15 years ago around this time, the winter blizzard of ’96 was whoopin’ our ass out here in B-More. Meanwhile, somewhere in Queens, NY there was a DJ on the rise named Clue, who was starting to take the throne as the top mixtape cat in the game. Today, DLT90s gives you another from his ’90s catalog, Winter Flava ’96- also known as Somethin’ 4 The Radio.
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Classic Material, DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheMixtapes, DanjLovesTheR&B | Tagged: 1996, DJ CLUE, Mixtapes | 
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…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.
14 Comments | Classic Material, DanjLovesTheAlbums, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul | Tagged: 1996, BAD BOY, TOTAL | Permalink
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“The people ain’t comin’ cause you grandiose muthafukkas don’t play shit that they like.”- Shadow, Mo’ Better Blues
“Crossover ain’t nothin’ but a double-cross. Once we lose our audience, we never gonna get them back!”- JT, The Five Heartbeats
“People gotta understand, we got in this to be stars. We didn’t get in this to walk around with bookbags on our backs, talkin’ bout we hip-hop”- Nas interview on MTV
“It’s a shame, niggas in the rap game, only for the money and the fame”- Xzibit, “Paparazzi”
In the past month or so, there’s been a few things I’ve seen around the internet that prompted me to drop this entry. First, there was the mini-fallout that started from Talib Kweli‘s collaboration with Gucci Mane, which to some defied the rules of all that is right in the world. Then, there were two excellent lists of late-’90s hip-hop- Complex’s 75 Greatest Tunnel Bangers and the Bloggerhouse spin-off, Backpack Bangers. The lists in particular threw me back to that time when the “commercial” and “underground” sides of hip-hop started splitting apart further than ever.
16 Comments | 90% Dis, DanjLovesTheHipHop | Tagged: 1996, BIGGIE, DE LA SOUL, FOXY BROWN, JAY-Z, JERU, JUNIOR MAFIA, LIL' KIM, NAS, PUFFY, RAS KASS, ROOTS, XZIBIT | Permalink
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I’ve been ready to do this entry for a good year.
Seeing as how Jay-Z‘s Reasonable Doubt dropped on June 25, 1996, my intention was to do an entry on it last year- 13 years to the day of its release. But that was the same afternoon on which one of the main artists that made me love music in the first place died, and plans got sidetracked. I don’t really do the death anniversary thing like that, so instead, no time like today to drop my one-year-in-the-making retro on one of my favorite albums from the great summer of ’96.
18 Comments | Classic Material, DanjLovesTheAlbums, DanjLovesTheHipHop, Nuff Respect Due | Tagged: 1996, JAY-Z | Permalink
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Hope y’all have been enjoying Love Week here on DLT90s thus far. And since it is Love Week and Valentine’s Day just passed us by… lemme tell y’all about some ol’ bullshit I did back in February ’96.
9 Comments | Classic Material, DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheR&B, Love Movement, My Life, Winter Six, Young Youth | Tagged: 1996, D'ANGELO, FAB 5, GZA, HELTAH SKELTAH, JAY-Z, METHOD MAN, OGC, REDMAN, SMIF-N-WESSUN | Permalink
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’96… what a summer. By then, I was starting to perform at showcases here-n-there, improving with the DJing, and generally enjoying my responsibility-free life. I wasn’t rockin’ with Aisha around that time, but I was off into other stuff (so to speak) and lookin’ forward to my senior year.
I still remember the last day of school, riding home on the bus listening to Lost Boyz’ Legal Drug Money. That same day, I went to my father’s house in Bel Air and chilled out there with my little younger brother Erin for a good 2-3 weeks. That was an interesting lil’ “vacation” because it was the first (and 5th, and 10th) time I smoked weed. It was also interesting because this nigga hung around all kinds of muh’fukkas. So we’d do anything from smokin’ with this grungy, Grateful Dead-shirt wearin’ kid to chillin’ with some lil’ rich girl who stayed in her parents’ liquor cabinet. It was some different shit for me, but I wasn’t mad at it.
I also spent a lot of time at Music Liberated on Saratoga St. that summer. That was where a lot of DJ’s around town went for records, because they always had them before most other stores. I was trying to make some kinda breakthrough by meeting people and getting my tapes heard, so I would hang out at the store, sometimes just to listen to records all day. I’d also occasionally make copies of a tape, go up there, and give them to everybody at the store for the fuck of it.
The one thing I remember most about the summer of ’96 was my homegirl Jada. At that point, she was the only girl I knew that I could talk music with, not to mention the only girl I actually liked talkin’ to for hours at a time. It was nothin’ for us to start a phone conversation at 10 p.m. and finally end it as the sun was coming up. It didn’t matter if the convo was about something as simple as how funny Chris Rock’s Bring The Pain was- we’d talk all night like we hadn’t spoken in years. We had lil’ sayings/inside jokes, passed notes in school all the time, and rarely went one full day without callin’ each other.
