DANJ! Presents: One Hitta Quittas, Vol. 4

11/18/2010

Ah yes… so as I prep for next week’s Strictly Hip-Hop Dirty 30, I been on R&B mode a lil’ bit as of late. In fact, the other day, I was asked if I was in love TWICE because I was rockin’ with some old smooth shit. I may have been kinda checkin’ for someone lately, and it is cuffin’ season, but it’s nothin’ to do with my mellow moods and whatnot… haha!

Anyway, in the process of playing my (MASSIVE) ’90s R&B playlist, I was prompted to drop the fourth installment of “One Hitta Quittas”. Three of these artists came out with a bang and dropped off the planet just as fast, while one took a minute to score a hit before returning to his hitless state. Whatever way it went down, these four tracks all made quite an impression back in the day, even as the artists themselves failed to.

Read the rest of this entry »

16 Comments | Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda, DanjLovesTheR&B, One Hitta Quitta, Whatever Happened To...? | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Danj!

AllTime8: Shoulda Been A Single

09/25/2010

You ever heard a song on an artist’s album, and wanted it to be the next video, or the song they played on the radio? Well, around the mid-’90s after I got my turntables and went record-coppin’ crazy, I did the same. I always kept up on what all the new singles were, but as I stayed up on those, very rarely was I buying full-length albums. When I did get the albums, being the music nerd I was, I’d try to predict what the forthcoming singles were gonna be. Sometimes, I was correct (D’Angelo‘s “Lady” and DMX‘s “Ruff Ryders Anthem” being two correct guesses I made)… other times, not so. In this installment of the AllTime8, I drop eight instances in which I was wrong, but perhaps should’ve been right. You be the judge…

Read the rest of this entry »

11 Comments | AllTime8, Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda, DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheR&B | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Danj!

DANJ! Presents: One Hitta Quittas, Vol. 2

04/23/2010

Annnd welcome to your favorite site and mine, DanjLovesThe90s- where we provide nothin’ but the absolute latest in ’90s shit.

Sometimes, the term “one hit wonder” is a lil’ polarizing. In some cases, it doesn’t necessarily mean the artist had nothing else to offer, it simply means the people didn’t accept it like they did that one in particular. Take for instance, some of today’s entries. Not to say any of their other stuff is as notable as their hit single was (although in one case, the artist’s other endeavors were WAY more notable than her music), but I’m just sayin’…

Read the rest of this entry »

18 Comments | Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda, DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheR&B, One Hitta Quitta, One To Grow On, Whatever Happened To...? | Permalink
Posted by Danj!

’90s Girls: Under The Radar

03/03/2010

Since he’s pulling through and is expected to make a full recovery, is it too soon to joke that my GangStarr entry’s comment section flopped harder than a Guru solo album? HA! Wow Lovers, that’s how y’all feel?

Ayyy, it’s OK- everything can’t be a megahit. As a matter of fact, there’s a number of female R&B acts in the ’90s that were aiiight, but weren’t able to score one. They made some decent songs that briefly popped up and made a blip, and maybe even made the Video Soul Top 20 or some shit, but failed to make that career-changing breakthrough that all new artists hope for. I’ve previously spoken on some of the more popular ’90s Girls here and here, but here’s some from the mid-’90s who ended up flying waaay a little further under the radar.

Read the rest of this entry »

13 Comments | 90s Girls, Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul, Whatever Happened To...? | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Danj!

DANJ! Presents: One Hitta Quittas, Vol. 1

10/28/2009

that thing you do

I don’t know what to tell y’all. That Young Menace shit really made my got-damn week. In keeping with the “Whatever Happened To…” theme, I’d like to dedicate today’s entry to four artists who have provided my iPod with a good damn 16 minutes’ worth of music. Of course, I’ve proven that I can do entries about those artists who really did their thing in the ’90s, but why not take time out for the nigga who made “Return Of The Mack”? Today, I give you… One Hitta Quittas, Vol. 1. POW, punk ass!

oochie coochie la la la

MC Brains “Oochie Coochie” (1991): Remember back when Michael Bivins put out Another Bad Creation, then Boyz II Men, then he ended up with like 73 artists signed to his Biv 10 label? One of those was the pride of Cleveland, Ohio… MC Brains. This lil’ catchy number dropped in late-’91 and had the middle school dances jumpin’ around my way. My favorite lyric was always “Lisa, Kim, Angela, Monique/ Them are some freaks with some big physiques”. The “big physiques” part still cracks me up- it sounds like he’s talkin’ about female wrestlers or some shit. Anyway, he followed up this hit with a single called “Everybody’s Talkin’ About MC Brains”… and then, well… go ‘head and finish that however you want.

