Nah, I’m Sayin’… You Know You Done F**ked Up, Dont’cha?

Alright, so… let’s say your name is Debra Lee, and you are the president and CEO of BET. The icon of icons has died three days prior to your channel’s award show. This artist is one whose music was not only once EXTRA-prevalent on your station, but has also influenced half of the people whose videos CURRENTLY air on your station. Although you only have three days to change things around, and no one expects you to perform miracles, you still have a chance to provide a fitting tribute (especially with more people probably tuning in than ever and all kinds of media outlets covering your event). Do you:

A) Deliver on your words, which were “this show is all about Michael“?

B) Include a tribute segment here, but opt to do a better-planned full-on tribute show at another time?

C) Put on an already half-assed show as planned, and add to its half-assedness by half-assing the tribute at that?

Two of those options would’ve been all good. But ultimately, Option C seems like the one they chose to run with. Good God Damn.

Don’t get me wrong, New Edition started things off right with the Jackson 5 medley. Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo closed out on a high note with a performance of “I’ll Be There”. Even better than that, Janet Jackson herself came out and spoke briefly to the audience prior to the final performance. Everything between that was just a bunch of mambajahambo and What-The-Fuckery. I knew going in that it wasn’t gonna be a 100% MJ show… but I didn’t expect a 15% MJ show either, especially after it being specifically noted that it was now going to become a tribute to him. In fact, I wasn’t even gonna watch the shit under normal circumstances, and I’m sure half the people who did weren’t going to either.

The one thing about this, from a personal standpoint, that gets me is that it’s BET. It’s the station that always prides itself on the legacy of not only “Black Entertainment”, but especially “Black Music”. In fact, until recent years, all it really was (90% of the time) was a music video channel. If the people who work there are able to believe today that Michael’s legacy (as well as BET’s) was properly honored last night, then so be it. Closer to the truth, BET was a better station when they were in DC with a shoestring budget and the cheapest-looking shows ever than they are today with muhfukkin’ Viacom backing them. At least then, you could expect that they’d be on their A-game, even if it wasn’t so much as a got-damn tribute to Marlon Jackson.

Speaking of Viacom, the craziest part of this is that MTV and VH1 will probably top this shit without half-trying- the same way they do with the hip-hop retrospectives and even the damn reality shows. Because even with a heightened popularity, and better production value than they used to have, BET has been substandard-as-fuck for years. They have more TV shows, more viewers, more media coverage… and yet they still manage to be hot garbage in their presentation. They’ve had their moments, but they’ve been increasingly far-and-few between.

Again, my gripe is not with the fact that they didn’t give us an “OMG Michael Jackson All-Out Extravaganza Featuring Every Single Person You Can Think Of Doing A Stellar MJ Rendition!” given the time they had. It’s moreso with the fact that a semblance of that was promised and they couldn’t even deliver that. What we did get was four mini-performances of MJ songs, a bunch of shoutouts (in addition to shouts to God and “the haters”), a tribute to the O’Jays which was BETTER than the ones to Michael, and other things too random to remember. Worst of all, we got a terrible Drake/Lil’ Wayne/etc. performance that resembled four niggas rapping in a living room with their kids as the backup dancers. And THIS is the show dedicated to Michael Jackson.

BET can fix this… maybe. They can put together a well-planned show that properly pays respect to the man who made it possible for most of their current favorite stars to step on a stage. Given the time to do so, they could probably do it better than any other station would. Unfortunately, it’s probably not gonna happen that way. They’re likely fine with it how it was, and now some other station has the full opportunity to steal the thunder.

-D! (aight… back to business as usual tomorrah. The healing process has started, haha)

The ’90s Loved Michael Jackson

So… what happens now?

Without doubt, Michael Jackson memorabilia and merchandise is about to skyrocket, both in popularity and (unfortunately) price. I just bypassed a DVD of The Jacksons: An American Dream at Wal-Mart on Thursday afternoon, about four hours before the news broke. I bought some other DVD’s instead and figured I’d get that one next time. There’s not a chance I get it for $7.50 now, IF it’s even there anymore. I’m waiting for the MJ shirts to show up (which I might fuck around and buy a bunch of), and hopefully, we can get to hear the newer material he was working on.

