Local Legend: Bushwick Sets A High Bar For The Paperboy Prince

BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN — The Paperboy Prince's perfect Bushwick day always ends with a Rick James record and a heated blanket.

The rapper was best known for viral "Yang Gang" videos — which payed homage to presidential candidate Andrew Yang — that is, until the day he launched a campaign to become District 7's next U.S. representative and unseat U.S. Rep. Nydia Valazquez.

His campaign and his music career are deeply rooted in, and inspired by, Bushwick, the rapper-turned-congressional-candidate told Patch.

The Brooklynite spoke to Patch as part of our Local Legends series, where people who make New York City great discuss the neighborhoods they call home.

(Does your neighborhood have a Local Legend we should feature? Nominate them here.)

Here's what Paperboy had to say about his Brooklyn neighborhood:

Describe Bushwick in three words.

Art, Creative, Real.

What food does Bushwick do best? Where do you find it?

Honestly, I would say it does ethnic food in general the best. So many different cultures and so many different foods to choose from, it's like every night you get to travel around the world for dinner.

I'm afraid to give out the gems because it’d get to crowded lol.

What is your quintessential Bushwick story?

I was out street-performing on Myrtle and Broadway and it was kind of a rainy day. A few people are watching me perform, but most are busy focused on getting to their destination. Out of the corner of my eye I see a little girl tugging on her mom's leg saying “Look, mommy, look.”

Then, the beat drops, and I start dancing and singing the song. Almost instantly the little girl runs up to me and starts dancing too. First, waving her little hands in the air, then she starts twirling in circles, and even mimics my dance moves perfectly. Before I knew it, she had completely stolen the show!

Everyone walking by started coming together, dancing, laughing, and appreciating the amazing energy of this little girl and the moment. All different types of people who seemingly had nothing in common one minute before were suddenly laughing and partying together like old friends.

I saw how happy the little girl was that she had made everyone smile. Coming together. That's what this community is about.

Describe your perfect day in Bushwick.

My perfect day in Bushwick starts with waking up and watching the sunrise on the roof. Then, I'd head to the deli grab something to eat and just have a conversation with an elder in the community randomly on the sidewalk. Our seniors are like libraries full of knowledge and I love and respect them so much.

I would skate to Maria Hernandez Park, do some reading or writing and peep the fashion that people are rocking in Bushwick. Then I'd play a few games of basketball and talk about the news of the day with my homies on the court.

Later, I would head to work making music and building web platforms with my team — we would create something magical and inspired and then share it online that day if possible.

To finish it off, we would celebrate, just enjoy each other’s company, dance, see old friends, and make new ones.

After that I’d make sure everyone gets home safely and I would buy a pizza, go back to my place put Rick James on my record player and then fall asleep under my heated blanket to wake up and do it over again tomorrow.

How does Bushwick influence your music?

With all the hard working and ambitious people here you can't help but be inspired. Iron sharpens iron.

There are so many people making art here in a unique way that it makes me feel more comfortable exploring the more eclectic sides of my creativity.

The people here are also very supportive and open minded so that type of attitude and energy makes you want to try new things and think outside the box.

What makes you want to represent Bushwick in Congress?

Everyone here is living in the future, we are so forward, always on the latest tech, fashion, and culture but our politicians don’t embody that.

We need people that will push us into the future instead of doing as little as possible and hoping that change will come. We need us to represent us.

Some of our representatives have been in office longer than I’ve been alive and they claim to be a champion of the poor and less fortunate, but the only people they’ve lifted from poverty are themselves.

Bushwick deserves better. In fact Bushwick deserves the best, and we won’t settle for anything less than that. It’s Our Time.

This interview was edited by Patch for style.