Investigative Reports: Uptown Phenomenon part 6

Nutcracker, oh nutcracker. Your legend lives on. (n.h.)

We last spoke of the Mighty Nutcracker here. I’d like to say that since then, I’ve been to the birthplace (allegedly) of the still popular drink. It was an honor and a pleasure to soak up some history in the very place that has been selling them since at least 1994.  Those of you who frequent that place in Brooklyn, know exactly what I’m talking about.

Its spring once again and the Mighty Nutcracker continues to intrigue, inspire and instigate debates. One of the biggest debates is what goes into a nutcracker drink? What does it consist of??  I’ve heard countless wrong recipes that come close, but don’t get the cigar.

Check the videos below for examples of varying recipes of the hood classic. Their enthusiasm is great and they may have created some good drinks, but they did not recreate the Nutcracker. Try at your own risk.

If you get alcohol poisoning, go to the hospital! Don’t tell them that I sent ya..

Investigative Reports: Hip Hop Illuminati.

The Hip Hop Illuminati is alive and well folks. It seems like there is no way to avoid the influence it weilds.

We last spoke of the Hip Hop Illuminati here.

Take a look at a few recent examples of its constantly increasing influence.

#1: Rocawear Tshirt found in Kings Plaza Mall.  Brooklyn, Ny.

Jay-Z  is obviously very comfortable sharing his Illuminati messages through video, song as well as design.

#2.  I also stumbled across this piece (below) from Host Dym. He is known to be behind many forms of covert rap spray, and was once the grand architect behind the now defunct www.brooklyngods.com. Whats up with that eye man?

Example #3:

We now have a TCK on Broadway Twitter of all things. How will this affect our standing in the underground? Only time will tell. Or you can just tell me as I try to figure this Twitter thing out.

http://twitter.com/tckonbroadway

Peace to Jay Smooth and Crazy Legs.

Investigative Reports: Hip Hop Illuminati?

{ed note: if the video above is still private, maybe that means the Hip Hop Illuminati is watching you and has logged your ip address. You can still see the video here though}.

The debate on Hip Hop’s ties to the Illuminati have been going on for some time now.

If you’ve had your ear to the street, you caught the uproar that occurred when Lil Kim’s ex, “World Wise” was connecting dots about four years ago on the radio.  He spoke on many things including the Masonic references on Jay-Z’s “Reasonable Doubt” album.

World Wise has since been locked up for some real crazy charges.  He was also allegedly involved in this, this, and this. Not to mention this supposed link to Brooklyn’s own Mike Tyson. Wow. Can World write a book please??

Also fanning the flames of conspiracy in the direction of the Jigga man, was rapper Prodigy’s handwritten note to URB magazine.

Peep it:

Is any of this plausible?

Time will tell, or maybe it won’t..but one thing is for certain. Hip Hop’s Illuminati is a lot more interesting than hearing about the weekly rapper chain snatching.

Oh, and about that Jaz-O video Prodigy was talking about?

Link

Marijuana Nation.

Now while I don’t indulge in getting high myself, no seriously. I do agree that something has to be done about the unfair drug laws because people are losing their lives to the prison system for a nickel bag of funk.

Tune in to the National Geographic channel as Lisa Ling does some investigative reporting on the ganja plant.

Marijuana Nation :
TUE DECEMBER 2, 2008

10P et/pt :

Check your local listings.

Investigative Reports: Uptown Phenomenon part 5

In part 3 of this series, you saw the pictures showing how the Mighty Nutcracker and DogWater looked in their proper setting. The streets of NY.

What I found most intriguing about the drink, is the fact that those who buy and enjoy them know little of the ingredients. The vast majority just accept it as a sweet, tasty mixed drink that they bought from someones car, bodega, cooler at the beach, back of the barbershop, at a parade etc.

Its fruity taste and potent alcoholic blend is known to make you feel good without drinking too much or spending a lot of money.  Drinkers of the mighty Nutcracker usually warn you to, “Be careful where you get them from”.