Speaking of new music, I’d like to see Michael’s influence shine through even more from here on out. I’d like to see homage paid to him and his work, not only by the artists who idolize him but in their music. I have a feeling that it will be, just as it has in previous decades. Wait… I just had another one of my BRILLIANT ideas! (shoutout to whomever knows where that’s from)

In the ’90s, a number of MJ’s best songs were sampled and reborn by newer hip-hop artists, who were likely huge MJ fans themselves. Let’s do it:

Naughty By Nature “O.P.P.” sampled The Jackson 5 “ABC”: Despite having to give up all kinda publishing rights for the sample (according to group member KayGee), NBN’s first-ever hit was largely based on pieces of The J5’s 1970 hit, “ABC”. I bet a 12-year-old Mike didn’t think that in 21 years, his voice would be heard on a song about smashin’ somebody else’s piece.

Ghostface Killah featuring Mary J. Blige “All That I Got Is You” sampled The Jackson 5 “Maybe Tomorrow”: Ghostface, member of the Wu-Tang Clan and fan of classic soul records, samples J5 for a tribute to his mother from his ‘96 debut solo joint, Ironman. Still one of Ghost’s most memorable, and one of MJB’s best cameos.

Heavy D & The Boyz “Peaceful Journey” sampled The Jacksons “This Place Hotel”: Also known as “Heartbreak Hotel”, the Jacksons’ big 1980 hit has been sampled a few times. My favorite usage of the song was by Heavy D, who dedicated “Peaceful Journey” to lost loved ones (along with a then-unknown Jodeci on the hook).

De La Soul’s “Breakadawn” sampled Michael’s “I Can’t Help It”: In ‘93, a popular album cut from Off The Wall became a popular single by Amityville, Long Island’s own De La Soul. A loop of the first two bars from “I Can’t Help It” was all it took for the Plugs to kick off their album Buhloone Mind State and drop one of the best singles of that year.

MC Lyte featuring XScape “Keep On Keepin’ On” sampled Michael’s “Liberian Girl”: In ‘87, MC Lyte and Jermaine Dupri were both 15 years old, and probably enjoyed MJ’s Bad album. Nine years later, JD uses “Liberian Girl” to give Lyte another hit for her resume. The power of music…

Nas “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” sampled Michael’s “Human Nature”: One of the best tracks from Thriller meets one of the best from Illmatic. This song almost didn’t happen- after Nas and his producer Large Professor were beaten to the punch by SWV’s “Right Here” a few months earlier, they considered shelving it. After further consideration, they went ahead and made it happen anyway, to classic results.

I used to occasionally have debates with older people about sampling. They often saw it as stealing, but I felt like it was the utilization of great old music to help create great new music. Besides, if it weren’t for new artists using the work of those who came before them, this audition would’ve never happened before Berry Gordy’s eyes:

The King Has Left The Building.

Like most kids who grew up in the ’80s, there was a time when I wanted to BE Michael Jackson. I wanted to dance like him, I wanted my hair like his, I wanted to dress like he did. When I was about four, Thriller was my first-ever favorite album. On top of that, after being introduced to his Jackson 5 and Off The Wall-era songs by my mother, those were just as great to me as Thriller was. Michael, at that time and to this day, was the greatest entertainer I’d ever seen.

The glove, the jackets, the shoes, the spin, the moonwalk, or the crotch grab… all of these things inspired kids (and adults) to imitate MJ in fun, and inspired future entertainers in their approach to performing and making music. I would even say that Michael’s influence didn’t just shine while he was at the peak of his career, but today as well. There are artists out there right now who have openly acknowledged that he inspires them… from Justin Timberlake to Kanye West to Usher. Even in his absence from the popular music scene, Michael has STILL had a presence through them. If that doesn’t say a lot for what he meant as an artist, I don’t know what could.

With respect to MTV, they’ll forever have to share the distinction of being the element that made music videos important. They were the outlet that popularized videos in the first place, but Michael’s videos elevated the popularity much higher than it would’ve been without him. I remember HAVING to see the premiere when he had a new video out, because I didn’t wanna be the only one in school the next day who didn’t see it. That kid who didn’t catch the video would kinda be treated like an outcast that day, because that’s all we were talking about, and they weren’t even included in the convo.

