NEW DORP. NEW YORK. – SBTRKT ft. Ezra Koenig

NEW DORP. NEW YORK. is self-taught music producer SBTRKT’s (pronounced “subtract”) first single off his sophomore album, released in 2014. In collaboration with and featuring the vocal talents of Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig, the song is an odd combination of spoken word, clicking instruments, heavy bass, and dance beats. These are things which should not often be put together but under SBTRKT’s masterful mixing, whose real name is Aaron Jerome, it comes together into a cohesive and full sounding, toe tapping, head boppin’ track. Koenig contributes his lyrical genius in the form of New York specific imagery.

[Chorus: SBTRKT]

Flags flappin’ in Manhattan
New Dorp, New York
Gargoyles gargling oil
Peak of the empire, top of the rock

This song is an embodiment of the work hard, play hard attitude of New Yorkers. More specifically, it is an ode to the tough attitude of the many diverse New York women. Its funky take on empowerment involves imagery of women as the boss. It includes allusion to New York City staples in gargoyles such as those on the Chrysler building, the “peak of the empire” meaning the Empire State building, and the “top of the rock”, an alternate name for 30 Rockefeller Center. All of these buildings are beacons of capitalism and the attitude of working toward lofty goals. The music in the background at times sounds like construction which I imagine to be of these buildings. They are all symbols of power, strength, and wealth.  Koenig’s lyrics place a woman at the precipice of this empire city, imagining a New York with a woman leading the charge, riding in  the limousine and the speaker in her car’s trunk, an allusion to New York’s history of hip-hop.  The song culminates with the most repeated line: “my girl’s got a city to run.”

Koenig pulls the song’s toughness from the take-no-shit attitude of the people of New Dorp, a highly populous and heavily middle class area of Staten Island. The song is an ode to the American ideal of social mobility that many believe New York affords its citizens, to move from New Dorp to the “top of the rock”. These lyrics are also a great complement to the rhythm and pacing of the song. Just as the song is a mish-mash of sounds that shouldn’t work together but do, so to is New Dorp and New York an odd combination that just works. I really enjoy listening to this song when faced with a particularly difficult time in my life. It boosts my energy and my confidence. The song reminds me to hold my ambitions high.

Partial Lyrics: 

[Verse 1: Ezra Koenig (SBTRKT)]
My girl got a minimum
Keep it stuck right there ’til the number comes
Leave a smooth operator lookin’ like a bum
My girl’s got a city to run
Got the key to the kingdom where the money’s from
Never seen the color yellow, never seen the sun
(And he thinks I’m the negative one)

[Chorus: SBTRKT ] x2 

[Verse 2: Ezra Koenig (SBTRKT)]
My girl’s got a little schtick
Keep you cooped up in the kitchen while you feed the kid
Keep you waitin’ in the winter while the taxi ticks
My girl got a limousine
Got a full time job just to keep it clean
Got a speaker in the trunk, you know it weighs a ton
(You think I’m the negative one)