True Confessions

09/29/2009

hip hop confessions

Shoutout to Skillz for creating one of the most entertaining things I’ve seen lately, Hip-Hop Confessions. It began as a website which has since made its way to MTVJams as a half-hour special. On this show, everyone from fans to artists are able to shoot the shit about their likes/dislikes/unpopular opinions/etc. regarding hip-hop (the wildest being Joe Budden‘s admission to never having owned a KRS-One album). Everybody has a few, and since I’m no rookie at lettin’ out some of my own crazy-ass admissions, here’s a few more to wrap your head around:

94jay 1. Jay-Z’s Speed-Raps? Nnnnah: For all the great things he’s done, I think the best decision Mr. Carter’s ever made was getting off that “jiggedy-jiggedy-Jay”-type shit. If that didn’t happen, there’s a lot that would be missing from these last 14 years of music and pop culture- including him. Outside of one or two songs, I can really do without the whole early-mid ’90s speed-rappin’ Jigga. Incidentally, I do like “Nigga What, Nigga Who” from the Hard Knock Life album- he’s practically doin’ the same thing, but the execution is MUCH better than that money-machine-sound-effect shit he was on before.

Jay-Z “I Can’t Get Wit Dat” (1995)

ugk

2. I’ve Never Heard A UGK Album: I understand why they’re highly regarded. I understand Pimp C‘s acclaim as a producer, and that Bun B is one of the most respected lyricists from the South. Still, I’d be lyin’ if I said they were ever on my radar like that. Though I’ve known of UGK since “Pocket Full Of Stones” from the Menace II Society soundtrack, there was always a gang of other stuff I was more interested in hearing whenever they had an album out. Maybe I should make it a point to check out one of those albums someday. In the meantime though, as it stands on September 29, 2009… I’ve not heard one in its entirety.

UGK “One Day” (1996)

common sense 1

3. Common Sense > Common: It’s almost a cliche to like the introspective, mature, kinder, gentler, hemp sweater-wearing Common who loves all the children and deaf chicks. Me myself personally? Eh. I’m much more a fan of the brash, comical Common Sense who made songs about cockblockers and such. I even rock with the Common Sense that teetered between the comical and the introspective on Resurrection. But it all pretty much ended for me when he got into cuttin’ up pieces of mango and shit. I’m not sayin’ artists can’t evolve as musicians and human beings. I’m just sayin’ Erykah Badu might be some kinda witch who turns rappers into hippies.

Common Sense “Soul By The Pound (Remix)” (1993)

hip hop hooray

4. If I Never Hear “Hip-Hop Hooray” In My Life Again, I’m Good: There’s a lot of songs I’ve heard over and over that I still don’t get tired of. I may not listen to ‘em every day, but I don’t mind hearin’ them whenever they might happen to pop up on the iPod. There’s this one song though… this one song that I could live to be 100 and die the next day without hearin’ anymore: fukkin’ “Hip-Hop Hooray” by Naughty By Nature. It’s not that I think it’s a bad song, even tho’ the hook is kinda hokey- it’s just that I’ve heard the shit so much. I’ve literally been sick of it since like ’93, and I don’t see that changing.

Naughty By Nature “Hip-Hop Hooray” (1993)

hammerpumps

5. I Actually Like “Pumps & A Bump”: Um, yeah. That “Pumps & A Bump”. The Hammer song from when he tried to come back on some tough shit. The song that’s supposed to be about scantily-clad women, but is mostly remembered for him dancin’ around the pool with his dick aaallll in the videooo. I don’t care for any of that business, but I like that beat, and that part at the end when Aaron Hall starts goin’ in. Of course this song is awful, and I know this- but the sheer retardation of it is what makes it entertaining to me. Now bring them pumps and flex that bump.

Hammer “Pumps & A Bump” (1994)

There’s many more where those came from, and I might throw ‘em out there at another time, but I feel I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one day. Now, it’s time for y’all to come clean: what are some of your confessions? I won’t tell nobody…

-D!

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More ’90s (Young) Girls!

09/26/2009

5411s

Much like every decade, the ’90s brought us a lot of teenage R&B acts that experienced varying degrees of success. If I had to pick five out of the lot who really thrived, it would easily come down to Usher, Beyonce, Brandy, Monica, and Aaliyah. Those five were able to do what a lot of them didn’t, by breaking out of their youth and still being able to carry careers once they weren’t seen as youngins anymore.

