The fabled stories of the Lo-Lives have been recounted in rap magazines already. Their place in rap music myth is clearly secured. When I had heard of the passing of Boostin’ Billy back in June I had to tip my cap. The Lo-Lives were one of many groups that I encountered with my youth collective back in my teenage years. Those were the days of living dangerously and Boostin’ Billy was one of the people that made the lifestyle work for him.
When I gained the contact of his surviving sister I asked her if she would talk for a few minutes on the impact that her brother made on her, his friends and his community. Aside from the urban legends and the street myths is the story of people trying to survive in the ghetto. The days weren’t promised to anyone and the youth in New York City could experience the world of abject poverty and despair in one minute and the aspirational wealth of Madison Avenue in the next instant.
I want to create a series of videos called Brother’Hood which describes the value of brotherhood and love from the people that knew these ghetto superheroes firsthand. There is a humanity that has been discounted from these brothers. They all believed in things much bigger than themselves. All of these brothers had family and community at the core of their sentiments. If their methods for displaying their community values are what you consider less than honorable then you aren’t considering what NYC was like when crack was king.
This episode is the third installment of the Brother ‘Hood series but the first one that I am broadcasting. MICHAEL CULLEY aka Boostin’ Billy deserves to be recognized as a friend, father, brother and son who put his family first and in the same breadth created an everlasting movement in the streets of New York City. Respect what it meant to be official in the 1980’s and definitely respect this man for all the people he influenced with his style and determination.
