Itzler, an artist who then went by the name Jesse Jaymes, recorded the demo in his Upper East Side apartment. He wanted a chorus that matched hip-hop’s call-and-response tradition and came up with a hook both infectious and easily recalled: “Go New York, go New York, go! / Go New York, go New York, go!” The track, Itzler believed, would be a hit after he turned it in. The initial reaction at the arena was muted. But the crowd warmed up to it throughout the Knicks’ 1994 playoff run, and it stayed on the rotation of the influential radio station Hot 97.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: He wanted a chorus that matched hip-hop’s …
