'The Sixth Borough' screening reminds audiences of Long Island's role in hip hop history

Before they were topping music charts and shifting the culture, some of hip-hop's pioneers were just Long Island kids : riding bikes, playing in the school band, gathering for cyphers in high school cafeterias.

'The Sixth Borough' screening reminds audiences of Long Island's role in hip hop history. Before they were topping music charts and shifting the culture, some of hip-hop's pioneers were just Long Island kids : riding bikes, playing in the school band, gathering for cyphers in high school cafeterias. That little known history is the subject of "The Sixth Borough," a documentary focusing on rappers and groups who came up in the region, from Amityville's De La Soul and Patchogue's Biz Markie to Public Enemy of Hempstead. The 90-minute film premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival and was screened to a packed audience at Hofstra University Saturday. The filmmakers, including director Jason Pollard and producers Julian Petty and Andrew Theodorakis, said during a panel discussion after that they wanted to give Long Island the recognition it...