Yo...2010 is about to be over. I dunno about you but I'm about ready. This Bug is ready for the New Year and all the promise it holds. That being said- this is the last Throwback Thursday of the year. So I'll switch it up for the sake of newness. Instead of featuring one video from a favorite year- I'm bussin' out a few that were always staples of that time for me. The Golden Era of Hip Hop. These are some of the criminally slept on joints that I always loved. Always will. Classic material. I'm diggin' deep. No disrespect but- if you're not a true head just sit this one out. I'm not here to alienate anyone but this Hip Hop thing is for those who love it. I do this for ya'll. Enjoy.
Trends of Culture - Off and On
Why is the beat so effin' tough on this one?! Oooweee.
Original Flavor feat. Jay Z
Yeah...pre-Reasonable Doubt Jay and a sick ass arrangement of rhymes. It rarely gets better.
Strickly Roots - Begs No Friends
Dude said "Layin' muthafuckas like ready-cut carpet." What! Grand Puba and Fat Joe rep to the fullest, too.
The A.T.E.E.M - Get It On
Hot Dog . Yeah, Chubb Rock's background dancer kinda did his thing. Q-Dog style. And I don't even eff with Frats. I never understood why dude said "Not a white Bruce Jenner." As opposed to what? Bruce Jenner is white, Fam..
Fat Joe feat. Diamond D and Grand Puba - Watch the Sound
One of my all-time faves. Hands down. Plus, my girl Goldie is in the vid. Such a sweetie, that one.
Eric B and Rakim - Paid In Full
"Was it good enough for ya?" Ooowee!!! Have a safe and prosperous New Year, Peoples. Catch you in 20eleven. Much love.
1995. One of my favorite years in Hip Hop. And I'll go as far as saying it was one my favorite years in life overall. To quote Dickens, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity..." Don't I know it. You know who else knew it? The Pharcyde. By the second album- Labcabincaliforna they collectively displayed a more serious side musically and lyrically. Many of the tracks were produced by J Dilla (Rest In Peace) and you definitely heard a difference. While they didn't completely depart from the jokes and playfulness which was evident on their 1992 debut, Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde, Da Sharon Getty fell right in step with the growing pains they expressed. Shit, I was going through it my damn self back then. Conceptually- even the videos took a new twist. (Think of Drop and how everything moved backwards while going forward. Trippy.)
Which brings me to Today's Throwback. Aside from the song itself, which I always liked- the video only bolstered how I felt about it. Beginning with Fatlip's verse, the recollections are heartfelt. He got picked on, jumped and harassed by Crips. Slim Kid Tre breaks down the lessons of being self reliant; friends are nice to have around, but there's no guarantee they'll be there when it gets thick. The final verse from Imani hit me hard back then- especially the last line. All the while, the video has an almost dreamlike quality. Which is fitting since there's a scenario of flip-flop slavery at play here. In a surreal role reversal, everything from the servitude on a plantation to an auction block is present- but not in a way you've ever seen in history. The Pharcyde play croquet while melanin deficient girls style the hair of their mistresses poolside. It's an interesting juxtapostion to say the least. Da Sharon Getty's favorite line? "It's 1995. Now that I'm older stress weighs on my shoulders heavy as boulders- but I told ya- Til the day that I die I still- will be a soldier. And that's all I told ya and that's all I showed ya." I still feel him on that one. It's true. You can't keep Runnin', you just gotta keep keen and cunnin'.
Peace People. I know it's Thursday, but I'm also well aware that this is no ordinary Thursday. It's Thanksgiving Day. So I'm pretty sure that many of you will be reading this days after you've stuffed yourself on turkey, watched some football, drank way too much and got into it with your dysfunctional relatives. (At least, that's what my Thanksgiving may probably consist of. ) But I digress. Since this is tragically recognized as an eating holiday- rather than a day of reverence for the indigenous people of America, I'll go with the flow and post a video in keeping with that sentiment: Greed. Shout out to Nice and Smooth for coming up with a joint that I can appreciate down to the last detail on a day like today. People can be so greedy. It's a shame. But this is a reminder to everyone, that you can't have your Cake and Eat It Too. Hope you've all had your fill. Uno.
Underground. Underestimated. Undervalued. Golden Era. Those are the words that come to mind when I think of EPMD. Never in the history of Hip Hop has there been a duo who stood the test of time like these two. And yet, I still don't feel like they get the proper credit they deserve. Last week, I was blessed with a live performance by them at the Knitting Factory- and it was everything I expected from this legendary pair. Eric Sermon and Parrish Smith have always literally been about their business. Check the resume: Strictly Business (1988), Unfinished Business (1989), Business As Usual (1990), Business, Never Personal (1992) Back in Business (1997) Out of Business (1999) We Mean Business (2008). And nothing has changed. They still make it their biz to command a crowd without being extra. They give the people what they want. No theatrics. No pyrotechnics. Just dope beats and lyrics coming out of Long Island, NY.
