Block party 94

Blocked Party ’94”

Yeah… yeah…

Blocked Party ’94…

Bridgeton, New Jersey—where the heat sit on the pavement and the music sit in your chest.

I was three years old…

But I remember the feeling.

I remember the sound.

I remember the block.

“Turn that up!”

“Ayo, bring the speakers outside!”

“Somebody tell auntie stop playin’, we outside!”

⸻

Blocked Party ’94, yeah the street got love,

Front steps, fold chairs, summer in the air, no gloves.

Bass line knockin’ like a heartbeat on the curb,

Burlington Manor vibes, Bridgeton word.

If you came from the block, you know the dance don’t stop,

We was raised by the rhythm and the boom from the box.

Blocked Party ’94, that’s a lifetime stamp,

Three years old, still remember how the nightlight lamp—

Lit the porch, lit the smiles, lit the whole parade,

Blocked Party ’94, we was made how we made.

⸻

Back when the sun stayed long like it didn’t wanna leave,

Heat waves in the street, you could see ‘em when you breathe.

Rubber on the blacktop, chalk lines on the ground,

Somebody’s uncle on the grill, whole block smellin’ loud.

I was tiny, barely talkin’, but I knew what was what,

When the music hit the corner, you could feel it in your gut.

Boom box on the hood, tape deck click-clack,

Somebody yell “rewind that!” and the party run it back.

Kids in the water, hydrant open like a fountain,

Spray hit the air, made a rainbow like a mountain.

Moms on the steps, fans flutter, gossip flyin’,

Laughin’ so hard, like the day never dyin’.

Old heads on the dice game, coins clinkin’ soft,

Same dudes always jokin’ like the weight never cost.

Somebody braidin’ hair right on the porch rail,

Tighten up the beads, make ‘em shine like a tail.

And the music—man the music was the mayor of the night,

It told you when to step, told you when to feel right.

When the bass hit low, it shook the window screens,

Everybody two-step, even folks with busted knees.

Auntie in the kitchen, but she peekin’ through the blinds,

Actin’ like she mad, but she keepin’ perfect time.

Neighbor lady in the doorway, talkin’ “not too loud,”

But her shoulders do a bounce when the hook come around.

Bridgeton summers, you could taste ‘em in the breeze,

Sweet tea, paper plates, lil’ grease on the sleeve.

Burlington Manor block, where the love was the code,

Where the porch was a stage, and the street was the road.

And me? I’m three years old, eyes big like a moon,

Tryna copy grown-up moves to a grown-up tune.

Little shoes on the pavement, doin’ my best,

When the block got alive, it put fire in my chest.

⸻

Blocked Party ’94, yeah the street got love,

Front steps, fold chairs, summer in the air, no gloves.

Bass line knockin’ like a heartbeat on the curb,

Burlington Manor vibes, Bridgeton word.

If you came from the block, you know the dance don’t stop,

We was raised by the rhythm and the boom from the box.

Blocked Party ’94, that’s a lifetime stamp,

Three years old,