On Friday night, some of the finest musicians of the outer borough hip-hop underground descended on Nublu in the East Village. Although not billed as such, the evening was practically a mini-fest proving loud and clear that Brooklyn and Queens are still fostering emcees brimming with lyrical brilliance.

First up was Nappy Nina, an Oakland native who has repped Brooklyn for quite some time. Decked out in denim and an Oakland A’s cap, the rapper spit rhymes while bopping around the stage and gesturing towards the crowd. Her flow is so fast that it was hard to decipher every word but her tracks amped up the audience.

The next act was WRENS, whose show this was. Performing songs off their album, Half of What You See (2025, Out of Your Head Records), from November, the Brooklyn quartet blasted a jazz-rap-noise-punk hybrid that that may very well be of its own kind. This is a group, like TV On the Radio about 20 years prior, that steps on a scene and not only mixes genres but stretches them to their limits. The band’s musicianship is so deft, however, that all of their songs emerge fluidly.

WRENS consists of Elias Stemeseder on synths and una corda piano, Lester St. Louis on cello and electronics, and Jason Nazary on drums and synths, but it is frontman, Ryan Easter, who particularly stands out.

Wearing a Rolling Stones cap and a “We Got the Jazz” tee, Easter paced the stage like a rocker even as he coolly played his trumpet and, at times, shouted his verses. “I heard the devil wears Prada,/I got a maggot in the booth,” went one. “Easy to live it,/Loving is wicked,” went another. Delivered in his deep voice, as though rising from a well, his words shot through the low light of Nublu before hitting ears like mini-rockets.

A Richmond, Virginia native who moved to Brooklyn in 2021, the thirty-three-year-old Easter has already established himself in NYC’s jazz scene as both a sideman and a leader. Just the night before the Nublu show, for example, he played in the Anna Webber/Angela Morris Big Band concert at Roulette on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn (along with Out of Your Head founder, Adam Hopkins, on bass).

A few weeks before the Roulette set, he led his Trap Music Orchestra at The Jazz Gallery in the Flatiron District. Before the Nublu show, sitting at the venue’s upstairs lounge, he estimated that he was “in nine groups right now.” Of all his projects, WRENS is an indisputable highlight, in large part due to Easter’s words and vocal delivery.

“Extra extra: Can you even read about it?,” he raps early on Half of What You See, capturing a certain kind of New York where everyone’s rushing for the morning paper and the news hits even before the first sip of coffee. Yet Easter’s creative process is much more intuitive than his almost telegrammatic lyrics might lead one to believe.

“The way WRENS has always made music is not really trying or second-guessing,” he says. “We just play, record, listen back, and things sound coherent, good enough for us, and we kind of leave it for what it is. Sometimes, we chop things up in post and patch them together in different ways. Sometimes, I have things already written without approaching them musically.” Easter goes on to admit, “There’s a lot of word soup in there, but it always makes sense to me.”

During the WRENS set, Easter tossed such verses as, “Every day a martyr,/That is how the show goes,” and, “Puppy to the bone,/’Til he chewing to the marrow.” Towards the end of Half of What You See, Easter spit, “Mary the Moment,/Stalling is Joseph,” and, “Please make my aim,/Give my demons Cheney aim,/David Blaine’d em for the record.”

What does it all mean? What is Easter, really, saying? It doesn’t quite matter, except that his words themselves hit as hard as life does.

Closing act, E L U C I D, a prince of the NYC hip-hop underground, hit just as hard. Playing tracks from across his output, the Queens rapper performed one especially forceful song, “The World Is Dog,” the lyrics of which go, “Fang bite, dog breath,/Short leash, pit fight.”

Yes, the world is “dog,” so, as these artists seem to instruct, check your head, and have a heart.

Courtesy Freepik

Trump Doubles Travel Ban List, With Major Implications for NYC

By MOHAMED FARGHALY

mfarghaly@queensledger.com

A sweeping expansion of President Donald Trump’s travel ban is expected to have an outsized impact on New York City, particularly in Queens, home to some of the nation’s largest immigrant communities from the affected countries.

Under a presidential proclamation signed last week, the Trump administration will impose full or partial travel restrictions on nationals from 39 countries and people traveling on Palestinian Authority–issued documents, doubling the scope of a ban announced earlier this year. The restrictions take effect Jan. 1, 2026, and apply to travelers seeking to visit, immigrate to or reunite with family members in the United States.

Advocates estimate that about 420,000 New Yorkers come from countries now subject to the ban, according to the New York Immigration Coalition. Many live in Queens neighborhoods such as Astoria, Jamaica, Woodside and Ozone Park, where families often rely on travel for work, education and reunification.

“This discriminatory proclamation, the largest race- and religion-based ban on immigration in contemporary U.S. history, continues the Trump Administration’s unjust assault on immigrant communities. By expanding the Travel Ban, the administration is slamming the door on vulnerable people in a way that is certain to cause widespread harm, including prolonged family separation. Students will be denied from pursuing their education, workers will be blocked from contributing to the economy, and families will be forced to remain separated across borders,” said Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition.

The proclamation bars entry for most travelers from Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Syria and Palestine for those who do not already hold valid U.S. visas. An additional 15 countries, including Nigeria, Senegal, Gambia, Ivory Coast and Tanzania, face partial restrictions that limit access to tourist, business and family-based visas.

The administration said the restrictions are necessary because of what it described as unreliable civil documents, weak vetting systems, visa overstay rates and national security concerns in the affected countries. It also cited a recent shooting involving an Afghan national as part of its justification for tightening immigration controls.

