The ’90s Loved The ’80s: Never Come Wack On An Ol’ School Track

The same way hip-hop has gratuitously borrowed from every other genre of music imaginable, R&B eventually began borrowing from hip-hop (which, in some cases, was really just borrowing their shit back). It started with New Jack Swing in the late-’80s, then continued with the Hip-Hop Soul era around ‘92-’93. By the time we got to the late ’90s, every other R&B artist out there was singing over tracks that had been big on the rap scene in the ’80s.

Hence this entry, “The ’90s Loved The ’80s: Never Come Wack On An Old School Track”. There were many more instances than these five of course; nonetheless, I’m goin’ innnnn…

Montell Jordan “This Is How We Do It” (1995) sampled Slick Rick “Children’s Story” (1988): In ‘88, Slick Rick was the newest star on the Def Jam label and scored a classic with his debut album, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick. By early ‘95, Def Jam was in a slight slump and Rick was locked up. As Rick’s third album Behind Bars was bricking like crazy, one of his great records from seven years prior helped create a new star on Def Jam- Montell Jordan. Montell’s Rick-esque rap inflections were all kinds of corny, but he def. pulled a hit out of the bag.  “Gotta get your groove on!”

Allure feat. Nas “Head Over Heels” (1996) sampled MC Shan “The Bridge” (1986): One usually doesn’t think of hip-hop music from the Queensbridge Houses of Queens, New York and get reminded of Mariah Carey’s short-lived Crave label. But in ‘96, she was putting her chips on a girl group named Allure. Their lead single (with Queens’ own Nas on the assist) lifted “The Bridge”, a classic by MC Shan- a song which is not only one of the most recognizable old school hip-hop beats, but also unintentionally started a feud known as The Bridge Wars.

Total feat. Da Brat “No One Else” (1996) sampled Boogie Down Productions “South Bronx” (1986): Speaking of the Bridge Wars… “South Bronx” was the song that set it off, with KRS-One goin’ at Shan in response to “The Bridge”. 10 years after that feud got kicked off, Bad Boy Records was in one of its own with Death Row Records. In the midst of all that, Puffy & co. continued making hits- one of them being this one by Total.

Christion “Midnight X-ta-C” (1997) sampled Beastie Boys “Paul Revere” (1986): For anything good to be said about Roc-A-Fella Records… that label in no way/shape/form EVER had a strength in managing R&B artists. At least Christion got an album out, though (and a good one at that). “Midnight X-ta-C” is probably best known as the song that plays while two strippers dyke it out on Streets Is Watching, but it’s also notable for using a Beastie Boys classic from their Licensed To Ill album. “Paul Revere”, with its unique reverse-beat, is one of the Beasties’ most revered (yeah, pun intended) from Licensed.

Shai feat. Jay-Z “I Don’t Wanna Be Alone (Remix)” (1996) sampled Biz Markie “Nobody Beats The Biz” (1987): ‘96 was an epic year in both hip-hop and R&B. It represented new sounds/styles/artists coming in, while others were going out, and they all kinda met up in the course of that year. Take this song for example- Shai had run their course for the most part, while Jay was still “new” on the scene and building his profile. This remix is produced by Marley Marl, who also did Biz’s theme song from ‘87.

NEXT MONTH: “The ’90s Loved The ’80s” asks just how many times and ways the Isley Brothers‘ classic “Between The Sheets” could be used to create a hot song between ‘90 and ‘95. Possibly more than you think.

-D!

The King Lives On

When Michael Jackson died two months ago, I figured the media was gonna have a ball with covering his death and the aftermath of it. But I can’t even say I expected some of the shit that’s come out of this.

If anything good has come out of it all, I can say that there’s now a new generation who is more aware of Mike’s music. He was beginning to fade out of the consciousness of the public, unless it concerned some circus-like story for the media to pick up on. But now, his legacy as an artist has been covered by almost every other magazine, website, and radio station there is. There’s a lot of younger kids who hadn’t been privy to how major and important MJ’s career was, and now they are.

