Believe it or not, Long Island has been home to a handful of hip-hop’s heavyweights. From the quick-fire Busta Rhymes to the soulful Rakim and comical Flavor Flav, Long Island can also lay claim to being the original stomping grounds of the lightweight ladies of Northern State. Comprised of three feisty feminists– Hesta Prynn, Sprout, and Spero– who spit clever and socially-conscious rhymes like “The country’s getting ugly and there’s more in store, but don’t blame me ‘cuz I voted for Gore,” Northern State is truly one-of-a-kind. Its members, all educated at liberal-arts colleges (via Vassar, Oberlin, and NYU), blend their witty lyrics over rock-infused beats mixed with throwbacks to a classic hip-hop sound.

Previously signed to major record label Columbia, Northern State chose to keep it small this time around with their recently released fourth and newest album Can I Keep This Pen? on indie label Ipecac. To find out more about why the ladies keep it real and where they picked up their unique style, psychoPEDIA tracked down the trio themselves. And for a group named after the Island’s Northern State Parkway, who better to show us around the block than Long Island's own Spero:

Can you spit a quick rhyme to sum up Long Island?
How about a haiku instead– Oh long island I/ have been gone so long but I/ still miss the pizza.

In a song from your new album, you reference someone in a "sweatsuit dripping with diamonds" being like a "mom from Long Island." Was that your environment?
That line sums up some aspects of our upbringing, but my mom never wore diamonds or sweatsuits. I think what Hesta Prynn was getting at is how funny it is that rappers and moms from Long Island dress in identical uniforms. What's up with that?

You’re in good company in LI– with Public Enemy and De La Soul– to mention a few homegrown hip-hoppers. Did these groups inspire you?
Both of them are huge influences on us. We have actually struck up a friendship with Chuck D [of Public Enemy] in the last few years. He wrote some very complimentary things about us in his column in Elemental Magazine, and we got in touch with them after that. He’s been so supportive of us, and he's all about women being the future of hip-hop.

Are there any other creative characters coming up out of LI that you respect?
I kinda live under a rock, but Hesta Prynn said to mention the band Bayside!

What's your favorite thing to make fun of from LI?
Sprout and I went to bartending school in Huntington, and we had a particular bartending teacher that we still quote and make fun of to this day. She told us that when we work the bar, we need to look hot but not slutty, because there is a difference. Then she offered up the example of 'a cat suit, but with a blazer, cuz its hot but not slutty.' Got it?

Where was the late night hang-out spot for you guys in high school?
Dix Hills Diner. What!

Do much partying in the Hamptons or Fire Island?
We are NYC girls for the past ten years, and we don’t take much time off or vacations. But if we did, I doubt we'd go to the Hamptons. We’ve spent a lot of time in Vermont, Northampton and Virginia Beach– that's more our scene. But I did spend a week or so on Fire Island the summer before I went into high school. We hung out with some boys who smoked pot and I could not believe that people actually did that. I thought it was something you just saw on after school specials…

People flock to LI on the weekends just to get away from the city. What’s the best place to kick back and relax?
Sprout's parents' pool!

Long Island has lots of vineyards and wineries. Which are the best to go and booze up?
I so wish I knew. But I can assure you that the ladies of Northern State do enjoy a glass of wine.

What’s the place that serves it up closest to your mom's home cooking, or your fave spots to chow down?
La Scala in Commack in a shopping center. I used to go there with my family as a kid. When I became friends with Sprout and Hesta Prynn, I found out they were also really into it, because it's close to their neighborhood. My family had to travel for it, but it was worth it– reasonably priced, delicious Italian food and pizza.

Any other not-to-be-missed grub?
The best sushi ever is at Kurofune in Commack. Mims in Syosset, Nicky's Clam Bar in Bayshore, and Jolly Fisherman in Roslyn are good, too.

Long Island's no Salem, but it is where a handful of witch hunts happened. Think there are still witches in the area?
Not sure about witches, but there are DEFINITELY some bitches.

No witches? Then, are there any spots in LI that you think are haunted?
My dad used to live very close to the Amityville Horror House, and he was a reporter for NBC, the Long Island correspondent, when I was growing up. He thought it was all a scam, but it still scared the you-know-what out of me!

Say when you're 40/50 and you stop touring and recording, how would you feel about settling down as LI housewives?
I don’t think we necessarily have to stop just because we are 40 or 50. There are some great bands still doing it at that age. Who knows what we'll be doing by then, but I'm pretty sure that the LI life is not for me. If I ever get out of NYC, I would like to land somewhere more rural. But that’s just me.

Now that you're all out spread out in NYC’s boroughs now, what’s the thing you miss most about the ‘burbs?
Sprout's parents' pool!!

-Leann Peterson


Go There:
Dix Hills Diner, 1800 East Jericho Turnpike, Huntington. (631) 499-5899
La Scala, 34 Vanderbilt Motor Pkwy, Commack. (631) 499-6049
Kurofune, 77 Commack Rd, Commack. (631) 499-1075
Amityville Horror House, 112 Ocean Drive, Amityville.