If you ask any self-identified fan of New York City rap music, the city is always dying, dead, being reborn, being brought back. The constant cycle of rejection and rebirth might as well be a sixth element of New York hip-hop.  To catch some of the five boroughs' most vital new talent in its incubating stage, Robert Lopuski followed four of the city's most promising acts to make his new documentary, We're Gonna Be Lords. Chronicling Flatbush Zombies, The Underachievers, Le1f and Action Bronson, Lopuski sets a scene suspended in time: the two groups in the documentary could have been pulled from any street corner in the mid-'90s. There are more than a few third eye mentions. Le1f, an openly gay rapper from Manhattan, speaks at length about how "energized" the city is with its vibrant weirdness.

Of course, the breakout star of the bunch is Bronson. Seen in sweltering kitchens chopping up onions with vigor. The Queens rapper just released his major label debut, Mr. Wonderful, but Lopuski's footage hears him admit that hip-hop was never his goal, just something he stumbled onto.

In 2012, Lopuski directed a short documentary on the making of Kanye West and Jay Z's Watch the Throne album, for which he was embedded in the Australian recording sessions and scored candid interviews with each artist. Watch that below:

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