Knicks in 5

There’s been so much emotion and conversation around this team for my entire life that it feels surreal to finally experience this moment.

Normally I wouldn’t care about the concept of bandwagon fans or new people getting involved with the team, but honestly? I’ve been on the back end of so much pain, so many jokes, so many people who consistently laughed at me for being a fan of the city that I’m from. People from other cities always asking, “Why would you be a fan of the Knicks?”

And its all for this moment right now.

That I stuck with a franchise I always believed in, even when it felt silly because that’s what being a fan is. A fanatic. It’s not supposed to logically make sense.

So just know: anybody you see pushing the Knicks tough out of nowhere, jumping on the bandwagon and wanting this championship to be about them? Fuck ‘em. They can’t be trusted and don’t know what it’s like to support something that isn’t handed to you in a pretty package.

I’m not even trying to take it there, but to be in love with something that hurts you year after year is the Black American experience in the USA and you just hope that one year it won’t disappoint you and can finally bring you the glory you always knew it was capable of.

Here’s a playlist that captured the feeling of the city in this moment — some NY hip-hop classics, plus photos, memes, and footage from the run. It opens on Sinatra’s “New York, New York” and closes on Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind,” with the whole NY rap canon living in between. Two ways of saying the same thing about this city, wrapped around everything that made it ours.

“Knicks in 5” (30 tracks, 1 hr 58 min): Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube

Tracklist

1. Theme From New York, New York — Frank Sinatra | Trilogy: Past Present Future (1980)

2. Welcome To The Party — Pop Smoke | Meet the Woo (2019)

3. We Gonna Make It — Jadakiss feat. Styles P | Kiss tha Game Goodbye (2001)

4. New York Shit — Busta Rhymes feat. Swizz Beatz | The Big Bang (2006)

5. Touch It (Remix) — Busta Rhymes | The Big Bang (2006; remix released ‘06)

6. The Jump Off — Lil’ Kim feat. Mr. Cheeks | La Bella Mafia (2003)

7. Hypnotize — The Notorious B.I.G. | Life After Death (1997)

8. Vivrant Thing — Q-Tip | Amplified (1999)

9. Party Up — DMX | ...And Then There Was X (1999)

10. Have A Party — Mobb Deep feat. 50 Cent & Nate Dogg | Blood Money (2006)

11. Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See — Busta Rhymes | When Disaster Strikes... (1997)

12. Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are) — Pras feat. ODB & Mýa | Ghetto Supastar (1998)

13. Made You Look (Remix) — Nas feat. Jadakiss & Ludacris | God’s Son (2002; remix ‘03)

14. Money, Power & Respect — The LOX feat. DMX & Lil’ Kim | Money, Power & Respect (1998)

15. C.R.E.A.M. — Wu-Tang Clan | Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)

16. Got Your Money — Ol’ Dirty Bastard feat. Kelis | Nigga Please (1999)

17. N.Y. State of Mind — Nas | Illmatic (1994)

18. Me Myself and I — De La Soul | 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)

19. Mass Appeal — Gang Starr | Hard to Earn (1994)

20. Buck Em Down (Remix) — Black Moon feat. Smif-N-Wessun | Enta da Stage (1993; remix released Nov ‘94)

21. Boom Bye Yeah — Sean Price | Mic Tyson (2012)

22. Triumph — Wu-Tang Clan | Wu-Tang Forever (1997)

23. Represent — Nas | Illmatic (1994)

24. Keep It Thoro — Prodigy | H.N.I.C. (2000)

25. Luchini AKA This Is It — Camp Lo | Uptown Saturday Night (1997)

26. Find a Way — A Tribe Called Quest | The Love Movement (1998)

27. Window Shopper — 50 Cent | Get Rich or Die Tryin’ soundtrack (2005)

28. Why You Do That — Max B feat. Arkatech Beatz | single (2007)

29. Still Dreaming — Nas feat. Kanye West & Chrisette Michele | Hip Hop Is Dead (2006)

30. New York State of Mind — Billy Joel | Turnstiles (1976)