Today on DanjLovesThe90s, I revisit the ’90s Girls theme and cover some of those who partook in the youth movement at different times during the decade. Some hit their stride in the earlier half, others had a brief moment around the middle, and others were just getting started toward the end. Read the rest of this entry »

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Big Plans, Ni**a… Big Plans.

09/23/2009

Ready-to-Die-1994

Speaking of ’94…

In September of that year, I was 14 and in the 10th grade. I rode the bus to and from school everyday with my cheap-ass Walkman turned all the way up, nodding my head and lip-syncin’ the whole time. I stayed with those headphones on everywhere I went- so much in fact, that I just recently saw one of my sister’s old friends at my nephew’s birthday party, and the first thing he asked was “where your headphones at?” In the process of playin’ the shit out of all the tapes I had, few spent more time in the Walkman than The Notorious B.I.G.‘s Ready To Die.

The first time I heard it, I was at Security Square Mall with the homie Ray and a few of his peoples. While in the mall, I stopped in the Waxie Maxie’s with no intentions of buying anything. About 10 minutes later, I walked out with RTD and been lovin’ the shit ever since. I prob’ly came off as an anti-social that day, but once I popped that tape in, that was all I was focused on. Everybody else was having convo amongst themselves; meanwhile, I was caught up in what Big was talkin’ about. Everything about that album seemed fresh and new to me, from the intro to the beats.

biggie 1993

By that point, I’d already known about Big from when he dropped “Party & Bullshit” in ’93, but RTD was a whole ‘nother animal. Hearing him previously, I knew he was somethin’ to deal with on the mic, so that wasn’t the surprise about it. There was a lot of talented lyricists back then, and although he stood out, it wasn’t the shock of the hour to hear him destroy shit lyrically. The surprise was the extent to which he could, on songs like “Gimme The Loot” and “Unbelievable”. Prior to those, he had joints like “Party…” and “Dreams Of Fuckin’ An R&B Bitch” which were thorough in their own right, but only scraped the surface of how great he really was, which he proved with the album.

But it wasn’t ALL just about Big. Without the right musical accompaniment, it could’ve fallen on deaf ears, which is where the producers come in. With Easy Mo Bee, Trackmasters, Premier, Lord Finesse, Chucky Thompson, and the Bluez Brothas doing the work on the production side, RTD was also bringing heat on that level. This was around the time when producers started comin’ with a “bigger” sound, with more dramatic effect than what was then the norm. While there were some tracks on the album that were pretty standard for the time (“Machine Gun Funk”), there’s also some that pushed forward a newer feel/sound (“Me & My Bitch”).

biggie-1

Rhymes and beats aside, there’s a bigger impact that Ready To Die had in the years that followed. As I mentioned a couple weeks back, East Coast artists were having a lil’ trouble getting their music to hit outside of those areas. RTD was one of the few that were able to hit on both the street and mainstream levels without losing either side. Even though it’s a normal thing now, most artists back then weren’t coming with R&B-style joints and super-gutter shit at the same time. The impact of that took shape quickly, with everyone from Fat Joe to AZ taking note and applying the same approach to their albums that followed. Nas has also cited that RTD‘s success put him in another mindset once he went to work on It Was Written.

That said, it wasn’t an approach that Biggie himself wanted, as he came into the project just wanting it to be strictly hard (the original intended title of it was Teflon Don). Once under pressure from Puffy to deliver something for the masses, Big created the hits that propelled the album (“Juicy” and “Big Poppa”) and made it happen. Despite how some people may feel about Puff’s hand in that creative process, without that bit of input, RTD could’ve easily been a good album that couldn’t move off the shelves for shit. Even Big later acknowledged that despite his initial resistance, he understood once it translated into the massive success it was.

biggie-2

It might be cliche to say, but 15 years after the fact, Ready To Die is still one of hip-hop’s greatest albums. Even the things that may seem minor now (like the “oh shit… you got a red dot on your head” ending of “Warning”) played as important parts that made it the classic it is. Whenever I listen to it today, I still feel the same about it (and even moreso) as I did when I was 14 walking thru the mall. From killin’ it with Method Man on “The What” to killin’ himself on “Suicidal Thoughts”, Biggie put in work for this album and it paid off through its sales, influence, and endurance. I don’t even know if artists are aiming for all those things today, but anyone who is could still learn a thing or two from Ready To Die.

“Gimme The Loot”

“Warning”

“The What” (featuring Method Man)

“Me & My Bitch”

“Suicidal Thoughts”

-D!

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Fall Back!

