NYC subway busker plays for Knicks at MSG in…
He took his shot — and hit nothing but internet.
A longtime avenue musician scored his dream gig with the Knicks last week when two Madison Square Garden execs occurred upon his drumming efficiency exterior the World’s Most Famous Arena.
“What are the odds of you just walking past while I’m here trying to bust my ass in the cold trying to pay my rent?” Cornelio Joseph told the dazzled execs.
“Hey, let me know if there’s any opportunity for entertainment at the Garden,” he told them.
Longtime busker Cornelio Joseph has been pounding the pavement — and his home made snare drums — for years before catching his big break taking part in for the Knicks at MSG. Fabio Garcia
“I took my shot,” he recalled to The Post.
Days later, they texted him to carry out at Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, where the Knicks have been taking on the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I was freaking out,” he said.
“For the Knicks to find me, this changed my life,” he said after performing in entrance of 20,000 rabid followers Wednesday evening.
The Panama-born Brooklynite has been performing with his handmade snare drums in subway stations and landmarks across NYC since he was a teenager, dreaming about his big break.
And whenever Knicks diehard Joseph, 33, whose stage identify is Beat of New York, performed exterior MSG, he wistfully dreamed what it might be like to play inside.
The drummer reveals off his signature “Manifest Jump,” an acrobatic and musical feat that he said only a handful of people around the world can do. Lorena Moscoso
Joseph’s bank account was in the crimson last week when the 2 MSG leisure execs walked by the high-energy drummer, catching their consideration with his “U Can’t Touch This” interpretation of MC Hammer.
“We want subway-themed street drumming,” Joseph recalled of the task of his life, which meant utilizing buckets for the show to create a subway vibe.
He signed a contract for the efficiency over electronic mail for the full main timeout efficiency the Garden calls “Tonight’s Entertainment.”
“I legit got down on the floor, stared at the ceiling and thanked G-d, crying,” he said.
During his 80-second show, he confirmed off his high-flying signature “manifesto jump.”
The ground was shaking,” Joseph said of his “show-stopping” transfer, pulled off against the beats of Bad Bunny.
“I made the most out of that joint,” he said.
Joseph wowed the 20,000 followers at the sold-out Knicks sport. “I made the most out of that joint,” he said proudly. Emmanuel Agbeble @apmworldmag
Even though the percussion impresario has carried out alongside luminaries like Shakira, he admitted he fought his nerves once he spied Jay-Z, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller and footballer Jeremiah Wright. Knicks superfan Spike Lee even darted over to congratulate Joseph on “a great job,” the drummer said.
“It definitely felt like I was a part of history,” he said. “This is my dream — every performance I did in every subway and street in this city led to this.”
Joseph, a Juilliard-trained part-time music schooling trainer, took home a cool $2,000 paycheck for his effort.
He said he’s assured he’ll be invited back to another Garden celebration — ” to put a smile on everybody’s face.”
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