there to be a throwdown.

The quality was poor but you get the point.

Dana
dgtclassy for the twitheads