Old School Friday - Who Are You Again?

This week is all about debut appearances. The first couple performances by an artist are hardly indicative of how they will end up, as you will soon see. So, it's cool to go back and see how it all started. It's real cool to see videos from '90 to '93 just to see all the Cross Colours. What was that all about? Why did we beg our parents to spend hundreds of dollars on such ridiculous clothes? I would ground my son for a month if he asked me to buy some $75 bright red jeans. Either that or he's going to the mill to get a job. But anyways, enjoy the vids. And fellas, I hope you did right by your ladies yesterday. Holla.

BTW, check out my old roommate's blog, Finessed & Blessed. He's also representing the Old School. "211" up in this piece! [inside joke]

MC Serch feat Red Hot Lover Tone, Nas, & Chubb Rock - Back To The Grill

"Serial killer who works by the phone book." Nas on a MC Serch track? It may seem funny now, but a lot of people forget that Serch executive produced "Illmatic." After I heard this song, I couldn't wait for Nas' album to come out. When I heard "Halftime" I was like uhhhhhhh....nice video. But "Ain't Hard To Tell" came out soon after, and it was all good again. Well until that whole "Nastradamus" period, which sucked ass through a straw.




SuperCat feat Biggie, Puff, & Trevor Sparks - Dolly my baby

Whatever happened to Supercat? He can't get any run now? You mean the world is a better place with Souljah Boy cashing checks instead of Supercat? But I digress. Big's verse is OK, not spectacular. Obviously, he grew as an artist between this song and "Ready To Die." The less words written about Trevor and Puff's verses, the better,




Original Flavor feat Jay-Z - Can I Get Open?

"I'm so crazy. Ahhhhh." OK, I realize that Jay was in a few videos with Jaz, but those songs are kind of wack. I actually dig this joint. But the video is pure early 90's. The Karl Kani beanie with the plate on the front. 1992 where have you gone? And where did Jay's original flow go? He's spittin' just a little differently nowadays. But it's cool. The smart ones know when to change.




Father MC - I'll Do 4 U

If you look past the rapping Chris Rock impersonator and listen closely, you can hear a familiar voice. Is that? Could it be? Yep, it's a young Mary J Blige. The end of the song is funny, cause Mary doesn't rip it like you know she wanted to. She kind of holds back. If this song were recorded now, Mary would blow the wire mesh off the microphone.




Eric Sermon feat Keith Murray - Hostile

"Cause my delivery is so complex." This video introduced kids in the south to the practice of keeping razor blades in one's mouth. After this, all the wanna-be thugs at my high school started doing it. You're either born gully or not. You can't acquire it through visuals. Anyway, Keith rips this track.




Tyrese - Coke

When his first album came out, I was like "Isn't that the dude from the Coke commercial?" I'm pretty sure that's what everyone else was thinking too. But, obviously it worked out for him. I guess dreams do come true...if you drink Coke.




Xzibit - Papparazzi

Hmmm...so you went from recording Papparazzi to spitting lines like "Cock back the weight, spread hate. Heavy metal we settle and set shit straight." Interesting how his whole steelo changed once Dre came calling. I'm not hating, but it is hilarious watching this video, knowing how things turned out. I guess he couldn't envision "Pimp My Ride" back in '96.




AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT


The Cardigans - Lovefool

A little ditty in honor of Valentine's Day this week. Unfortunately, I've kind of slept on The Cardigans. They're kind of soulful for a pop band from Sweden. Speaking of Sweden, they pretty much eat Abba for breakfast. No comparison at all.