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As of late the New York City MTA has been on their Hip-Hop fix giving some of the game’s biggest artists their own MetroCards for New Yorkers to collect. After seeing the likes of The Notorious B.I.G., Cam’ron and others get their faces plastered on plastic, the MTA has decided to give the Big Apple’s latest star her own train pass.
According to Blavity, Ice Spice will be the latest Hip-Hop artist to get her own limited edition MetroCard as she gears up to drop her highly-anticipated debut album, Y2K. Unfortunately for her millions of fans and followers, the MetroCards will be limited to a mere 50,000 cards, and already, people are gobbling them up to resell them online for anywhere between $30 to $4,000 (yes, you read that right). While we’re sure some fans will cough up a few dollars to own a MetroCard which features their favorite artist, we doubt anyone will pay the price of a used car for one. Well, maybe Jordan Poole would. Just sayin’.
As to why Ice Spice decided to name her album Y2K (y’all youngn’s don’t know nothing about that particular scare), Ice Spice was actually born Jan. 1, 2000 when computers were supposed to plunge the world back into the Stone Age and everyone was going to become cannibals. That did not happen, and people actually went vegan. Go figure.
Blavity reports:
During a recent interview with Zane Lowe for Apple 1, the 24-year-old, whose birthday is Jan. 1, 2000, discussed where she garnered inspiration for the record’s title and energy.
“Thankfully, I had my mom, so growing up, I’d see her really embody the Y2K aesthetic in its truest form,” she said. “It’s duck nails. It’s a tramp stamp. It’s brown lip liner, no matter where you go. So, thankfully, I had her as my inspo growing up. And of course just like the internet, you feel me? Just like anyone else.”
Considering the early 2000s aesthetic of Y2K, Ice Spice expressed her penchant for minimalism and how that played into the thought process behind naming the project.
“I have a book full of pages of album names and different ideas,” she shared. “I just really find the beauty in simplicity, and I was just like, ‘You know what, I want it to be short.’ I didn’t want it to be this super long phrase.”
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We wonder what kind of numbers her debut album will do when it’s all said and done.
Did y’all got out and get an Ice Spice MetroCard? Would y’all pay $4,000 for one? What are y’all expectations for her debut album Y2K? Let us know in the comments section below.
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So, we all know internet challenges can be fun. Some of them are relatively harmless, such as the ice bucket challenge, which, by the way, raised millions for The ALS Association as the challenge was meant to raise awareness and support for the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. But then there are internet challenges trending on social media that are dangerous as hell and even outright deadly.
This brings us to the “subway surfing” challenge.
Now, it shouldn’t have to be explained to anyone that riding on top of or outside a subway train can get you killed, but, apparently, that doesn’t need to be explained—to a lot of people. In fact, subway surfing became such a huge problem in New York City that Mayor Eric Adams and MTA officials said Tuesday that social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok have agreed to automatically remove any online videos that show people (mostly teenagers) engaging in the life-risking daredevil activity.
From the Gothamist:
MTA officials said 2,600 videos and photos of subway surfing have been stripped from the social media platforms in recent months.
“Young people are being subjected to massive doses of video and material that was glorifying this,” MTA Chair Janno Lieber said during a news conference. “They (tech companies) developed algorithms to weed it out and they’re working with us to take it down.”
The MTA is also launching an awareness campaign on the dangers of subway surfing, which includes public service announcements created by city school students as well as special MetroCards and posters with the slogan “Ride Inside, Stay Alive, Subway Surfing Kills.”
“It is about peer-to-peer communication, interaction to stop this horrific action that is taking lives and injuring individuals and that impact cascades out into their peer group,” Adams said during a news conference announcing the campaign.
NYPD data shows police have made 88 arrests related to subway surfing so far this year, up from 30 during the same period of 2022.
Last year, 17-year-old Kosse Laureano died while riding on top of a train. The video footage the teen collected of him performing the deadly stunt was used earlier this year in an exhibition displayed at the Oculus Transit Center to highlight the dangers of subway surfing.
Be safe out there, folks. All internet attention isn’t good internet attention, and none of it is worth your life.
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Last year the MTA celebrated the memory of the late-great Notorious B.I.G. by giving him his own exclusive MetroCard and with the success of that rollout, the Metropolitan Transit Authority has decided to get in on Hip-Hop’s 50th birthday with more limited edition MetroCards.
