I recently had the chance to interview Yonkers Rapper DQ the don, whose given name is Derkquon Battle. His song called Yonkers slumtown caught my attention. I grew up in Yonkers about ten minutes away from where Derkquon lives in the Schlobohm Housing Projects—or "Slow Bomb" projects. While today our worlds are different, I like to know what threads we share in common. I can relate to Derkquon when he says, “You can’t scare me. I was born in Yonkers.”
Rapper Derkquon Battle who goes by DQ the don told me his story while he was walking on Walsh Road around Slow Bomb. Yonkers is different from other cities, and especially New York City, where the rich and poor sit shoulder-to-shoulder in subways and share the same streets. Yonkers is deeply stratified by neighborhood tranches that coexist, but do not meld together. Getty Square or Ghetto Square is only a few minutes from the wealthy Park Hill section, but the inhabitants of both areas rarely cross the line. Boundaries marked by skin color and money put an emotional fence around who gets in and who can’t get out.
The trouble with Yonkers is that it has a bad rap. No pun intended. Rapper DQ the don is done with messing around with the half-truths and bold lies depicting Yonkers as only a ghetto. He sets us straight with the hard truth that no one wants to talk about. He raps about blackness with raw strength and without offering apology. And why should he bother to apologize? The reality of the pain integral to life in the projects will take your breath away.
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From Yonkers
Rapper DQ the don Derkquon Battle |
Rapping Yonkers’ Pride
by Patricia Vaccarino
Growth & Funding Strategist