The New York most tourists see is confined to a narrow rectangle of Manhattan
centred on Times Square and Central Park.
Beyond the Sex and the City world of Manhattan matrons shopping for shoes and
Brits stocking up on iPods there are innumerable other pleasures waiting to
be discovered uptown, if only you can find a suitable guide.
From the moment you step on the chartered Harlem Hip Hop Tours bus, which has
been equipped with a DJ mixing station and a rump-shakingly loud sound
system, you know that you’re in for a memorable experience.
Charismatic and personable tour guide MC PJ works hard to strip self-conscious
tourists of their inhibitions and promote a party mood. It doesn’t take long
before the cynical Britons onboard are sporting impossibly loud baseball
caps and rapping along to even louder music.
There’s also a more conventional rolling talk about the history and culture
New York’s most colourful district.
With a focus on the early pioneering days of Hip Hop music it’s slanted to
please those 40-year old b-boys with substantial disposable income rather
than devotees of more threatening contemporary rap styles.
There are digressions too into Hip Hop’s jazz and soul antecedents with brief
stops at The Cotton Club and the Harlem Apollo, both of which are far
smaller and more modest than their international reputations might suggest.
Definitely highlight of the tour was a visit to Harlem’s Hip Hop Culture
Centre. It would be inaccurate to suggest that the DJing skills workshop
resulted in anything but a raucous cacophony of inexpert scratching, but
most participants were having too much fun dreaming up fanciful DJ stage
names for themselves to notice.
Elder statesman (and arguably originator) of Hip Hop Kool Herc was on hand at
the centre to say a few words and good naturedly pose for photographs with
starstruck ageing Home Counties b-boys. Other rap luminaries are promised
for future tours.
The tour ended with a lunch at Sylvia’s soul food restaurant. Few could finish
the vast plates of delicious cornbread, fried chicken and ribs but it wasn’t
for lack of desire.
Hip Hop tours offer a mix-and-match selection of authentic Harlem experiences,
including club nights, Hip Hop dance lessons and even a recording studio
visit. For those of us that grew up listening to the fat beats from across
the Atlantic one of their tours really is an essential part of any New York
visit.
Harlem Hip Tours can be contacted via www.harlemhiphoptours.com