Obviously, Mike wasn’t without criticism- some by his own actions, some unwarranted. Personally, I never thought it was fair that he caught the amount of flack that he did simply for being “different”. Sure, he did and wore things that people didn’t understand, and he was eccentric to say the least. But if you took those things away, he’d have just been another singer who made music. Much like his main competitor in the ’80s, Prince, Michael was just on his own shit. Those same things that everyone thought of as strange were the same things that made him stand out as an entertainer. Even before shit REALLY hit the fan, he was catching all kinds of backlash for no other reason than because he was left-of-center in some of his interests and wardrobe choices.

Michael’s bigger problems came about in the ’90s with the allegations. For whatever reason, despite never being found guilty of those claims OR the accusation brought against him 10 years later, he was never able to shake that label off of him due to how media often covered him. All in all, even though I’ve joked about it myself, I just think MJ was a grown man who wanted to do kid things and had no grasp of the reality that other adults just don’t think that way. And with him having the spotlight on him, of course it was destined to be pinpointed even more than it would anyone else.

Michael Jackson was a part of great events, controversial moments, major achievements, and embarrassing headlines. He was everyone’s favorite superstar one minute, and the #1 (alleged) pedophile the next. For me, he was a bigger-than-life entertainer whose greatest achievements will never be matched from a performance or popularity standpoint. Was he a little out there? Sure. Did he screw himself up with constant surgery and altering? Probably. Have I laughed at or made MJ jokes before? Absolutely. But even in jest, Michael was always one of my favorites of all-time, if not THE favorite.

(The following is not a definitive list or anything like that, simply some of my favorites from Michael’s career. Enjoy!)

The Jackson 5 “The Love You Save”

The Jackson 5 “Who’s Loving You”

“I Wanna Be Where You Are”

The Jacksons “Show You The Way To Go”

“Off The Wall”

“Rock With You”

“P.Y.T.”

“Beat It”

“Baby Be Mine”

“The Way You Make Me Feel”

“Another Part Of Me”

“Remember The Time”

“You Rock My World”

-D!

BTW: Look out for “The ’90s Loved Michael Jackson” this weekend.

’90s Girls

RANDOM THOUGHT: Call it being in touch with my feminine side or whatever (stop/rewind), but I’ve never believed in “girl songs”.  I definitely know there’s music that’s aimed more toward women, but I’ve never looked at it like that when it came to liking the music itself. In fact, I never knew anybody did until maybe a few years back. Only in recent years have I known dudes who don’t even listen to female artists’ music, because to them, it’s “for the girls”. I don’t know if that’s a generational thing, or if they just say that and then dance to Beyonce in private… all I know is that some of my favorite songs have happened to come from the fairer sex. And it doesn’t hurt that they were (usually) hot as all hell.

I say that to say this: today’s entry is dedicated to some of the female R&B groups of the ’90s. The ones I’ll be covering here weren’t necessarily the most successful or the most long-running, but they had their moments in time while inside of the decade.

Zhane had a nice lil’ run around ‘93-’94. Their unique look and upbeat style gave them a presence at a time when a lotta new girl groups were out there looking mad similar. I also rocked with their midtempo-bouncy sound, mostly produced by Naughty By Nature’s KayGee. Their big screwup came when they dropped their follow-up in ‘97 with a single that was waaay too close to “Hey Mr. DJ” for comfort. It was called “Request Line”, and everything from the subject to the beat sounded awfully familiar to their first hit. Bad move there, but that’s the music industry for ya. They split up the following year, and that’s pretty much it.

Brownstone sounded like they were gonna be one of the groups who could go the distance. They came out the box with what (to me) is still one of the strongest R&B songs of the decade, “If You Love Me”. They had the vocals and the songs to go with them… they just couldn’t stay together. One member left before the first album’s run was even over, and then the Version 2 edition split up almost right after the second one came out.

A lot of these girl groups couldn’t make it past that second album, no matter how big that first one was. It happened to Zhane, it happened to Brownstone, and it happened to Jade. They were off to a solid start with a platinum album and single, but they were one of those groups who didn’t have that extra-standout shit to move past the rest of the crowd. And then of course, once the second album started floppin’ like a dying fish, they called it a wrap.

Alas! XScape managed to make it to the third album. Actually, they managed to endure a lot: pregnancies, changing musical tastes, and being forever branded “them ugly-ass XScape bitches”. They had a nice bunch of hits before going their seperate ways, and neither member has done particularly bad following the split. None of them have matched (popularity-wise) what they did with the group, but they’ve all been associated with successes in one way or another… even it was something as simple as poppin’ out babies for T.I.

