Tragedy Khadafi Queensbridge Bath House
You could make the case that the urban exploration of abandoned spaces is almost as rich of an NYC tradition as hip-hop itself, and in a new video segment Tragedy Khadafi takes us to one of the most important locations in hip-hop's storied past. The Juice Crew MC brings us to the now-abandoned bath house in Queensbridge Park where the legendary Marly Marl hosted early park sessions--hip-hop gatherings that became the training kernel for the likes of Nas, Capone and Mobb Deep. The ground is hallowed--a stretch of earth that gave birth to some of the genre's very best, but it also holds a special personal significance for Tragedy. This is the spot where he first heard hip-hop; this house changed his life.
"And for me, this was a big deal. This was my introduction to hip-hop, my introuction to a show. If you could rock it here," Tragedy Khadafi asserts, "...you would gain the confidence as an MC to rock any crowd." Queensbridge was the toughest crowd around in those early 90s days, but there's plenty that was going on in a lighthearted sense as well. In the clip we hear tales of extension cords running out of lamps, and then all the way out of someone's window to the DJ decks. "I don't think anybody could beat Queens' extension cord game," he asserts. Watch the full video below and check out more historic inquiries over at WEMADEITNYC.
