Mantronix was an influential 1980s hip hop and electro funk music group from New York City. The band was formed by DJ Kurtis Mantronik and rapper MC Tee. The group is primarily remembered for its pioneering blend of old school hip hop, electronic, and club music. They underwent several genre and line-up changes during its seven-year existence between 1984 and 1991, and released five albums beginning with their 1985 debut The Album.
Queensbridge Houses, also known simply as Queensbridge or QB, is a public housing development in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Owned by the New York City Housing Authority, the development contains 96 buildings and 3,142 units accommodating approximately 7,000 people in two separate complexes. The complex opened in 1939 and is the largest housing project in North America.
Soundview is a neighborhood on the Clason Point peninsula, on the southern section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, White Plains Road to the east, Lacombe Avenue to the south, and the Bronx River to the west. The Bruckner Expressway bisects the neighborhood horizontally along the center and the Bronx River Parkway runs north to south. Soundview Avenue is the primary thoroughfare through Soundview.
Kurtis el Khaleel, known by the stage name Kurtis Mantronik, is a Jamaican-born hip hop and electronic-music artist, DJ, remixer, and producer. He was the leader, DJ, and keyboardist of the influential 1980s hip hop and electro-funk group Mantronix. He currently lives in South Africa where he has produced and remixed house and techno music tracks by artists such as India, Junior Senior, Kylie Minogue, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, Michael Gray, Victoria Beckham, Liberty X, S Club, and Mim. Mantronik was influential in the development of hip hop music: notably, he laid the foundations for Southern hip hop genres such as Miami bass and trap music, and helped popularize the Amen break.
Sonia Maria Sotomayor is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since August 8, 2009. She is the third woman, the first woman of color, the first Hispanic, and the first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court.
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is a public development corporation which provides public housing in New York City, and is the largest public housing authority in North America. Created in 1934 as the first agency of its kind in the United States, it aims to provide decent, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers throughout the five boroughs of New York City. NYCHA also administers a citywide Section 8 Leased Housing Program in rental apartments. NYCHA developments include single and double family houses, apartment units, singular floors, and shared small building units, and commonly have large income disparities with their respective surrounding neighborhood or community. These developments, particularly those including large-scale apartment buildings, are often referred to in popular culture as "projects."
The Black Spades were a mostly African-American street gang which started in the Bronx during the late 1960s and gained popularity in the 1970s. The gang began to spread from the Bronx to Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, New Rochelle, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut by the late 1980s. During this period Latino and white members were more common. The Black Spades have made a comeback in 2019 with more members joining. They are now TBS New Direction, a community service group championing anti-violence initiatives and providing food distribution for the food insecure.
Sex, Money, Murder is a "set" of the Bloods street gang operating on the East Coast of the United States. The gang was formed in the Soundview section of The Bronx in the Soundview Houses, a New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) development. Sex, Money Murder is one of the original sets (subgroups) of the United Blood Nation.
Sean Duval Price was an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Boot Camp Clik. He was one half of the duo Heltah Skeltah, performing under the name Ruck, along with partner Rock.
Castle Hill is a neighborhood located in the southeast section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries are Waterbury Avenue and Westchester Avenue to the north, Westchester Creek to the east, the East River to the south, and White Plains Road to the west. Unionport is a subsection of Castle Hill, typically considered north of Lafayette Avenue.
Bronx River Houses is a low-income public housing project in the Soundview section of the Bronx, New York City. It consists of nine buildings with 1,260 apartments. Completed February 28, 1951, the 13.94-acre (5.64 ha) Bronx development is bordered by East 174th Street, Harrod, and Bronx River Avenues. Bronx River Houses is home to 3,025 residents. The project is patrolled by P.S.A. 8 located at 2794 Randall Avenue in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx.
Disco King Mario was a prominent Black American DJ and pioneer of hip-hop, who became known as a “founding father of hip-hop” in the Bronx. At the time, he lived in the Bronxdale housing projects, where his parties made him well-known locally. Mario’s family hailed from Edenton, North Carolina, which was the place of his birth.
Clason Point is a peninsula and a neighborhood in the East Bronx, New York City. The area includes a collection of neighborhoods including Harding Park, and Soundview. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are: Lafayette Avenue to the north, White Plains Road/Pugsley Creek Park to the east, the East River to the south, and the Bronx River to the west.
The Church of the Blessed Sacrament is a Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at Beach Avenue and Gleason Avenue, Soundview, the Bronx, New York City. The parish was established in 1927. It was merged into the parish of the Holy Family in 2015.
The James Monroe Houses or Monroe Houses are a housing project in Soundview, Bronx, New York City. The project consists of twelve buildings, 8, 14, and 15-stories tall with 1,102 apartment units. The 18.49-acre Bronx development is bordered by Soundview, Story, Taylor and Lafayette Avenues. It is owned and managed by New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). It was completed on November 2, 1961 and named after the fifth President of the United States, James Monroe.
The Forest Houses are a housing project in Morrisania, Bronx. The project consists of fifteen buildings, 9, 10 and 14-stories tall with 1,350 apartment units. It covers a 17.72-acre expanse, and is bordered by East 163rd and East 166th Streets, and Trinity and Tinton Avenues. It is owned and managed by New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris.
Edenwald Houses are a housing project in the Eastchester and Laconia neighborhoods of the Bronx, New York City. Established on October 30, 1953, the project consists of forty buildings, 3 and 14 stories tall with 2,039 apartment units. It covers a 48.88-acre development is bordered by Grenada Place, East 225th Street, Baychester Avenue, Schieffelin Avenue and Laconia Avenues. It is owned and managed by New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and is the largest development in the Bronx. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2024.
Warren Rose, known professionally as Bruse Wane is a Jamaican American rapper, and songwriter that was born on the Caribbean island of Jamaica. He was raised in the South Bronx section of New York City. He is known for his prominent Hip-Hop songs, guest music appearances and collaborations with The Universal Hip Hop Museum and Kurtis Mantronik. Bruse Wane began his rise to prominence in Hip-Hop in 2014, with the release of two songs. Home Of The Spitters, which featured Keith Murray, and Beast Inside that featured Sean Price. He is also the lead emcee and member of the Hip-Hop group Mantronix.
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