Of course they did what they do best. Rough Rugged and Raw. Eric and Parrish launched into Please Listen to My Demo and the hits didn't stop coming. Backed by the equally legendary DJ Scratch on the turntables, they ran through their catalog of singles that hits just has hard as it did back in '88 and beyond. There's something about how the beat to Strictly Business starts up that just takes you somewhere. I looked around at the sea of faces and watched as they recited every lyric in sync with them. A part of me was waiting for LL to jump out during Rampage, or even Redman for the Headbanger but it wasn't even necessary. They held it down- just the two of them. Going line for line on joints like You Gots To Chill, Crossover, Jane and So Wat Chu Sayin', they haven't lost their touch. Not by a long shot. That effortless flow and the easy way they exchange verses comes from years of really knowing one another and knowing what works. They are tried and true crowd pleasers because they've mastered that formula. And they understand how important it is for that brand of Hip Hop to remain relevant. The Green Eyed Bandit kept it a hundred when he said onstage that he's not a broke ass hater. Make no mistake. It's just that most of what you hear nowadays is wack. That's how he launched into Da Joint. And I quote, "It's not about me fallin' off. I'm good. It's not that I don't have money. Matta fact...I make a million bucks..." Ooh wee...that was hot.
Still, it would have been nice to hear the classic Gold Digger before they departed. Or even the lesser known It's Going Down off the Juice Soundtrack- just for the die hards such as myself. I mean...they were among the patrons gettin' stuck up by Blizzard in the bar at like 11 in the morning. Ha! Remember that? Shout out to my peoples, Dinco D who I saw up in there. I'll be back in the building next month to check his performance with Leaders of the New School and Son of Beserk. All in all, it was a really good show. They closed with Just Like Music off Eric's solo mission and everyone left satisified. It made me realize that when it comes to Eric and Parrish Making Dollars, I'll always make it MY BUSINESS to show love.
Big budget videos are nothing new to Hip Hop. In fact, they are so widespread nowadays that folks hardly notice just how many wasteful dollars are put behind these onscreen images of excess. It's just a given. The custom cars. Helicopters. Yachts. Plush locales, etc. Don't forget about wardrobe, hair and make-up for the slew of video vixens who decorate the scenery. All of which costs a pretty penny. But Da Sharon Getty remembers when it wasn't a given. I remember when some of the best songs had simple videos that didn't employ all the smoke and mirrors to wow the audience. The music spoke for itself. And don't talk to me about how it was oh-so-different when it came to bragging on material things. Case and point: Today's Throwback. In 1989 Special Ed debuted with the album Youngest In Charge. At just 16 years old, this Brooklynite had a flair for the finer things and the lyricism to match. His imagination ran wild as he painted a picture of an opulent lifestyle. We knew full and well it was an exaggeration. But so what? It captured us and it was dope. Period. You could picture in your mind all the luxuries he rhymed about. Without the benefit of a huge budget, Special Ed had a video that remains a staple; nothing short of a bonafide Hip Hop classic.
Take a good look at the vid. No lush backdrop of Tahiti. No shiny new cars. He didn't need anything of that to validate his existence. He's in a junkyard talking about owning 74 Honda scooters, yo. How fly is that? And peep the Potato Alligator Soufflé. It's a dish of mashed potatoes with a toy dinosaur tail stuck in the middle. Hilarious...and imaginative. This joint came long before the need to impress the masses with mostly unattainable objects that is so rampant in today's music- at least visually anyway. The Roots went on to spoof this sad trend in What They Do years later. But the Magnificent One made it cool to not have any of these things while articulating what made him so fly. Da Sharon Getty's favorite line? "I never lost cuz I'm the boss / I never will cuz I'm still / The champion - Chief one won't lose until I choose / which I won't cuz I don't retreat / I run you over like a truck and leave you dead in the street / You're invitin' me, a Titan to a battle, why? I don't need your respect cuz /I Got It Made."
Hello B-Boys and B-Girls. Da Sharon Getty has a very special treat for you today. I'm pulling a video from my own personal VHS archives today. Yes, I had this video on tape and can recall very clearly which video came right after it. It was Understand Me, Vanessa by Antexx which I already featured when I first started Throwback Thursdays. Go watch it over here when you're done with today's feature. Why not? Anyway, 1991 was an interesting year for Hip Hop. I can actually mark that as a cusp where conscious music like this, street chronicles (think Kool G Rap) and even party music (think Heavy D) shared the same space and time. But none of it was irrelevant. It all had its place. I wish I could say the same for what passes for Hip Hop today. (Sigh) So I bring to you today, one of the most slept on posse cuts of all time. The line up is something you're not likely to ever see again, realistically. Harmony, Kid Capri, Freddie Foxxx, LL Cool J, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, KRS-One, Ms. Melodie, Big Daddy Kane and Run-DMC joined forces to bring food for thought to the masses with H.E.A.L (Human Education Against Lies) Every emcee seemed to complement one another on this single that still is so very important when you listen to the lyrics. LL is noticeably missing from the video but that's okay. The video still evokes good feelings for me. Summertime in NYC. The Do The Right Thing poster behind Kid Capri. The classic Jeep. The fashion, the vibe, the messages and sense of community. Da Sharon Getty's favorite line? "Everybody rise...as I present to a jet black crowd, What it's like to be black and proud..." Call me stuck if you want-but I'll never let go of such a positive time. So glad I hit record that day. So, so glad.
I came up in the Golden Era. Hip Hop raised me. There's nothing humble about my opinion. It's mine. If it's wack, I'll say so. And when it's Classic Material or on point, chances are you'll find it on here. Let's see if you know the ledge...