As many hits as Mike has to his name ranging from ‘69 to 2001 (which in itself is unparalleled), there’s also a number of songs from his pre-King Of Pop era that are somewhat underrated. And so, on what would’ve been his 51st birthday, here’s six to grow on:

“2-4-6-8″

“With A Child’s Heart”

“We’re Almost There”

“All I Do Is Think Of You”

“Good Times”

“It’s The Falling In Love”

-D!

IN CASE YOU MISSED ‘EM:

The King Has Left The Building

The ’90s Loved Michael Jackson

The Drug-Free Role Model vs. Shorty With The Big Mouth

You know the cliche: “Hip-hop is like wrestling”. And yeah, it is. For as far back as you can go, there’s been rivalries between different artists- some personal, some strictly lyrical. Of course, they eventually come to an end, with all the parties involved just moving on to other things, or sometimes even working together. But the way they end is usually not as interesting as the way they get started. Over the years, we’ve seen rap beefs begin over territorial conflict, severed ties, tattoos… wait a minute.

Yeah, tattoos. For those who don’t recall or didn’t know in the first place, let’s recap.

In late-’97, LL Cool J dropped a (turrible) album called Phenomenon. While it definitely wasn’t L’s finest hour, he had one or two bangers on there, one being a song called “4-3-2-1″ which featured Method Man, Redman, DMX, and a new artist named Canibus. By this time, Canibus was bodying every track he rhymed on and developing a nice lil’ rep for himself. When he was included on this song, he met L in the studio and admired his arm-length tattoo of a microphone. In addition to his admiration, he even referenced it in his rhyme by saying “Yo L, is that a mic on your arm? Lemme borrow that.”

LL, while appearing to be humble and meek, has a notoriously huge ego (pause, no Beyonce) as an MC. Therefore, he relays a message to Canibus to either change that lyric or be removed from the song. ‘Bus takes that part out, but Cool James decides to further admonish him with his verse on the same track. And so, L goes in- the tattoo is off-limits, he is the ringmaster to Canibus’ tiger cub, and a battle between the two would be comparable to Jordan playing a pickup game with a kid. However, he doesn’t call out Canibus by name, so no one (except them and a few others) really knows for sure who this verse is specifically about.

LL Cool J feat. Method Man, Redman, Canibus, & DMX “4-3-2-1″ (1997)

But… lo and behold, Canibus is also a computer geek. In an era before blogs, vlogs, and unavoidable album leaks, most rappers didn’t give a fukk about an internet. But he did, and through his online travels, he finds out that the original track is floating around with the “mic on your arm” line still in- so of course, people now know that L is going at him. So they have a hilarious father/son phone convo, where ‘Bus clearly feels driven to respond, and L advises him to fall back. Somewhere after that, ‘Bus still feels that Cool J is tryin’ to play him, so he drops “2nd Round Knockout”.

Canibus “Second Round Knockout” (1998)

After this, shit goes crazy. If everybody else was like me, they taped it off the radio and ran it over and over, even playing it for friends who hadn’t heard it yet. And so, the feud was official, with everyone talking about how Canibus murdered this nigga. With Mike Tyson adding encouragement on the track, ‘Bus goes at L harder than anyone else had up to that point. Feeling pressured to respond, L first declines, but ends up doing it anyway with “The Ripper Strikes Back”. And for good measure, he also throws some jabs at Tyson and Canibus’ newfound BFF, Wyclef Jean of the Fugees.

LL Cool J “The Ripper Strikes Back” (1998)

So now, there’s a debate which even hits the radar at MTV News: LL Cool J vs. Canibus. Would L’s experience be enough to take out the young tiger cub? Would ‘Bus be the one to finally sit L down, just like L sat Kool Moe Dee down some years prior? A lot of oldheads were NOT tryin’ to hear that shit, but it seemed like Canibus was kinda punching holes in LL’s reputation (not to mention, Phenomenon wasn’t exactly the hot new shit on the street). But it wasn’t over there: apparently feelin’ some kind of way about his being mentioned in the “Ripper” joint, Wyclef decided to add his own two cents, with the help of Naomi Campbell on the co-sign (???).

