Cocktail Cinema: Crown Heights, Nutcracker + J’Ouvert Star in Fat Tony’s “BKNY”

Words by Jesse Serwer—

There’s nothing like the energy in Central Brooklyn (a/k/a “Real Brooklyn”) at the end of the summer, in the days leading up to Labor Day and the West Indian Day Parade. That’s the backdrop for “BKNY,” the latest video from NY underground rapper Fat Tony. Though the song features Jamaican-Guyanese BK rap duo Old Money, the pair are absent from the video, which instead features cameos from Mr. MFN eXquire, Kool AD of Das Racist, Nick Catchdubs, and Tenille, and landmarks like Ali’s Roti Shop and the Eastern Parkway road divider.

The real star of the clip is the NY-born, fuck-you-up-quick cocktail known as nutcracker. Labor Day is usually the last weekend of the year you’ll find the funky concoction (which is usually made using fruit punch, cheap cognac and mysterious “other alcohols”) being sold on the streets, and Tony and producer Tom Cruz have great success (and fun) “moving” the liquid in everything from the traditional quarter-water bottles to (in an even more BK twist) a Rasta vendor’s empty coconut shells. The clip climaxes at the hedonistic late-Sunday-night-before Carnival ritual that is J’Ouvert. Vibes.

If you’re a native of Brooklyn, or just have an appreciation for New York Caribbean culture, this one is guaranteed to have you waxing nostalgic, and anticipating next Labor Day. Check it out: