How to Be Outside, Inside featuring Bub Styles

Brooklyn native Bub Styles has been steadily earning his place in the city's rap lineage, drawing attention from platforms like Hot 97 and Shade45 while carving out his own sound. His music leans heavy and raw, and so does his version of New York.

In addition to propelling his own music, he’s also been influential in creating a vibrant platform for showcasing emerging underground rappers. It’s called Chinatown Sound, and along with his co-founder Gee, they’ve profiled some of the sharpest lesser-known wordsmiths in the game.

For Bub Styles, dodging the transplants and embracing the city’s rich diversity is how he likes to get down. Here’s a glimpse into NYC through his unique lens.

Okayplayer: When you want to be “outside” without really being outside, where do you go in NYC?

Bub Styles: There’s nothing I love more than being OUTSIDE, but INDOORS—especially for a hot summer like the city is seeing right now. My fat a** is way too rotund for all that sticky humidity bulls**t in these streets. A lot of the spots I always loved to pop out at either closed down or became overrun by bozos with slim boots and funny glasses, but there’s still a few spots I go to catch the jiggyness I seek.

Might slide through Bed-Stuy and hit Turtles All The Way Down or Bunton’s World Famous to check what DJs or bartenders gonna get faded with me when I’m looking fly and feeling like shit.

Might slide to Williamsburg and check my peoples at Please Tell Me or Quarter Club if there’s not too many Connecticut license plates parked out front. Or maybe Union Pool if the homie is DJing, but ONLY if the homies DJing, ‘cause I’m staying on stage and out the mix of the NYU brigade down below.

On occasion I’ll hit my old stomping grounds in the Lower East Side and check what Ludlow and Orchard looking like, but that shit isn’t what it used to be so I might just take my ass back across the bridge.

  Photo Credit: Paul Gallagher (@gee.cts)

Where do you go when you want to be around people, but not overwhelmed by people?

That s**t is kind of rare in the city nowadays but we do what we can out here. If I’m out in Chinatown in the daytime —which is often, coordinating Chinatown Sound episodes— I might check my peoples at Cafe Colmado and politic over iced lattes and shit. I always run into somebody I know over there, shit is definitely a new staple of the neighborhood.

Then I might go across the street to Spicy Village or down the block to Deluxe Green Bo and eat piles of delicious MSG for like twenty bucks, tops. Might have to pop out to Queens, like Jackson Heights or Astoria or some shit and get worldly wit it. If I’m at some Indian or Himalayan or Ecuadorian or Malaysian joint out there, even if it’s packed, it’s all foreigners, so I feel wild anonymous in those parts. For some, that might be overwhelming, but I find peace in the chaos sometimes.

What does your perfect NYC day look like, from morning to night?

I'm waking up early afternoon from debauchery the night before. If it’s the perfect day, my phone isn’t overloaded with bulls**t I have to address from labels, artists, family or homie drama, so can just stretch and take a s**t in peace. I’m gonna go get my haircut from the local Dominicans, take a shot of Brugal, and probably pay way too much for an iced horchata shaken espresso from Starbucks. Shower up, hit the studio for a couple hours with an assortment of deli meats and expensive waters. Knock out a joint for myself and ideally 2 or 3 paid features —gimme that $.

After that, maybe if some of the homies are having a food or clothing pop-up, I’ll slide to that. Stuff my face, say “cheers” a few times, and be on my way. Then I’ll probably link some of the bros, laugh at each other’s fashion sense (out of love) and see who knows some s**t popping off. Then go to said s**t-popping-off, maybe 2 or 3 spots around the way, give hugs and high fives, get faded, have sex and take my ass to sleep.