Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire's Story is Brooklyn’s Story

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire is standing in the Crown Heights playground he’s known since he was 11, posing for famed Brooklyn photographer Jamel Shabazz. A year ago, eXquire was a security guard in Park Slope, where he handed out parking tickets. Today he is part of a long Brooklyn tradition: boy grows up in the projects, hones his music skills and gets a record deal.

There’s probably nothing in eXquire’s story we haven’t heard before but it still resonates every time. Especially for those of us who’ve ever called Brooklyn “home.” I think it has something to do with pride and a lot to do with the Brooklyn swagger eXquire talks about in the above Rolling Stone video. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that most readers of this blog are not likely to have first-hand experience of what it’s like to live in the projects and fight your way out. But I can guarantee every single one of us has taken at least one photo on our Brooklyn block with a cocky grin that says “this is my home and it’s more fucking awesome that yours.”

When eXquire says he "came out of the womb with a fuck-the-world mentality,” try not to nod your head in agreement. I think it’s impossible if you’ve ever been a Brooklynite. We can laugh at the ridiculousness of the Slopers who brag about their organic lettuce or the cliche rapper posing with his way-too-big gold chain. Just never forget that’s an externalization of the fuck-the-world, look at my awesome shit swagger that makes Brooklyn special. And fun.

For us, walking around with this attitude is as inevitable as the hip hop lifestyle was for eXquire. "You from the projects, you from the ghetto. That's just your voice,” he tells Shabazz during the interview. We may not all be from the ghetto and we may not all be into hip hop but go through your photo collection and you’ll see, taking pride in Brooklyn is just our voice.

Mr. Mothafuckin' eXquire’s debut EP for Universal Republic Records comes out in October. Look out for it.