♫♪  Git Beats - “Magic Spaceship” (ft. Sean Price, B. White & Beedie)

It may have a thriving punk scene, but when it comes to the rap cred of the five boroughs, Staten Island has almost always been ranked last. But as it turns out, the “Forgotten Borough” is also home to one of New York’s hidden gems. Git Beats (pronounced “jit”), a rapper who cut his teeth producing tracks alongside Alchemist and DJ Z-Trip, is quite the connoisseur when it comes to beats: he made an appearance in the 2004 vinyl documentary Deep Crates. Git’s ear for originality is showcased on his new, self-produced Basement Ghost LP and especially on “Magic Spaceship,” a trunk-rattling, psychedelic posse cut featuring fellow New Yorker Sean Price and Pittsburgh MCs B. White and Beedie. It’s straight-up NASA boom-bap, complete with spooky wails, laser-y synths, and black-hole-sized bass. If this is the Staten sound we’ve been missing, all the more reason to take the ferry more often.

• Git Beats: http://gitbeats.com

Chocolate Grinder

CHOCOLATE GRINDER is our audio/visual section, with an emphasis on the lesser heard and lesser known. We aim to dig deep, but we’ll post any song or video we find interesting, big or small.

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