Wyclef Jean “What’s Clef Got To Do With It?” (1998)

The ‘Clef joint was pretty much the jump-the-shark moment for the battle, as he was clearly out of his league. Still, the debate went on through summer ‘98, mostly with people wondering if Canibus was gonna come back at L on his forthcoming debut album, Can-I-Bus. He was highly anticipated by this point, even with a half-assed single leading the way. Ultimately, Cool J’s career wasn’t really in danger either. It wasn’t the first time he’d fallen out of favor with the fans, nor was it even the second, so it wasn’t like he couldn’t come back from this. But before he did, he decided to leave Wyclef with some choice words as well.

LL Cool J “Rasta Impasta” (1998)

So… after all of this, September ‘98 arrived and Canibus’ debut album (mostly produced by Wyclef) was absolute ass. He and ‘Clef eventually had a falling-out of their own and made disses towards each other. Meanwhile, L was busy appearing in (turrible) movies and making (turrible) songs for the soundtracks of said movies. Believe it or not, this 3-way battle continued all the way into 2001, with songs that I don’t feel I should waste my time uploading, nor should you waste your time listening to.

The LL Cool J vs. Canibus & Friends battle ran way longer than it should have, but for a moment in early ‘98, it was the hottest shit going. And all over a fukkin’ tattoo.

-D! (so who won?)

It’s The L-I-Y-A-H

Growing up in the ’90s, I def. recall a lot of girls I knew practically living by her every single and video, from her very first one (“Back & Forth”) to the ones that followed her death (especially “Rock Da Boat”). She was one of those talents that some artists are still out there emulating today, so to say she left her mark is an understatement.

R.I.P. Aaliyah.

-D! (sit tight… the real-for-real tribute will be on her b-day)

Summer Seven Series: 1999

Aight, so… shoutout to everybody who followed the Summer Seven Series from the get-go, or went back and checked ‘em all out. I enjoyed yappin’ about all the bullshit and craziness I did during the different summers of the ’90s. Today, I conclude the Series with the summer of 1999.

I was 19 and a couple years out of school. I had a lil’ bit of money and I was starting to DJ more parties. I was really hopin’ to parlay my 92Q stuff into more opportunities at the station, but not much happened there. I kept contact with the top DJ at the station for a while, sending him tapes and inquiring about possibly joining the team, but mainly just got the run-around on that. I kept it movin’ though, not letting that prevent what I wanted to do, which at the time was some of every got-damn thing. I didn’t know if I wanted to rap, DJ, write- any road that was possible, I was hoping for the chance to take it.

Looking back now, I really shoulda tried to continue on with the lil’ bit of rep I got from “the Cipha”. Had the “srtist mixtape” phenomenon been going on, I likely would’ve done some of those and tried to get ‘em circulated. At the time though, I was more concerned with getting my own beats to rhyme over, which I didn’t have much access to. I knew one or two people who had the equipment, but didn’t seem interested in actually doing anything. In retrospect, I feel like I def. shoulda ventured out to meet people who could’ve been of further assistance in keeping the ball rollin’. But of course, hindsight is always 20/20.

Other than that, I was still all about watchin’ videos all day, and listenin’ to music whenever I wasn’t watchin’ em. I was spending a lot of time in downtown Baltimore, sometimes just on some “get out the house” shit. I had a lil’ interest in this chick I knew named Brandie, but that went all kinds of awry. I was mostly just coasting during ‘99, living at my mother’s house and applying to get my own apartment (which finally happened in 2000). It was a decent-enough summer, if not a lil’ anti-climactic.

OK, so… since we’re at the end of this road, let’s just keep it real (like they used to say). By this point, you’ve noticed a lot of my summers were boring as all hell. I didn’t always have as much fun as I should’ve, and some of these years were on some real introvert shit. But whatever went on, I was still able to enjoy the music- which further proves how big of a fan I was. Hence, the site you’re on right now. See how it all ties together in the end? I hope y’all have enjoyed the Summer Seven Series, and now “without any further TO DO” (c) Carlito Brigante…

The Danj! Summer Seven of 1999

Mobb Deep feat. Lil’ Kim “Quiet Storm” (Remix): Queensbridge meets Queen Bitch, and puts another classic in the Mobb catalogue. It’s the real… hip-hop.