DRS Gangsta Lean

DRS “Gangsta Lean (This Is For My Homies)” (1993): Ah yeah. ’93 was mo’ gangsta than a muh’fukka. From The Chronic to Menace II Society to Tupac shootin’ cops and rapin’ girls in the ass, Cali was killin’! Naturally, the suits at Capitol Records figured, “hey, it’s workin’ for the rappers- why not an R&B group?” Enter DRS, a.k.a. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and one of the best/worst songs of the year. Tell me you don’t wanna sing along and laugh at the same time when the one nigga says “tell him put down those dice for a second, Lord… listen to his HOMIEEE!” It wasn’t necessarily an awful song- but how much longevity could a group dressed as gangbangers (pause) actually have? Seriously, what was their next song gonna be about? Jackin’ niggas and doin’ drive-bys? I guess the public felt the same way, because “Gangsta Lean” was the beginning and end of DRS.

Skee-Lo

Skee-Lo “I Wish” (1995): I don’t know if an artist has ever made a hit song about physical limitations and gone on to further success. The only exception might be this shit right here, but he was already deep in his career. Skee-Lo, on the other hand, came out the gate wishing for more height. He also wished to be a baller with a good-lookin’ girl, a rabbit in a hat with a bat (?), and a ’64 Impala. The summer of ’95 was good to him, as this song landed him all over radio and MTV. Then, September arrived, and Skee was wishing to score another hit. Instead, he got a spot on the Money Train soundtrack. Fair enough.

Return Of The Mack

Mark Morrison “Return Of The Mack” (1997): As possibly the only nigro in the late-’90s still rockin’ a Gumby fade, Mark Morrison took his hit from Germany and brought it over here a year later. With a catchy-ass hook and a voice that gave hope to Akon, Mizark got it poppin’ in the spring of ’97 with “Return Of The Mack”.  After this one came and went, the mack returned to Germany and can now be seen opening for David Hasselhoff. That could be a joke, but maybe it’s not. While I’m on the subject, this is another one of those songs that I coulda confessed to liking. I denied it for a good while, especially when it was out… but I do. But I do, do, do.

As y’all well know, it doesn’t stop there- the list, much like the beat, goes on. I’ll be covering more of these in future entries, as there are a lot to choose from. In some ways, one hit wonders are special. Sure, they work at GameStop today, and they probably get their “one lil’ hit” thrown in their faces every time they get into an argument with their significant others. But for three to four months of someone’s life, they were the shit, and no bitch-ass manager or girlfriend can take that away from them.

-D!

(so… who are some your favorite One Hitta Quittas?)

24 Comments | Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda, DanjHatesThe90s, DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheR&B, One Hitta Quitta, Random, Whatever Happened To...? | Permalink
Posted by Danj!

The Neo-N*gga Of The Nineties

10/16/2009

dangelo

The first time I heard D’Angelo was during my spring break in ’95. I was half-watching a video show on BET called In Your Ear, when the video for “Brown Sugar” came on. On my first listen, I didn’t even know he was talkin’ about weed, but I liked that song. The following weekend, I called my favorite record store asking if they had it, and they didn’t even know what I was referring to. By the weekend after that, not only did they know exactly what I was asking about, but it was already sold out.

brown sugar

D’Angelo was a unique artist when he came out with “Brown Sugar” and the album of the same name. His sound wasn’t really like the “traditional” R&B, but it also didn’t sound like the Hip-Hop-inspired R&B that was all over the place by then. Around ’95, there weren’t many people making 100% organic music and still appealing to the people my age. As much of an enthusiast as I am about the decade, the ’90s weren’t exactly the time for instrumentation in comparison to previous decades. That was more of a “mature” sound if anything, and it was almost considered to be like jazz. Minus a couple of exceptions, most of that kinda stuff wasn’t flyin’ with the youngins unless it had a remix.

But with D’Angelo’s music, it had a more current style that wasn’t so far out of the box that it got overlooked. I even knew people who didn’t like much R&B, but did like Brown Sugar. It was a new thing that was later called Neo-Soul, but at the moment was just good music in its own space. Artists like Maxwell and Erykah Badu followed, and while they did it on their merit, I can say that the success of D’Angelo likely opened that lane for them to get the airplay and exposure that they got. Had he flopped, their spots could’ve easily gone to whomever was doing their best R. Kelly impression at the time.

d'angelo mugshot

By journalists, D’Angelo was seen as a combination of other great artists before him, and even as a successor to Prince. Not sure if that was a lot of pressure for him (although it probably was), but he ended up becoming more and more scarce as the ’90s continued on. With the talents he had, he was also more intense when it came to his music being on-point. While others with about half the talent were out there on a regular basis, D’Angelo took all the time he needed and wanted. When he finally did follow up with Voodoo, it was an album that kinda went two ways- some loved it, some hated it. It ended up getting consumed by two things: the fact that it wasn’t as accessible as Brown Sugar and a video that overshadowed his musical intentions.

It’s been almost 10 years since D’Angelo’s last complete piece of work, and R&B is even further from its core than he thought it was back then. To a degree, I wouldn’t even say he’s made for this era. He was an artist who studied all the greats and incorporated their influence into his music, whereas most of the interest as of late has been in making a hot record for this month. Of course, he’s also been sidetracked by “other” stuff, which makes the chances of another album even more unlikely. There’s been one promised for years, but I’m not sure I’d bet money on it coming out.

d'angelo

Much like Lauryn Hill, I think it’s safe to say D’Angelo’s absence has been brought on by both his own personal issues and music industry issues. Sucks too, because those first couple years seemed like the beginning of some epic shit.

