random old rap you are loving

mobb deep - what can i do
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYssmuNpWFE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXrsuQ1-Bsw

Da Youngstas - Pass da Mic

monday nights are for keepin it real.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHp6zUYHFmg

3x krazy — "keep it on the real" (1997)

nineteen ninety two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdZH_0cQEuc

tlc — "ain't 2 proud 2 beg (rap version)"

also guys remember that time outkast featured on a tlc track and left eye embarrassed both of them?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJBr3MgHn7Y

yeah, that was p cool

(tlc feat outkast — "what about your friends (extended mix)" [1992])

is it still cool to hate on this? was it ever?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSIRn3zBFAg

i don't think so either way.

(left eye — "the block party" [2001])

i honestly had no idea she had ever put out a solo record until like a year ago. apparently the album didn't even come out in the us??

it did not. unfortunately, it's pretty inconsistent.

here she is in 1989 (according to the description)—

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Ig9ekXZiY

when i think of most influential rappers/musicians/pop stars/"FAMOUS PERSON"s of my lifetime, she's easily in that conversation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x361Lwf4x4E

Method Man - Say

funking love this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjsUyeR6t4E
diamond d. feat. big L - day one

very classic. also a very classic sample source. alltimers all around.

presenting this evening's feature: lyfe'n'tyme by the b.u.m.s

how was your 1995? mine was great. i saw the show. coolio was king of the summer, thanks to "gangsta's paradise." there was trouble brewin, but we didn't care because the beat was flames. however, my favorite album of the year was easily lyfe'n'tyme by the b.u.m.s, repping east oakland.

the brothas unda madness:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC2mVQaI-uM

(the lead single, "elevation (free my mind)" with a sonorously souped up teddy pendergrass loop)

d-wyze and e-vocalist weren't the most impressive emcees, but much like the group home album, they got by on charisma and crack production (but okay, let's be honest - they were definitely better than malachi and lil dap on the mic). they had a decidedly nyc-centric sound at times; probably explains why i was such a big fan. the beats were handled mostly by sway+tech affiliate joe quixxx and remind me a lot of common's resurrection or maybe even gang starr's hard to earn - just that perfect jazzy boombap. jeep beats, i guess, is what they used to call it. kind of a conscious vibe at times, on tunes like "take a look around" or "flex uv a finga" it felt like a real earnest vibe; they genuinely wanted better. they were definitely righteous, too. just check out the spoken word closer "who gives you the right" which opens with the accusatory inquiry: "are you afraid of what can't be bought?" right on.

the album highlight -and one of my favorite songs of the 90s- applies feel good smoked out g-funk vibes to a blackbyrds sample and gives you smokey as the whipped cream. "let the music take your mind" is just pure perfection:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6TIprVmgwU

the album flopped. priority spent a lot of money on it, too. they shot two videos, did a ton of remixes, and even got bay area legend saafir for an incredible b-side appearance. they disappeared. a year later, forgotten and never to be heard from again. i like to think they weren't just talking shit; they took whatever money they could from the label and straight up dipped. whatever the case, the one album they released will forever be a personal classic.

epilogue: ya'll remember mystic? her first appearance is on this album.

my bad, here's "let the music take your mind"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2WFiRYBHfA

WOO WOO WH-WHOOOOO

fuck your bad crew

fantastic, what's not to love abt this random old rap

Looks like D-Wyze is a barber now, but released a video this year. Nice beat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pedq3uBeF_Y

O_O

okay random new rap you are loving

(omfg ty for posting)

one of the most ridiculous songs of all time. love love love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0gwmPjZL6g

jayo felony f method man + dmx - "whatcha gonna do" (1998)

love that one. love this too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5R_YRi5yGE

No memory of The B.U.M.S but no idea how they slipped through the cracks. Guess they were never on Rap City, which along with late night radio was my source for new rap back then. I wonder if they're dissing Souls of Mischief on that first one you posted, Austin?

rap city is where i first saw the video for "elevation" - tho only a few times. they big up SoM in "let the music take your mind" so i don't think it was meant as a dis.

was not familiar with Jayo Felony but ovb loving it

Redman's verse on "whatcha gonna do" is great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKKpy6UPVAc
Black Rob - Make It Hot

random old Biggie flow I am loving

RIP, seems he had a hard life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P831fGL4HjU

