NY Anthem

Album: Street Axioms (2014)
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Songfacts®:

  • Faulkner are an Alternative Rock band based in Venice, California. They comprise vocalist Lucas Asher, guitarist and producer Eric Scullin, bassist Dimitri Farouigas and drummer Christian Hogan (drums). The band attracted the attention of producers Mark Needham (The Killers) and JP Bowerstock (The Strokes) on the strength of their online demo "I'm Stoned," and worked with them during the recording of their Street Axioms debut album.
  • This song finds Faulkner collaborating with Wu-Tang Clan's RZA. The hookup came about after Asher sent RZA an early version of the song. The Wu-Tang rapper/producer was a hero of the Faulkner frontman when he was growing up, but he never expected RZA to respond to his request for a collaboration. "I got a phone call from a blocked number," Asher recalled to Billboard magazine, "and he was like, 'It's RZA. I heard your track. Let's work on it.' It was a shock to us."

    RZA added, "They gave me a demo of the song, and it sounded very interesting. So I said, 'Okay, let me come on in and see what kind of energy we have.' And it turned out to be a great energy."
  • RZA met Faulkner at Rick Rubin's Malibu Shangri La Studio in January 2014 to record the song, adding a verse that honors the Wu-Tang MC's native city. "It's never hard to find something new to say about New York," the rapper told Billboard.

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