I used to see Wiki93 tagged on the upper west side growing up - from the blocks I would frequent to the 86th street station I would use daily. Eventually I was put onto Wiki’s first solo project, Wiki93, a project that has been in my rotation since I was a junior in high school. His bars resonated with me on a deep level. His deep cut uptown Manhattan references, the way he related to his surroundings, his affinity and appreciation for the train, and his unique metaphorical lyricism made me keep up with his path to this day. Come to find out he was raised on 89th street, I was raised on 88th, we are cut from the same cloth.
When I worked at The Good Company, Wiki would frequent the shop and we got to know each other and worked on a few projects together. I had the opportunity to shoot his last live show in New York at the Sultan Room before COVID19 shut down the city. That was the last time we had seen each other before we linked up for this segment of the Artist Series.
Wiki just moved into a new apartment in Chinatown so I went to meet him there, excited as I pulled up to see that he now lives on one of my favorite blocks in the city. We sat down catching up as he rolled up a spliff and we were launched into a long conversation about new beginnings, navigating transitions, love life, our memories of the Upper West Side growing up, creating during quarantine, new projects and navigating within the creative scene.
We started off talking about love life. We had been through break ups recently so we had a lot to relate on. He frequently includes his love life in his music and his romantic side is a part of who he is as an artist. Wiki expressed his frustration with not being heard and crazed with the thought of not being able to say what he needs to. We concluded that we are grateful to have creative outlets to channel this into.
Settling into his new apartment Wiki found that his new surroundings have inspired and sparked his creativity, excited to throw himself heavily into his craft. He showed me his next songs and pieces of new projects. Wiki rapped every verse with passion, I had to have him run his verses back to grasp every aspect of his dense lyrics.
A segment of our conversation that really stuck with me was about his admiration of the subway. I mentioned my annoyance with transplants talking down on the MTA and he emphatically agreed. Wiki said that the train is the most beautiful part of the city and one of his favorite aspects of the New York experience. We traded stories about riding the train. Traveling with others, the intimacy of being in such close quarters with other New Yorkers, and the how the vast visuals that we witness underground have been a huge inspiration for both his music and my photo work.
Wiki expressed his need to surround himself with genuine, kind, and motivated individuals that uplift his art and elevate his growth as a person. Many of his peers in creative scenes don’t share the same values, instead searching for clout/fame or shallow affirmations of success. Wiki is here to inspire and continue to impact New York and the world with his music.