It’s wild in hindsight, because even though it never went past cool-level, everybody around us didn’t seem to wanna believe that. People in school SWORE we were GTD-in’, my friends thought I was in love with her, and her friends didn’t understand why we didn’t get together. I def. wouldn’t have minded, but we were just cool-as-fukk, because we had a lot of similar interests (and common enemies). Sometimes I think it was thisclose to gettin’ there… but a poor choice of words on my behalf deaded whatever chance existed, and from there things broke down FAST. By September, we were in the hallway at school exchanging “fuck you”‘s like ‘Pac and Janet in Poetic Justice.
There’s a GANG of songs from ’96 (including the seven featured this week) that always remind me of Jada to this day. I mean, I don’t sit around obsessing over her all the time, but the songs remind me because we always had the radio on in the background whenever we talked on the phone. I’ll always remember that summer for how tight we were. Well, that and the obscene amount of weed I smoked with E.
The Danj! Summer Seven Of 1996 (Want ‘em? Freakin’ click ‘em):
2Pac “Hit ‘Em Up”: I’ll always maintain that I was a bigger fan of B.I.G. than I was of ‘Pac. But damn if I didn’t play this to death. That rant at the end is timeless.
Case feat. Foxy Brown “Touch Me, Tease Me”: Young Inga meets some random new R&B cat, and a classic is made. And for the record, the faces this nigga Case makes in the video used to have me geekin’.
Jay-Z feat. Foxy Brown “Ain’t No Nigga”: More Young Inga! Here, she meets some random kinda-new rap dude, and a classic is made. Who coulda correctly guessed which one would end up being the bigger star?
Nas feat. Lauryn Hill “If I Ruled The World”: Nas might have caught a lil’ flack for going mainstream-ish with It Was Written, but he made it count with this joint (especially with Lauryn on the hook). I miss Ms. Hill.
Gina Thompson feat. Missy Elliott “The Things You Do” (Bad Boy Remix): Hee-hee-hee-hee-how-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-HOW the hell did that line catch on like it did? Who knows, but this shit was hot.
LL Cool J feat. Total “Loungin” (Remix): Of course, I love most of those old ’90s-jack-the-’80s joints, and this might be one of my favorites. Who do you love?
Total feat. Puff Daddy “Kissing You (Oh Honey)”: More Total! This song never fails to make me nostalgic- even the video has “summer ’96″ written all over it.
AND IN CASE YOU MISSED ‘EM: The other Summer Sevens are HERE.
-D!
7 Comments | DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul, My Life, Summer Seven Series, Young Youth | Tagged: 1996, FOXY BROWN, JAY-Z, LAURYN HILL, LL, MISSY, NAS, TOTAL, TUPAC | Permalink
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So… I’m the only one who used to listen to the slow jam show at night? Nah, y’all listened to it too. Truthfully, I spent a good part of my teenage years being more interested in “GTD-ing” than bein’ in love and all that ol’ bullshit. But of course, there’d be those times where so-called “love” would take over and I’d be in my tight-ass room with the radio on at 10 p.m., checkin’ out the Love Zone.
All of these songs that I usually wouldn’t listen to would suddenly make all kinds of sense. I’d be sittin’ there really feelin’ these niggas’ plights, even though you couldn’t have forced me to listen to three hours of slow joints the week before. It was especially serious when it’d be a song that spoke specifically to the situation that was goin’ on. I’d be noddin’ along with the song and agreeing, on some “yeah, why she can’t see that?” shit.
But you KNEW it was serious when you’d call and do an on-air dedication. I’ll admit, I did a couple before. When you think about it, there’s always a song for just about any situation. Allow me… and as usual, if you want ‘em, click ‘em:
For That Time You Were Just Tryin’ To Impress Her… TROOP “All I Do Is Think Of You” (1990): You prob’ly had other shit on your mind, but she didn’t know that. It was very ego-catering to believe she was all you thought of, so you really couldn’t lose with this one. If you really did happen to look forward to seein’ her in school everyday (hopefully in a non-stalker way), this helped get that across. Also, yet another reason why The ’90s Loved Michael Jackson.
For That Time You Just Wanted To “GTD” Her… H-Town “Knockin’ Da Boots” (1993): Or “KDB”, either/or. This was that undeniable one right here: it was smooth enough to be a slow joint, but still ig’nant enough to say “I’m tryna take that”. I learned in time that blatant is just the way to go sometimes. I took a hot minute to realize this, but better late than never I guess.