09/21/2009

autumn adams

So now that Fall has arrived… DanjLovesThe90s sets it off with more classic mixtape shit, this one coming from 1994. ’94 is considered as one of hip-hop’s pinnacle years, if not THE year (a title that was once unanimously held by ’88). It’s kinda hard to argue with all the love that ’94 recieves, considering all of the major breakthroughs and new arrivals that took place during those 12 months.

Incidentally (and I’m sure some others can attest to this), even with it being such a monumental year, it really wasn’t on our minds as it was going on. I don’t recall ever feelin’ like “wow, this is ’94, such a classic year!” or nothin’ of that nature. In that moment, it was just a normal year that happened to pump out a lot of good damn music on a regular basis. There wasn’t an element of amazement about it because that was the norm back then, but in hindsight, ’94 was even great by those standards.

wop

Doo Wop was one of the top mixtape DJs during that era, after going through a rivalry with Kid Capri a few years earlier. By ’94, that was a wrap, but Wop was still doing his thing, along with his crew of MC’s known as The Bounce Squad. They’d always open his tapes with a freestyle intro, which was often a highlight, and influenced a number of DJ’s to start their tapes in the same fashion. And of course, after the intros, Wop always showed and proved with the music- ranging from the hits to the underground records, all in one ball.

Fall Flava ’94 is one of his most revered tapes, along with the ’95 Live series, Bad Boy Vol. 2, and others that followed. The playlist here speaks for itself: Method Man, Biggie, Outkast, GangStarr, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Mary J. Blige, Redman, Keith Murray, Craig Mack, Da Bush Babees, and more. But don’t take my word… get it for yourself right here:

Fall Flava ’94: Side A & Side B

-D!

AND IN CASE YOU MISSED ‘EM: classic mixtapes by DJ Clue and Ron G

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Summer Seven Series: Extra

09/19/2009

dj-danj

Safe to say, the Summer of ’09 is over. Before Fall officially arrives on Monday, and as a bonus to those who followed the Summer Seven Series between June and August, here’s some that were thisclose to making the cut, but ultimately fell victim to the numbers game. Had it been the Summer Eight Series, and thus a lil’ less catchy of a title, these would’ve been a shoe-in.

And as usual… You Want ‘em? Freakin’ click ‘em.

1990: Special Ed “The Mission”: Back when a rapper could come out with silly Dick Tracy-esque stories as long as they could rhyme, Ed delivers a memorable tall tale about self-destructing messages and ninjas and shit.

1991- Tony Terry “With You”: The homie’s orange-tinted fade was somethin’ kinda nervous, but hell if he didn’t drop a classic ballad here. Even at 11, with no concept of love, I used to sing this shit like I had A clue.

1992- Grand Puba “360 (What Goes Around)”: After departing from Brand Nubian and leaving Sadat and Jamar to their own devices, Puba drops his first solo endeavor, Reel To Reel. With “360″ as the lead single, Puba (briefly) lived up to the buzz he had during that time.

1993- LL Cool J “Pink Cookies In A Plastic Bag Getting Crushed By Buildings” (Remix): One of the longest, dumbest song titles of all time, but one of the few redeeming things about the crazy, trigger-happy LL Cool J of ’93.

1994- Zhane “Sending My Love”: Zhane, with their pre-Amber Rose scalp-cuts, keep the hits rolling with “Sending My Love”. Might be the only single they ever had that wasn’t about DJ’s or dancing… more on that later.

1995- Junior M.A.F.I.A. “Player’s Anthem”: The M.A.F.I.A. as a whole might’ve been a fail, but this joint was kinda like a big deal. Mostly notable for the rapping debut of Lil’ Kim, a year removed from her Oreo-cookie-eatin’, pickle-juice-drinkin’ debut.

1996- Ghost Town DJ’s “My Boo”: In ’96, I avoided most of that bass stuff like the plague- liked it earlier in the decade, but not so much by then. But this one was an exception, which possibly had to do with the semi-emasculation I endured during my friendship with Jada.

1997- CRU feat. Slick Rick “Just Another Case”: CRU came and went fairly quickly, but they did drop a solid album, Da Dirty 30. One of those 30 tracks on the album (!) was this single featuring Slick Rick, who’d just been released from the slam.

1998- Cam’ron feat. Mase “Horse & Carriage”: Thrilla Killa Cam scores his first radio hit with the help of the big homie Betha, and educates us on the virtues of Puerto Rican Judo.

