Wild but true: some of Mary J. Blige‘s longtime fans would rather see her sad. Not that they wish for her to go back to her life as a depressed star in an abusive relationship with drug and alcohol problems, but the music that came out of that era is among her most memorable. The happy, dancing MJB of recent years just doesn’t seem to strike that same chord that she did in more troubled times. Much like many artists make their best work when they’re new and hungry, some do their best when real life is kickin’ them in the ass. Such was the case with 1994′s My Life.
Da Dirty 30: Strictly Hip-Hop
11/24/2010Been a lil’ quiet around here lately, eh? Not to worry, I just had to put some work in so that I could bring you this shit right here…
Not sure how much of a secret this is- after all, I’ve only been doin’ this shit for a year and a half- but I’m a big huge gigantic hip-hop head. On here, I usually cover a lot of the more popular artists of the day, but it definitely doesn’t stop there. I’m that kid who stayed up on alllll them new shits, even the ones by the most obscure artists on the most low-profile record labels. My appreciation of rap music started around the mid-’80s, but it hit a fever pitch in the early-’90s and from then on. Once I’d really become immersed in the whole culture, I even went back and got further educated on the older music that was considered to be classic at the time.
It may sound cliche, but Hip-Hop was everything in my life at one point- almost to a fault, in fact. I’ve often cited that my fascination with rhyming, DJing, writing, performing, and listening to the music may have gotten in the way of all the other things life had to offer just a lil’ bit. Would I go back and change that? Prob’ly not. Because of that, I know I lot of great records that I likely wouldn’t have known of had I not been as plugged in as I was.
And so today, on the eve of Thanksgiving and my birthday, I give you another Dirty 30: not my absolute favorites or my official “best of”‘s, but definitely all tracks I ran hard with back when they dropped, and still do. Click, listen, download, enjoy, whatever you want… HERE WE GO!
What The ’90s Won’t Do For Love
11/11/2010There was a time… long, long ago… when the color lines were a lot more blurred on urban radio. Artists like Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers, and others- without necessarily catering to the R&B audience- would still get certain records of theirs played on the primarily “Black” stations. It continued through the ’80s with artists like Madonna, Hall & Oates, George Michael and even ya man Rick Astley getting their music played, sometimes with people not even knowing they were White until seeing them. In the case of Bobby Caldwell‘s “What You Won’t Do For Love”, his label intentionally hid his image in a silhouette, and even the video was kind of a “revelation” of what he really looked like.
…And You Know I Got Soul
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:
The Total Package
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.
DanjLovesThe80sToo: Krush Groovin’
10/22/2010Around 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.
The ’90s Loved The ’80s: #FAIL
10/07/2010I 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.
What Set You Claimin’?
10/01/2010Annnnd 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”.
Purple.
08/02/2010During my peak years as a Wu-Tang superfan (which incidentally stretches the exact length of my time in high school), I’d have to say 1995 was the year it was solidified. For me, that Wu logo was like the quality stamp for anything it was on. I ran Method Man‘s Tical album (in parts) through the early months, tripped off Ol’ Dirty‘s Return to the 36 Chambers during the spring, and closed the year out with GZA‘s Liquid Swords. With respect to those, the real Wu-jewel of ’95 was the one that dropped on August 1st, known as Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…
“Make My Sh*t The Chronic…”
07/23/2010…Y’all had to know it was comin’. I’ve been mentioning it all week, as it was the album the put Death Row on the map and started careers for a whole roster full of artists. It’s kinda tough to cover the story of the label or any of its artists without bringin’ it up. I was thinking about waiting until its original release date (December 15) to cover it, but I can’t realistically do a Death Row Week and not drop an entry on Dr. Dre‘s The Chronic, so here we go…

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