The first time I heard “Hypnotize” on the radio, I knew it was gonna be huge. Biggie’s impeccable flow had seemingly improved in the two-plus years since he’d released his debut Ready To Die. Puff Daddy and his Hitmen sampled Herb Alpert’s 1979 disco hit “Rise” in a way that had equal appeal to the… Read More “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G. (1997)
Folks, the early ‘90s were a much simpler, more innocent time. It was a time in which you could believe that Shock G, the mastermind behind Oakland-based funk/rap collective Digital Underground and Humpty Hump, the outfit’s Groucho-nosed comedian, were two different people. At least I believed they were two different people. What can I say?… Read More “The Humpty Dance” by Digital Underground (1990)
When discussing the great hip-hop producers of all time, certain names come up repeatedly; Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, Pete Rock. All are deserving of the respect sent their way. There are others, though, who are just as talented and influential, but don’t get as many props. One of those producers is Muggs, best known as… Read More “How I Could Just Kill A Man” by Cypress Hill (1991)
Sometimes a thing that can seem a little too obvious and on the nose can actually work. Case in point: Kanye West and Jamie Foxx going back to the well for “Gold Digger”. To backtrack: Kanye’s breakthrough moment as an artist was as a guest artist on Twista’s “Slow Jamz” (Twista was credited as the… Read More “Gold Digger” by Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx (2005)
When The Notorious B.I.G. blew up at the end of 1994, he wasted no time putting his people on. The Junior M.A.F.I.A. (Masters at Finding Intelligent Attitudes) boasted a bunch of Big’s homies from Bed-Stuy, and their debut album, Conspiracy, hit stores in the summer of ’95, just as their mentor was topping the charts… Read More “Get Money” by Junior M.A.F.I.A. feat. The Notorious B.I.G. (1995/Remix, 1996)
Puffy didn’t invent the remix. Even the idea of reconstructing a song so it was almost completely different from the original and calling it a remix existed before Puffy. However, his re-rub of Bad Boy’s first hit set a couple of precedents and served several purposes. Oh, and it might also be the best hip-hop… Read More “Flava In Ya Ear (remix)” by Craig Mack feat. The Notorious B.I.G., Rampage the Last Boy Scout, LL Cool J & Busta Rhymes (1994)
The summer of ‘89 was a tense, tight and hot period of time in New York City. And that’s just the weather. Race relations in the Big Apple were bad and appeared to be getting worse with each sweltering day. Reverberations from that year’s Central Park Five “wilding” case (in which a crew of young… Read More “Fight The Power” by Public Enemy (1989)
Five Star Jamz 