Q-Tip “Vivrant Thing”: This was another one of those joints I hated at first, but got into it later. Some Quest fans felt this was a commercial departure from his original style, but I still had to rock with that beat… R.I.P. J. Dilla.

Jay-Z “Jigga My Nigga”: With Swizz on the beat, Jay-Z keeps his momentum going with a track from the Ruff Ryders Ryde Or Die compilation. Niggas betta get it right, bitches betta get it right.

Cam’ron “Let Me Know”: Prior to Dipset taking off, Cam starts the movement and moves away from being seen as a Mase sidekick. The Monday Night Football theme manages to sound even more epic than it already was.

Maxwell “Fortunate”: Maxwell, with his music’s long-lasting ability to cut thru whatever else is going on at the moment, does it in ‘99. Hard to believe he’s still doin’ the same in ‘09.

50 Cent feat. Madd Rapper “How To Rob”: The song that set shit off for 50 and made all kinds of rappers mad. With “The Mad Rapper” doing his usual rants-n-raves, 50 names off all the artists he’d like to catch out there.

Ja Rule “Holla Holla”: Speaking of 50 makin’ rappers mad, Ja Rule’s debut album gets set off with this one right here. Also notable for the video that made Gloria Velez the shit for the next two years, but that’s neither here nor there.

(AND IN CASE YOU MISSED ALLLLL THE OTHERS: Check out the whole Summer Seven Series HERE)

-D!

Rappas Ternt Sangas

Not sure if I’ve conveyed this enough, but with a few exceptions, I’m usually not partial to singers who try to rap (because they absolutely suck most of the time). But sometimes, hearing rappers try to sing can be entertaining if nothing else. There were some moments prior to the ’90s where some rappers would throw in little vocalizations here and there, like Erick Sermon getting on some Luther shit (insert joke here), and Big Daddy Kane singing his own hooks. But in the ’90s, a few niggas really got comfortable with their R&B sides and went full with it. Cases in point, the seven gems featured here. Check ‘em out:

N.W.A. “Automobile” and “I’d Rather Fuck You” (1991): The late Eric “Eazy-E” Wright, hopeless romantic that he was, drops two joints for the ladies as part of N.W.A.’s classic Niggaz4Life album. The first one lets them know that they can roll the fukk out if they don’t wanna give up the ass, while the latter is a Bootsy Collins cover dedicated to that special one who is givin’ up the ass. I don’t know about anybody else, but I coulda listened to a whole album of that shit.

The Notorious B.I.G. “Playa Hater” (1997): This is a robbery, nigga. Biggie’s sense of humor was always evident in some of his punchlines and skits, and of course it’s been noted by the people who knew him. Here, Big (with Puff adlibbing of course) covers The Dramatics’ “Hey Love” and turns it into a song about robbin’ dudes. A soulful adaptation of “Gimme The Loot”, if you will.

Ol’ Dirty Bastard “Sweet Sugar Pie” (1995): This nigga Russell Jones was legitimately out to lunch, and this was one of his craziest amongst all the crazy-ass songs he made. Here, Dirty sings to his “sweet sugar pie”, before shouting out his favorite old school musicians, then reminding us that he was the baddest hip-hop man across the world. “Oh, Millie Jackson!”

Biz Markie “Let Me Turn You On” (1993): This wasn’t much of a stretch by the time it came out, because Biz had done his fair share of singing already. But he’d never done a full-length song before, so he went the extra mile with “Let Me Turn You On”. He jacks McFadden & Whitehead’s “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” instrumental and goes for it.

