Pharaohe Monch
‘Plastic Crack’: Pharoahe Monch on the Addictive World of Marvel Figurines
Deep within the shadowy regions of the underworld of collectors, it’s commonly referred to as “Plastic Crack.” Perhaps it’s even more addictive than cooked cocaine, but the comparisons to the infamous ‘80s drug probably stop at the insatiable ability to hook you after only one hit. I mean, I don’t think cats are stripping aluminum siding off houses to cop, but the anxiety, and withdrawals, are 100% a reality. I officially became an addict of collecting figurines during the pandemic lockdowns of NYC.Zooms became a part of everyday life. Like a lot of us, I needed to find a small nook somewhere to front, and I hated it. I decided to order a cheap ring light and shovel out an area in the house to display some memorabilia and some of my old Monchhichi collectibles. Yes! I collected those, henc...
Vinyl Saved My Life: A Tribute to Biz Markie
I envisioned an overcrowded Chinatown, and those glazed shiny ducks rotating around in the display windows of the restaurants. I remember feeling mournful for the ducks; their skin dripping with grease and crackling, the flames scorching their meat to the bone like a sacrifice for all to see. I would stop mid-stride against the determined shoppers and think, “that’s really fucking disgusting.” But today, I’m totally convinced those ducks had it way better than I did. For on this day I would find myself on a bus without working air conditioning—stuffed in the middle bunk of twelve sleeping compartments. Even though I had survived New York City summers, where the heat rising off the pavement would distort buildings and create optical illusions that made the buildings do sexy belly dances. Th...