When it comes to one-hitta-quittas of the girl groups, I don’t think it gets any better than MoKenStef. The chorus of “He’s Mine” has gone from being a staple of arguments between dumb wives and mistresses in ‘95, to being the status of a million MySpace chicks to this day. I’ve always said that there’s not a chance in hell that a male artist EVER drops a song like this, because that’s just not the way we do business. Naive as it is, it’s a classic song that’s seen a shelf life way longer than the group itself, who only dropped one more single afterward and disappeared.

So, there they are- just a few of the female groups who made R&B happen during the ’90s… shoutout to tennis skirts, Reeboks, and acrylic nails.

Oh, and of course:

Zhane “Hey Mr. DJ” (1993)

Brownstone “If You Love Me” (1994)

Jade “Don’t Walk Away” (1993)

XScape “Who Can I Run To?” (1995)

Mokenstef “He’s Mine” (1995)

-D!

Summer Seven Series: 1990

What up, gangstas? This is the start of a weekly series I’ll be doing here on DanjLovesThe90s throughout the next couple months. I’ll be covering the summer of each year in the ’90s, in addition to throwing in seven of what were my favorite songs during that time. Charge it to my keen memory or whatever-have-you, but these are just a few accounts of what were my coming-of-age years. And of course, in the event that you don’t give a damn about my life, there’s music as well so you can’t be too mad at it. Here we go!

For me, ‘90 was the last year that I was really a kid. I would spend the following years tryin’ to be older than I was, but by this point, I was just getting out of elementary school.  I was still into video games, cartoons, watching wrestling, and playing with my WWF action figures. When it wasn’t that, I liked going to the movies with either my mother or my aunt and uncle. In fact, I thought Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was the best movie I was ever gonna see in my life- a feeling that has since subsided, of course.

‘90 was the year that I really started getting into music even more than I had been prior to that. Whereas before, I’d mostly listen to the radio or whatever tapes my brother or sisters had, I was now starting to want tapes of my own. I didn’t have cable, but every time I’d visit my father’s house, I made sure to carry a blank tape with me to record as many new videos as I could.

I was staying at my uncle’s house for the summer and attending the Arena Playhouse five days a week. There, I learned dance, acting, art, and creative writing. It was an enjoyable experience, at least until I got kicked out for throwing milk on another one of the kids. It was in response to him (purposely) spilling milk on my shoe, but because I “overreacted” and completely splashed him, I was the one who got thrown out of the program. So I spent the rest of the summer in the house, eating snacks and listening to my uncle’s AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted tape whenever I could sneak a listen.

At the end of that summer, I was heading into middle school. I was a little heartbroken because I had a crush on my 16-year-old neighbor Joy, only to find out she had a boyfriend (like I had a chance). More than anything, though, I was still being a typical 10-year-old doing 10-year-old shit.

The Danj! Summer Seven of 1990 (in no particular order):

A Tribe Called Quest “Bonita Applebum”: Q-Tip and co. officially enter my ears with this lil’ catchy three-minute jingle. I didn’t know what “crazy prophylactics” were, but I was feelin’ this song pretty hard.

Bell Biv Devoe “Do Me!”: Fresh off “Poison”, the three backgrounders of New Edition keep stepping to the forefront- smackin’ it up, flippin’ it, and rubbin’ it down.

Kwame & A New Beginning “Ownlee Eue”: A few years before he and “them fuckin’ polka dots” were rendered irrelevant, Kwame was doin’ his thing.

Keith Sweat “Make You Sweat”: I swear, this dude caught a lot of jokes for being of the whiniest singers ever, but he made some solid-ass songs- this being one of my favorites to this day.

Klymaxx “Good Love”: The ’80s were good to Klymaxx… the ’90s? Not so much. But before the party ended, they slid with one last hit for the New Jack era.

Ice Cube “A Gangsta’s Fairytale”: The song that drew me to Cube’s debut solo joint, as O’Shea schools us on what Cinderella is really up to when the clock strikes 12.

Tony! Toni! Tone! “Feels Good”: The hits keep comin’ for the T3, and I was dancin’ my ass off to this one. Pac’s brother was right- Tony! Toni! Tone! had done it again.

Until Wednesday…

-D!