1999- Total feat. Shyne “Sittin’ Home” (Remix): This is the end of the road for the Bad Boy girls, and the beginning of the long, long road for Bad Boy’s then-new shooter signee Shyne. Lil’ bit of controversy around this one, with the guest bearing the burden of some vocal similarities that were a bit too close for comfort.

Annnd that’s all. See y’all next Fall.

-D!

R.I.P. to Grandmaster Roc Raida.

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“Druuuu Hill, Help Me Sing It!”

09/17/2009

the dru

As a teen in Baltimore, there’s some things I couldn’t avoid during the late-’90s: chicken boxes, the term “ya’da mean”, and Dru Hill on the radio. DH were the hometown reps on the R&B scene, and our stations definitely went hard in support of them once they came out. But it wasn’t just here; they were scoring hits all across the board, one after another.

dru hill album

When I first saw their video for “Tell Me” in ’96, I remember thinking “they sound like Jodeci Jr., and this lead nigga has blond hair.” For a while, I just thought they were some knockoff-type group, no different than the other ones that were popping up around that time. Of course, I ended up being wrong when they rolled back around with “In My Bed” (and the So So Def remix), “Never Make A Promise”, and “5 Steps”. Through those songs and the others on their debut album, I grew to really like them as a group. Before I knew it, I was on the bus stop with my headphones on, singing off-key to “We’re Not Making Love No More”.

At that point, Jodeci was long-gone, and others from the earlier ’90s were barely hanging on. I don’t wanna say it like it happened by default, but Dru Hill was at the forefront as those groups fell to the wayside. They did it on their own merit, though: the vocals were on point, the songs were good, the stage performances were right. They consistently made hits, to the point where even the songs without videos got radio play, like “Beauty” and their cover of The Dells’ “The Love We Had” from their Enter The Dru album. By ’99, Dru Hill went from singing at showcases around B-More to shutting shit down.

sisqo lol

But of course… no group is great unless there’s one member that ends up flying solo. There’s always a point where either fans, people in the industry, or the artists themselves decide that one member is the standout, and thus, should strike out on their own. Naturally, it happened with Dru and the lead singer, SisQo. Granted, he was a standout member from the get-go, from his image to his vocals. Still, when there was an announcement that he was about to drop a solo “side project”, the first thing that popped in my head was “OK, Dru Hill splits up in 5…4…3…”

To SisQo’s credit, he didn’t get all David Ruffin wit’ it like the shit was all about him. But whenever someone makes solo moves while remaining with the group, that’s always a sign of the end. I could be wrong, but I don’t think a group has ever taken a break at the expense of one member, then gone back to normal- not even families like DeBarge and The Jacksons. After SisQo dropped the Unleash The Dragon album and particularly “The Thong Song”, he was legitimately a pop star in his own right. Justifiably, he probably thought it was the beginning of a great solo career- surely anybody that can sing about drawers and have an international hit would feel the same.

druworldorder

Then, as the story always goes, the planned Dru Hill follow-up became the SisQo follow-up. Woody left the group in pursuit of a gospel career in ’99, Nokio began producing, and Jazz went off to try his hand at a solo career. Lo and behold, it turns out that SisQo’s solo career wasn’t etched in stone after all. His follow up, Return of Dragon dropped in ’01 and bricked… in a real way. So after a year or two of disarray, Dru Hill got back together as a group and added Scola, a solo artist from B-More who had a local hit called “Let’s Get Personal” back in ’96.

In keeping with yet another trend that occurs when groups split up, the 2002 “reunion” Dru World Order just didn’t do it for them. I don’t even think the support here was the same anymore. Dru Hill weren’t the same group they once were and it showed in their music. From there, DH went largely unseen and unheard until last year, when they reunited only to end up squaring off on the 92Q Big Phat Morning Show. They’ve since reunited as the original four and have an album dropping independently later this year. Not to be pessimistic, but from the sound of things, the glory days have passed for sure.

dru-4

That aside, Dru Hill’s run between ’96-’99 speaks for itself. They were batting .1000 for almost three years straight, and were one of the last great R&B quartets to come along. Some days, I still sing (off-key) to their hits, remembering how much of a big deal they were. People everywhere liked their music, but Baltimore was in love with it, and rightfully so.

“Tell Me” (1996)

“Never Make A Promise” (1996)

“We’re Not Making Love No More” (1997)

“How Deep Is Your Love” (feat. Redman) (1998)

“These Are The Times” (1998)

-D!