People who already hold valid visas, lawful permanent residents, diplomats, athletes and individuals deemed to be traveling in the U.S. interest are exempt. Still, immigration advocates say the changes will disrupt families and create uncertainty even for those with legal status.

“This proclamation will separate families and destabilize communities that are deeply rooted in New York,” the New York Immigration Coalition said in a statement, calling the ban discriminatory and disproportionately targeted at African and Muslim-majority countries.

Queens is particularly vulnerable because of its high concentration of residents from countries now affected. New Yorkers from Haiti, Yemen, Togo and Venezuela already represent some of the largest such populations in the United States, and community leaders say the expanded ban will further strain households that rely on relatives abroad for caregiving, financial support and emotional ties.

The new restrictions also eliminate several humanitarian and family-based exemptions that existed under earlier versions of the travel ban, including exceptions for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and some refugee and special immigrant visa applicants, according to advocates.

The ban applies to anyone outside the United States when it goes into effect and limits visa renewals and extensions, raising concerns that New Yorkers could become stranded abroad or unable to bring relatives to the city.

“The Trump Administration’s expanded travel ban advances his quest to shut down any pathway to citizenship for Black and Brown immigrants. This policy further isolates the United States and deprives our nation of the expertise, culture, and humanity that immigrants bring. We must continue to resist policies rooted in fear and fight for our families, our freedoms, and our future,” said Diana Konaté, Deputy Executive Director of Policy & Advocacy, African Communities Together.

Critics say the policy revives one of the most controversial immigration measures of Trump’s first term and expands it to one of the largest race- and religion-concentrated mobility restrictions in modern U.S. history. The affected countries represent more than 1 billion people, roughly one-eighth of the global population.

The administration said it could revise the list of countries in the future, depending on whether governments improve cooperation with U.S. immigration authorities. For now, immigrant advocates warn that New York’s diverse neighborhoods, particularly in Queens, are likely to feel the effects first and most acutely.

“This expanded travel ban is a discriminatory policy that treats entire nations as suspect and deepens the othering of Muslim, African, and immigrant communities. At Muslim Community Network, roughly 75% of our staff have family members who will be directly affected, and our clients and allies across New York will feel the harm through separation, delayed reunification, lost study and work opportunities, and anxiety for thousands of New Yorkers. New York’s future depends on people being able to move, learn, contribute, and live with their loved ones, not on blanket restrictions that punish families for their passports,” said Husein Yatabarry, Executive Director, Muslim Community Network.

New Forest Hills Blood Center Expands Donation Access

By MOHAMED FARGHALY

mfarghaly@queensledger.com

New York Blood Center (NYBC) celebrated the grand opening of its first permanent Queens donor center on December 10, expanding access to blood donations in the borough and addressing ongoing shortages in the region. The ceremony, held at 107-10 Queens Blvd, included Deputy Queens Borough President Ebony Young, New York City Council Member Lynn Schulman, Dr. Toni Eyssallenne of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and other community partners.

“Queens is known as the World’s Borough for a reason – its diversity is unmatched,” said Jeannie Mascolino, Vice President, Divisional Blood Operations at New York Blood Center. “That diversity is essential to a strong blood supply, especially for patients who need closely matched blood, such as those with sickle cell disease or thalassemia. We’re thrilled to open our first donor center in Queens and grateful to the local leaders who helped make this day possible.”

The Queens donor center marks NYBC’s sixth facility in New York City and the first in the borough. It comes as part of a broader effort to make blood donation more convenient and community-centered. “The Queens donor Center is our sixth in New York City, so we’re super excited to be in Queens. Our opening there really was a direct response to community demand for more accessible donation options in the borough,” said Jeanne D’Agostino, NYBC’s manager of public relations. “We’re stoked to be there, and we’re looking ahead to the beginning of 2026 when we’ll open a donor Center in the Bronx.”

The facility features 10 donation beds, private medical screening rooms, and a modern cafe area designed to create a welcoming environment for donors. “Our goal would be to get you in and out in, you know, 40 minutes to an hour. So we try to make it really easy peasy,” D’Agostino said. Donors can relax in the cafe area post-donation, complete with Wi-Fi and snacks, before resuming their day. The center operates five days a week, including one weekend day, aiming to fit into the schedules of working residents and students alike.

NYBC said the timing of the center’s opening is critical. Blood supplies across the region are currently at about half of what is needed, with critical types like O positive and O negative down to a one-day supply. The week of Thanksgiving saw donations drop roughly 20%, leaving the region about 1,500 units short. “Blood shortages like this directly impact hospitals’ ability to perform surgeries, treat trauma patients, [and] take care of those with chronic illnesses like cancer,” D’Agostino said. She stressed the importance of a diverse donor base to meet the needs of patients with specific blood-related conditions such as thalassemia and sickle cell disease.

Blood donors can give every 56 days, while platelet donors can donate twice per month. Recent updates to FDA guidelines have expanded eligibility, allowing more people to contribute. NYBC also encourages financial support through its End of Year Campaign, which funds lifesaving research, mobile blood drives, and upgrades to donor centers.

Founded in 1964, NYBC provides 500,000 blood products annually to more than 150 hospitals in the tri-state area and serves as a primary blood supplier in 17 states. The organization also operates the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, dedicated to research on bloodborne and blood-related diseases, and provides cellular therapies and specialty pharmacy services to hospitals and research organizations nationwide.

“I’m so glad to see New York Blood Center has opened a new permanent Queens Donor Center in Forest Hills,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “We’ve happily hosted NYBC at Queens Borough Hall in the past, and now they have a permanent location in our borough for all to use. I encourage everyone to pay them a visit and give the gift of life this holiday season.”

For more information on donation eligibility or to schedule an appointment, visit nybc.org or call 800-933-2566.