Yeah, we're doing collabos this week. You can't succeed without collaboration...or some similar bullshit that corporate weenies try to pound into your skull. Anyway, I know I've left out some quality tracks, but just remember that patience is a virtue. Also, I'm trying something new this week. Ninety-five percent of you will probably hate it, but that's OK. Another quaalude, you'll love me in the morning. Holla.
Slick Rick feat Rae - Frozen
"Ill niggas saying throw Rick and Rae on." Co-sign. Although, I'm not all that ill. Maybe just a tad under the weather, though.
Beenie Man feat Mya - Girls Dem Sugar
This song is so much better than "Who Am I?" Whenever the DJ spun that record, I knew it was time to get a drink. But this was a definite upgrade. The Neptunes blessed us with an incredibly danceable track. Matter fact, in about 10 seconds you're gonna want to get out on the dance floor. Don't fight it.
Aaliyah feat DMX - Back In One Piece
"A dog needs a grrrrr." Damn, did this joint come out eight years ago? It was that long ago that DMX was relevant? Anyway, I always liked this joint. I'm surprised it wasn't a bigger hit. As for the movie, "Romeo Must Die?" Eh. Solid if unspectacular. There were some cute Asian chicks in it though.
Blackstreet feat Dr. Dre - No Diggity
"The homies got at me. Collab creations bump like acne." Actually, it kind of bumps like the measles. This beat is in serious need of antibiotics.
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam feat Full Force - All Cried Out
"Apology not accepted. Add me to the broken hearts you collected." How can anyone dog Lisa Velez? It's hard to put into words the crush I had on Lisa Lisa. Too bad I was only 10, or I would've given her a shoulder to cry on. It's also hard to put into words the extreme jheri curl action going on in this video. I swear some juice flew out of my monitor and hit me in the face. Put the activator down, pimpin'. Just put it down.
Method Man & Redman - How High
This song is like the first date that would provide the impetus for a long lasting relationship. It kind of made sense. They were both gifted rappers that hailed from
Freestyle Fellowship feat Daddy-O - Innercity Boundaries
A little smoothed out jazz to end things this week. Hard to believe these cats were from the west coast. Talk about an uphill climb. This song came out in '93, during the height of "The Chronic/Doggystyle" pandemonium. They never had a chance at commercial success. Too bad.
And Now For Something Completely Different
Rollins Band - Liar
I'm not the biggest Henry Rollins or Black Flag fan, but this video has always cracked me up. The visuals and vocals are so over the top, but the beat is actually pretty tight. I think I'm gonna start throwing in videos like this, every now and then, just for shits and giggles.
6 comments:
The Beenie Man-Mya joint is classic. I loved that song. I always said, if I could choose skills, being able to spit raspy reggae rhythms would be at the top of the list. I would have invented reggaeton 10 years ago if I could spit hot fire.
The Teddy Riley/Dre collaboration (with the ill Bill Withers "Grandma's Hands" sample) is still the best R&B song of the 90's. And yes, there are lots of good R&B songs (Jodeci, SWV, Silk, H-Town, Blackstreet), but that's my favorite right there.
Finally: Redman hails from Brick City (Newark), not NYC. His Cribs appearance is still the best episode ever. It's the only Cribs where I was like "Damn, I live better than that guy". Redman's spot in Newark included a living room with his playstation, a TV, and a passed out "uncle" on the carpet. And ends with Redman sticking his head in the hole in his screen door and waving bye-bye at the camera. Brick City, yo.
Of course he's from Newark. How did I miss that? I must've been enjoying my mango smoothie too much.
Once, when I lived outside of Philly, I decided to fly out of Newark's airport because it was roughly the same distance from me as Philly's airport. I can honestly say that I was a little worried, while driving home at midnight. I felt like the Griswolds in National Lampoon's Vacation. My wondows were rolled up tight. There was really nothing to be afraid of, but there was just something about Newark that kept my head on a swivel. I guess it's reputation proceded itself:)
I can't aruge with you on No Diggity. Maybe there are better songs, but the list is damn near microscopic.
Newark's rep is definitely hard to ignore. It's like that scene in Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle... you see the car pull up in the middle of West Hell, and my first thought was "Oh man, they must be in Newark". Bingo.
Along those lines... my first time I went South, I decided to take the train to North Carolina. I hated flying. I fell asleep at some point in Jersey, and woke up a couple of hours later. I looked up, and saw some colorful buildings in what was clearly a hood (only liquor stores and dilapitated streets). I thought to myself "Must be Baltimore", and sure enough, it was. I guess years of Roc and The Corner (the prequel of The Wire) taught me that Baltimore = "hood" + "colorful buildings".
Check it: It was "The Corner"... that's too recent. This was like mid-90's, so it must have been Roc and Homicide: Life On The Streets that gave me this visual of Baltimore that I instantly recognized. But I think The Wire has done that for the rest of the nation now, too...
10 seconds in to "Girls Dem Sugar," I had the urge to go to a strip club.
It took you 10 seconds? I was halfway out the door after 5:)
Post a Comment