Nice & Smooth “Cake And Eat It Too” (1991): Before hooking up with Greg Nice, Smooth B sang backup on Bobby Brown’s first solo album King of Stage, wrote Bobby’s raps, and even appeared in one of his videos (around the 1:47 mark). As part of Nice & Smooth, he always threw his singing skills in here and there, before going all out with this one. On “Cake…”, Greg comes thru with the rap verse, while B lays down the law to his cheating girlfriend.

Mase “Jealous Guys” (1997): With Puff (once again) and 112 on the assist, Reverend Betha puts it down for the fellas who handcuff their hoes in fear of his girl-pulling abilities. Not only notable for Mase’s (lack of) vocal talents, it’s also the first time Mr. Combs would violate New Edition. He later went on to violate them in a whole ‘nother way, but that’s neither here nor there. This shit STILL makes me laugh today like I haven’t heard it 1,001 times already.

Of course, we eventually got to the point where dudes like Ja and Nelly sang their hearts out for the 106 & Park crowd, and Kanye was even afforded the opportunity to take a break from rap and do a full album of robotic singing. In one case, there was even an artist who was just as talented on the R&B side as she was on the hip-hop side. This trend has its ups and downs, but it’s been an entertaining novelty for the most part.  And not for nothin’, that Eric Wright album woulda been fire.

-D!

Well, It’s A Group Thang…

Quick question: the hell happened to all the R&B groups?

Remember when every other week, there was a new act that consisted of three to five members? When names like Boyz II Men, SWV, TLC, Jodeci, and En Vogue were in the forefront, and every new group that came out was compared to them? Solo artists did their thing no doubt, but groups played a big part in the sound of R&B in the ’90s (and every decade prior, too).

Of course, some of them were derivative and random as all hell, while others were so non-descript that they had no presence whatsoever. But a lot of the best music from that time period- even if it was just one song- came from trios, quartets, and quintets. The current lack thereof is something that I feel is a void in the music today, because there’s so much focus on solo artists now. There’s definitely some who are stars of their own merit, but there’s also some who’d possibly be much better off in a team effort.

As sorely missed as the group element is, I kinda understand why that could be. At the risk of bein’ dead-ass wrong (but a good chance of bein’ dead-ass right), I have some educated guesses as to why there are so few groups nowadays.

Dead Fukkin’ Presidents: It’s the thing that has split artists from their labels, producers, and eachother… and it’s definitely killed off more than its fair share of groups. Money has been at the center of too many breakups to name, but the story always ends up the same once it comes out. Since it’s well-known by now that artists really don’t make as much money as they appear to, it’s fair to assume that a lot of them just don’t see a future in accepting a small piece of a small pie.

“Ain’t Nobody Comin’ To See You, Otis”: My second guess is that with group efforts come different personalities, and sometimes even members with their own set of different personalities. Instead of just creating great music together, a lot of groups imploded because of a member who believed (or was led to believe) that he/she was bigger or better than the others. It’s the same shit that’s been goin’ on since the Temptations and the Supremes in the Motown era. You’d think they’d have seen the stories of other great groups that fell apart and learn from them, but even the best ones got trapped in the same predicament.

“They’re Allll Dooooomed”: My final guess is that labels have simply seen what the fate is for most R&B groups, and have decided that it’s just not worth it. Aspiring artists themselves don’t look to be in a group these days, whether they’re cut out to be solo or not. As I mentioned before in my “90s Girls” entry, a lot of them didn’t last past their second album- whether it was due to declining sales or parting of the ways. In some cases, these groups were pieced together in the first place, so the breakup was bound to happen eventually. It was just a matter of how long they’d take to get tired of pretending they were friends.

Nowadays, we’re left with… Day26, Pretty Ricky, and Electrik Red? Ehh. Sad to say, I think the influx of R&B groups in the ’90s mighta had an influence on the low demand for them now. Most didn’t last, damn near all of them broke up, and only a few have split and reunited (not that it mattered once they did). The few who managed to stay together got pushed out by the changing industry. To me, it sucks that there isn’t much of a place for groups in popular R&B (or hip-hop for that matter) today. Unfortunately though, it’s one of those things that suck for us as listeners, but make perfect sense for business.