For That Friend You Liked Who Was Bein’ Mistreated By The Dude She Was With… Shai “Comforter” (1993): Not that you were preyin’ on her vulnerability, but you really liked this got-damn girl. This could only go one of two ways. She was either gonna end up fallin’ for you the more she confided in you (possible), or she was gonna completely miss the hint and continue to be with the dude she cried to you about (likely). And on the off-chance that she did get with you, she wasn’t gonna take half the shit from you that she accepted from him. But hey… it’s a good song.
For That Time You Actually Had A Chance Of Pullin’ Someone Who Was Taken… Joe “All The Things Your Man Won’t Do” (1996): Realistically, you weren’t gonna do anything that much different from her man, but it sounded like some true stuff to say. And with Joe, these “tryna pull another dude’s girl” songs don’t just stop here. I’ll never forget the “I Wanna Know” video- the girl was havin’ an argument with her man, and this nigga Joe couldn’t even wait ’til it was over before he was already headin’ towards her, talkin’ bout “ya man givin’ you trouble?” But uh, yeah!
For The Time When It Was Over And You Were Sad As Shit… Aaron Hall “I Miss You” (1994): We’re all adults here, right? It’s OK to admit it. You put on a front in public, you told ya mans n’nem that you weren’t sweatin’ it cause you don’t luh dem hoes, you mighta even told her you weren’t gonna miss her ass. But when you got home and her number wasn’t poppin’ up on that Caller ID anymore, you heard this song and shit got REAL.
And there’s definitely more. I’m not done with these, as I’ll surely be adding on to this topic at least a few more times in the future. I used to think love songs were all the same, but as I’ve gotten older, I realize that it’s a lot more complex than it gets credit for sometimes. In the meantime, stay tuned… and feel free to add your own here.
-D!
6 Comments | DanjLovesTheR&B, GTD, HA!, Love Movement | Tagged: 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996, AARON HALL, GTD, H-TOWN, JOE, LOVE ZONE, SHAI, TROOP | Permalink
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Not that it would matter to the subject of this entry, but we’re all adults here, right? Since we are, let’s all go back to a simpler time. A time before Zorro masks. A time before weird songs about being trapped in closets and midgets hiding in cupboards. A time before a nigga could sing “like two bears in the jungle makin’ looooove” and still be taken seriously. And yeah, a time before “the tape”.
Yep, there was a time when R. Kelly was my nigga.
I never liked him as much as the women did, but he was still one of my favorite R&B artists for a minute there, even during a time when I wasn’t checking for much R&B. After initially being tagged an Aaron Hall knockoff, he eventually broke out of that and spawned a number of his own imitators. Not only was he making a gang of hits, he was also writing and producing hits for others (Michael Jackson, Aaliyah, Hi-Five, Changing Faces, et al). He had the women on him of course, and he also got respect from the males who didn’t deny the quality of the songs. Sure, he always had some off-the-wall lyrics here and there, but they weren’t too ridiculous (yet).
I first saw R. Kelly & Public Announcement on BET in ’92 with “She’s Got That Vibe”, which was about as close to a new Guy song as anyone was gonna get by then. It got the ball rolling, but then he made it official with the second single “Honey Love”, followed by “Slow Dance (Hey Mr. DJ)” and “Dedicated”. Complete with the headset-mic hookup (with lights on the mic part!), R. was filling the void of all the New Jack Swing-era dudes who weren’t doing it on that level anymore by then. I wasn’t copping that album or anything, but I wasn’t mad at him.
Then came 12 Play, his first official solo album. Honestly, I wasn’t feelin’ his single “Sex Me”, or even “Bump N Grind” for that matter. It seemed like he was just hitting the same well over and over again. It was working for him popularity-wise, but it was “Your Body’s Callin’” that got me back on the R. Kelly train… pause. It wasn’t like the standard mid-tempo record that everyone was doing back then with the “hip-hop” beat and the hardcore posturing in the video. It was just some extra-smooth shit that had soul to it. Then, there was “Sadie”, “Seems Like You’re Ready”, the “Bump N Grind” remix… I was rollin’ with R. kinda heavy again. It continued with the ’95 R. Kelly album, with that epic “Down Low” video and “I Can’t Sleep Baby” (which I actually dedicated to someone on 92Q’s Love Zone- HA!)
Where Kelly threw me was when he started with the rampant cursing and the “rap-style singing” that unfortunately still goes on today. I was a fan of the “Hip-Hop Soul” style that had been going on, but I’ve rarely ever been a fan of singers doing things in their songs that are better left to the rappers. He’d still have a song here and there that I’d like, such as “When A Woman’s Fed Up” and some others… but by the time he’d gotten to “move your body like a snake, ma” and “Thoia-Thoing”, R. was on “this nigga is wack” status for me. And of course, the image of him taking a six-pack piss on the young’in wasn’t exactly cool either.
