In '94...my dubbed cassette copy of The Chronic graced my tape deck. To call this record a hip hop classic would be an understatement. When I heard about "Dre Day"...I was quickly drawn to this particular event's mystique; while I hadn't necessarily been clamoring for an event like this, after hearing about it on facebook, I was intrigued and had to go. I told some other hip hop heads about it...before long we were all waiting w/ bated breath for 2/18-which is Dre's birthday. Upon first glance, Dre Day had the making to be pretty great..we walked in and two DJ's were spinning ...there was Olde English being sold by the 20 OZ can AND 40 OZ glass bottle...as well as Dre Day "40 koozies" available for purchase. They also had a photobooth in which you could "make your own chronic album cover", which was kind of neat. The venue, the independent, was cool, kind of like a warehouse/art gallery space.
This is where it began to fall a tad bit flat. The event itself hadn't really been promoted well. There were only about 30-40 people there when we got there around 10:30 and at the height of the evening, probably only about 80 or so people came through. Also, the DJ's who were spinning, while doing well, had some questionable playlist selections, I remember hearing Eve's "Blow your mind" and well as a 50 Cent cut; It's fine but I just wished they had reached a little further into Dre's back catalog and really payed homage to the creator of "G-Funk" with a tad bit more fervor.
While these aspects of Dre Day stuck out in my mind as things that didn't really deliver, the event itself was actually a lot of fun. . The photobooth was a great idea, and the DJ's were good and did manage to spin some crucial Dre cuts towards the end of the night. They also played a lot of 2pac/Snoop that Dre wasn't necessarily a part of, but was definitely received by the same crowds. Also, the 40's of Olde E were a lot of fun that night, but not that much fun the next day.
So all in all, Dre Day was a pretty good time. I'd definitely check it out again if they do it next year.
Disciples of the funk-I am hopped up on Mexican coke and tortilla chips and got a bit of a wild hair-I have made a FB fan page for onlyhiphopblog. I've sent suggestions to many-so if you're into it, please, by all means, click on BECOME A FAN. If you're not my friend on FB, add me mofo!! Essentially I want the fan page to be a little blasting zone where people, myself included, can share experiences/talk about posts, or just the music in general. It's really crazy how fb/blogger/twitter is linking us closer together, and honestly, sometimes it freaks me out. Other times it makes me feel unique that I can do something like this, and people all over can read it and tell me what they think.
Do you claim to talk to your crew the same way you talk to your girl? Before you can think of beginning to say "Fuck yeah I do!", I'm going to go ahead and call bullshit on that so quickly, it will knock out radio transmissions and leave birds for a half-mile radius without feathers and unable to reproduce. Unfortunately, "keepin it real" stops with the sound of the bedroom door closing. (Note: an exception is made if you're over 25 and have had less sexual partners than digits on your left hand. Maybe if you weren't so damn hard all the time, you'd have a tad more stank on your hang-low, but do what you do, right?
Most ladies quiver at knowing that they're the exception to your rule, that they can make the words "sugar-angel baby pie" cross the lips of the guy who, in the street, wouldn't hesitate to pull a piece on someone who steps on his Timberlands. For most, however, admissions of such blasphemes immediately revokes one's gangsta pass. For better or worse, these are the breaks.
In hip-hop, this is an exceedingly delicate subject. Nearly every MC or crew out there has a song specifically crafted to moisten the dreams of all would-be or wanna-be honeys in the crowd. The results are inconsistent at best. A myriad of approaches are taken, and some have dedicated entire careers to the subject. Slick Rick, for example, relied upon said honeys having a smoldering self-hatred, balancing a line between between making them feel degraded and intrigued at once, and before anyone knows what's happening, they've broken him off something so fierce that sheets are thrown away, and penicillin has secured a top-shelf spot in the medicine cabinet.
Conversely, Common purports on the mic to be able to give you a hot-oil massage while he's making crepes. Your favorite, with strawberries and sweetened cream cheese. All the while, he makes more panties hit the floor than a bull in victoria's secret.
These are the old gods of a niche of hip-hop I like to refer to as "ass rap". If ass-rap were fried chicken, they would be known as Popeye and Colonel Sanders, respectively. For the rest, however, this subject is a mistress as fickle as any. Often an otherwise ground-breaking and prolific hip-hop artist or group will venture into this no-mans land, and emerge with their entire fan base all like, "WTF?".
Dead Prez has achieved mainstream success while still brandishing their subversive and revolutionary lyrics. "Hip-Hop" and "Hell Yeah (Pimp the System)" are bumped daily from dorm rooms and Escalades in downtown Detriot alike. Their foray into ass-rap is a little ditty known as "Mind Sex"...
It's time for some mind sex, we ain't got to take our clothes off yet We can burn the incense, and just chat Relax, I got the good vibrations Before we make love let's have a good conversation
[Verse 1] Pardon me love but you seem like my type What you doin tonight? you should stop by the site We could, roll some weed play some records and talk I got a fly spot downtown Brooklyn, New York Now I know you think I wanna fuck, no doubt but tonight we'll try a different route, how bout we start With a salad, a fresh bed of lettuce with croutons Later we can play a game of chess on the futon See i ain't got to get in your blouse It's your eye contact, that be getting me aroused When you show me your mind, it make me wanna show you mines Reflecting my light, when it shines, just takin our time Before the night's through, we could get physical too I ain't tryin to say I don't wanna fuck, cause I do But for me boo, makin love is just as much mental I like to know what I'm gettin into
...What, What the shit? This is like finding out the guy who jacked your stereo and then pulled a .22 on you when you called him on it has a date lined up with your little sister, and after you go buy her some condoms and pepper spray, dude rolls up to the door wearing a sweater-vest with roses and shit, with his moms' volvo parked outside. For real?