Freestyle Friday!

Can’t lie… the Clue retro got me in that zone. BONUS!

(You know the drill- you want ‘em… click ‘em.)

Nas & Foxy Brown (1997): With Firm Biz in full swing, Nas Escobar and the Brown Fox drop gems on ‘em. I could do without the visual of Nas “bustin’ a nut on his fist”, but whatever works.

Killa Cam & Cardan (1997): A pre-Dipset Cam’ron and a pre-puberty Cardan go hard… LOL @ Cam “tryna sell records like Julio Iglesias“.

DMX & The Lox (1997): Before this beat went on to be used for his hit “Get At Me Dog”, a virtually-unknown X links up with Bad Boy’s (then) latest act, The LOX. Jadakiss for the win, by the way.

Canibus (1997): Prior to all kinds of fuckery, Canibus was one of the most-anticipated new cats in the game. What an introduction.

Big L & McGruff (1998): The late great L and Harlem’s unsung legend Herb McGruff go in for Clue. Pause.

Mase, Killa Cam, Cardan, Noreaga, Imam T.H.U.G., and Tragedy (1997): For eight minutes, Biggie‘s “Who Shot Ya” and Dre’s “Bitches Ain’t Shit” instrumentals get jacked by the Harlem/Queensbridge connection.

Shyne & Fabolous (1999): While both were still in the shadows of the rappers they sounded like (Biggie for Shyne, Mase for Fab), these two Brooklyn reps put it down for the mixtapes in ‘99.

Beanie Sigel & Memphis Bleek (1999): Known as the “1000 Bars” freestyle, this was Beanie’s first jump into the mixtape scene. He and fellow Roc representer Bleek get it on.

Ready for Summer? Get back at me on Monday!

-D!

Do Remember!

These shits right here, nicka? These shits right here, nicka? These were WAY strong.

Even before I’d started DJing myself, I always listened to mixtapes during the early-’90s. Whether it was New York’s favorites of the time such as Kid Capri or B-More’s own Scottie B, I was more than willing to drop my $10 on one of those 90-minute Maxells. More often than not, whenever I’d cop one, it’d be MONTHS before it got old to me. Mixtapes definitely played a part in my wanting to become a DJ, as I listened not only from a fan perspective, but as a student that was trying to learn the ins and outs.

After getting my first turntable set in ‘94, I still copped mixtapes from Patapsco Flea Market regularly. One weekend in ‘95, I caught one from a DJ named “DJ Clue”. It was called “Spring Pt. 2″, and I still own the cassette to this day. Clue wasn’t the best DJ in the world from a “technical” standpoint, but his tapes were always enjoyable because his blends were usually dead-on and he often had at least three mega-exclusive tracks every time. In fact, his penchant for exclusive music was what blew him up in the first place: Biggie went on Hot 97 and called him out for leaking tracks from Ready To Die a full two months before its release date.

Maybe it was due to brand loyalty or maybe I was just a Stan, but by the time ‘97 rolled around, I was less into buying mixtapes as I was into buying CLUE tapes. At the same time, he had gradually moved away from blends altogether. In place of the blends was an increased emphasis on super-exclusive songs and freestyles from popular and upcoming artists. Again, they were in no way great skill-wise, but Clue had figured out that the casual listener didn’t care for the fancy shit as they did for which songs were on the tapes. Even as someone who was a more traditional mixtape fan, I still became a faithful listener of Clue’s brand.

I can’t even name off all the songs I heard for the very first time on a Clue tape, but I’ll mention a few: Biggie’s “Hypnotize” and “Mo Money, Mo Problems”. “Benjamins” by Puffy & The Lox (which I thought was the most annoying beat ever the first time I heard it). The Firm’s “Affirmative Action” and “La Familia”. “Who Ya Wit” and “Hard Knock Life” by Jay-Z. The “Crush On You” remix by Kim & Cease. Akinyele’s “Put It In Your Mouth”. “Deep Cover ‘98″ by Pun & Fat Joe. The Mobb Deep-featured version of Mariah Carey’s “The Roof”. And that’s not even mentioning the songs that were never officially released… like that time Jay dissed Tupac after he passed.

