8. Queensbridge Houses contributed some of America’s most influential hip hop and rap musicians
Located between Vernon Boulevard and 21st Street south of the Ravenswood Power Plant are the Queensbridge Houses. With 96 buildings and 3,142 units serving 7,000 people in two separate complexes, Queensbridge Houses is the largest public housing complex in North America. Opened in 1939, the structure’s original plan included basic amenities such as a central shopping center, a nursery, and six inner courtyards for recreational use. To provide residents with more privacy and access to sunlight, architects for Queensbridge designed each six-story building in the shape of two Y’s connecting at the base. In addition, as a cost-effective measure, the building used elevators that only stopped on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th floors.
Queensbridge is also known for its contributions to hip hop and rap music. One such example is Marlon Williams, known better as Marley Marl. An American DJ, record producer, rapper, and record label founder, Marley Marl performed in local talent shows during the early days of rap music and helped produce LL Cool J’s critically acclaimed 1990 album “Mama Said Knock You Out.” Marl is also credited with having influenced the hip hop icons RZA, DJ Premier, and Pete Rock.
In addition, the 1980’s hip-hop collective The Juice Crew featured many Queensbridge rappers, including MC Shan, Roxanne Shante, and Craig G. Later rappers such as Nas Mobb Deep also made frequent references to the Queensbridge Houses in their music, painting it as a dystopian vision of crime and poverty at the height of New York City’s crack cocaine epidemic.