Just when I thought Kells had done his most ridiculous shit ever, more hilarity ensued. There’s the Best of Both Worlds albums, which are both further testaments that the self-proclaimed “R. In R&B” is not the “R. in Rap”. Then, there’s the “Trapped In The Closet” shit, which I couldn’t believe everyone thought was so ingenious. There’s also the time he ran offstage because he was high off some powerful shit thought stage crew was waving guns at him. Now, homie’s taking it there with the Autotune, and that just speaks for itself.
All in all, I’m not a “Pied Piper” fan today, but those first four/five years were alright with me. He def. played a big part (for better and worse) in ’90s R&B and the direction it continued in. Even to this day, I don’t deny his talent and capabilities. I just wish homie didn’t go on to be a big nutjob and did a lot more classic stuff and less of that ol’ other shit.
“I Can’t Sleep Baby (If I)” (1995)
“When A Woman’s Fed Up” (1998)
-D!
16 Comments | DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul, Nuff Respect Due, SMH | Tagged: 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, CHICAGO, DanjLovesTheR&B, R. KELLY | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
“Whatever music you was listenin’ to when you first started gettin’ laid is always gonna be your favorite music!“- Chris Rock
I wish I could start off by telling some elaborate story of how I contemplated and formulated some grand idea for this blog. Closer to the truth, I suddenly decided that I’d create one and then wondered what in the hell I could base it around. After giving it (very) brief thought, I decided that the thing I’m best at talking about is the thing I love most: the music I grew up on.
Props to movies and TV (which I’ll also be covering), but music was THE thing for me, first and foremost. As a child in B-More, I grew up in a house where the radio STAYED on. At 8:02 a.m., I got dressed for school with music in the background. At 3:57 p.m., I’d come home and hear it before I got in the door. At 7:45 p.m., I came in from playing outside to the sounds of whatever song V103 was playing. As a result, it was only a formality for me to become hooked on music myself. By ’87, I’d taped so many videos, my upstairs neighbor referred to me as “Video King”.
I loved (and still love) a lot of ’80s music of all genres, but I REALLY got locked in during the ’90s. It was the decade in which I not only listened to music… I also made it, spun it at parties, read about it, wrote about it in my school newspaper, talked about it, and simply LIVED it. I woke up and went to sleep to it. I got smoked out and intoxicated to it. And YEP, I even got laid to it. There’s music of other genres that occasionally struck me, but the Hip-Hop and R&B of that decade was (as they say) the soundtrack of my life during the coming-of-age stage.
I’ll be quick to admit, I’m not as crazy about it as I once was. I’ve long ago reached that point that most adults eventually reach, when they’re nowhere near the fans they were at say, 15 or so. I do feel like there are some things SORELY missing from today’s Urban music that shouldn’t be. On the other hand, I’m not as concerned with “mourning the death” as are many who prefer to ride the lame-ass “Hip-Hop Is Dead” train. If it is, in fact, dead- I’d rather do just as they implore us to do at funerals: celebrate the life.
Annnnd so, here is DanjLovesThe90s. I hope that you find it entertaining, reflective, celebratory, critical, comical, and anything else it happens to be depending on the entry. Whether you were a Hip-Hop Head or an R&B Swinger, a pre-teen or an adult, East Coast or West Coast… this is for those who either remember the decade fondly or are curious as to what was so great. I plan to chronicle not only my youth, but that of many others like myself who experienced some of these things firsthand. From calling up videos on The Box to seeing Menace II Society in the theater, I will be speakin’ on it.
In honor of the jumpoff, here’s 10 to grow on (if you want ‘em, click ‘em). For the record, I coulda gone a lot harder than this, which I will in many coming entries. Butt In The Meantiiiime…
LL Cool J “Around The Way Girl” (1990)
The Notorious B.I.G. “Guaranteed Raw” (1991)
Mary J. Blige feat. Grand Puba “What’s The 411?” (1992)
Snoop Doggy Dogg “G’z Up, Hoes Down” (1993)
Aaliyah feat. R. Kelly “At Your Best” (Remix) (1994)
Faith Evans feat. Puff Daddy “You Used To Love Me” (Remix) (1995)
Crucial Conflict “Hay (Smokin’ On)” (1996)
Christion “Full Of Smoke” (1997)
Mya feat. SisQo “It’s All About Me” (1998)
DMX feat. Drag-On, Jadakiss, Styles, & Eve “Ruff Ryders Anthem” (Remix) (1999)
13 Comments | DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheR&B, Fun Facts, My Life, Random | Tagged: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, DANJLOVESTHE90S, INTRO | Permalink
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