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Know The Ledge

09/14/2009

juice movie

Yesterday was September 13th (no shit, right?). A lot of us watched the VMAs to witness all the debauchery that went on there. You had Janet‘s great tribute to Michael, Kanye being a dickhead of the highest order, Beyonce regulating and giving Taylor Swift her shine, and finally Caster Semenya Lil’ Mama randomly jumpin’ up on stage during the Jay/Alicia performance. Of course, the VMA’s are a little out of place on MTV these days, seeing as how music is involved and all, but that’s neither here nor there.

But yesterday was also notable for another reason- it was the 13th anniversary to the day Tupac Shakur died. I still remember that entire week he got shot- from not even thinking he was gonna die, to hearing about his health failing, to finally hearing the announcement on the radio that Friday night. It was something kinda unreal. There had been some rappers who died by that time, but none of that magnitude and in the way that it happened.

bishop

One of my earliest recollections of ‘Pac (aside from rockin’ all that tribal shit) was seeing him in one of my favorite movies, Juice. In addition to being a rapper, ‘Pac was also a classically trained actor (right here in B-More!) who pulled off a few quality performances. He didn’t really get to maximize that talent- partly because his actions and reputation got him pulled from some movies, and also because he was being typecast in the ones he did get to be in.

Juice dropped in early ’92, and I didn’t get to catch this one in the movies. I caught it once it hit video that fall, and it immediately became a favorite of mine. The hip-hop element is prevalent in the movie, but it never falls all the way into being about that. If anything, it’s more like the backdrop to the story. Watching it now, there’s a lot of nostalgia involved because it did cover that ground more than any other movie around that era. The music (obviously) stands out the most, as do the cameos by Queen Latifah, EPMD, Fab 5 Freddy, Special Ed, etc.

bishop q

But it’s not all about the rappers, of course. Omar Epps makes his debut here as “Q”, in a role that specifically interested me due to his being a DJ. I wouldn’t say those scenes were the sole inspiration, but with me being 12 years old at the time, they definitely piqued my interest in spinning. Ya man Jermaine Hopkins makes an epic return here as Steel, once again defying the odds. He managed to be fat while smoking crack in Lean On Me, and here he manages to be the only person Bishop shoots and doesn’t kill. We also get Cindy Herron of En Vogue as Q’s girlfriend, Khalil Kain as Raheem, and Samuel Jackson as the oldhead who runs the pool hall.

But ‘Pac’s portrayal as Bishop stands out above all as the thing that solidifies the movie. It was a role he wasn’t even scheduled to be up for, but he owned it once he got it. To me, it’s the best performance he ever gave. He was on his job in most of his other roles as well, but none of them top the Bishop character. Bishop was like the villain and an antihero at once- he was fucked up for killing Raheem, but then he was the shit when he finally got one-up on the Puerto Rican gang leader Radames. It’s easy to see why so many people linked Tupac as an individual to that character he played.

wrecking crew

Juice is by definition a “hood movie”, but it’s the kind of story that could’ve just as easily been about four white kids in the suburbs. The dialogue would probably be a lot different, but it’s a movie that has less to do with being “hood” than it does with the storyline itself. More than anything, it’s about how easily respect and fear can be confused, and how someone with no couth can go to extreme lengths to attain either one.

Things To Learn From Watching Juice: 1) Just ’cause you pour syrup on shit don’t make it pancakes. 2) If you have no money to buy music, you can have your friends sneak it out of the store while you distract the cashier by arranging a date with her. Or, since it’s 2009, you could just download it. 3) If you and your three friends stick around to back up some idiot who’s attempting to shoot it out with the police, there will be five dead niggas instead of one. 4) Do not attempt to grab a gun from someone who has pointed it at you and instructed you not to do so. 5) Bishop don’t give a fuck about you, he don’t give a fuck about Steel and he don’t give a fuck about Raheem either. Bishop ain’t shit, and he ain’t never gon’ be shit. And you’re less of a man than him, so when he decides that YOU ain’t gonna be SHIT… pow.

Music From Juice:

Eric B & Rakim “Juice (Know The Ledge)”

Aaron Hall “Don’t Be Afraid”

Naughty By Nature “Uptown Anthem”

Teddy Riley feat. Tammy Lucas “Is It Good To You?”

-D! (Riverside, Muthafukka.)