“Brown Sugar” (1995)

“Cruisin’” (1995)

“She’s Always In My Hair” (1997)

“Devil’s Pie” (1998)

“Untitled (How Does It Feel)” (1999)

-D!

15 Comments | Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda, DanjLovesTheR&B, Love Movement, Neo (Not NeYo), Whatever Happened To...? | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Danj!

Attempted Murder

07/10/2009

xxlmurder

So here’s what happened:

In the spring of ’95, I first heard Jay-Z, DMX, and Ja Rule on the same track. It was the B-side of Mic Geronimo‘s “Masta I.C.” single, on a song called “Time To Build” (produced by Mic’s man DJ Irv). At that time, Mic was an underground artist on TVT Records, and yet more well-known than any of the other parties involved. The song was OK, but nothing I retained much from. Ja and X sounded like the average raspy-voiced rappers from NY during that era, and Jay was ehhh- still not fully out of that hyper shit he was on at the time.

Three years later, I heard them together again. By early-’98, things had changed. Jay wasn’t a household name yet, but he was successful, not to mention one of my favorites. X was the “new” artist everybody was checkin’ for, off the strength of his numerous guest appearances. Ja was a former member of the Cash Money Click (not that one) who was also supposed to be coming out with his debut soon. They were all in together on a Clue tape, doing the opening freestyle that later became known as “Murdergram”.

jarulexjayzdjirv

A year later, it was a whole different story. Jay was officially a superstar with his Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life album. X was on top of the world with his albums, It’s Dark & Hell Is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood. Ja’s debut album, Venni Vetti Vecci, was highly-anticipated at this point- mostly due to his appearance on Jay’s “Can I Get A” single. DJ Irv was now Irv Gotti, and he was known as the guy responsible for putting this new movement together. The Hard Knock Life Tour was selling out city-to-city, and hip-hop in general was a HUGE deal.

So then, out comes a new issue of the relatively-new XXL magazine. The cover story is about an upcoming project, slated to hit the stores later that year: Murder Inc., comprised of Jay-Z, DMX, and Ja Rule. Wow- couldn’t have happened at a better time. They were amongst the hottest names in hip-hop, popular on the street level and mainstream-wise, and there was no way the album could fall short of its expectations from a creative or sales standpoint. I read this article, as Gotti raved about how they were about to go SO hard with this album, and how it was gonna be on N.W.A. levels of unabashed nigga-ness and so forth. I was ready to hear it, as I’m sure a lot of people were.

And of course… after the cover story, the tour, the ads… it never happened. I’m just guessing, but the thing that killed the chances of the Murder Inc. project ever coming out was likely the same thing that built the hype for it. X and Jay weren’t the same dudes who were battling each other in a pool hall five years earlier, and Ja wasn’t about to be X’s hypeman like he’d been previously. They all became top-tier stars with their own crews to lead.

murderers

Next thing you knew, “Murder Inc.” was the record label headed by Irv, and the closest we got to a Murder Inc. album was that terrible compilation. Instead of some murderously bloody Jay/X/Ja collabs, we instead got treated to the “talents” of Black Child and Vita. Then, Ja started suggesting that if not for his willingness to fall back and wait his turn, “maybe” X wouldn’t have been signed to Def Jam, and “maybe” Jay wouldn’t have had a hit with “Can I Get A”. Following that, the party was over. X dissed Ja, Ja dissed X, X and Jay shot subliminals back and forth, and Irv only cared but so much because he was busy piping promoting Ashanti and counting his cash.

So here it is 10 years later. Ja Rule scored a fair share of hits from singing his little heart out during the earlier part of this decade, but he’s finished now. DMX has gone from arguably the most popular rapper of ’98 to whatever the fuck this is. Irv is… the guy with the reality show on VH1? Jay-Z is literally controlling the fate of his own career at this point- not to mention the richest artist in hip-hop. It’s kinda a shame that those four egos couldn’t have gotten on the same page long enough to put the album together back in ’99. Instead, all we have is a couple tracks to indicate how it might’ve sounded… which I guess will have to be good enough.

ddd.black.crime.ja.rule.dmx.jay.z.

It was probably the easiest thing in the world to get them all together when neither one knew where their careers were headed. But the bigger they got, they probably felt like they didn’t need to work together, so it could either happen or not- emphasis being on “not”. When it boils down, the Murder Inc. project was meant to happen in 1999, and 1999 only. It would’ve been less relevant any year before then, and not as urgent any year afterward. It’s one of hip-hop’s biggest never-happened moments that coulda shut the game down 10 years ago, but would mean jackshit if it happened tomorrow.

Mic Geronimo featuring Ja Rule, Jay-Z, & DMX “Time To Build” (1995)

Jay-Z, Ja Rule, & DMX “Murdergram” (1998)

Ja Rule featuring DMX & Jay-Z “It’s Murda” (1999)

-D!

6 Comments | Clans/Posses/Crews/Cliques, Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda, DanjLovesTheAlbums, DanjLovesTheHipHop, SMH | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Danj!

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.