In my last two blog posts I introduced myself to the small world of blogging, and I explained my joy for most things black people, mainly music. As said before it's not that I don't like 'white people' music, I do. I love Sinatra, Queen, John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Bruce Springsteen and others. My childhood radio listening went as follows: In Cin's car it was whatever I wanted to listen to, usually the stylings of one WNCI and sometimes Power 107 which we could barely get in most parts of Chillicothe. In Gary's car the conversation usually went as follows Me - Dad can we listen to WNCI? with a quick yet stern 'I'm not listening to that shit' and we went about our business of listening to QFM 96.3, still one of my favorite stations. So you could say I am musically diverse due to what I listened to in the car.
Then I got my own car. And after fixing the non-existent radio and turning silence into the workings of a CD player, I got to listen to my own tunes. This is a glorious occasion for any 16 year old in Ohio no matter how crappy their junker of a car is(Hello Maxwell Green's 92 buick Regal, with no horn, blinkers, or a window that didn't work among a litany of other things). For me, it was awesome because of 2 reasons. 1) I drove A LOT and I was one of the first of my friends to get their L's and a car(remember when we called them L's?) and 2) I had a CD burner and napster which meant I could illegally download all the music I wanted and listen to it as I cruised in my hoopty.
But I'm not writing this blog to tell you about my crappy car(it was) or the way I was brought up listening to music(I had no rights and was forced to listen to old white guy music DAMN THE INJUSTICE OF CHILDHOOD), I am writing to tell you I am a hoarder of sorts. I keep a lot of stuff(at least the stuff my wife doesn't throw away). Things from clothes, to video games, to pictures, and beyond. But I recently found something I hoarded and am actually glad I did. I found a case of old CDs I owned 10 years ago(or there abouts)... There is nothing more nostalgic and memory evoking than popping in a CD of the shitty music you used to listen to. So, the point of this blog is to simply remind you of some 'AHHH Shooooot nawww' artists and songs that I'm sure you've forgotten that I recently heard on some old CDs.
There were various artists that ruled 'back in the day' for me and my friends. A fairly comprehensive list would be as follows: Nelly, R. Kelly, Eminem, Outkast, Jay-Z, The Hott Boys(consisting of Wayne, Baby, Manny Fresh, Juvenille, and BG), Lil Jon(WHAT!!!)Shyne(okay maybe not for everybody else, but I freakin loved the dude), Ja Rule(what would I be without you!!!), Ludacris, Nappy Roots and Mystikal(Take a bath, Wash ya self), and 50 Cent had just come into his own with his album Get Rich or Die Tryin. Now, most of these artists have gone by the way side(Juv, R. Kelly Shyne, Nelly{although he is making a comeback doing some things now} Lil Jon, DMX, Ja Rule, Mystikal, Nappy Roots and even 50 doesn't hold the rap weight that he once did)but the ones who have stuck(Wayne, Luda, Eminem, Outkast, Jay-Z) are all considered legends in the game. And mostly, listening to the artists you simply shake your head in disgust at your 16 year old self's musical tastes, then smile and remember the times when you were in High School without a care in the world, chasing girls, hangin out with your boys, and concerning yourself with stuff like who's having people up to their house this weekend.
There were also a few classic songs that make you simply go "AAAWWW Shoot naw". I suggest you try to find a CD that you made in 2002ish to have your moment. But here are my top 5 songs that made me do laugh and smile.
The Isley Bros feat. R. Kelly - Contagious - A classic R and B jam with R. Kelly at the height of his corn rowed power on the track and Ronald Isley whining on the track about to slap a bit... Classic track. Honorable mention to R.Kelly goes to the following songs: Bad Man, World's Greatest, Woman's Worth, The Greatest Sex
Petey Pablo - Raise up - A raw underground cat that sounded really nothing like he looked talking about 'take your shirt off and spin it like a helicopter'. He had a few hits with Timberland after this but nothing made people go crazy at the fair dance( AAAWWW shoooot the FAIR DANCE?!?!?!) quite like Raise Up. I loved the remix where he would yell "OOOHHHIIIIIIIIOOOOOO BAAYYYBEEEE'
Nappy Roots - Aw Naw(only the remix couldn't find the original on youtube). A group from Bowling Green Kentucky of all places had everybody saying 'aw naw hell nah'. This was a song that would come on and everybody would instantly bob their head and sing along.
Lil Jon - Pretty much any song he did in a period of about 2 1/2 years which included 'Yeah', 'Bia Bia', and 'Get Low' among others just made people go nuts
My last artist is a personal favorite, I could've gone with a variety of songs or people ranging from Outkast So Fresh and So Clean or Ms. Jackson Ludacris pretty much anything of his songs of Word of Mouf, anything Eminem did, or 50's In Da Club, but I would rather go with somebody who still gets me hype and still embodies hip hop.
Poppa Bear is out.. Thanks for the time!
