10/30/2010
…and as I close out HipHopSoulWeek here on DLT90s, I had to finish off in the best way I know how. Bein’ a part of that whole era as a listener and a kid who was keepin’ an ear out for every little song by every artist on every label, I stayed up on all them tracks and remixes that made up the Hip-Hop Soul era. As a result, some 15 years later or so, I’m able to proudly bring y’all this shit right here…
Some of y’all remember “Jackin’ Off” from New Jack Week, right? Well, it’s about that time again. I didn’t even get to drop ALL the ones I wanted to on here, but I def. went in once again- even shouted some of y’all out on the (distorted) mic no less. So with no further to do (Carlito Brigante voice)… 49 joints, 80 minutes… here we GO:
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6 Comments | 
Classic Material, DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheMixtapes, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul | Tagged: DANJLOVESTHE90S, Mixtapes | 
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Posted by Danj!
10/27/2010
…Annnd as HipHopSoulWeek continues on DanjLovesThe90s…
They always talk about those definitive R&B albums of the ’90s. You know-12 Play, 411, Motownphilly, Brown Sugar, My Life, CrazySexyCool, etc. And no doubt, they all did a lot to shape the sound as those years went on. But recently, when asked to name some of my favorite ’90s R&B albums, one of the first that popped in my head was one that rarely ever gets mentioned. It’s a personal classic of mine, and definitely one that represents the Hip-Hop Soul era to the fullest- the self-titled debut album by the “bad girls of Bad Boy“, Total.
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14 Comments | Classic Material, DanjLovesTheAlbums, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul | Tagged: 1996, BAD BOY, TOTAL | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
10/25/2010
Welllll… it’s Hip-Hop Soul Week on DLT90s, as promised at the top of the month. I’ll be showin’ love to a classic hip-hop soul album from ’96, and makin’ the week complete with the DLT90s HipHopSoulMix, but first things first…
While New Jack Swing was on the way out, it gradually transformed into a new subgenre that relied heavily on remixes. Whereas the New Jack sound fused hip-hop and R&B during the late-’80s, the Hip-Hop Soul sound represented a more aggressive, breakbeat-driven style for the ’90s. Mary J. Blige and Puffy popularized it with What’s The 411? in ’92, which later carried over to become a big part of The Bad Boy Sound. By ’95, it was almost uncommon for there to be a single that didn’t either feature a rapper or have a remix featuring one. Most times, these remixes were also built on samples of past rap hits, which further made them palatable to the hip-hop audience. While some of them blew up and took on lives of their own, there were others that only got minor play or none at all. Either way, even though this trend eventually went on overload and played itself out by the end of the decade, it definitely spawned some memorable tracks. Annnd so, in jumping off Hip-Hop Soul Week, here are eight remixes that didn’t really make it over the hump, but to me were still hittin’:
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14 Comments | AllTime8, DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul | Tagged: 112, AARON HALL, ALEXANDER O'NEAL, BLACK ROB, CHUBB ROCK, CL SMOOTH, D'ANGELO, FOXY BROWN, HORACE BROWN, KEITH MURRAY, KOOL G RAP, LOX, MONA LISA, PETE ROCK, REDMAN, TOTAL | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
10/22/2010
Around 1985, hip-hop was in the process of proving it was marketable and long-term. Anyone who thinks the mass commercialization of the music and culture just popped up outta nowhere can trace way back to that ’84-’85 era for its earliest examples. Even back then, hip-hop (and especially breaking) was being used in some of the corniest ways possible to sell products. Fruity Pebbles used it, Atari used it, even fukkin’ Alfonso Ribiero used it. But more than anyone, the movie industry started using it with an influx of low-budget “rap movies”. And maaaan, were most of them shits awful.
