Throwback Vol. 9

So, its been a minute since I've done a throwback or regular updates for that matter. Either way, this was my joint... I was young when it dropped, but this was THE jam? Enjoy!!!

Throwback Vol. 8

So I'm listening to my 1992 playlist in iTunes and can't help but think, what happened to Double XX Posse? So in tribute, I present their smash single...

Throwback Vol. 7

You know how I do on the weekend...
Here's quite possibly my favorite posse cut ever. Go ahead and debate, who rocked hardest. Kane or G Rap?


Here's another gem. Before he was Khadafi, he was Tragedy the Intelligent Hoodlum. Plus his dancer was easily one of the best of his time....he was nuts.

Throwback Vol. 6

What a crazy record!! Puba single handily put Hilfiger on the map with this song.
Enjoy!!

Throwback Vol. 5

Zhigge was crazy. Talk about fashion icons.... you would have sworn they were from Brooklyn the way they repped LO. One of the 1st times the boggle dance was represented in a music video was because of these dudes. Respect



The Remix Video, which featured even more LO

"My Top 10" Vol 1: Hip-Hop Remixes

10. Jump Around Remix by House of Pain (Prod. by Pete Rock)
9. One Love (One L) Remix by NaS Feat. Sadat X (Prod. by Vic Padilla & Godfather Don)
8. Still Not a Player by Big Pun (prod. by Knobody For 12 Nations/Field Ni**as)
7. Scenario Remix by Tribe Called Quest Feat. Leaders of The New School (Prod. by Tribe Called Quest)
6. Can't Stop The Prophet Remix by Jeru The Damaja (Prod. by Pete Rock)
5. One More Chance/Stay With Me Remix by Notorious B.I.G (Prod. by Rashad Smith)
4. World Is Yours Remix by NaS (Prod. by Q-Tip)
3. Buddy (Natives Tongues Decision Mix) by De La Soul Feat. Queen Latifah, Monie Love, Q-Tip, & Jungle Brothers (Prod. by Prince Paul)
2. I Got Cha Opin' Rmx by Black Moon (Prod. by The Beatminerz)
1. Shut'Em Down Remix by Public Enemy (Prod. by Pete Rock)

sorry Diddy, contrary to popular belief, Pete Rock "invented the remix". LOL
So folks debate, ponder, and share your favs...1

Throwback Vol. 4: They Made Me Wanna Rap Edition

These are some of the often forgotten young rappers that made rap "real" for me. Despite being overshadowed by their more popular counterparts Kris Kross, these groups made a tween Shake believe he could get on. ENJOY!!!

You can't front....whoever wrote those verses went in. Looking back now, that was some really complicated schemes for kids.

Everybody was going nuts when we saw this little kid reppin' Wu & killing it. I was definitely jelly when this dropped

Though I wasn't a huge fan, I remember giving them props for blatantly dissing every other young group. I was a hater back then too

Super Hero Cartoons

So I'm watching Toon Disney, which I do regularly, because I've always loved cartoons. Maybe you see the correlation in me drawing now. Anyway, we all remember the dope X-Men cartoon from the early nineties that used to air on Fox right? Right. It actually followed the comic story lines and the art was dope. This is pre Batman the Animated series, which popularized the art style of block-like interpretations of our favorite heroes. Back to my point. So I'm watching Toon Disney, and I see commercials for an entire Marvel cartoon line-up with Iron Man, Ghost Rider, The Fantastic Four, Punisher, and even Nick Fury. Word....Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D? Thing is, they all looked like they came from the same X-Men cartoon era. Have any of you seen these because I'm beginning to feel that I missed out on a huge part of my comic fanboy childhood. Does anyone know when these came out?

Throwback Vol. 3

Muta was NUTS!! As much as I liked Sting, I believe Muta made him look better than he was

Video Music Box's 25th Anniversary Wrap Up

For those of you that don't know, pre-cable, Video Music Box pioneered what we've grown accustomed to in MTV, BET, and Vh1. It was definitely a New York thing, so alot has to do with locality, but without doubt, the show basically raised me. In the same way tons of kids are now growing up with YouTube, you'd be hard pressed to find a 20-30 something from NYC that didn't run home from school to catch it at 3:30 every afternoon. Whether it was Crazy Sam on Nervous Thursdays with his outrageous antics or just Ralph taking me clubbing through my tube, the show was the "end all be all". I 1st discovered Big Daddy Kane, Kid N Play, Black Moon, and just about every other influential rap act through the program. So its absolutely wonderful that they're celebrating 25 years of being a staple of NY television

As for the show in Central Park, it was B-A-N-A-N-A-S!! Though my boy and I got there late, we g'd our way inside despite the door people rejecting hundreds of folks. We heard but didn't see Naughty's performance, and could have only imagined how ill it was. By the time we found a spot to cool out at, O.C got on. I can now officially say, as much as I loved Word Life, I'm tired of seeing him perform to a lukewarm reception. Then Chubb got on and bodied it, but I couldn't help but feel a hint of deja vu. Maybe its because I had just seen them both at Prospect Park for the Crooklyn Dodgers reunion. Schooly D got on next and moved the crowd, but he should have not rocked after the Chubbster...bad line up call Ralph. Then Milk Dee came on and crushed with "Top Billin"...no surprise there. The Lost Boyz, who I had completely forgotten about, rocked out too.

Nice & Smooth closed the show, but it was somewhat of a disappointment. Not because they're not dope, but because they played around too much. BTW, when did Smooth B grow dreads? They brought out dancers, Greg Nice came out with tons of energy, Smooth B came out with a crown and cape...so they recaptured the pageantry that Hip-Hop once had. The problem was, they didn't perform their hits. Why would you headline and not perform "Sometimes I Rhyme Slow" or their verses from "Dwyck" or any of the other classics. It baffled my dome. Furthermore, why would they close the show anyway? I mean if Naughty by Nature, who were the definitive 90's Hip-Hop group, was on the bill, shouldn't they headline? Honestly, were there any records bigger than "O.P.P" & "Hip Hop Hooray". Not to mention all their other hits like "Feel Me Flow", "Everything's Gonna Be Alright", and "Uptown Anthem".

Well I'm just nit-picking at this point. The show was dope, but even better was the crowd. I haven't been to any event all year that had such an incredible feel good energy. For a few minutes, I definitely felt like a youngster back in 92.

Don't forget to subscribe to my new mixtape/podcast, The Instant Classic, which pays homage to all of this great music.

Throwback Vol. 2

You CANNOT FRONT...this IS CLASSIC. This is easily one of my favorite Hip Hop records ever.

Under Appreciated

Buckshot....there's a lot I could say about this dude. Towards the end of golden era Hip-Hop, he and his crew BCC, embodied Brooklyn. The string of hits he put out in such a small time span is nothing short of astounding. They weren't just hits either, but straight up classics. Think "How Many MC's" or "Buck'em Down" or all the crazy B-sides that weren't on the album. My point is, people take his contributions for granted. He didn't invent harmonizing, but he sure mastered the art of it and his flow was impeccable. I think Ja Rule and 50 surely need to partially credit him for their successes because he fathered a lot of what made them popular.

Throwback Vol. 1

Since we're going into the weekend I figured I'd do something new. For your listening pleasure, I present a CLASSIC reggae song. This video represents a time when image in music wasn't as important. Looking back and seeing how hokey this video was, you would think that this would have discredited the artist's credibility or popularity. Not the case!!! Play this tune in any "bashment or dancehall dubfest" and people still go wild. Without further adieu "Life is What You Make It" by Frighty and Colonel Mite.