Every once in a while, however, a lyrical juggernaut tackles the ginormous shit-pile known as ass rap, dances his way in there like a ninjad-out Barry Sanders, and leaves a fat gem buried deep inside. Case in point, Pharoahe Monch's "The Light"
Pharoahe Monch tighrope walks the line between getting your girl into his bed and making you want to throw down for bottle service at a club just because he once walked past it. He's safe, "I never lack to pack prophylact', I learned my lesson". He's enthused, "Dime piece and shit, son, shorty was fine!". In fact, I just got a little bit of a crush. Name dropping Alize and Gran Moulet, claiming to be the girl's horizon, this song begs to be ringing from a club PA, and then a bit later on from an Ipod dock on the nightstand.
The end goal being to get the girl and maintain G-status being achieved, one must imagine Pharoahe Monch riding off into the sunset on 20-inch rims, with a down-ass Kim Kardashian type in the passenger seat, while making it rain out the window. As stated, a polished gem rocking amongst the shit waves in the sea of ass-rap.
Since I started onlyhiphop blog a few short months ago, I've gotten some incredible feedback from people, which I greatly appreciate...It means a lot to me that people take time out of their lives to read what I write. This has brought up several conversations, and while it took a little time to materialize, I'd like to introduce the first guest contributor to onlyhiphopblog, Adam B. Adam and I met as co-workers over a year ago, and both quickly realized we had the same penchant for hip hop from the same time period; and as a younger cat, I have to say that Adam knows what he's talking about. I am excited to see posts from Adam in the future, as I'm sure he'll bring up some interesting records/songs that may have slipped under my radar. Above is a pic of Adam working the 1's and 2's.
A little Housecleaning
I set up an email accout for onlyhiphop blog, and it's simply onlyhiphopblog@gmail.com. If you want to ask any questions, or just say what up, feel free to drop a line!! Again, I can't express through words how much it means that people actually read this, I really enjoy doing it have really appreciated the positive feedback. The coming months should be plentiful, so keep on the lookout; for those of you in Austin, I've caught wind of a "Dre Day" party on 2/18 (Dre's Birthday.) Let me know if you want more details...see you there!!
95' was probably the last of my formidable hip hop years. before Wu-Tang Forever but after Illmatic. Not quite Life After Death, but waaaaaay after De La Soul Is Dead. The artform was rising to an artistic and productive peak at an alarming rate....bear in mind we were just a stones' throw away from what I like to refer to as "the dark times"...I choose not to say much about post '99 material (sans the underground) just because there's not much to say. If you were there, you know, and if you weren't, you've seen what T-Pain looks like...which is probably why you're reading this.
Which brings us to Anthony Cruz, a.k.a AZ..who nearly stole show when he rhymed on Nas's track "Life's a B*tch" off of the now hip-hop classic Illmatic. After appearing on a few more tracks throughout the duration, it was clearly evident that the world was ready for A's solo debut. His delivery was that of a surefire brooklyn/queens MC....unlike his contemporaries, his flow was high and nasal. One of the things I enjoyed about this era of Rap (especially the east coast material) was that it didn't really matter what your voice sounded like, it was all about your delivery and if you could hang lyrically.
Supposedly this record goes hand in hand with Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx under the short-lived "Mafioso" sub-genre. while the subject matter is the close, Linx is more of a concept album that has a continuous story line/production, while Doe or Die is a set of hardcore vignettes set to production that differs greatly track to track.
The production boasts some great names, Pete Rock, Buckwild, (who have been already mentioned a few times within the friendly confines) as well as L.E.S., who would supply Will Smith w/ the beat for "Gettin Jiggy With It" (No Lie. look it up on wikipedia.) Solid production from all camps involved gives this record a really dreamy, catchy, feel...there are several harp samples on this record, and while that sounds dumb, somehow it's not. Pete Rock's "Rather Unique" sounds like his subtle ode to DJ Premier, with layered drums and a keyboard sample that's a little buried in the mix...L.E.S.'s "Sugar Hill" was the first single and has a soft, bouncy, mid-tempo R&B feel to it...with a one Miss Jones singing the hook. Remember seeing the video for this song on Rap City all the time in the mid 90's.
AZ's career would take a few more years to peak, while not being as prolific as he could've been, still found a way to get nominated for a grammy in 2003 for the track "The Essence" ..a duo which him and Nas knocked out together from 2002's Aziatic. Kind of funny he returned the favor from the Illmatic days and it ended up working out....I miss the days when MC's helped each other and collaborated. It's highly unlikely Hip-Hop as a whole will ever give birth to anything resembling Doe again...I understand music must progress, and even with the downfall of our artform there are still giant steps being made; It still makes me a little sad.
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