News & Observer | newsobserver.com | Locals take time for town rhyme

Published: May 01, 2006 12:00 AM
Modified: May 01, 2006 06:13 AM

Locals take time for town rhyme

Rap stars for a day - 'It's carrboro!'

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CARRBORO - There was no Hennessy or Patr-n featured in this rap video shoot. But there was some bling.

And jump ropes.

Billy McCormick, aka "Billy Sugarfix," and Brian Risk -- who co-wrote the local rap "It's Carrboro!" -- filmed the climactic part of their music video in Wilson Park on Sunday afternoon.

The rap is about what, the pair says, makes Carrboro the best part of the Triangle. Lots of local businesses get props in the song, such as Weaver Street Market, Padgett Station coffee shop and Tyler's restaurant.

More than 50 Carrboro residents showed up to the shoot, with their kids, dogs and skateboards in tow.

Even former Mayor Mike Nelson, who is running for the Orange County Board of Commissioners, will appear in the video.

He joined McCormick and Risk in one of the park's grassy fields, and they sang the stanza that included:

OpenEye Cafe: It's Carrboro!

It's cool to be gay: It's Carrboro!

Nelson is Carrboro's first openly gay elected official.

Other well-known locals showed up for the shoot, some just dropping by to say hi: Ruby Sinreich, who runs local blog OrangePolitics.org; Board of Aldermen members Dan Coleman and Randee Haven-O'Donnell; and Catherine DeVine, who has helped promote the rap.

The video spotlights signature places in town.

The duo had already filmed segments of the video around town, but the Wilson Park get-together was the key clip.

Some takes were of the group circling a parking lot with people jumping rope, dancing wildly or just trooping along. Others were of the group standing clumped together and dancing in place while shouting, "It's Carrboro!"

McCormick and Risk co-wrote the song in March. It was posted on McCormick's Web site, www.CustomSerenade.com, and eventually on a site dedicated to the rap, www.itscarrboro.com. The song has been downloaded more than 2,000 times, Risk said.

Cameron Hartofelis, a 22-year-old UNC-CH student who works with Risk at the Cat's Cradle, appears in the video.

"It's nice to get away from Chapel Hill sometimes, where everyone's just into being a college student," Hartofelis said. "Carrboro's great for people who want a life outside of school."

Staff writer Meiling Arounnarath can be reached at 932-2004 or meiling.arounnarath@newsobserver.com.
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