Rowdy Rebel discusses how he and Bobby Shmurda’s explosive breakout moment helped lead a new generation of rappers from New York.
The Brooklyn drill scene wouldn’t be where it’s at today if it weren’t for Bobby Shmurda and Rowdy Rebel. Between GS9 and Chief Keef, the sounds of drill found a home in the New York City borough in a post-Shmurda era. Rowdy is now home, though. We’re still waiting for him to release some new music but while we wait, the rapper came through with a documentary that captures him on home turf.
For the latest installment of Karen Civil’s Welcome To My Neighborhood, Rowdy Rebel toured the 90’s area where he reflected on his newfound freedom, the changes in the neighborhood and so much more. But he also took a moment to recognize the impact he and Bobby Shmurda left on the game before their incarceration. Even when songs like Cardi B‘s “Bodak Yellow” came out, Rowdy understood that it was in part inspired by the energy they left in New York.
“That’s crazy, we had a studio — the shit we just left, there was a studio there, too,” Rowdy said as he reflected on the early hits like “Computers” to “Shyste Time” that he recorded in there. “It got that feelin’… It got that feeling, to me, where it’s like, it gave us that ERR feelin’. That — we had the “Welcome To The Partys” and “Big Drips.” … Even the “Bodak Yellow” with Cardi, I was jackin’ all them shits. I’m sayin’ all that shit.”
He continued, “I still don’t know how big this shit is to me.”
Check out the documentary below.