Aside from the different liquors in the mixed drink, I’ve heard reports of ecstacy, cough syrup with codine, rubbing alchohol(when they run out of liquor), assorted pills like crushed vicodins, liquid morphine, promethazine and even Nyquil cherry flavor added into the equation .

So just be careful where you get them from.

With that out of the way, back to the festive activity which made me notice the Nutcrackers in the first place. It started with me observing people in the ball parks of Harlem having a good time, watching a bball game, listening to music, while drinking something red, out of a styrofoam cup.

A five dollar Nutcracker in a fifty cent cup to be exact.

Although the mighty Nutcracker is most popular in uptown Manhattan, it is also widespread in the Bronx as well as parts of Corona Queens. Its origin though, can be traced back to Williamsburg Brooklyn as early as 1994.

I’ve had many people who’ve been drinking them since the mid 90’s take exception to me calling it an “Uptown Phenomenon”, since it seemed to catch on uptown later in the 2000’s.

After seeing the documentation in the following video, you will see where I’m coming from. There is no where else in the city of New York where it’s “popping” as much in regards to the mighty Nutcracker. When it comes to being a part of the social fabric and backdrop, uptown takes it.

Also, something isn’t a legitimate phenomenon until there is a song made about it. Right? Riiiight.

I’ll warn you in advance, don’t try to figure this out in one sitting. It will take you quite some time to get what he’s saying.

My favorite line?: “Beat walker gave me hunned dolla summons, for a 5 dollar Nutcracker in a 50 cent cup”!

By my calculations that ticket added up to aprox. 18 nutcrackers, but it doesn’t seem like Mr. Lux minds one bit.

Investigative Reports: NYC Bag Lady.

We’ve all heard about New Yorks “Bright Lights-Big City” slogan.

Well what about “Big Stench-Bag Lady”? Thats right, the neighbor from hell.  Those of us who live in apartment buildings know what it’s like to have a neighbor who occasionally litters, doesn’t put garbage all the way down the chute or cooks foul smelling meals.

The NYC Bag lady tops them all.  She has a problem throwing things away. Especially bags. She has lots and lots of bags.

She’s amassed such a large “collection” of bags that her apartment now looks like a landfill, after an H-bomb went off and a hurricane hit.

The neighbors have complained tirelessly to local politicians and to the landlord, who finally threatened her with eviction if she didn’t have the place cleaned.

Some of those neighbors decided to document the clean up effort and share their living pain with the world.

Take a walk on the wild side:

Keep in mind. This place is not abandoned. She’s been living here for 20+ years!

The bathroom looks terrible and unused. So where did she go, when she had to um, go? Try Snapple bottles and then she tossed them in the corner.

Noooww you got a picture of the smell huh?

What more can we say about this woman’s apartment that hasn’t already been said about Afghanistan? It looks bombed out and depleted.

For more on the NYC Bag lady, check out her out here:  nycbaglady

Investigative Reports: Uptown Phenomenon part 4

^^ Peace to my boy Max from Cherry Valley who saw this Nutcracker in a liquor store and had to pick one up for me. Thanks Bro!

^^ Tck “Firecracker” prototype.

Investigative Reports: Uptown Phenomenon part 3

The Competition

When I first started to research about the street drink called “Nutcracker”, I was also told of other drinks sold on the streets of Washington Heights and El Barrio called “Elmos”, “Cookie Monsters”, and “Finding Nemos”.

A few days ago, I found what may be The Mighty Nutcracker’s biggest foe. “Dog Water”.

Now, eventhough Dog Water is based on, and basically another version of Nutcracker, peep what the “creator” has to say.

