Posted by With all this hoopla about Tekashi 6ix9ine returning as the reigning king of New York congesting the airwaves, Staten Island rapper JoJo Pellegrino has provided us with an offering that closely mirrors the true kings of yesteryear.
Pellegrino released “Where I’m From Part 3” earlier this week which takes the Jay-Z song about Brooklyn from his 1997 album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 and reworks it for the forgotten borough of Staten Island, NYC.
The rapper, who’s had his share of ups and downs in the industry being signed to Chris Lighty’s Violator management in the early 2000s and eventually dropped, perfectly conveys the essence of Staten Island in the new track, and samples Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”
As a native Staten Islander, I’ve really enjoyed this series from Pellegrino over the years. For “Part 3,” JoJo touches on a plethora of topics that hit close to home for Staten residents including alleged mob murders, heroin addiction, and avid Trump support.
Some of the more trivial issues rapped about in the song include the horrendous public policy for speeding that placed cameras on a large amount of blocks in the borough that will issue you a $50 ticket by mail for going slightly over the limit.
This video, like “Part 2,” was filmed on Staten Island in the Great Kills and Todt Hill areas. There’s even one segment by the Verrazano Bridge that was likely done in Brooklyn along with a beautiful overhead shot of the former S.I. dump that is now being turned into a park.
Pellegrino’s “Where I’m From” series started in the early 2000s back when he was signed to Violator. The first version covered a lot of the same mob-related themes.
Pellegrino claims he was actually able to show Jay-Z the original version on the YouTube post of the song that also includes a photo of the two together in the studio.
Rant or Reason 