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13 Comments | Classic Material, DanjLovesThe80sToo, DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheMovies | Tagged: FAT BOYS, KURTIS BLOW, RUN-DMC, SHEILA E | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
10/19/2010
Today in Baltimore, there’s somewhat of a celebration of life happenin’ on the radio. The reason being, today would have been the 32nd birthday of Khia Edgerton, a.k.a. “The Club Queen”, DJ K-Swift, who died in the summer of 2008. They’ve been playing classic Baltimore Club records in her remembrance, and with that, it’s inspired today’s entry. In the ’90s, Club was THE shit here in B-More, even if I wasn’t always crazy about it. Like just about all of my entries, it’s hard for me to truly cover this without being straight-up about my own views on it during those years, so here goes…
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14 Comments | Nuff Respect Due | Tagged: BALTIMORE, CLUB | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
10/13/2010
Man I tell ya- I still can’t get over this damn pic. Looked like she tucked a Hostess Sno-Ball in that shit… allllready! Uh, anyway…
15 years ago (or 16 if you count this), Lil’ Kim rapped her nasty-ass way into our hearts. It was the spring of ’95 when The Notorious B.I.G.‘s profile was growing with every single, remix, and guest appearance. During his rise to the top of the game, he announced plans to put out a new project by his weed carriers proteges, the Junior M.A.F.I.A. One of the group’s key members would be this female MC from around the way, whom he promised would be the new hot shit:
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13 Comments | 90s Girls, DanjLovesTheHipHop, Nuff Respect Due | Tagged: LIL' KIM | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
10/11/2010
You know what’s some wack shit? All these got-damn ’90s sequels.
If you’ve been following the hip-hop news and whatnot, you know what I mean… in the last two years or so, artists who made either their most-popular or most-acclaimed albums in the ’90s have fallen into somewhat of a trend. Apparently, they feel that by using the title and slappin’ “2″ on it, that they’re gonna drop some new shit and recreate the energy from before. Artists used to do this with their classic songs, which often failed to be a tenth of the original… and now, we’ve moved on to milking the whole damn albums. Eh.
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13 Comments | 90% Dis, DanjLovesTheHipHop, Wiggedy-Wack | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
10/07/2010
I gotta say… sampling got a lil’ out of control in the late-’90s. Not that sampling is a bad thing, but many artists/producers thought they could get away with damn near anything if it was a hit the first time around. Previous hits being recycled to make new ones became a huge trend, but it wasn’t for everybody. In a few cases, them shits shoulda never even been cleared. Take for instance, these five situations here. I don’t know about y’all, but in my humble opinion, any one of these would make a great case for why strict sampling laws should be enforced. Wow.
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24 Comments | Classic Material, DanjGotPop, DanjHatesThe90s, DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheR&B, Original Flavor, The90sLovedThe80s, Wiggedy-Wack | Tagged: CAMEO, CHARLI BALTIMORE, DMX, FOXY BROWN, MIC GERONIMO, MICHAEL JACKSON, PHIL COLLINS, TINA TURNER, WARREN G | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
10/04/2010
Annnnd now, DLT90s comes to yet another in the ’90s Girls series. First time out, I covered some of the girl groups that had their share of hits. Second time, some of the teen acts that popped off. Third time was for the ones who never actually got that big single, but pumped out a decent single or two. This time around, this entry goes out to five more women of R&B who debuted and shined during the early-’90s- their biggest selling point being their singing ability. I know that’s a rare thing now, where most of the most popular R&B chicks are poppin’ because they can do a lil’ bit of everything just well enough to score a hit. But believe it or not, there was a time when a female singer could prosper with the right songs and vocal talents alone. Here’s five:
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17 Comments | 90s Girls, DanjLovesTheR&B | Tagged: CECE PENISTON, CHANTE MOORE, LISA STANSFIELD, MICHEL'LE, TONI BRAXTON | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
10/01/2010
Annnnd welcome to October on DLT90s, where I’ll be speakin’ on the pussy power of Lil’ Kim, lovin’ the ’80s with a retro on Krush Groove, and comin’ on thru with Hip-Hop Soul Week. Today, I’ma take it back to a track I was kinda stuck on for a good part of 1990, one that brought together almost every notable rap artist from Cali at the time. It was in reference the rapidly rising gang issues in the streets of L.A., as the title track of a compilation album of the same name, entitled “We’re All In The Same Gang”.
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4 Comments | Classic Material, DanjLovesTheHipHop, One To Grow On | Tagged: WEST COAST | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