After all, who the fukk needs harmony when we have Autotune, right?

Tony! Toni! Tone! “It Never Rains In Southern California” (1990)

TROOP “Spread My Wings” (1990)

Boyz II Men “It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday” (1991)

Jodeci “Stay” (1991)

TLC “Baby-Baby-Baby” (1992)

Shai “If I Ever Fall In Love” (Acapella Version) (1992)

SWV “Weak” (1993)

Hi-Five “Quality Time” (1993)

XScape “Just Kickin’ It” (1993)

BlackStreet “Before I Let You Go” (1994)

Az Yet “Last Night” (1996)

En Vogue “Don’t Let Go (Love)” (1996)

112 “Cupid” (1997)

Destiny’s Child “No, No, No” (1998)

Dru Hill “Beauty” (1998)

-D!

Summer Seven Series: 1998

O-Kaaay. Last week was kinda like a tough one, and I caught a brick the other day. RESET.

SO… in ‘98, I was staying at my older brother Kawann’s apartment in Reisterstown, Md. Shit was cool for the most part, even though we bumped heads about certain stuff like my leaving lights on in different rooms and smashin’ all the lunchmeat. I mainly remember my time spent there because of three things: drinkin’ Bud Ice, eatin’ Oodles of Noodles every day, and runnin’ the shit out of Streets Is Watching on the VCR. I think every last person that visited the apartment saw that tape at least once, cause we watched that shit REGULARLY.

I was 18 and still not up to much except trying to get my money situation right. Most of the time, I was in the house- either tryin’ to convince a girl to come all the way out there via MTA, or watchin’ BET all day long. Wild to think that there was a time when I’d literally watch that one station from 9 a.m. to late in the evening, just tapin’ videos. Nowadays, I don’t even watch videos (or BET), but ‘98 was a whole ‘nother story. Other times, I chilled with my brother and his friends- at least when they went to places that I wasn’t too young to get into.

Also, during that time, I got back into watching wrestling. I had gradually lost interest in it since ‘92, and eventually stopped watching it altogether. One day, I happened to see Monday Night Raw on Prevue Guide (now the TV Guide channel), so I figured I’d check it out on a whim. What I ended up seeing was some shit waaay different than I remembered it. One of the main reasons I had stopped watching was because it was all kid-catered and I was getting older… but now it was about things I liked as a teenager (i.e. profanity and sexual innuendo). It was catchy enough to make me continue watching, so I did.

Near the end of the summer, I heard 92Q having a call-in battle segment of sorts called “The Cipha” (the same segment Cassidy held dowm in Philly when the host Neke was on their station). I called in to appear on the show one Friday night, and for the following month, I was the champion. I had to do it four times a week, but I was always ready to go in soon as 9:30 p.m. hit. Crazily, no matter how much I figure nobody remembers it, I’ve run into at least one person every year since then who still recalls that. I’ve tried to avoid makin’ that my Al Bundy/”four touchdowns in one game” story, but it never fails.

Summer ‘98 was fun, if not much else. Nothin’ to complain about here- I weighed about a buck-oh-five, ate every piece of lunchmeat and package of Oodles in the house, eventually got a chick to make the long-ass MTA trip, rhymed on the radio, rediscovered a childhood interest, and taped hundreds of videos. It was what it was.

The Danj! Summer Seven Series of 1998:

Aaliyah “Are U That Somebody”: With Timbaland still pushing limits with his beats (baby noises and no hi-hats), Aaliyah locks the summer of ‘98 all the way down.

Noreaga “Super Thug”: “What, what, what, what, what, w-what!” Nore makes a hot hook out of ONE word. On top of that, the beat was insane, provided by The Neptunes. Who knows what Nore was talkin’ about, but it didn’t even matter.

Big Pun feat. Joe “Still Not A Player”: Pun remixes his own “I’m Not A Player” with Joe rewriting his hook from his own “Don’t Wanna Be A Player”… and everybody goes crazy.

