Friday, December 07, 2007

Old School Friday - RIP

"I'm still Pimp C bitch. So what the fuck is up?" I've been toying with the idea of doing an RIP edition of Old School Friday. Unfortunately, Pimp C's death this week was the final impetus. So we're gonna take it back and reminisce on a couple of fallen stars. On to the videos. As always, drink like fish but stay out of the pokey this weekend.


Total Feat Biggie - Can't You See

"Give me all the chickenheads from Pasadena to Medina." This was always one of my favorite Big verses. He. Just. Kills. It. It would've been a classic if he had spit another 24 bars. Unfortunately, Puff decided to give the song to Total. It's unfortunate, because they had no discernable talent and weren't even redeemed by good looks. And yes, I can say that because I'll dust you off in a game of hearts and old women think I'm mad cute.




Big Pun - It's So Hard

"Next year we bringing home three for the family." Unfortunately, he never got that chance. It's really a shame, because he was on the verge of blowing up in the mainstream.




Pac - California Love

"So you know the Row won't bow down to no man." When the original version came out, I was like "Ehhh." It was cool, but not incredible. I was expecting more from Dre. But then the remix came out, and I was like "Ahhhh." Classic west coast. I really can't believe it's been almost 12 years since this "All Eyes On Me" came out. EVERYBODY had a copy. If you sat in the middle of the dorm hallway, you could hear the entire album repeat over and over. Good times.




Bone Thugs-N-Harmony feat Eazy-E - For The Love Of Money

"Eazy motherfucking E or Eric Wright. It's all the same." This song always used to crack me and Waldini up. Bone goes through each verse at 100 mph, then E comes in like my grandma in her '77 LTD. He didn't really fit in the song, but it didn't matter. You couldn't hate on E. He was the Gordon Gekko of Compton, for goodness sake.




Three 6 Mafia feat UGK - Sippin On Some Syrup

"Get the umbrella out the Bentley Fanrsworth and smoke somethin' bitch like a Pimp C concert." If you're not from the south, you probably don't understand the greatness of UGK. These dudes were incomparable. How many classics are in their ouevre? Way too many to name. I still say "Break 'Em Off Something" is the greatest club song ever. In college, no song got shit popping quite like it. "Took the keys. Took the g'z. And fucked his main honey honey." RIP Chad.




Big L - Put It On

I had no idea that Mase and Cam were on Big L's first album. I wonder what THAT sounded like. Anyway, this cat is pretty underrated. I'm not the biggest aficianado, but dude could definitely spit. He was going to sign with Roc-A-Fella but was shot before he could complete the deal. Damn shame. Just imagine Beanie, Jay, and L spitting over a Kanye track.




ODB - Brooklyn Zoo

I do miss the criminal insanity of ODB. He was on that shit, for real. At first I thought he was a clown, but then I warmed up to him. I'm not sure when the light finally came on, but when it did I just couldn't get enough. Every time this song comes on, when I'm in the car, I damn near wreck cause it gets me so amped up. RIP Russell Jones. RIP.

4 comments:

Great Waldini said...

Standing on a corner straight slanging rocks aaaahh sheeeyat....

His verse still cracks me up. I have no idea what Bone is saying but here comes Eazy with that slow verse

Anonymous said...

"I got girls that make that chick Tony Braxton look like Whoopie"

Goodness. L was live. My favorite joint of his was either Flamboyant or the track on Lyracist Lounge. 3 I think.

Unknown said...

Great picks.

On Big L: I was a huge fan. He was one of the best on the mic, and clever as hell. The biggest problem he had was that his album was one of the worst produced albums I've ever heard. There were only two tracks that even sounded decent - "Put It On" was produced by Red Alert, and the Summer Smooth remix of "MVP". That's it. All his other rhymes, so of which are the dopest sh*t you'll hear, were wasted on tracks that were literally produced in the basement of my boy's brothers' crib. I'm not even joking - one of our boy's older brother (don't bother looking him up, he ain't produced jack) actually got credited for producing two of the songs on the album. That's how cut-rate the production of Big L's first album was.

And Ebonics is a classic, too. Someone could make a killing just by taking the audio from those Big L albums, remixing the tracks with some good modern sound, adding in some decent filler (guest appearances by other rappers, hook by R.Kelly, you know, the works)... and booyah: best "new" rap album in years.

On the ODB: the Rza sound effects were f*cking gold. I remember having the CD single, and hating the uncensored version, actually preferring to hear the censored version for the sound effects.

Gangsta D said...

That's crazy about Big L. How many times have we seen great lyricists go unnoticed because of subpar beats?

Dude, that's why it's taken me so long to post Brooklyn Zoo. I've been searching for the edited version. Editing in those sound effects is a lost art. Dre's use of them for the "Doggy Dogg World" video is another good example.