Before the lights crackle on at Dyckman, before the bass rattles the backboard at Rucker Park, before a windmill dunk turns West 4th into a paradeyou hear them.
Cha-Ching. Mr. Talk Spicy.
Like conductors of controlled chaos, David Cha-Ching Teele, and his co-star Jaden Mr. Talk Spicy Edwards, orchestrate the madness. Together, theyre the undisputed narrators of New York City basketball. They embody the energy, the ego, the ruckus, the love of the game. They give NYC hoops culture shape; they give it soul.
For Cha-Ching, the craft pretty much fell in his lap. Theres no real story behind it, he says. Like 12 years ago, I was kickin it in the hood, on my block151st and Amsterdam, at Battlegrounds [Playground]. Everybody was taking turns doing the game, and I just had a little rhythm. Then my first actual tournament was Amsterdam Projects, and thats what kind of got it started for me.
Meanwhile, Talk Spicy got his first taste at South Bronx High. I used to do the mic in high school every time I got in trouble, so I always had practice, he recalls. Then one summer, nobody was in the Tri-State anymore; they ventured off to different parks. So I tried it, and just kept going from there, because I knew I wanted to be around the game, and this was my lane to stay around basketball.
While they each hold down their own corners of the city with thriving solo endeavors, its a spectacle any time they link up. If a tournament or event has any weight in the city, theyre likely somewhere near halfcourt or the baselinemics hot, roasting a missed lay or crowning a king or queen with words.
Spicy points to his early days as Cha-Chings DJ as the foundation of their seamless chemistry. One reads the crowd, the other reads him. They feed off each other. The court becomes their canvas, and the game becomes theater.
But the craft is real.
With more than a decade of etching his name into the streetball history books, Cha-Ching is still leveling up. Year after year, mic in hand, he keeps finding new gears. But how does he keep his style fresh? Man, you got to study and research. Just be original. Thats my mindset that gets me over every year, he says. I just try to add something new, just like a hooper might add a fadeaway or some post moves.
Spicy keeps his game from going stale by keeping his hand on the pulse of the youth. In my friend circle, I gravitate to the younger basketball hoopers, he says. They keep me fresh.
The dynamic duo doesnt shy away from the responsibility that comes with being the so-called voices of New Yorkbut dont get it twisted, their imprint stretches well beyond the five boroughs. I feel like us being a part of the basketball culture impacts people in the long run. I feel like were very important in this basketball community, and thats why I take it so seriously, Spicy says. Its a good feeling, like, [were] not even basketball players and kids look up to [us].
When all is said and done, Spicy wants to go down in history as the best to ever do it. And Cha-Ching is on the same type of time. I always think about legacy, I always think about Mount Rushmore and stuff like that, he says. If I could be the one to kind of open the door and get everybody through, Ill do it.
Just like they have since the SLAM Summer Classic began back in 2019, Cha-Ching and Spicy will be right in the mix again this August at Rucker Park. Their the influence is showing. Across the country, more MCs are mimicking their style. The cadence. The timing. The city slang. The brash but honest storytelling. But only one duo really owns the voice of the blacktop.
Photos via Jon Lopez and Cha-Ching.