Tamia “So Into You”: If you watched BET between June and September ‘98, there’s no way in hell you didn’t see this shit. The homie Fabolous likes this song, and so do I, and so should you.

Goodie MOB feat. OutKast “Black Ice”: The Dungeon Family’s two strongest links collab for one of my favorite tracks by either group. This song also made me a SERIOUS fan of Andre’s lyricism.

Jay-Z feat. Memphis Bleek “It’s Alright”: When I say we were killin’ that Streets Is Watching soundtrack, it’s some real shit. Jay-Z, nigga- thaaat’s riiight.

Rell feat. Jay-Z “Love 4 Free”: Rell’s prob’ly still tryna find out what his album’s release date is… but at least he got a (turrible) video and a hot song out of his Roc-A-Fella deal in ‘98. More Streets Is Watching soundtrackery.

ANNND IN CASE YOU MISSED ‘EM: Check out the other Summer Sevens HERE.

-D! (one more week of the Summer Seven to go)

Laughin’ At Def

In addition to the careers of many hip-hop artists, Russell Simmons could prob’ly take credit for a lot of comedians’ careers taking off.  In ‘92, Def Comedy Jam premiered on HBO, and it was kinda like a big deal.

At 12, this show was all kinds of entertainment for me. The most I’d seen of stand-up comedy was the occasional guests on Arsenio Hall or The Tonight Show (stuff like Eddie Murphy’s stand-ups were off-limits when I was little). I wasn’t interested in it until DCJ came along and I happened to catch it one Friday night. For the next couple of years, I was stuck on that show, and stand-up comedy as a whole. I would be on my ass laughin’ just as much as the people in the crowd were, and of course I recorded and watched ‘em over and over.

Def Comedy Jam appealed to the hip-hop crowd like crazy, because everything about it was right along the same lines. It was current, it was profane, and of course, the Russell/Def Jam attachment and Kid Capri as the house DJ. To watch it now, it seems normal, with the numerous shows that have popped up since then. But at the time, there weren’t any comedy shows like it. When I would see stand-up comedians before, they were usually middle-aged White guys with suits on. Here, I saw a lot of younger Black comedians who dressed just like the audience. Everything about the show was hip-hop, from the opening music (Public Enemy’s “Fight The Power”) to the end when the dancers would get on stage with Capri spinning the beats.

There’s a lot of comedians who’d never been on TV before DCJ, and have since gone on to have their own TV shows and movies. I might be wrong about a few of these, but DCJ marks the first time I’d ever seen Bernie Mac, Chris Tucker, Dave Chappelle, Steve Harvey, Eddie Griffin, Tracy Morgan, Cedric The Entertainer, D.L. Hughley, Bill Bellamy, Mo’nique, Mike Epps, and others. Some didn’t make it that far (i.e. Adele Givens, Arnez J., Teddy Carpenter, J. Anthony Brown, Earthquake) but were still standouts on the show who went on to do other things.

In the later seasons, they had numerous hosts, but the original host was Martin Lawrence, about a year before Martin premiered on FOX. Martin was NUTS on this show, especially for how he used to go in on the people in the audience. Nobody was immune to getting caught out there, especially the random white man in the crowd and the girls with fukked-up outfits on. Celebs caught it too, from Spike Lee to Flavor Flav. I’d seen Martin in a couple of movies before, but this was the first time I recall him being his most comedic.

By the time it went off the air in ‘97, DCJ wasn’t the show it once was, and it def. ran its course. Still, I don’t think anyone could deny how major it was at its height. After DCJ, every other comedy event from then on was called some kinda “Comedy Jam”, even to this day. I don’t get why they don’t just put out the complete seasons on DVD, but the best-of’s have sold more than a lil’ bit since they’ve been released. It’s actually been so popular throughout the years- even with some of the jokes and antics being dated as all hell- HBO brought it back in ‘06.

Of course the show had its critics, but Def Comedy Jam was a whole new look for stand-up comedy that’s been tried a million times since then. In the post-Cosby/Pryor/Murphy era, it was an avenue for a lot of Black comedians who otherwise weren’t being spotlighted.

