Posts in the Throwback Thursday Category
I used to do an international hip-hop radio show, which has given me a somewhat eclectic collection of rap music, not all of it good. My standards for the show, largely due to my monolingualism, sort of became "what's an awesome beat" rather than any sort of lyrical content. Which is why Robby Bee sticks out in my mind--the dude is fantastically early 90's, as you'll see in the videos, and part of that meant political lyrics. And after hours of playing songs that were incomprehensible to me it was nice to take a break and support radical pro-Native American hip-hop, regardless of it's datedness. So here you go, proof that Natives were rapping before Litefoot and that some parts of 90s metal can be enjoyable:
And as a bonus, here's my favorite track off the album that, unfrtounately, has no video: zShare - We're the Boyz
Ok, it's not technically Thursday, but I have a flight in an hour and it is snowing (yes, in April, for the second time) so I am going to demand some slack be cut.
Once again, this is more of a personal throwback, going in the wayback machine to a time when I was an innocent ten year old watching a ton of MTV. And this video flipped my shit. It terrified me really--I didn't understand it, but there was a lot of weird dancing and camera angles and it totally freaked me out. As did Missy Elliot's "The Rain". And so in honor of Busta's new mixtape as well what is the last time a rap video ever elicited terror, here is the 90s at some of their best:
To the people who read us: sorry it's been so long since a Throwback Thursday. And sorry it's restarting with Usher. But, man, remember Usher? And what happened to hiphop-r&b fusion? Kanye and T-Pain--or even, say, Pharrell and Snoop Dogg on Drop It Like It's Hot--just don't hit me like Usher and Lil Jon. There's something too fused in the former, something too cool. And it's not that those aren't great tracks, it's just that It's a fine line--one Timberlake and Timbaland finessed perfectly with Future Sex/Love Sounds--but that kind of awareness in collaboration is rare.
Usher was collaboration for the sake of entertainment. He was the all singing all dancing all acting triple threat. And now we've got Chris Brown? That's great, but it doesn't change the fact that he's younger than me and I'm probably just never going to think he's cooler than me. And I'm so young Usher's a throwback. But really: What happened to wool caps? What happened to dance routines? Choreography? Videos like movie musicals? Say what you will about his music: Usher could dance your socks off and still play the lead in a romantic comedy. Chris Brown is our Fred Astaire and Fred Astaire's cool too. But Usher's like Gene Kelly and I totally miss that.
I bet you had forgotten about the lamppost humping too. SHAME.
In honor of Super Tuesday, the first black president1:
1I know, I know, groan. Cut me some slack, I got class.
After diggin in my crates(my hard drive) I found this tasty morsel. Here have a listen.
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - T.R.O.Y. from Mecca and The Soul Brother
I'm taking over Throwback Thursday for today and, unlike Brett, my hip-hop past is so much less hardcore, so let me take you back to the time of 1997, the time before I listened to rap. I was still rocking KFRX, listening to Casey Kasum's Top 40 Countdown, and I probably owned a Limp Bizkit CD. My taste in music was, in short, terrible. I didn't know up from down, Mariah Carey from Nirvana.
And then, one day, I heard this song. Puffy gets a lot of legitimate critique, but his being everywhere in '90s is what open to door to hip-hop for me and for that I'll always have a large soft spot for his crazy dancing antics. Don't hate guys, we've all been moved by this song at least one:
Fun fact: Because I had no real idea who B.I.G. was when I first heard this song I thought it was an incredibly moving love song written to a dead girlfriend. I wasn't until muuuuuch later I realized my error.
There's a lot to love there--the dramatic motorcycle crash, the kids in white, and the dramatic rain. Was this the start of Puffy's subdued suit-wearing as opposed to, well, what I posted earlier this week? That's definitely a landmark for hip-hop fashion right there and makes the video noteworthy for more reasons than my narcissism.
Finally, I couldn't start my P. Diddy embargo without at least posting a link to this video. Welcome to Perfectowm, population: Awesome.
I considered posting this in the "Overstand" category.
If you don't know, well, now you do. I'm going to go hang my head in shame for posting this.
It's almost impossible to believe that this song is now 12 years old--and it nearly brings tears to my eyes remembering that just two weeks ago I sold my ultra-heavyweight vinyl copy of Outkast's seminal album, ATLiens ... all about the CREAM, indeed.
ATLiens was indeed one of Kast's greatest, and though it can certainly stand alone as a brilliant album, I think it is best appreciated in the context of 1998's Aquemini. Those two discs are Outkast at their finest, before Andre decided to bury his one-of-a-kind flow in some hidden Atlanta graveyard, and when Big Boi was really letting his slang run wild.
The two CDs are in my eyes a double disc: I cannot give either a higher grade, as both are genius, framing similar thematic ideas (poverty, racism, drugs, pregnancy and relationships) with parallel musical backdrops. They are infinitely repeatable, and once one's ears have adjusted to the Decatur drawls, recitable ad infinitum. Not to mention the art direction is superb (a comic book in the CD jacket!? Fuck yes.)
The first time I saw this video I was confused.
But now I see. If only Busta still spit like this today. I think his game may have fallen off with the dreads, though Dillagence was fire (but then, how couldn't it be with Dilla on the boards?)
There's enough lyrical gems in this bitch to choke a child soldier in Sierra Leone. Marinate on that.
...It was on permanent rotation for what must have been years. To be enjoyed while drinking a malt beverage from a paper bag.