Then, there’s the artists that I heard first on his tapes, before going on to hear them a LOT more: DMX, Mase, Cam’ron, The Lox, Ja Rule, Beanie Sigel, Black Rob, Canibus, Fabolous, Shyne, Nature, etc. Needless to say, Clue’s tapes were must-have situations whenever a new one would drop, especially for a fan like me. I was always ready to hear the newest and next, and that was how to do it. They were better than MTV and BET, better than the radio, and more up-to-the-minute than most of the other tapes were.

In some ways, “Cluemanatti” is to mixtapes as Puff is to hip-hop as a whole. Some show love and credit him with the increased popularity of mixtapes during that time period, while others think he’s a clown who fucked the game up. Either way, DJ Clue and his four-styles-in-one haircut (shoutout to Dame Dash) were at the head of what was big on the East Coast scene in the late-’90s. I’d even say he was just as much a part of that era as the artists were.

DJ Clue: Halloween Hold-Up (1995) courtesy of DJ Soul

Side A & Side B

DJ Clue: Somethin’ 4 The Radio (1996) courtesy of Tapemasta

Side A & Side B

DJ Clue: Show Me The Money (1997)

Hit it!

-D!

Hell-Raisin’ Heavenly Son

“June 16, 1971/ Mama gave birth to a Hell-raisin’ heavenly son…”

On every March 9th and September 13th, people go hard with the Biggie and ‘Pac tributes, commemorating their deaths. But on their birthdays, you hardly hear shit. As one who opts to celebrate life rather than mourn death (as I’ve been doing in my own life since Friday), I’d be remiss to not acknowledge that today would be ‘Pac’s 38th birthday. This will likely not be the last mention he gets on this blog by a longshot, but there’s no better day than today to speak on the legend that is Tupac Shakur.

One reason that I’m proud to have grown up in the ’80s and ’90s is because I was there to witness so many now-iconic artists from day one. Michael Jackson, for example, is one of my absolute all-time favorites- but I’ll never be able to say I saw him grow up and become who he became. I can say that, however, about artists such as ‘Pac. The first time I saw and heard him was in Digital Underground’s “Same Song” video, with the crazy kente cloth and beads and shit. A year later, I was more familiar with him when he starred in Juice as Bishop (and of course, I’ll be speaking on that movie in due time). But the first time I was interested in ‘Pac as a rapper was during a weekend at my father’s house in 1992. My sister and I watched The Box regularly, and this one new video stayed getting requested that whole weekend: “Brenda’s Got A Baby”.

From that point on, the name 2Pac was cemented and it was far from the last time I’d see it. Whether it was news headlines, movies, magazine covers, or the tapes in my bookbag- it was always somewhere. That, to me, is THE thing that makes him the huge icon that he is.

There’s lots of great MCs that are known and respected off the merit of their music and their music only, which is admirable… but nobody cares about shit else that they did. With ‘Pac, he was always a part of moments and happenings, in addition to the music. He was one of those artists who’d have an interview in a magazine just like anyone else did, but HIS article would be like a must-read. His VIBE cover stories in particular are classic today- from the “Is Tupac Crazy Or Just Misunderstood” cover with the straitjacket to the “Live From Death Row” one with Suge, Dre, and Snoop. I recall being a bigger fan of other artists at the time, but I’d never read their articles and come away with half the quotables that ‘Pac was always good for.

Of course, he’s been referred to as the “realest nigga” in hip-hop, and I’d have to agree to a degree. Whether they were always good decisions or not may be up for debate, but ‘Pac did things that others just rapped about. Whereas other artists were content to say “fuck the media”, he was content to spit at their cameras. Whereas others were content to threaten fuckin’ up the police who’d harrassed them, he was content to shoot two in self-defense. Again, not necessarily great achievements, but he was true to his word. He stood by his disses, he didn’t give PC answers, and he generally said and did whatever he wanted. And on the other side of that, he also said things that were honest and relevant, so it wasn’t just about wildin’ out all the time.

And then, there’s the music. Being dead-honest, and reflecting my own opinions: I always thought he coulda had better beats, his first two albums are hit-and-miss, I don’t bother with most of those posthumous made-up shits that keep coming out every year or so, and he was never my absolute favorite. I tell people all the time that I’m a fan of Tupac, but I’m not a “Tupac Fan” (two different things entirely). But ‘Pac’s best material is some of THE most timeless and memorable of the era. He’s also one of a few who continued getting better as time went on. The music he was making between ‘95 and ‘96 stands as his best overall, and from the sounds of the Makaveli album, he was heading into some interesting directions lyrically.

