Chilltown

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Chilltown is a nickname for Jersey City, New Jersey that is particularly popular among hip-hop fans. The name was appropriated from the 1980 record “Raptivity” by rapper Ronnie Gee. The song begins:^{[citation needed]}

The Surgeon General of Chilltown, New York

Has determined that the sounds you're about to hear

Can be devastating to your ear...

Local rap fans used the term to describe the city’s laid-back attitude during the early 1980s. However, an upswing in violence^{[citation needed]} in Jersey City in subsequent years led some to try to rename the city “Killtown.”

The name of the city has also inspired the creation in 2005 of a new film festival in Jersey City titled "Chillfest, the mostly gay and lesbian film festival of Jersey City."^{[citation needed]}

Chilltown was also the name of a now-defunct arts and culture magazine distributed in Jersey City and surrounding areas.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

• “Why do people call Jersey City ‘Chilltown’?”, Jersey City Reporter, April 15, 2005.^{[broken citation]}