Oh No - Beware [feat. Cali Agents]

i've had kool moe dee's knowledge is king album playing a lot and that still slaps

apani b + friends - "estragen" (1998)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDc-QaS3XCw

https://www.discogs.com/release/719922-Apani-B-Fly-Emcee-Estragen-Soul-Control

planet asia - "handlin business" (1998)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSRuBuqjW0s

sick beat.🔥

another lowkey west coast heavy hitter from 95. this time proper g-funk—

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCtWq5jl0ws

twinz featuring warren g and bo roc — "journey wit me"

warren g was so good in those days on the beats. it's basically like g funk smooth jazz vamps. very wah'd out aquatic sound. he was certainly doing more consistently better stuff than dr dre at the time. he had a hand in several albums and they're all very solid. some questionable sample choices at times, but i really do feel like he's been underrated in hindsight. he never really did "HARD" beats, so i can see why some people were not into it. maybe he should've been working with r+b acts the whole time? anyway, the whole twinz album is great and i don't think it's a coincidence that the best tracks are the mellower ones with r+b hooks. it's been a personal classic to me since it first came out. in the bigger picture, it's probably a solid 3.5 mics.

here's one of the singles and a tie-in, because i know how much ilxors like "free" by deniece williams. you'll either love or hate this one—

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_45vTXgMes

"eastside lb"

hehe who doesn't love "free"?

nice songs Austin, thx for sharing

rest in peace random old rapper grandaddy i.u., hempstead's finest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsR7A6ZRv54

og juice crew, too — rip! good jam.

here's one that's been on repeat lately. more twinz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHZhPTTZdk4

da 5 footaz featuring the twinz — "players play" (not sure — probably ~98). very sick beat.

(andy: "this might be andy's favorite song right now."<—which means it 100% is)

great stuff indeed, Warren G funk

"life is a circus, so i be clownin with no purpose"

5 footaz lowkey some of the best of the 90s. shame that album never got released. but i do go on.

always were there, too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW79tyiNktE

warren g featuring jah-skillz — "super soul sis" (1994)

i'm at a point in life where i have nothing to prove to anyone; so anyway i used to rap this in the mirror to myself. i can't even begin to describe just how classic this is. it's almost as if it's part of the example upon which my idea of "classic" was built. i guess that's how i got the motherfucken super on my chest?

you've got a hold of something good Austin, thx for sharing

thinking of compiling a jah-skillz playlist.

should her and snoop dogg have done a collaboration? probably, ya.

shame it was queen pen on "no diggity" instead of her. she certainly had the connections.

"why oh why oh whyyy but WHY NOT - shouldn't i represent this shit called hiphop?!"

https://centralsauce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/warreng_jahskillz.jpg

dunno when that pic is from, but what a fucking badass.

random thoughts about random old rap you are loving.

and i may have posted this one before, but here it is again in context. probably one of the most listened to songs of my life-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyLg0dLlb8c

warren g feat the twinz, jah-skillz + neb love - "we brings heat" (1997)

"heavyweight champs known for blowin out your amps"

i'm not even gonna post it but there's also that classic freestyle track on the first warren g album where she completely embarasses warren. he has to go after her, that's all i'm gonna say.

okay, last one but the way she trades lines with trip locc is just jesus christ the fucking swagger of this woman-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELMDqQrlL1s

neb love also dope as fuck on the opening verse.

there's also this track from 2020 featuring a rebooted 5 footaz. it's alright-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl1ZyIpFXHY

"life goes on"

sry that first video on the last post is the twinz feat neb love + jah-skillz - "hollywood" (1995)

some rare warren g production-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY44rNacKYI

kam - "keep tha peace" (1995)

couple years later and ice cube inspired kam to stop keeping the peace lol-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjUKPIYbmyQ

dj pooh feat kam - "whoop! whoop!" (1997)

"shoulda beat yo ass in chicago, don't need security wherever i go."

sidebar: kinda wondering how this "whoop whoop" factors into the juggalo timeline.

also between that and "the bitch in yoo", ice cube was getting completely eviscerated in the mid-90s. i guess friday was entertaining enough that i didn't really notice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBVqGYPe1Qs

common - "the bitch in yoo" (1996)

"from gangsta to islam to the dick of das efx"

lol, the cover of that "classics" album

love this thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQtKJbptcns

Been playing this a lot lately for some reason

no reason needed, classic

otm

I made this playlist two years ago for a friend who wanted to explain her rap palette. I've been spinning this a lot lately as it's a microcosm of what I like about hip-hop.

Some obvious, lots of album cuts, and somewhat missing the Golden Age of hip-hop (not intentionally, I think I just figured I'd get to it later)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1vK7oYXE9RxcxbZ8rQYjg2?si=gLiHn7puRAyvY7wYnN-jRg

xp mos def famously a big fan of that wonderful song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTBIvIDnnv8

Mos Def OTM, hilarious song

rip raheem "tame one" brown

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARkoJwm0qhA

brick city kids (a/k/a artifacts) - "what what" (1997)