Our favorite (i.e. only!) Latino Jewish hip hop group, los Hip Hop Hoodios, have just finished the hilarious video for their song “Times Square (1989)” and we’re premiering it right here on Remezcla!
An ode to the (filthy) Times Square of yore and lamenting its Disney-ization, “Times Square 1989)” is part of the bicoastal Hoodios’ new album Carne Masada: Quite Possibly the Very Best of Hip Hop Hoodios, which includes collaborations by members of The Pinker Tones, Ozomatli and The Klezmatics.
Here’s what Hoodio rapper Josué Noruega had to say about the clip, directed by Lori Grossman, who also helmed los Hoodios’ infamous video “Ocho Kandelikas” featuring girls in bagel bras. Yes, infamous – the video was named by Vh1 as one of the “Top 20 Most Surreal Moments in Hip-Hop.”
“It’s a musical tribute to the ‘old school’ hip-hop we grew up listening to. I’m sure that fans of Public Enemy or The Beastie Boys will appreciate it. The lyrics talk about the gentrification of New York City – on one hand, Times Square used to be a very dangerous place. On the other hand, the current Times Square has lost its soul and has turned into a mini-Disneyland (speaking of which, you’ll see a delightful shot of me cavorting with Minnie Mouse in the clip).
There is also a personal story to the song. My great-grandfather owned a small storefront on 43rd Street between 8th & 9th Avenues. In the early ‘90s, a new tenant finally arrived in our formerly vacant storefront – “The Playpen” (featuring a large naked woman in a neon crib) and “The Male Box” (gay porn store). I like to joke that my Ivy League education was partially financed by mafia porn money. Two years after the porn stores moved in, Giuliani became mayor and NYC forcibly purchased all property in certain blocks of Times Square. Our family was forced to sell the property to the city, and two years later, guess what sits on it? A Disney-owned hotel. Only in New York.”
As Abe sings in the video “prefiero the hobo madness!”
Watch the clip in all its glory and catch more on the Hoodios on their MySpace page: