Flames Dot Malik & The Hoodies – We From Upstate | Official Video

 

Rochester speaks for itself.

"We From Upstate" is a track off The Fix 2, the 11-track project from Flames Dot Malik, Rochester native and Black Soprano Family artist. The Hoodies join him for the video, which is exactly what the title promises: a regional statement, no apology, no explanation needed.

The Upstate New York rap scene has been building its own identity independent of New York City for years. Rochester in particular has been putting in work. 38 Spesh, who built Trust Gang and has been one of the most consistent forces in underground rap for over a decade, is from Rochester. Benny The Butcher and the rest of Black Soprano Family are from Buffalo, two hours up the road. The "Upstate" tag carries real cultural weight at this point — a distinct scene with its own producers, its own street references, its own credibility that doesn't need Manhattan to validate it.

Flames Dot Malik operating under the BSF umbrella makes sense in that context. The infrastructure Benny built with Black Soprano Family was always designed to extend beyond Buffalo — a network for Upstate New York artists who grind in relative obscurity compared to their NYC counterparts but match them in quality and output.

The Fix 2 is out now on all platforms. "We From Upstate" is the visual statement that introduces the project to anyone who hasn't been paying attention yet.