From challenging the New York rap scene to giving interviews from prison, from beating up the Hughes Brothers to getting shot at the studio, Tupac’s every move was a big deal. There’s not a lot of artists past or present that you can say that about. Even in today’s TMZ world, a lot of those things get captured and forgotten a week later. His are still being remembered today by people everywhere.

“Brenda’s Got A Baby” (1991)

“If My Homies Call” (1991)

“Papa’z Song” (1993)

“Pain” (1994)

“Cradle To The Grave” (1994)

“If I Die 2Nite” (1995)

“Ambitionz Az A Ridah” (1996)

“No More Pain” (1996)

“Against All Odds” (1996)

“Who Do You Believe In” (1996)

-D!

The Kids, Man… The F**kin’ Kids!

Shoutout to all the kids who started summer vacation this week. I’m sure they don’t follow this site, since they were barely alive when most of this shit was out, but shout to ‘em anyway. In honor of the lil’ homies, today’s entry is dedicated to the pre-Bow Wow youngheads of hip-hop and R&B. Enjoy… or not.

Another Bad Creation: When I was like 10, I thought these lil’ dudes were the hardest new group out. Not sure about all that today, but it was cool as all hell to see a group not much older than myself rocking on this level. Michael Bivins of New Edition and BBD fame put this situation together, and they did their thing with that first album. But, like most child stars in music and TV, once those voices started cracking, it was a wrap for ABC. That “Iesha” chorus still followed me thru life, because that’s all I heard four years later, once I got with a girl of the same name. Kids…

Kris Kross: I’m old enough to admit it: in ‘92, Kris Kross kinda sorta partially influenced me to start rhyming. After seeing them do it, I realized that I was the same age and could start rappin’ myself, so that’s how it happened. These two were huge that year, but they also ended up becoming victims of the vocal shift. Also, they were under Jermaine Dupri, who may be the king of playing “follow the leader” with whoever’s hot that year, so they were never really able to establish their own sound (which might’ve helped them stay around longer). Regardless, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t rockin’ with them for a hot second.

Illegal: The crazy thing with Illegal was that they were the only “kid” rap group to come out cussing and rhyming about shootin’ niggas and smokin’ blunts. It was kinda crazy at the time, because it was the total opposite of what people were used to from rappers that young. They were like the anti-Kris Kross, and they even went as far as dissin’ them (and other artists their age) in their songs to prove that point. Shit didn’t jump off like they probably thought it would, but their album The Untold Truth wasn’t half-bad to me.

Da Youngsta’s: These three were a little like Kris Kross, because their sound/style always seemed to depend on whatever was going on that exact minute. That said, they had a nice string of singles, and worked with damn near every East Coast producer of relevance during that time (from Marley Marl to Pete Rock to Premier). They had authentic roots as well, with two of them being the sons of Philly’s Lawrence “L.G.” Goodman, who put out a lot of classic hip-hop records under his Pop Art label in the ’80s. They never had a super-huge hit, but I might say they’re the only “kid rappers” whose music actually improved as they got older.

Immature: Aight, I’m not even gonna front: I didn’t follow these kids AT ALL. And they may have been getting Raz-B‘d by their manager, Chris Stokes. Anyway, they did manage to sneak in one or two joints that I didn’t change the channel on. The rest of the time, they were definitely moreso for the girls, who happened to love these lil’ corny niggas. I can’t knock it, since they probably weren’t aimin’ for the dudes anyway, so it was what it was. By the way, shoutout to Tia (not Mowry), if you’re readin’ this. We Got It!

Chi-Ali: “The girls look soooo good, but their brains are not ready, I don’t knooow!” When I saw the video for his first single “Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A #”, I was feelin’ it so much, I bought the whole damn album the following weekend. Chi was a member of the Native Tongues (which consisted of A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and others), and also one of the first artists to be produced by The Beatnuts. Between ‘92 and 2000, who knows what the hell happened, but the next time I saw him, it was on America’s Most Wanted. He was on the run and accused of murder. He eventually turned himself in and is still locked up today. Wasted talent, Calogero.

A lot of these acts weren’t around for the long haul, but they did more before they could drive than some artists do by the time they’re 30. Did you have a favorite from this era? Better yet, who has whereabouts on some of ‘em? Either way, speak on it!