Over the weekend the MTA announced that it was rolling out tens of thousands exclusive MetroCards which will feature some of your favorite Hip-Hop legends and artists. While you’ll notice that artists like Nas, Jay-Z and Biggie aren’t amongst the names of icons used for these exclusive cards, the lineup is still pretty impressive and will certainly be a must-have item for Hip-Hoppers and collectors alike.
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Per the MTA, 40,000 MetroCards that featured LL Cool J and the late Pop Smoke were available starting Saturday, August 5. The cards with rappers’ images were available at MetroCard vending machines at Forest Hills station for LL and and at the Canarsie-Rockaway Pkwy and New Lots Ave stations for Pop Smoke.
Rakim and Cam’ron will also get 40,000 MetroCards starting later in the month. Their cards are schedule to be systemwide.
As dope as this is, we need the MTA to step it up and add more Hip-Hop icons to the celebration.
Though people aren’t lining up to purchase these Hip-Hop MetroCards like they did with the Biggie joint last year (that was damn near an impossible copp), we’re sure those who do get one or two of these will still ultimately end up hopping the turnstile and becoming yet another fair evader in the subway transit system. It’s only right.
What do y’all think of the MTA giving rappers their own MetroCards? Who would you like to see on your MetroCard? Let us know in the comment section below.
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New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority approved the first fare increases for its transit system in four years, citing them as “necessary.”On Wednesday (July 19), the MTA Board unanimously voted to increase the subway fares from $2.75 to $2.90. The first fare hike in four years also applies to the buses in the citywide system. In addition, fares will also go up by 5% on the tolls at the city’s bridges and tunnels from $6.55 to $6.94. For those without an E-Z Pass, they will see a 10% increase. Those changes will go into effect Aug. 6, while the subway and bus fare increases take effect on Aug. 20.“We’re making good on this last brick in this amazing edifice that is the restoration of the MTA’s financial stability. It is an important moment,” MTA Chair Janno Lieber said after the decision. “It is not without its downsides because anytime you’re asking people to pay a little more, you know that has consequences.”
Board members declared that the fare increase was “necessary” and “healthy,” as it struggles with a reported $48 billion debt. Deputy chair Jai Patel stated that the increase will help the MTA “keep up with inflation, avert radical fare and toll fluctuations and mitigate impacts on customers by offering a predictable increase schedule.”
Other changes include the express bus fare now being increased to $7, and the seven-day fare going up two dollars to $64. Also, monthly unlimited Metrocards will now be $132 and seven-day unlimited Metrocards will be $34. Metro-North & Long Island Railroad fares will rise 4%. Reduced fares for seniors and others will remain in place.
The board had previously paused talks and plans to increase the fare biannually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which the MTA states led to its current status. The next item will be the congestion pricing plan, which the MTA hopes to enact for vehicles below 60th street in Manhattan by the end of spring next year. It faces opposition from delivery drivers and livery drivers, who protested outside of MTA headquarters yesterday.
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Jordan Neely, a young Black homeless man who reportedly suffered a mental health episode while on a New York City subway train, was subdued by a passenger and eventually lost his life. Neely’s death was ruled a homicide as protestors continue to demand justice.
Neely, 30, was aboard an F train at the Broadway-Lafayette station when he allegedly threated passengers while standing. Another passenger, reportedly a U.S. Marine, grabbed Neely from behind with a rear-naked chokehold to subdue Neely as others looked on. From the little video footage we could bear to watch, Neely was effectively constrained by the Marine and two others posing no real threat but the Marine kept the deadly chokehold applied tightly and emergency response teams were unable to revive him.
As reported by local outlet ABC 7, protestors planned a protest outside of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for Thursday (May 4), adding to the growing cries of injustice and a common refrain that Neely’s death was indeed murder. The Marine, 24, was taken into custody and eventually released. Howwever, with the homicide ruling, charges could be pending for the Long Island resident.
As the news of Neely’s passing grew wide, most remembered him as a Michael Jackson imprsonator who held performances in and around the Times Square area. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among the many public figures to speak out regarding Neely’s death and opened a tweet about the matter with, “Jordan Neely was murdered.”
The tweet was decried by New York Mayor Eric Adams, who said of Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet, “I don’t think that’s very responsible at the time when we’re still investigating the situation.”
While Neely’s death was ruled a homicide, the Manhattan DA will need to file charges if the case is to move ahead.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander has been especially vocal regarding Neely’s death, also incurring the criticism of Mayor Adams. However, Lander is refusing to back down.
Across social media, many are gathered in support of Jordan Neely and his family in their ongoing fight to find a legal resolution.
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