On Saturday, July 12th, the New York Hip-Hop Festival took place in the concert hall of the Polish Slavic Center at 177 Kent Street. The event attracted fans and performers of this musical genre from many corners of the metropolis and even from other cities.
Although the Center has hosted numerous individual performances by rappers and DJs, a full hip-hop festival has never been held here. Hip-hop is generally geared towards a younger audience, but the Center’s events have their own rules, which was evident this time as well. The audience included people of all ages, from young people, through middle-aged individuals, to a large group of seniors. Agnieszka Granatowska, the Center’s executive director, represented the Center during the Festival.
During the nearly five-hour festival, six performers appeared on the Center’s guest stage. In order of performance: Szarkowski, Budzik, Kater, Lucid Lennox, Raport9095 and Kreator Banda.
Each artist, despite operating within the broadly defined hip-hop style, presented a distinct musical identity. Starting with Szarkowski, making his debut on the concert stage, subsequent rappers and bands appeared on stage, only heating up the atmosphere until the grand finale, when the festival’s event was capped off by the incredibly dynamic Chicago duo Kreator Banda.
It’s worth noting that the legendary DJ Gram-x, aka Grzegorz Fryc, who came from Puerto Rico and was a well-known hip-hop promoter among New York’s Polish community and organizer of countless concerts by many leading Polish hip-hop artists in the United States, also appeared on stage during the festival. DJ Gram-x quite spontaneously joined the festival’s emcee, eventually joining freestyle, even standing behind the turntables at one point.
“I’m very pleased that, together with the CPS Board of Directors, we’re able to initiate and organize so many festivals,” Agnieszka Granatowska, Executive Director of the Polish Slavic Center, summarized the event. “I’m proud that thanks to our hard work, the largest Polish organization on the East Coast hosts such diverse events, and that we don’t limit ourselves to one genre of music but rather embrace all musical genres. I’m also incredibly pleased that rappers from various states took the stage during the pilot hip-hop festival. I sincerely thank Maciej Budzyński for his involvement, who helped me finalize everything, and thanks to our fruitful collaboration, fans of this type of music were able to spend a wonderful evening at the Polish Slavic Center in Greenpoint. It was wonderful that Grzesiu Fryc, indispensable in this type of event, took over as the festival host, brilliantly bridging the generations by leading the entire festival. Besides hip-hop enthusiasts, the audience included the indispensable members of the Krakus Senior Club, who aren’t afraid to experiment and, together with those slightly younger than themselves, had a great time listening to hip-hop beats. Thank you to all the volunteers – CPS employees – who helped sell tickets and man the bar. I invite you to the next music event, the Greenpoint Blues-Rock Festival, which will take place on Saturday, September 20, 2025, at 7:30 pm at 177 Kent Street.”
Szarkowski is a rapper, guitarist, producer, and songwriter based in New York City. He comes from a rock background and is the founder of the bands Supersonic Fly, Sound Shakers, and Group Therapy. The subject matter of his songs is diverse, inspired by, as he puts it, “observations of the world.” However, he emphasizes lighthearted themes and diverse beats to provide listeners with an engaging experience at his concerts.
Budzik is a rapper from New York who began his rap journey about seven years ago and began recording songs seriously about three years ago. Budzik’s music is inspired by his difficult childhood and the problems he faced, and his style is storytelling. He began playing support for top artists in the Polish rap scene, which helped him establish crucial contacts in the music industry. He was invited to appear on Kaen’s track “Cypher 2,” which gave him the opportunity to reach a wider audience. He currently collaborates with producers who worked at Max Flow Records and now operate under the moniker “JazBrothers.” He recently recorded a track with Kroolk Underwood, which will soon premiere with a feature music video by Adrian Kawa.
Kater is a DJ and rapper based in Chicago. He was interested in music from an early age, and fell in love with rap and hip-hop while growing up in the Moniec area, listening to Polish rap in the late 1990s. He played his first support act at a Polish hip-hop concert in Chicago in 2009, opening for Jamal. Since then, he has been a regular DJ/support act at local events, as well as at Polish hip-hop concerts in Chicago. Over the years, he has had the pleasure of performing for the top Polish rappers, and his skills have been utilized by artists such as Lukasyno, Zbuku, Roman Bosski, Łyskacz, Nizioł, Polska Wersja, Kacper HTA, Kaen, Malach i Rufuz, Sobota, and many others. He began rapping in 2021, resulting in the album “SPEKTRUM,” which premiered in early 2022. At today’s event, he plays two roles: DJ and rapper.
Lucid Lennox is a rapper, producer, and vocalist from Chicago. His music is a journey through the world of love, loyalty, and his personal life. He played his first concert over a year ago, and even then, he said he would love to play in New York if possible.
Report9095 represents New York and New Jersey. They are well-known in the rap community and beloved by the Polish community. They played their first concert as a group about 10 years ago, and from then on, they began recording songs together for their so-called “drawer.” They regularly play support at rap events for top Polish rap acts, including Paluch, DonGURALesko, Paktofonika, Kaliber44, O.S.T.R., and many others. Raport9095, the name of the project comprising Fanatyk and Balon, was created immediately after Fanatyk released his first album as CCWW in 2018, which also featured Balon as a guest artist and produced his own beats. Since then, they have been recording high-quality tracks, and released their first music video for the song “Punkt Zwrotny” in 2022. The rest of their work is promoted exclusively at concerts.
Kreator Banda is a Chicago-based rap group consisting of KTK KOT and MATEJ. As Kreator Banda, they have been performing for about eight years. They have released two albums: “Muzyczne Eldorado” and “Thefinicja Banger.” They play support for top Polish rap artists and have a very wide audience in Chicago and beyond. They have given interviews on Polish radio WPNA FM and appeared in a YouTube episode of the “Hood Vibes Only” channel, which has reached over 300,000 views. They also organize their own concerts for people who support their work. They don’t limit themselves to one style of music, recording songs on a variety of topics.
Written and photographed by Marcin Żurawicz
