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Let Flatbush Zombies be your neighborhood guides

NEW YORK — On a rainy morning in front of Bulletproof Comics on Nostrand Avenue in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Meechy Darko was taking the last few bites of a Jamaican beef patty as he waited with Erick Arc Elliott and Zombie Juice, the third member of their hip-hop group, Flatbush Zombies.

But it’s his grin — blinding grills drenched in shimmering turquoise stones — that captivates in person.

Elliott, 29, handles the bulk of the production. Zombie Juice, 27, stands out for his rapid-fire rap style as well as his ever-changing hair color. This day, it was blond.

Flatbush Zombies are indeed from Flatbush. All of the members of the group spent much of their lives in the heavily Caribbean neighborhood until they moved to different sections of Brooklyn a few years ago. In 2009, they officially became Flatbush Zombies, turning their tightknit friendship into the vehicle that would transport them from local hip-hop kids to the “Tonight Show” and sold-out venues. “Building a Ladder,” a recent short film, documents the group’s rise.

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They’ve cultivated a strong and rabid fan base, regularly playing festivals, and they take pride in their status as independent artists with a certain kind of cachet, evidenced in the star power they are now able to attract. “Vacation,” a hybrid movie-commercial in support of their new second album, “Vacation in Hell,” features cameos by Lin Manuel-Miranda, John Leguizamo, and Ice-T.

Several weeks before Coachella and the North American leg of their tour, the group went back to Flatbush to give a tour of all the important sites in their formative years, and Bulletproof Comics was key. Unfortunately, the place was supposed to open at 11 a.m., but the shutters were still locked and down.

So instead they decided to visit Zombie Juice’s childhood home.

But as the three of them were walking along Avenue I, plainclothes police officers jumped out of a car and surrounded the trio. An officer said he spotted a knife that Darko had in his possession. It was a weapon Darko explained is necessary for his protection, particularly during a visit to his old neighborhood. The officer inquired about where Darko was going, requested identification and ultimately told him that it’s illegal to walk around with that particular kind of knife, though he allowed him to keep it and continue on his way.

“Let me tell you how that would’ve went if you weren’t here,” Darko said to several media types tagging along with the group that day.

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“Before, there wouldn’t have been two white girls with me” — referring to his public relations person and the photographer — “and a person from The New York Times.” He continued, “It would’ve been me going to jail.

“You want to see my origin,” he asked. “Well that’s my origin."

They arrived without further incident at the building Zombie Juice used to call home. They walked the quiet, carpeted halls toward the apartment where Zombie Juice had been known as Tony. Zombie Juice, who was raised by his grandparents, gave the door a knock. “I hope it’s you,” came a voice on the other side of the door. His grandmother opened the door and there was a look of genuine shock on her face when she saw the entourage. “I was thinking it was Sears,” she said.

Next, they headed back to Bulletproof Comics. “This is where we shot the ‘Headstone’ video,” Zombie Juice said, referring to the first single off their latest album. A fan who was visiting from Florida approached the band. “I look up to ya’ll,” the man said. He asked for a photo, and the Zombies happily obliged.

The moment they set foot in Bulletproof Comics, it was immediately apparent the place was a safe haven. “This was the after-school, before-school, during-school spot,” Darko said.

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Hank Kwon owns the shop, which has been at the same address for almost 26 years. “They used to be here two, three times a week,” Kwon said.

Elliott first visited the shop with his dad, who was also into comics. His older brothers were regulars at the store, too.

They all headed to the back of the shop to sign copies of the variant comic book cover Marvel released as a tribute to their debut studio album, “3001: A Laced Odyssey.”

“This is an honor, guys,” Kwon said, as they hovered over the table, scribbling away, discussing their love for vintage video game consoles.

The next stop was Midwood High School, where Zombie Juice attended, and then one block away, Brooklyn College Academy, Elliott’s old school. Brooklyn is changing rapidly and Flatbush is no exception; favorite places to eat and hang out were long gone, replaced with storefronts they didn’t recognize.

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“The fact that Bulletproof Comics is even open is outstanding,” Darko said. “The rent is probably too damn high.”

Still, they all agreed that the neighborhood of their adolescence was dangerous. Fights took place every day after school. It was not uncommon for students to be hassled or even robbed. Staying clear of rival gangs was a daily navigation.

“Other people,” Elliott said, “don’t have anything to think about other than taking tests. We’ve got to worry about what color we’re wearing. Why would you want to go to school knowing that?”

Elliott graduated; Zombie Juice did not. (Darko went to Medgar Evers College Preparatory High School but dropped out. He later got his GED.) A walk on the block across from Midwood High also reminded Zombie Juice of his time as a young, soon-to-be father. This school is where he met his son’s mother. “It’s funny walking to school with a pregnant lady, everyone looking at us like, ‘What’s going on?'”

Then the group hopped into an SUV and headed to one of Darko and Elliott’s favorite places to get Caribbean food.

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Elliott said he would always be sent to Exquisite Express on Church Avenue to get his mother’s order, jerk chicken. Today he ordered bake, the fried dough commonly eaten with fish.

“She likes her stuff extra-spicy. She’s like ‘Erick, make sure you put extra,'” he recalled, putting an emphasis on the word “extra.” “My dad is more of an oxtail man.”

Elliott and Darko grew up on the same block of East 31st Street. As they approached the area, they each began to point out, almost giddily, places of great significance: the doughnut shop, the Chinese restaurant, the location where they once got a bad haircut, the nearby Domino’s.

“My dad was called the captain, he was like the captain of the block,” Elliot said. “We would have cookouts, we would put the TV outside, watch basketball.

Elliot knocked on the window of his old house, just as his father was about to go to the store.

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“Speaking of the devil, here they go!” he exclaimed in his thick Jamaican accent.

They finally arrived at Darko’s childhood home. He and Elliott have known each other since they were 4 or 5 years old. They lived just a few houses apart. “When you’re a kid it feels miles away,” Elliott said of the distance.

When asked earlier about the life they envisioned for themselves growing up, it certainly wasn’t the life they’re leading now.

“I hate to be cliché,” Darko said, “but I thought I’d be dead.”

Elliott kept the fact that he made music a secret. “I hid it from my family, especially because I was able to do other things,” said Elliott, who went to school for animation and graphic design. “I think their perception was hip-hop music is only for people who don’t have a choice. And I had a choice.”

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

IMAN STEVENSON © 2018 The New York Times

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