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“And You Say New York City…”

09/11/2009

nyc_skyline

Eight years later, New York City still stands.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure I can say the same about the NYC hip-hop scene. Of course, there’s a few artists still carrying the torch, including that dude who’s about to have the 11th #1 album of his career. But 2009 is in sharp contrast to the days when the Empire State was THE place to be. Whereas now, many NY artists make creative stretches to appeal to the rest of the United States, there was a time when the rest of the U.S. was aiming to do what THEY were doing.

DrDre-TheChronic-CD

But that started changing in the early-’90s. With more and more artists coming out of Cali and other areas, NY wasn’t the only show in town anymore. The success of N.W.A. led to more and more West Coast acts being signed, and they were coming out with heavier topics than most East Coast artists were covering. That’s not to say New York wasn’t still coming out with good music, but Cali’s music was gaining on them in terms of popularity. Then, in ’92, Dr. Dre‘s The Chronic album came out and officially swung the momentum to the left.

onyx!

By late-’93, it was obvious that the West Coast was in the forefront of the rap game. To many East Coast heads, it wasn’t so much that the New York scene was non-existent or anything, but it appeared to be in need of a new movement. Even though there were still some notable records coming out of there, it was clear that Onyx and Das EFX (or the bunch of groups that sounded like them) weren’t exactly gonna lead the league. NYC needed new blood that could create enough energy to have a strong presence that would match what Dre, Snoop, Ice Cube, ‘Pac, etc. were doing.

primojeru

Much like how NY’s felt over the last five years or so, there was an urgency to get back in the game. “G-Funk” was making impact all over while the East Coast sound was only hitting it big on the East Coast. Not to mention, the South was on the rise. The difference between then and now, however, is that the up-and-coming artists from New York got focused. They didn’t try to sound like they were from Cali, they didn’t spend more time complaining than recording, and they didn’t make mediocre records while claiming to “bring New York back”. They put their hoodies and Tims on, and stomped onto the scene with quality music.

odb method man

A lot of them still weren’t necessarily doing Doggystyle numbers or getting heavy MTV airplay, but their presence wasn’t going unnoticed. There was the Wu-Tang Clan, who brought in new images, new slang, and new sounds. There was Nas, who played a big part in bringing lyricism back into a world of tiggedy-tiggedy-tongue-twistin’ shit. There was the Boot Camp Click, who may not have become superstars, but still had a heavy movement on the underground/street level. And then, there was Bad Boy Records, which brought forth a mainstream-viable but street-credible sound comparable to what Death Row was doing out West.

blackmoon

There was a new look for a city that had been in a holding pattern through the previous couple years. Producers like DJ Premier and The RZA were providing the beats that helped push things forward. The subject matter was deeper, the concepts got more creative, the lyrics got better. Eventually, it did start translating to major mainstream success, and by ’96, New York City was back on top of the game. Of course, that success also came with conflict and even some internal turmoil, but the power was back on in the city.

bangin nas mobb deep n wu

As someone who liked all of the different styles from different areas, I gotta admit that I was rooting for the East Coast to get back on top. I felt like they were putting out the better material but being overlooked at one point. It was a classic time because it seemed like friendly (or maybe-not-friendly) competition had these niggas makin’ some excellent shit one after another. Some of the artists themselves have since noted that they were all vying to be the shit back then, which of course resulted in some great albums and singles.

b.i.g. mack

Today, the industry is totally different, and I doubt the few signed artists from NY have the creative space to do what those dudes did. But if there is still any intention to “bring it back”, a lot can be learned from the creative spirit that fueled the ’93-’95 era.

Wu-Tang Clan “Protect Ya Neck” (1993)

Jeru The Damaja “Come Clean” (1993)

Black Moon “I Got Cha Opin” (Remix) (1994)

Nas “New York State Of Mind” (1994)

O.C. “Time’s Up” (1994)

Mic Geronimo “Shit’s Real” (1994)

Ill & Al Skratch “Where My Homiez” (1994)

Method Man “Bring The Pain” (1994)

Craig Mack feat. The Notorious B.I.G., Rampage, LL Cool J & Busta Rhymes “Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)” (1994)

The Notorious B.I.G. “One More Chance (Hip-Hop Remix)” (1995)

Lost Boyz “Jeeps, Lex Coupes, Bimaz, & Benz” (1995)

Mobb Deep feat. Nas & Raekwon “Eye For An Eye” (1995)

Blahzay Blahzay “Danger” (1995)

Smif-N-Wessun “Sound Bwoy Burial” (1995)

Smoothe Da Hustler feat. Trigga Tha Gambler “Broken Language” (1995)

-D!

