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Streets of New York (song)

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Wikipedia article




'"Streets of New York"' is the first single from American hip hop duo Kool G Rap & DJ Polo's 1990 album 'Wanted: Dead or Alive'. It was released as a single with "Poison" as a B-side and later also featured on the compilation albums 'Killer Kuts' (1994), 'The Best of Cold Chillin' (2000), 'Greatest Hits' (2002) and 'Street Stories: The Best of Kool G Rap & DJ Polo' (2013).

Background



Driven by the piano and saxophone sample of the Fatback Band's "Gotta Learn How To Dance", "Streets of New York" is a hardcore hip hop song about the social issues in New York City's ghettos, such as alcoholism, domestic violence, drug abuse, gambling addiction, gun violence, homelessness, police corruption, poverty and prostitution. In a 2014 interview, Kool G Rap recalled his inspiration for the song:

Music video



"Streets of New York" was Kool G Rap & DJ Polo's second music video and shows a number of situations described in the song such as, a girl named Sonya who is suffering from pneumonia and whose mother works as a stripper, an alcoholic man who beats his wife every day until she stabs him, three drug dealers being murdered in an apartment, a mother who commits suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills, and a man being shot by a corrupt police officer. A man playing a saxophone is shown throughout.

Critical acclaim



In 2012, 'Time Out' ranked "Streets of New York" at #58 on their list of 100 best songs about New York City.[http://www.timeout.com/newyork/music/streets-of-new-york-by-kool-g-rap-and-dj-polo-video-hip-hop Watch the video for "Streets of New York" by Kool G Rap and DJ Polo, No. 58 on our list of the 100 best NYC songs.] AllMusic's Andy Kellman described it as "one of the most thrilling and unique rap singles released" and further stated that "the sparse rhythm, adorned with assured piano runs that complement the song to the point of almost making the song, falls somewhere between a gallop and a strut, and G Rap outlines more vivid scenes than one film could possibly contain. The track cemented Kool G Rap & DJ Polo's role as East Coast legends and showed Kool G Rap's talent as an adept storyteller like nothing before or since".[http://www.allmusic.com/album/wanted-dead-or-alive-mw0000315857 AllMusic reviews Wanted: Dead or Alive]

Use in media



The song was featured on the soundtrack of the 2005 video game 'True Crime: New York City'.[http://uk.ign.com/articles/2005/11/04/true-crime-new-york-city-soundtrack-revealed True Crime: New York City Soundtrack Revealed][http://xbox.about.com/od/news/a/tcsnysongs.htm True Crime: Streets of New York Song List]

Samples



"Streets of New York" samples the following songs:[http://www.whosampled.com/Kool-G-Rap-%26-DJ-Polo/Streets-of-New-York/ Streets of New York at Who Sampled]

*"Gotta Learn How to Dance" by the Fatback Band

And was later sampled on:

*"Hip Flow Mix" by DJ Rectangle

*"Last Good Sleep" by Company Flow

Track listing



12"

;A-side

# "Streets of New York" (Album Version) (4:00)

# "Streets of New York" (Dub) (4:03)

;B-side

# "Streets of New York" (Long Version) (5:48)

# "Poison" (Album Version) (4:45)

Cassette

;A-side

# "Streets of New York" (Album Version) (4:00)

;B-side

# "Poison" (Album Version) (4:45)

CD

# "Streets of New York" (Album Version) (4:00)

Charts



References




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