By K.B. Tindal
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer
To be the best, one has to challenge the best and Troy Ave did this in more ways than one. For the past couple of years, Troy Ave has been making his inroads in the game, but he turned up in 2013. This year, as an independent artist, Troy Ave promised he would drop his debut album before the end of 2013.
There was no shame in Troy Ave’s game, as he introduced his BSB camp to the world, he openly compared himself to a 1999 50 Cent. Troy Ave lived up to this name, as people questioned who would carry the torch for New York City. For whatever reason, New York’s hip hop scene was the scapegoat this year.
When Kendrick Lamar took claim as the king of New York, Troy Ave stepped up with his own response record, which promoted his New York City debut album. A move that killed two birds with one stone, Troy Ave showed who could really be king. Still, people continued asking the same questions, but he provided the answer and U.O.E.N.O. it.
Closing the year out with DJ Drama for White Christmas 2, Troy Ave closed the year with collaborations with many of the biggest names in hip hop. 50 Cent gave him the official co-sign and Troy Ave built his relationship with Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo, while also building with Uncle Murda. Also working with Styles P, Raekwon, and many more this year, Troy Ave introduced the world to his BSB camp, which includes King Sevin, Avon Blocksdale with two BSB mixtapes.
When it came to his own album, Troy Ave linked up with MTV for their Brooklyn Week in promotion of the 2013 VMAs, helping them launch that. Still as an independent artist, Troy Ave got some of the biggest figures in hip hop media to support his album with their promotional videos. Media figures included Rob Markman, Karen Civil, and Shaheem Reid spoke on Troy Ave’s album, fittingly titled New York City: The Album before it was released.
Since this year was the year Troy Ave dropped his debut album, this is considered his rookie year. It came with him receiving co-signs from fellow Brooklyn rapper, Fabolous, and also Pusha T. He has tracks out with both of them and he started the year the same way he opened it, strongly. In the year of 2013, no up-and-coming artist did it quite like Troy Ave, as he simply told the world he would drop an album and then he did it, all on his own.
Watch “Blanco” by Troy Ave below:
Watch “Prize Fighter” by Troy Ave ft. BSB below:
Watch “Last Rites” by Troy Ave ft. Avon Blocksdale and King Sevin below:
Watch Troy Ave and BSB’s studio session with Pete Rock below:
Watch Troy Ave’s Summer Jam Vlog below:
Watch “Hot Out” by Troy Ave below:
Watch “New York City” by Troy Ave ft. N.O.R.E. and Raekwon below:
Watch Karen Civil’s New York City: The Album promo below:
Watch Rob Markman’s New York City: The Album promo below:
Watch Shaheem Reid’s New York City: The Album promo below:
Watch “Cigar Smoke” by Troy Ave below:
Follow K.B. Tindal on Twitter @KBTindal.