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Livin’ For The City

09/09/2009

rap city logo

Not sure how much of a news flash this is, but yeah, BET is ass. It’s even been confirmed as recently as yesterday by people who decided to go against their apprehensions and try to help change things from the inside. I can’t say that it was ever some kinda cornerstone of Black America or anything like that, but it’s progressively gotten more and more steeped in what-the-fuckery over the last few years.

That said, I’d be a got-damn lie if I said BET didn’t play a serious part in my teenage years as a big music freak. As I’ve said before, there was a time when I watched that ONE station all day long with a tape in the VCR and a hand on the remote. I still remember all the shows- Video Soul, Video Vibrations, Jam Zone, Planet Groove, etc. But the one show that was unconditionally my shit, without doubt, was Rap City.

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Around early-’92, after years of wanting cable but never being able to get it (it was unavailable in our apartment complex), we moved to a place where cable was available. One Wednesday afternoon, I came home from school just as the United Artists Cable of Baltimore truck arrived in front of my house. Being that this was a couple years before the first time I crushed some pink cookies with my building, I didn’t think I could get more excited about something. Later that afternoon while jumping thru each and every channel, I got to BET, which was playing a video called “Hickeys On Your Chest” by Little Shawn.

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From there, I was stuck on watching Rap City every afternoon. It didn’t have the production value of a Yo! MTV Raps, and the yellow-and-purple lettering on the video descriptions made it look even more cheesy. It was almost like public access TV, and it managed to look even more low-budget than BET itself was. Almost to a fault, they played damn near any rap video that was sent to them, no matter how low-quality it was. But for those same reasons, that show was right up my alley, especially since Yo! started getting its time cut by MTV around that same time.

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Despite my moms thoroughly disliking Rap City, I couldn’t get enough. Every other day, I’d hear complaints of “the same damn videos everyday with the same ugly-ass people”, but you couldn’t tell me it wasn’t the shit. It was the show to watch because more often than not, they ran the entire spectrum of what was out there. Whether it was Snoop, Lost Boyz, Master P, Common, Bone Thugs N Harmony, The Boogiemonsters, Fat Joe, or MC Eiht- all that shit could be seen in the course of those two hours and it didn’t seem strange to have all those different types of artists thrown in together.

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I can’t even count how many artists I saw for the first time ever on Rap City, or how many songs I remember STRICTLY because of how much the videos got played. The best thing about it was that they gave exposure to a lot of shit that was otherwise not being played, even on BET’s other shows. Even a video by the most underground rapper on the most random label could get regular play and possibly become a favorite. There were songs that were “hits” on the show that weren’t actually hits on any other level. In some cases, there were songs that later became huge pop hits getting play on Rap City months before everyone else caught up. It had little to do with who directed the video, or who the artist ran with- it was more about the music.

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This year, Rap City would’ve officially been on the air for 20 years, but it ultimately got canceled last October. Of course it was bound to happen, because video shows don’t nearly mean as much to stations (or viewers) as they did pre-Youtube. In true BET fukk-up fashion, the “Grand Finale” of the show was aired randomly as all hell for an hour on a Saturday night. Lame as that was, it was cool to see all the old hosts (Chris Thomas, Dajaur, Joe Clair, Big Lez, Tigger) come back for the last time. The brief montages they showed throughout the hour reminded me of why I used to anxiously wait for it to come on every afternoon at 4:30.

Rap City is another one of those things that I can gladly say I was able to experience firsthand. It may seem like no big deal to someone who didn’t come up in that era, but it was practically required viewing for anyone who was a hip-hop fan in the ’90s.

-D!

17 Comments | DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheVideos, My Life, This Is TV! | Tagged: , | Permalink
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It’s Hard Being The Kane

09/03/2009

bigdaddykane

The other day, while upping some of the classic joints by Biz Markie and MC Shan, I thought about how tough the Juice Crew was in their day. In the late-’80s, Cold Chillin’ Records boasted a crew that consisted of such legendary names as Biz, Shan, Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, Roxanne Shante with her lyin’ ass, legendary producer Marley Marl, and my personal favorite… Big Daddy Kane.

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At one time, Kane was THAT fukkin’ guy. He could do all types of songs and all kinds of topics. He had a flawless flow, berserko wordplay, crazy live performances (along with his dancers Scoob & Scrap Lover), and a GANG of swagger just to top it all off. He even had his fair share of soundalikes and knockoff versions, as most frontrunning MCs usually do during their prime. In one of hip-hop’s most competitive eras with talented MC’s poppin’ up all over, Kane was possibly THE best in the game by ’89.

