True (R&B) Confessions

Aiiiight, so… way back on September 29 of last year, I did my very own version of Hip-Hop Confessions. I owned up to some things, some of you did some owning up as well, and fun was had by all. Today, I offer a sequel of sorts: R&B Confessions. Read on as I drop some of my ’90s-related, personal,  unconventional,  unpopular, idiosyncratic opinions as they relate to my second favorite genre. Checkitout…

1) Not a big Neo-Soul fan: I’ll be the first to admit that I’m partial to “real” R&B, and I hate them rap-singer niggas with all my heart. But one subgenre that I’ve not been crazy about is the so-called “Neo-Soul” thing. Just because an artist wears a headwrap, has a live band, and includes fruit ‘n’ plants ‘n’ shit in their videos, it doesn’t necessarily mean their music is all that great. There’s a few acts that would be construed as Neo-Soul artists that I like (i.e. D’Angelo, Maxwell, Erykah Badu, Musiq), and even they don’t take great pride in that label. It’s not that I haven’t given it a chance or that I don’t respect their willingness to color outside the lines, but a lot of them Neo types make some of the most sleep-inducing albums ever.

Maxwell “Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder)” (1996)

2) If it ain’t from the first album, Boyz II Men don’t exist to me: And that includes that sucka-ass “End Of The Road” (with the worst line ever spoken in any R&B song ever- “baby I knew about it, I just didn’t care”). It also includes “I’ll Make Love To You” and “On Bended Knee” and especially that “Mama” shit from Soul Food. I don’t deny their talent at all; in fact, we could use a group today with the harmony and songwriting they had. But for me, just about everything by BIIM post-Motownphilly (except for the song below) can kick rocks.

Boyz II Men “Water Runs Dry” (1994)

3) I used to jam the shit out of “Cleopatra’s Theme”: Anybody remember that post I did about that Rugrats shit? Remember when I said there was this other cheesy, kid-friendly record out around the same time that I actually liked? This would be the one in question. I mean, I didn’t go out and buy it or nothin’, but I did happen to dig it enough to know the chorus. Because there’s no way I can take full responsibility for liking this shit, I’ma blame it on my 9-year-old (at the time) niece. That’s what happens when you spend your afternoons watching a kid who looks at Disney and Nickelodeon all the time. One minute you’re singin’ along as a joke, next it’s poppin’ into your head when you’re at the store. Cleopatra, comin’ at ‘cha!

Cleopatra “Cleopatra’s Theme” (1998)

4) There’s A Lot Of ’90s R&B That I Love Now, But Didn’t Care For Much When It Was Out: As some of you know, I’ve said a million times before that I went thru a brief anti-R&B time in my life. But even outside of that lil’ ‘93-’94 gap, there’s also a great deal of stuff that came out after that which I wasn’t too heavy into either. Only over the last 5 years or so have I grown to appreciate certain joints that I once thought were either boring, getting played on the radio too much, or flat-out wack. Blame it on growing up, blame it on nostalgia, or whatever. Altogether, I’m positive that my iPod currently holds about nearly 100 ’90s songs that I wouldn’t have had a few years ago.

Brian McKnight “Anytime” (1997)

And if you thought all that was startling, or even if you didn’t… here comes the greatest love of all biggest revelation of all. Are you ready for this? Are you hangin’ on the edge of your seat? Here it is:

5) Whitney Houston? Blah. As I said with BIIM, I’d never deny Whitney’s talent. I’d never negate that she’s one of the greatest to do it, at least before she started sweatin’ 20 seconds into every performance and doin’ that strange “heh” thing she does. However, I like her singing more than I actually like most of her music. There’s about five Whitney songs I like, and only one of those that I really rock with like that (“You Give Good Love”)- the rest I could take or leave. Most of the slow ones are too Lifetime Channel-esque for my ears, and most of the uptempo ones are too Queer As Folk-esque for me. Whit’s just not my bag… I’ve enjoyed more of her interviews than I have her songs.

Whitney Houston “I’m Your Baby Tonight” (1990)

So there it is. I’ve confessed. When I get to the gates, God ain’t gonna be like “turn yo’ ass around, nigga” (shoutout to Omar Gooding). So now that I’ve cleansed my soul (and neo-soul for that matter), what are some of your confessions? Fire away.

-D!

DANJ! Presents Winter Six: 1994 (Relax Yourself, Girl)

Aight, so it’s Friday on DanjLovesThe90s, which means it’s about time for another Winter Six. This week, I go in on the great 1994. Adjust the Mega Bass on your Walkman and let’s do it…

Man Behind The Music: Pete Rock

In the earlier part of the ’90s, most hip-hop was still carrying over from the sound of the late-’80s. Although a few producers were starting to come in with new sounds, a lot of ‘90 and ‘91 still seemed influenced by the work of Marley Marl and the others who made the Golden Age. By the time ‘92 arrived, things started taking shape. One of the newest up-and-coming producers was Mount Vernon, NY’s Pete Rock.

