The Last Days of FatBeats NYC, thru my eyes…

Almost 3 weeks ago, search the last stop for hip hop in NYC and the world closed its doors.

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I was happy to lend my craft to the closing ceremonies, cialis I was happy to be a part of the history and to be able to witness 1st hand the last days, minutes and seconds of the place called FATBEATS.

One funny tidbit of Neil Armstrong history that is tied to fatbeats is actually my name. One of the 1st people to call me Neil Armstrong was Joe, pictured below, who started Fat Beats 16 years ago…

I wish I could have been there everyday, but duty called and I was only able to check some of the weeks activities, and of course to throwdown with my old crewmate Roli Rho.

The perfect scenario would have been if all the 3 original founding members of the 5th Platoon could have made it, which would have of course included daddy dog who couldn’t make it because he was out of town working…

The last week was a reunion of sorts, getting to see fellow heads either doing their thing or just chillin – from all the Dj homies throughout the years , to the MC’s that I first Dj’ed for – the Arsonists… yeah, Jay-z wasn’t the 1st one I worked with ;)

As you see, Hip Hop was alive… as alive as I’ve seen it in NYC in Ages…

I played dj duties for one of the new generation of “true hip hop” Tanya Morgan…

Then it was on to what the 5th Platoon were known for…

It was nice to get on the wheels one last time for Fatbeats … Most likely, that will be the last time that 5th Platoon Performs… just like fat beats, the members of the crew have entered new chapters of their lives..

It felt like old times in NYC again. As you see, even though I’ve found my place in a different world, my heart is hip hop to the core. I was geeking at all that was going on… Even a cypher broke out across the street from fatbeats… Something I haven’t witnessed in ages…

Caron WHEELER, the beautiful voice and person behind Soul II Soul’s Back to life came thru with DJ Spinna on the wheels…

And Finally, DJ PREMIER ended the night that was the LAST day of fatbeats.

While it was crazy to have all these performances… it was more important for that moment, to be around a community of true hip hop fans. Something that just doesn’t happen anymore…

And I’m not gonna blame the end of the era on anyone or anything, which has been a very popular stance as of late.

Its the time. Times have changed.

But for this moment it felt great to bring it back. even after the performances, HEADS WERE STILL WAITING IN LINE TO GET INTO THE STORE… just to be a witness to it.

Most of the real heads , who were there working, or just super fans, we weren’t even upstairs watching the performances… we were out in the street, or busy keepin it together , doing crowd control or workin the register…

The last couple of pics above are from the Cats who made fat beats what it was in the end, who kept it alive as they worked there daily, hung out there daily, because they loved hip hop and being around it. Much props to y’all – Brown Bag All-star crew, I hope to see y’all blow up huge one day!

Before I became “Neil Armstrong”, I was a fan. Just a fan, and that I will always be… a fan of hip hop , a member of its culture.

Even with all the accolades and achievements I’ve been able to make in my so called career… my most fulfilling moment is when I see the people I used to run with, who I used chill with…. and they tell me, How proud they are, that I’ve been able to reach the level that I have..

The people who you see in these flicks , they are the ones I’m referring too. And basically, without them, without the culture of fatbeats… I wouldn’t be me.

This last video are the last words that Joe aka DJ JAB will ever say in Fat Beats NYC. Joe, thank you and thank you to the crew at fat beats for everything y’all have done. Much love to DJ Eclipse for holding down Fat Beats NYC for as long as I’ve been there takin up space in the store…

The store has closed. The community of people have changed. Now its about “social networking”, instead of face to face interaction. Fat Beats will go on in cyberspace, so MAKE SURE, to stop thru – FATBEATS.COM