“Dog Water™ was started in SPRING of 2001. While walking around the hood, I kept hearing about a drink called a Nutcracker. I was curious and wanted to know more. So, I spent a considerable amount of time talking to people and learning about mixed drinks. I also remembered what a big liquor company once told me about the making, blending and mixing of different types of liquors. As an entrepreneur, I understood the effort and risk of venturing into new territory. However, I decided to put my own spin on it. It took a lot of time, effort and other resources during the initial phase to mix, test, and sample until a premium beverage was arrived at. Dog Water™ was worth the plunge into uncharted waters. Try one today and enjoy one of the industry’s finest new mixed drink sensations.”

^^ Those sound like fighting words to me…

Anyway, we have seen that the “hood” is all-encompassing and there is room to coexist with the original. Both have been around over 7 years and are still kicking.

While Dog Water may not have the total appeal of the Nutcracker, they do seem to have a fanbase.

Where my dogs at?

Peep the flix below.

^^ Fatboy might just be drinking a lemon iced tea in that wonton soup cup, but he looks happy as hell. As do the people with the dog waters.

Nutcrackers and Dog Water.

Can it be that it was all so simple then?

Link

Investigative Reports: Uptown Phenomenon part 2

As I continue my search to find the origin and recipe of the drink “Nutcracker”, I’m told about a similar drink called The “Apollo”.

I’m also reminded of hood classics “Incredible Hulk” and “Thug Passion”

Hmm.. I think I’m on the right track.

Apollo = son of Zeus, and god of the intellect, the arts, prophecy, healing, and light.

Apollo Drink Recipe

Ingredients	My Bar
3 1/2 oz Hpnotiq
1 oz Gold Rum
3 oz Bacardi Breezer Orange
1/2 can Monster energy drink
Apollo Directions Pour the Bacardi and Gold Rum into a martini shaker with ice. Mix and when finished, place in glass without the ice. Add Hpnotiq and stir. After you have finished, pour in half of a can of orange monster. Once completed, add a yellow/green glowstick for a glowing sunlike effect. Enjoy!

Incredible Hulk Recipe.

1/4 oz Cognac
3/4 oz Hpnotiq
Green Hulk Directions Pour Hpnotiq and cognac into a shot glass, watch as it turns green, and serve.

History.

Nick Storm explains:

“When we launched Hpnotiq on the market we were throwing these parties in the Bronx and Brooklyn. There was one party at Justin’s [rap star P Diddy's restaurant] where there were about 500 people. I noticed that all the women were drinking Hpnotiq but the guys weren’t so much, because they were saying that it was too fruity, it was blue and just seemed too girly for them. So the bartender Victor Alvarez had a brainstorm and poured Hennessy into it.” The drink turned green and was an instant hit. Not long after the party, Nick was hearing back from liquor stores that customers were coming in to buy the ingredients and were referring to the drink as “the Hulk.” That was when Heaven Hill decided to officially baptize the cocktail the Incredible Hulk. Once the movie was released it wasn’t long before the drink went mainstream. link.

Thug Passion Recipe.

This drink is referenced in the song “Thug Passion” by rapper 2Pac in which the ingredients are “alize and cristal”. Cristal is the brand name of a well-known Champagne produced by Louis Roederer, Since we don’t expect everyone to have $350 for a bottle, we listed generic Champagne.

2 oz Alize® liqueur

2 oz Champagne

Shake ingredients over ice and serve.

It should be noted that in NYC, the Thug Passions were made Alize and Hennesy.

Anyway, peep Pac’s lyrics for his Thug Passion song. Funny as all hell.

I feel myself getting closer to they mysterious “Nutcracker” ingredients. I also hope to find out where the name came from.

Stay tuned.

Investigative Reports: Uptown Phenomenon.

For the past few years, when I hang out Uptown (Harlem, Spanish Harlem, Washington Heights), I’ve been seeing people selling and buying nutcrackers. Everyone up there seems to be in the know and enjoys them.

A few questions..

1. When did people start making them?
2. Wtf is in em?

All my friends from uptown say they are good, but to “be careful cuz people sometimes put shit in em”. WTF??

How’d something that seems so simple and colorful become such a phenomenon?

I’m on the case to find out exactly.

Stay tuned…