Nile Rodgers | This much I know
The musician, 66, on being united in the disco era, his friendship with Stephen Hawking, and inventing hip-hop
I love New York, it’s given me everything. I grew up on the Lower East Side and it was such a diverse, multicultural neighbourhood. Irish, Poles, Italians, Jews, Latinos African Americans. I’ve probably missed someone!
My first memory as a conscious person is being outside my house. There’s a load of kids across the road and they’re all dressed as the Lone Ranger, which was a huge show at the time. My neighbourhood was a lively place! Anywhere I’ve ever gone in my life I’ve been able to assimilate and get along with people. I attribute that all to the environment I grew up in. I might have grown up in poverty, but New York gave me many riches. New York is who I am.