As the pre-Yoga-and-sweater-vest Russell Simmons would say at the end of each show: “Thank y’all for comin’ out, God bless you, and good night.”

Martin Goes In On Flavor Flav (1992)

Bernie Mac Ain’t Scared Of You Muthafukkas (1992)

Eddie Griffin Does Michael Jackson (1992)

Chris Tucker Is Pissed Off, Maaannn (1992)

Dave Chappelle Explains How “Nigger” Became A Word (1993)

Joe Torry Puts Dick In Ya Life (1994)

A.J. Johnson’s True Meaning Of “Keep Ya Head Up” (1994)

Arnez J. Explains The Power Of Music (1995)

Will E. (D.J. Robo) Battles Kid Capri (1995)

-D!

L To The O To The X, You’ll See

So… The LOX (I don’t call ‘em D-Block) are back on Bad Boy, eh? Can’t say I’m surprised, even if it is a lil’ comical.

Ten years ago, they got off the label after running a “Let The LOX Go” campaign that whole summer. They got back up with Ruff Ryders, who managed them prior to the Bad Boy deal, and were now gonna make the music they wanted to make before. They weren’t eye-to-eye with Puffy’s creative decisions, and couldn’t handle having to rock shiny suits during that time. By ‘99, hip-hop had moved back into a more “street” direction, and they were ready to make an album for the street audience that they let down with Money, Power, & Respect.

In my always-humble opinion, I still don’t know if it was a great move. The We Are The Streets album on Ruff Ryders was really no better (and in many ways weaker) than the MPR joint. Also, they were still getting their publishing percentage purged by Puffy anyway, because that was one of the conditions under which they got their release. Also, Jadakiss has even admitted in hindsight that he acted like a crybaby while on Bad Boy, frustrated over doing small tasks that could’ve furthered their careers. Either way, all appeared copastetic once they linked up with the Double-R.

BUT… by ‘05, Styles, Sheek, and Jada were on Hot 97 yelling at the top of their lungs over the publishing money (and contemplating the odds of a stainless-steel double-door refrigerator fallin’ on Puff’s head from the top of a skyscraper). After Puff came to the station the next day and responded to their arguments, all was cleared up business-wise and they got on the same page again. And now, four years later, the first collective LOX album in 10 years is slated to arrive later this year on Bad Boy Records.

Who knows how it’ll turn out? Neither the Bad Boy brand or the LOX name are what they used to be, and Puff doesn’t appear to be as interested in pushing his artists as he is with pushing his projects. If everyone is focused on not dropping the ball and making it worthwhile, I could see it producing a solid album- no more, no less. I’m no entertainment lawyer, so I can’t call how good or bad a business decision it is (though I’d imagine they didn’t do some kind of peanuts deal similar to the one they had a fit over the last time).

In the meantime, to hell wit’ it: I’ve been on nostalgic mode lately (imagine that), and I thought back to when The LOX were on my radar as one of the new groups to watch for. Their style was familiar but it still felt fresh at the same time. They weren’t the most complex rappers you ever heard, and still, they definitely weren’t slouching. I was locked in to their music until the album came out, which to me was “ehhh“, although it does sound a lil’ better in retrospect. One way or another, that initial buzz they had was by all means justified.  Let’s reflect:

“You’ll See” (feat. The Notorious B.I.G.) (1996)

C.R.E.A.M. Freestyle with The Notorious B.I.G. (1997)

Live on Hot 97 with Mase & Puff Daddy (1997)

“Life Shit” (featuring Rufus Blaq) (1997)

“Thumbs Up” (featuring Richie Thumbs) (1996)

“Chest 2 Chest Freestyle” (1997)

CRU feat. The LOX “Live At The Tunnel” (1997)

The Notorious B.I.G. feat. The LOX “Last Day” (1997)

Puff Daddy feat. The LOX “I Got The Power” (1997)

“Money, Power, Respect” (featuring DMX & Lil’ Kim) (1998)

New LOX Order coming in late ‘09! Maybe.

-D!