Which made it all the more crazy in the early-’90s when he fell ALL THE WAY the fukk off.

Big Daddy Kane Taste Of Chocolate

See, even though BDK could destroy the shit out of a mic, he also had an R&B-ish side to him. And it was no big deal for a while- he’d been comin’ with at least one R&B-style joint since the first album, so it was part of his repertoire from day one. He did album covers with chicks and champagne bottles and the whole thing. Only problem is, once this became a successful component of his music, he started basing his entire image and sound around it. Even worse, he chose to do this as the ’90s arrived and hip-hop as a whole was heading into a harder direction.

Prince of Darkness

Whereas before, Kane’s skills were undeniable, he started putting out records that made them questionable. Those Johnny Gill lookin’-ass album covers didn’t help matters either. Even the titles of those albums were nutso- Taste of Chocolate? Prince of Darkness? Nigga, what? He still had his lyrical capabilities, but everything else from the beats to the videos were WAY lame. Homie was even gettin’ dissed at his own birthday party by Big Ill (of Ill & Al Skratch fame).

Not that Kane had to give a shit. Sure, he was making weak records, but the girls still loved him (even with an AIDS rumor following him for a second there). He got to work with legendary artists like Patti Labelle, Barry White, and Quincy Jones- which is something to be proud of, even if the actual songs were ass. And uhhh… getting paid to fingerbang Madonna while she kissed Naomi Campbell doesn’t sound like anything to be ashamed of either… I’m just sayin’. Still, his relevance falls waaaay back, as a bunch of new artists come up between ’91 and ’92.

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By the time ’93 rolls around, hip-hop is goin’ hard. Even groups like Quest and De La Soul toned down a lil’ bit of that happy-ass shit they were doing a couple years prior. And here comes Kane with his “coming-back-hard” album, Looks Like A Job For. The problem by this point was that he really had nowhere to go. The R&B style wasn’t cuttin’ it, and the idea of him joining in with the hardcore crowd wasn’t doin’ it either. Something about Snoop, Wu-Tang, Onyx, and other newer heads seemed way more interesting than hearing a Big Daddy Kane street record. It wasn’t his time anymore.

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Bu-bu-but wait, it gets worse. Then came Daddy’s Home in ’94, led by a single called “In The PJ’s”. It was a song about the projects, but lookin’ at that album cover, it coulda just as well been about pajamas. The prime example of how far outta-the-loop Kane was, is a joint called “Show & Prove” featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Jay-Z, Sauce Money, Shyheim, and Scoob Lover on the track. Cool record, but if not for Scoob’s (turrible) verse, Kane woulda been murdered on his own shit by every single guest.  The same MC who five years earlier was arguably the best was now just lucky to be better than one of his dancers.

While Daddy’s Home was the nail in the coffin for BDK, it dropped right before hip-hop took another direction. In a twist of irony if I’ve ever heard of one, it became cool for rappers to do the same exact shit Kane lost his spot for doing. As much as his smooth playa style got him pushed aside, all of a sudden, every other East Coast rapper started smoothin’ the shit out of their singles. Whereas he caught flack for collabing with R&B artists, it started to be the in-thing. Unfortunately by the time it was poppin’, Kane was like an old pimp who lost all his hoes.

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Meaning no disrespect to the man, Big Daddy Kane is still one of my favorite MCs ever, as he is to a lot of people who love his earlier work. In fact, he’s been able to salvage the damage that his career caught during those years. I could say he fell off ONLY because he was too R&B’d up at the time, and he got dissed for stuff that niggas can do today with no flack whatsoever (which is true). But a lot of the music just wasn’t good, and even he has to know that, because he doesn’t perform any of it today.

In the early ’90s, I don’t know how hard it was being the Kane, but I know it was hard as a muh’fukka to listen to the Kane.

Three ’90s BDK Songs That Ain’t Half-Bad:

“It’s Hard Being The Kane” (1990)

“Nuff Respect” (1992)

“How U Get A Record Deal?” (1993)

…And Three That Definitely Are:

“I’m Not Ashamed” (feat. Alyson Williams) (1991)

“Very Special” (feat. Spinderella) (1993)

“In The PJ’s” (1994)

-D!

22 Comments | DanjHatesThe90s, DanjLovesTheHipHop, Nuff Respect Due, SMH, Wiggedy-Wack | Tagged: | Permalink
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