Before Hamilton became the hottest ticket in town, the play was just an idea inside the head of Uptown icon, Lin-Manuel Miranda. Back in 2009, Lin performed portions of the show for the first couple at an event at the White House. Just this past week, Lin returned to the capital for a freestyle rap session with an able assist from POTUS. Please go to our site right now and check out the incredible video. No matter who occupies the White House come next year, Barack Obama will be sorely missed. I am praying fervently every day that we avoid the dreadful fate of a Trump presidency. A smartphone camera caught what appears to be the aftermath of the cops hitting a young man on a bike in the lower 170’s. The video was posted to YouTube this past week by July Beatz. The raw video captures a tense standoff between the cops and members of the community. It looks like this could be the beginning of a long hot summer. Uptown’s own Raquel Cepeda is a writer, journalist, filmmaker and activist. Richy Rosario of Vibe Magazine sat down to talk with Raquel for a ranging interview that touched on such thorny topics as race, identity and the Haitian/Dominican divide. John Ambrosio of am New York takes us on a tour of central Harlem. Our Indiegogo Spotlight shows love to D Lolly’s Uptown Bakeshop, which is looking to take their baking operation to the next level. You have a few days left to support the cause. In honor of Women’s History Month, singer/songwriter and former American Idol finalist Karen Rodríguez released Reinas, a tribute to Latinas in music history. Reinas pays tribute to several Latinas such as Celia Cruz, Jenni Rivera, Milly Quezada, J Lo, Gloria Estefan, Olga Tañon and Selena. We probably all have our tías to thank for social media, they are the original purveyors of gossip, trolling, and the feeling of getting 100 likes on an Instagram picture. Check out this hilarious video by La Flama and Juan Bago and crew. The Fix is supplied by Uptown’s own, Stars Collide, which is a collaboration project between I B Manhattan and Jay Fiyah. Keep checking us out at www.uptowncollective.com. Led Black Editor-in-Chief The Uptown Collective The UC’s mission is to become “the” definitive, transformative and community-based force impacting the arts, culture, business and New York City’s overall perception of Upper Manhattan. Its objective is to reset, reboot and positively redefine Uptown’s artistic, political, cultural and business spheres via the online space as well the collective’s initiatives and functions.
March 14 – March 19
