Celebrating 50 years of Hip-Hop in East Harlem
MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) -- You could almost hear the music from Harlem to Midtown.
They were celebrating 50 years of Hip-Hop in East Harlem and what a happy, joyful celebration it is.
You did not have to be over 50 to love this music on this East Harlem night.
Sky Daniel Blue is only four years old, but this music is in his soul. Just ask his mother.
“We grew up on stuff like this so this is not new to him,” Cheyenne Delgado, his mother, told PIX11 News.
The life of this party was DJ Tedsmooth.
“I’m from the Wagner projects,” Tedsmooth, the DJ, told PIX11 News. “Every time we left the projects, when we went to the handball court, we heard Hip-Hop. When we went to the Chinese store, we heard Hip-Hop. It was part of life and how we lived,” he added.
At Union Settlement, it was a night to celebrate 50 years of Hip-Hop, but also to support the community.
“We’re here for the community and small businesses,” Michelle Cruz, organizer of East Harlem Nights, told PIX11 News. “Honoring what we are all about the arts and culture that makes us thrive in East Harlem,” she added.
The venue for this celebration was the Union Settlement Garden on East 104 Street.
“To celebrate 50 years of Hip-Hop before the year was over, it was something we had to do,” Dr. Darlene Williams, the president, and CEO of Union Settlement, told PIX11 News.
There were booths and tables of beautiful jewelry by Pretty Nikki’s boutique, handcrafted resin items from Unnormal Resin, lovely, scented soaps and candles from Rich in Spirits, and paintings about bodega cats and other items by local artist Ysabel Abreu.
This PIX11 reporter just had to sample the spicy coco mojito from Hot Jalapeño Restaurant on 116 Street, so good, and this yummy mac and cheese from the East Harlem Bottling Company.
“Families have been here for 40, 50, 60 years,” Darcie Siciliano, owner of East Harlem Bottling Company, told PIX11 News. “We’ve been here for 20, a business for seven so it’s just about pulling together those threads in the community,” she added,
Organizers are hoping for one more East Harlem night in Dec.