Tour New York's Five Boroughs With Rising NYC Rapper Wiki
On his debut album, No Mountains in Manhattan, rising MC Wiki, government name Patrick Morales, provided the year’s must-listen soundtrack to New York City. To celebrate its release, the artist embarked on a tour through the city’s five boroughs, and teamed up with Boiler Room to film a short documentary of the trek.
Showcasing the city as seen through the rapper’s eyes, each chapter provides an authentic slice of life within each borough, from bodegas to transit buskers, and their many people. Wiki discusses the city and the influence it has had on him, including his hip-hop roots, the different sounds that make their way into his music—revolving car radio snippets, overheard street conversations, the clamor of trains rushing past—and his love for the Staten Island Ferry’s orange hue.
“The city will always be the most important shit in all of my music,” Wiki says. “I always wanted to represent it. When I was younger I always wanted the thing that said New York on it. I realized getting older that it’s like, nah, you do you. That’s the best way to be New York. It’s not overthinking it. You could rock a cowboy hat and be on some New York shit.”
Through the five performances, Wiki performs in a variety of settings, tapping into the massive scope of the New York musical landscape.
His first gig takes place at Ridgewood, Queens’s Gottscheer Hall, a quirky, old-world taproom featuring walls lined with portraits of its in-house beauty pageant winners, the kind of place, Wiki notes, one wouldn’t expect to host such a show. In Bronx and Brooklyn, he performs at a random backyard and apartment rooftop, respectively, nodding to the city’s DIY spirit. In Manhattan, he ends his run at a more traditional, but still bohemian, venue, Nuyorican Poets Cafe in Alphabet City.
And while his Staten Island performance at 5050 Skatepark didn’t draw the largest crowd, Wiki recognized its importance as a “community” type of event, noting how excited the kids in attendance were that he traveled to their oft-overlooked corner of the city.
And if everything else didn’t make it clear that Wiki is New York’s newest hometown hero, near the middle of the film he provides a beautiful breakdown of the three different types of people, from his perspective, that give the city its unique vibe.
“There’s three New Yorkers,” Wiki says. “There’s the locals, they bring the authenticity to the city. That’s what makes you know it’s real. Then there’s the commuters. The commuters bring a hustle and bustle to the city, a speed. There’s just constant movement in the city. And then there’s the people that come to New York. The people that migrate to New York or move to New York, and that’s the heart of the city, actually, because [sic] that’s the people that are like, ‘we came here to do this,’ you know what I mean?”
Watch the documentary below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj5QIhR0jcE
Volcanic Iceland Epic Trip
meet our Local Insider
Hanna
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A GUIDE?
2 years.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR JOB?
It's the personal contact, the personal experiences. I love meeting people from all over the world... I really like getting to know everyone and feeling like I'm traveling with a group of friends.
WHAT DESTINATION IS ON YOUR TRAVEL BUCKET-LIST?
I have so many places on my list, but I would really lobe to go to Africa. I consider myself an “adventure girl” and Africa feels like the ULTIMATE adventure!
Every CULTURE TRIP Small-group adventure is led by a Local Insider just like Hanna.
KEEN TO EXPLORE THE WORLD?
Connect with like-minded people on our premium trips curated by local insiders and with care for the world
Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.
Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.
Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.
Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.
We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.