In the 80s and 90s, New York was a blistering hotbed of gritty music, thumping through the alleyways and manhole covers, telling brazen tales of the streets. Much of it came via hip-hop pioneers like Grandmaster Flash, EPMD and Public Enemy. Much of it was also told by the emerging hardcore scene including Agnostic Front, the Cro-Mags and of course, Sick of It All.
"It was cool because a lot of the messages in hip hop are similar to those in punk rock," says Sick of It All/Cro-Mags bass player Craig Setari (aka Craig Ahead) in a light Queens accent. "Like, slightly different, but with the same underlying message of fighting oppressionÂ…of fighting and seeing the injustices in the world and not closing your eyes."
He pauses, pondering the similarities a bit more.
"It was definitely a parallel movement and even though it was a different genre of music, the message was ultimately the same," he adds. "Yeah, they had a lot in common."
Just after some grocery shopping at an Asian vegetarian market in the Flushing neighbourhood of Queens ("Sorry, can you hold on for a sec? I have to pay"), Setari spoke to Punknews interviewer Gen Handley about the legendary New York hardcore scene and the yet-to-be-named Sick of It All album coming out (hopefully) this fall.
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