Mixtape Monday: Show Me The Money!

Welcome to February on DanjLovesThe90s, where I’ll be continuing the Winter Six, gettin’ mad affectionate during Love Week, and a whole lotta other good shit.

But today, I bring you a gift from February ‘97- a classic mixtape by DJ Clue, entitled Show Me The Money. Here, Clue premiers two songs from a lil’ album you mighta heard of called Life After Death, a new single by Mary J. Blige, music by The LOX, Capone-N-Noreaga, Jay-Z, and more. This is an interesting lil’ tracklist here, because it was one of the last eras where the KRS/Buckshot/Large Professor side of hip-hop was still co-existing with the Puffy/Ma$e/Lil’ Kim side, even as the crowd was getting more and more divided. Anyway, this is one of Clue’s most popular tapes, not to mention one that I wore the hell out. Check it out:

DANJ! Presents Winter Six: 1993 (Black Hoodie Rap)

So… as we come to the last post of January on DanjLovesThe90s, I hope y’all have been enjoyin’ this Winter Six thing so far. For this one, we slide into 1993, which was a transitional year both for hip-hop and myself.

Music Television YOU Control

The other day on m’man Combat Jack’s Daily Mathematics, I cited that as much as BET’s programming sucks today, it’s always been more or less a glorified music video channel. Sure, I’ve been interested in a few non-musical things they aired back in the day, but for the most part? It was all about the videos. But when my TV wasn’t locked in on that channel, it was on “Channel 37″, better known as The Box.

The ’90s Loved The ’80s: “White People Music”

Growing up in the ’80s, once I got hooked to music, I started listening to everything. I listened to both the R&B and pop stations, watched any video show I could find on TV, the whole shit. Much to the surprise of my friends around my way, I liked a lot of what was often referred to as “white people music”. At the time, I hadn’t looked at or listened to it that way- it was all just music to me. The only real difference I knew was that there were “singin’ songs” and “rappin’ songs”. I could rock with this just as much as I did this with no problem. Unfortunately for me, I got clowned more than a lil’ bit about that shit.

Apparently, a lot of rappers and producers must have felt the same way. Along with the fact that some white artists used to be played on urban stations, some of these people seemed to have grown up equally exposed to “white people music” from the MTV era. From Method Man referencing a Hall & Oates hook to (of course) Puffy’s use of The Police’s “Every Breath You Take”, lots of pop hits have been sampled/flipped/interpolated/etc. in the hip-hop world. It especially started happening more frequently in the last couple years of the ’90s, which brings us to today’s entry.

R.I.P. Apache

Big Rest In Peace to Apache, who’s best known for his 1992 hit “Gangsta Bitch”. He was a founding member of the Flavor Unit (that later included Queen Latifah, Naughty by Nature, etc.), in addition to becoming a primary ghostwriter and collaborator for Latifah, most notably on her biggest single, “U.N.I.T.Y.” He dropped one album (Apache Ain’t Shit) in ‘93, but mostly fell back and kept ghostwriting after that. He died yesterday from what’s being described as a “protracted illness”. R.I.P.

DANJ! Presents Winter Six: 1992 (Do, Dah, Dippity)

Aight… it’s ‘92, so what you won’ do…

Between ‘90 and ‘91, I’d had a total of four different addresses. Finally in December ‘91, we moved into an apartment in South Baltimore, where I stayed for the next five years. To be honest, I really don’t remember much else about the winter of ‘92 outside of that. I do recall my Chicago Bulls jacket that you couldn’t tell me wasn’t the shit, and that I was still a huge wrasslin’ fanatic who was the only Ric Flair stan in my class. Then, there’s the time I went nuts when we got cable, and that’d be about it. However, if there’s one thing I vividly recollect (as always), it’s the music. In addition to the entire Juice soundtrack, which I managed to have before I’d even seen the movie, these were the six OTHER songs I couldn’t stop listening to. I bet’cha remember:

All Black Everything

So… Jay-Z finally addressed that Illuminati/occult/freemason shit last week, eh? To me, it’s ridiculous that it even got to that point. I’m not so skeptical that I wouldn’t believe it if it was proven, but I’m also not so gullible that I’d believe it based on speculation. Some of the stuff I’ve seen on the net regarding his so-called involvement in the occult is plain retarded. I actually saw one video describing his background vocals as a “separate entity” appearing on the song. HA!

Now anyone dizzy enough to buy that will buy anything. Anybody could take some lyrics and drum up some shit that makes them out to be “eeee-viiiil”. In fact, I could do it. But it won’t be a Hova song. It’ll be one that’s been grossly overlooked during all these accusations of Illuminati ties and secret hand signals. This particular song was tied to a movie of the same name, and it was performed by none other than America’s favorite negro, Will Smith. 12 years before “all black everything”, there were the “Men In Black”… a.k.a. The Masons.