Oh, and yeah:

Another Bad Creation “Iesha” (1990)

Kris Kross “Warm It Up” (1992)

Illegal feat. Erick Sermon “We Getz Buzy” (1993)

Da Youngsta’s feat. Treach “Crewz Pop” (1993)

Immature “Never Lie” (1994)

Chi-Ali “Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A #” (1992)

-D!

Doin’ It With The R.

Not that it would matter to the subject of this entry, but we’re all adults here, right? Since we are, let’s all go back to a simpler time. A time before Zorro masks. A time before weird songs about being trapped in closets and midgets hiding in cupboards. A time before a nigga could sing “like two bears in the jungle makin’ looooove” and still be taken seriously. And yeah, a time before “the tape”.

Yep, there was a time when R. Kelly was my nigga.

I never liked him as much as the women did, but he was still one of my favorite R&B artists for a minute there, even during a time when I wasn’t checking for much R&B. After initially being tagged an Aaron Hall knockoff, he eventually broke out of that and spawned a number of his own imitators. Not only was he making a gang of hits, he was also writing and producing hits for others (Michael Jackson, Aaliyah, Hi-Five, Changing Faces, et al). He had the women on him of course, and he also got respect from the males who didn’t deny the quality of the songs. Sure, he always had some off-the-wall lyrics here and there, but they weren’t too ridiculous (yet).

I first saw R. Kelly & Public Announcement on BET in ‘92 with “She’s Got That Vibe”, which was about as close to a new Guy song as anyone was gonna get by then. It got the ball rolling, but then he made it official with the second single “Honey Love”, followed by “Slow Dance (Hey Mr. DJ)” and “Dedicated”. Complete with the headset-mic hookup (with lights on the mic part!), R. was filling the void of all the New Jack Swing-era dudes who weren’t doing it on that level anymore by then. I wasn’t copping that album or anything, but I wasn’t mad at him.

Then came 12 Play, his first official solo album. Honestly, I wasn’t feelin’ his single “Sex Me”, or even “Bump N Grind” for that matter. It seemed like he was just hitting the same well over and over again. It was working for him popularity-wise, but it was “Your Body’s Callin’” that got me back on the R. Kelly train… pause. It wasn’t like the standard mid-tempo record that everyone was doing back then with the “hip-hop” beat and the hardcore posturing in the video. It was just some extra-smooth shit that had soul to it. Then, there was “Sadie”, “Seems Like You’re Ready”, the “Bump N Grind” remix… I was rollin’ with R. kinda heavy again. It continued with the ‘95 R. Kelly album, with that epic “Down Low” video and “I Can’t Sleep Baby” (which I actually dedicated to someone on 92Q’s Love Zone- HA!)

Where Kelly threw me was when he started with the rampant cursing and the “rap-style singing” that unfortunately still goes on today. I was a fan of the “Hip-Hop Soul” style that had been going on, but I’ve rarely ever been a fan of singers doing things in their songs that are better left to the rappers. He’d still have a song here and there that I’d like, such as “When A Woman’s Fed Up” and some others… but by the time he’d gotten to “move your body like a snake, ma” and “Thoia-Thoing”, R. was on “this nigga is wack” status for me. And of course, the image of him taking a six-pack piss on the young’in wasn’t exactly cool either.

Just when I thought Kells had done his most ridiculous shit ever, more hilarity ensued. There’s the Best of Both Worlds albums, which are both further testaments that the self-proclaimed “R. In R&B” is not the “R. in Rap”. Then, there’s the “Trapped In The Closet” shit, which I couldn’t believe everyone thought was so ingenious. There’s also the time he ran offstage because he was high off some powerful shit thought stage crew was waving guns at him. Now, homie’s taking it there with the Autotune, and that just speaks for itself.

All in all, I’m not a “Pied Piper” fan today, but those first four/five years were alright with me. He def. played a big part (for better and worse) in ’90s R&B and the direction it continued in. Even to this day, I don’t deny his talent and capabilities. I just wish homie didn’t go on to be a big nutjob and did a lot more classic stuff and less of that ol’ other shit.

“Dedicated” (1992)

“Your Body’s Callin’” (1993)

“I Can’t Sleep Baby (If I)” (1995)

“Down Low, Pt. II” (1996)

“When A Woman’s Fed Up” (1998)

-D!