Cipha Sounds: Years before I got there, they started doing this party on Sundays called The Mecca. It was like two thousand, twenty five hundred people. There's no clubs like that in New York City any more at all. It was twenty five hundred people packed into a warehouse, this long club. And the sound system was amazing. Famous techno and house DJs used to DJ there, so the sound system was incredible

But for some reason, on Sundays, when Flex used to do it, it was the thuggiest of thugs. It was the bottom of the barrel of New York City. These people, they had nowhere to go except Sunday. There was no dress code, and you could listen to real grimy, street hip-hop, and it'd be packed. Girls would be getting fondled

From like 1-2:30 was packed. There'd be liquor flying in the air. Girls would just get grabbed. Some girls knew how to handle it, but some girls would just be like, "Ahhhh!" and run out of the club. They didn't know what they were getting into

People would come from out of state. People would come from Baltimore, from Detroit, Miami. This was a legendary club. I would play early, like nine o'clock, play 'til like eleven. Then Big Kap would get on. Big Kap would start getting the vibes right. Then I would get on at 12:30 and play a half an hour of reggae. And then Flex would get on at 1 with whatever was the biggest record at the time -- let's say, like, DMX, "Where My Dogs At." That's what we call a Tunnel banger. And he would play that record for at least 20-30 minutes

SameOldShawn: As a way of introducing himself

Cipha Sounds: Yeah. At that moment, one o'clock at the Tunnel, it was packed. And whatever was that song -- like "The Benjamins" was a Tunnel banger, Busta Rhymes' "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See," Jay-Z, "Ain't No," DMX, "Where My Dogs At." Kap would be on the mic, just screaming streets in Brooklyn and Queens and the Bronx, and people would be going crazy. People would get thrown in the air

And the fights at the Tunnel were..I mean..insane. It was so packed. It was a fight, and they'd be trying to fight, and the crowd would just sway. Two hundred people, swaying with the fight. Then there was these, the security guards, they'd call it "The Train," and there'd be like twenty security guards in a line. They would just march through the club looking for any type of problems. Or if there was a fight, they would just come marching in and grab everyone and throw them out. It was ridiculous