I wince when my little brother reminds me
of my embarrassing past. He’ll be like, “you remember when you used to jump on
the bed singing that song, ‘I’m Blue (da ba dee)’ or ‘Boom boom boom boom… I
want you in my room?’” And I’d reply, “You did it too.” But apparently he’s
excused because he was like 3 years old at the time or something… whatever.
https://www.facebook.com/
So, yes, I grew up in the
boy-band/girl-group era… Nsync, The Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees, the Spice
Girls, etc. My taste in music hadn’t matured yet, just like me, it hadn’t even
hit puberty.
I also grew up in the notorious “golden
era” of Hip Hop. Aside from the Hip Hop sing-a-longs to “The Message” by
Grandmaster Flash while walking home with my mother and oldest brother, my
earliest and fondest memory of Golden Era Hip Hop was constantly hearing
Jay-Z’s “Ain’t No Nigga” blasting from car stereos in the summer time. That
coincides exactly with the memory of my mother giving birth to my youngest
brother, even though he was born three years earlier. Don’t think too hard
about that, I have a pretty shoddy memory and things don’t always align when I
think back.
Anyway, my next Golden Era Hip Hop memory
doesn’t happen again for another 4 years… after the Doo Wop and immediately
after Z100. I think, after hearing this one classic song, I made the switch to
Hot 97… “all day that’s my word!” (At least, that’s how I like to picture it.)
http://www.saatchionline.com/
You see, I lived in the Bronx and was raised
in Harlem, so not only was it hard to not hear this song, but it was also hard
not to like it. This was THE anthem. You know what I’m talking about… “if it
wasn’t for the Bronx, this rap shit probably never would be going on, so tell
me where you from… UPTOWN BABY!”
That was the catalyst… Lord Tariq and
Peter Gunz. And then came Puffy + Mase, Biggie, The Lox, DMX, Ja Rule, fucking
Silkk the Shocker, So So Def, the original Destiny’s Child, Busta Rhymes,
Trina, Lil Mo + Fabolous, Ludacris, Mystikal, and whatever else they played on
the radio. I know… I caught on kind of late.
I made mixtapes by recording my favorite
songs off the radio onto cassettes. I never store-bought cds… always bootlegs
from 1-2-5th, and always the mixtapes with the most hardcore battle
raps. Whaaaaaattt… rocafella vs. the Lox … Jay-Z + Nas… all of that!
And yet, my music taste still hadn’t fully
matured. Hot 97 only played commercial rap. I think they
always did the Throwback at Noon, which I still listen to till this day even
though Mister Cee likes being reckless/disrespectful at the club and receiving
fellatio from transvestites in the parking lot. To each his own, right?
Anyhow, one hour of sometimes classic
sometimes trash hip hop did little to cultivate my musical growth; it did not
nurture a growing girl’s need for a wider variety of good music; Hot 97 was
just a weak supplement at best.
Okay, enough with the prepubescent
analogies. Before the turn of the century, I took a break from rap, not by
choice though… I spent a summer in St. Croix. I hated it. Nobody liked me. It
was always hot and dusty. I had a large splinter lodged into the middle of my
hand the whole time I was there.
To keep myself occupied when I didn’t go
to summer camp, I searched for change in the couch cushions and walked to the
laundry mat to buy Nestea from the vending machine; I tried to climb coconut
trees; I watched Space Jam; and to keep from suffering from Hip Hop withdrawal,
I’d sing “we true soldiers, we don’t die/ we keep rollin, na na na na na…” by Mystical
or Master P or someone else from No Limit.
St. Croix wasn’t all bad. Alas, I was
introduced to… DANCEHALL!! I’m not talking Shaggy, “It Wasn’t Me.” The song of
the summer was “Everyone Falls in Love Sometime,” which I am positive I already
heard two years before, but that song came alive in St. Croix. I mean, this isthe music
that they listen to. Reggae and dancehall is specific to people of West Indian
decent. I must have thought I was Caribbean too because I subconsciously picked
up the accent and started heel-toeing to all the reggae songs.
* * * * * * *
I’ll admit, I credit most of my good music
choices to my older brother. He put me on to all of the best songs on Jay-Z’s
Blueprint album. And when he hopped off the Jay-Z bandwagon just as everyone
else was jumping on, he gave me Big L. He was convinced Beanie Sigel and
Freeway were the best battle rappers out. Looking back, who would have thought
the Lox would consistently produce superior albums till this day (goes to show
that everything Jay-Z touches does not turn to gold). He even
lent me Fabolous’s debut album.
But I had to discover other music on my
own accord. He wasn’t really a fan of Wu-Tang and Mobb Deep other than their
hit singles. As a result, I didn’t get into Mobb Deep until “Amerika’s
Nightmare.” I know most of the words to every song on that album. If I ever
become a rapper, I’d call myself “Shorty Wop Wop” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K4jYFo3Rtg ).
My brother also didn’t listen to any
underground rap that didn’t come out of New York. I’m talking about the “dirty
backpackers,” as my cousin likes to call them; any rapper that can make it on
the Rock the Bells lineup. No Talib Kweli, no Common Sense, no De La Soul, no
Mos Def, and definitely not The Roots.
So, up until 8th grade,
all I listened to was NY Hip Hop, commercial rap, and the occasional dancehall
record.
And then came High School. When I think of
the music I listened to in High School; in that small, secluded bubble of a
boarding school, I think of the very first 50 Cent record to play on all of the
major radio stations. I think of T.I., DTP’s “Fighting in the Club”, Slim Thug,
Mike Jones (who?), Dizzee Rascal, The first Jay-Z and Nas interview
on BET after the beef, Missy Elliot, Ciara, Talib Kweli’s “Quality”, The Roots’
“Do You Want More??!!?!!!”, Nina Simone’s “Feelin Good”, John Coltrane, Nas’
“Second Childhood”, Cassidy’s “Split Personality”, Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic”,
John Legend’s “Ordinary People”, Kanye West and Twista joining Rocafella and
the subsequent “We are the Champions”, Mannie Fresh, DIPSET!!! (all day!),
R.Kelly and Jay-Z, De La Soul’s “The Grind Date”, 8Ball and MJG’s “Living
Legends”, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, the Crooklyn soundtrack, The Pharcyde, Mos
Def’s “The New Danger”, Royce Da 5’9”’s “Death is Certain”, Joe Budden’s “Focus
Man”, Dave Chapelle, Damian Marley’s “Welcome to Jamrock”, Blezzed Dez, Common
and Lauryn Hill, Blackilicious’ “Feel that Way”, Gil Scott Heron’s “Is it Jazz”
(R.I.P.), Tribe’s “Sucka Nigga”, Big L and Jay-Z’s 7 minute freestyle, “You
ain’t My Daddy”, Guerilla Black, and The Delfonics (of course!!!!).
This is just a sneak peak into my life
chronicled through music, one of the three topics that complete me entirely
along with movies and fashion. You will be hearing from me soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment