Tag: Happy Birthday

The Evolution of Ciara: The First Lady of Crunk & B

The year was 2004 when she popped up on the scene with her debut single and album with the same name. Petey Pablo provided a verse and Jazze Pha was the man behind the sound. It wasn’t the first time we heard this sound on radio. The first time was Usher’s club banger “Yeah!” featuring Lil’ Jon and Ludacris and was released the same year at the same time but it was this beautiful, young, talented and fresh faced singer on the scene named Ciara who gave us the beautiful sounds of the combination of Crunk and R&B music. Nobody else had pulled off the sound before her and not too many people understand that she pioneered the sound in a dope way and what she brought to the game. When you’re a music fan like myself, it’s easy to point out what’s new, fresh, and dope at the same time and it definitely worked in Ciara’s favor. I can honestly point out that the reason she’s so underrated is because she’s from Atlanta and the South had a lot to prove that they also had something to say, props to Andre 3000. Anyways, when Ciara first came out, I thought she lacked vocal ability and power in her voice. I remember when “Goodies” first came out, the moment I heard it, I wasn’t so fond of Petey Pablo alone and then I couldn’t stand the sound of Ciara’s voice but that song is a reflection of the Atlanta sound and wave at the time. After “Goodies”, there was “1, 2 Step” featuring Missy Elliott, “Oh” featuring Ludacris and my all time favorite Ciara joint “And I.” “And I” was a slow ballad that was the first joint Ciara ever written, that’s what I read a long ago. It wasn’t a hype track like the other singles, it was a slow joint but it was a dope ass joint. Ciara caught my attention full on when she came back with her second joint “Ciara: The Evolution.” This album to me is her best work. She stepped it up a whole lot. She went from being the young Atlanta girl fresh outta high school to being this full on entertainer. She went from the honey brown/blonde hair to jet black. She had the whole futuristic look with the silver and shiny clothes, she was dancing more and stepping out of her comfort zone and showing a more hyper Ciara. Her voice was definitely different too but she sings low like Janet Jackson. This is the Ciara I personally loved. I also remember when her second joint dropped because “Get Up” came out for the “Step Up” movie soundtrack and then there was “Promise”, “Like a Boy” and “Can’t Leave ‘Em Alone” featuring 50 Cent. Ciara had this whole Janet Jackson thing going in this era and it worked. She kept that Janet Jackson vibe up and kept putting out more and more bangers and albums. She’s a dope artist whose very underrated. She’s far from her “Goodies” days and is now a mother to a son named Future, who she named after the Atlanta native rapper, who she formerly had a relationship with. Ciara will go down in history as one of the illest artists of all time. She may not be so appreciated like she should be artistically now but eventually, people will catch on. They should’ve been caught on. She will continue to get more and more dope on this evolution in her career. I’m anxious about what she’s gonna do next.

Miss Thang: Happy Birthday Monica

The year was 1995 when her debut album released. She was a 14 years old, Atlanta native and was a part of the younger artists crew when it came to R&B. It was Aaliyah, Brandy and of course Monica. “Miss Thang” was released in July 1995, and Monica was definitely one of the greatest voices heard at the time. With a string of hits underneath her belt, Monica to me is underrated and doesn’t get the credit she definitely deserves. Hits like “Before You Walk Out of My Life”, “Why I Love You So Much”, “The First Night”, “Just One of Them Days”, “Still Standing”, “Street Symphony”, “Angel of Mine”, and her two very biggest joints to me are “The Boy Is Mine” with Brandy and “So Gone.” Monica to me was always good and I definitely enjoyed her music but she used to be boring to me. She would just sing, she didn’t do anything else but now, today, I can listen to her for a while. Her 2003 album “After the Storm” is my favorite album of her. It was the only album I heard from beginning to end, the only Monica album I own, besides a single CD of “So Gone”, and after hearing her other albums, it was the most dopest one to me; “The Boy Is Mine” would be my second choice. The Monica we all know and see today is married with three beautiful children and she’s still singing her ass off and looks amazing too. I love seeing both hip hop and R&B legends be this person of greatness. We grew up on their music, album after album, banger and banger, and they’re still here with us while we give them all of our love and appreciation. Monica is also seems to be super down to earth and a very cool person. I would love to meet her someday. Salute to a legend. Always and forever will be the legendary Monica aka Miss Thang.

The Legacy of Usher Raymond

When this man’s music is up for discussion, a lot of people seem to think that “My Way” was his first. His first joint was on the “Poetic Justice” soundtrack called “Called Me a Mack.” The next year after that Usher released his first debut album with joints like “Can U Get Wit It”, “The Many Ways” and my all time favorite joint “Think of You.” There is absolutely no better Usher joint than that one, I don’t care what anybody says. That first album of his was extremely underrated. I’ve heard people say it wasn’t a very good album but to me it’s better than his shit after the “Looking 4 Myself” album. He went too pop for me. Besides the singles, “I’ll Make It Right”, “Crazy”, “I’ll Show You Love”, “Whispers”, “You Took My Heart” and “Smile Again” were all bangers too. People need to listen to the first album again. His next joint, 1997’s “My Way” is the Usher everybody started to know, the Usher everybody thinks is his first. LOL! Another banging album from Usher. This is the Usher that inspired me fashionably. He was rocking ski masks, leather outfits, shiny jackets and the infamous “U” chain. That “U” chain is his trademark, it’s like the “S” on Superman’s chest. This is the Usher that got him more recognition as an artist. That “My Way” joint was ill too. The video was more iller. “Bedtime” and “I Will” made me think the girls I had crushes on growing up. This was when we had true male R&B singers. They sung about loving their women. The “Live” album is one of my favorite live albums in music but I wish he performed more songs from his first album. “8701” showed a more mature Usher. This was the “Usher & Chilli” era. Usher was older, much wiser, his material was more serious but it definitely prepared us for his album of all time. That album happened to be 2004’s “Confessions.” Man listen, this album is in my top 10 R&B albums of all time list. This is Usher’s best work til this day. I don’t give a fuck what nobody say. The entire album from beginning to end is a banger. No fucking skips, but replays, rewinds, volume all the way up and singing along to Usher. My favorite joint is “Seduction.” It’s my favorite slow joint from Usher. The chorus and harmonies were smooth as silk but that’s regular Usher style. 4 years later, we got “Here I Stand.” This is the beginning of the “pop” Usher that I personally don’t like but this was definitely a dope album though. “Trading Places” is the best joint along with “Best Thing” featuring Jay-Z. After “Here I Stand”, I never listened to Usher’s entire albums just the singles. The singles are dope, he’s still doing his thing but the spark is gone. Too many club bangers for the younger crowd and not enough grown folk music like he used to deliver. It’s rare to hear that from him now but I’m still a Usher fan. Of all the birthdays in October, I’m always amped about Usher’s because he’s definitely my biggest inspiration as a singer, besides Ricky Bell from New Edition. Usher is the singer I always wanted to be but with a hip hop twist. He’s the ultimate ladies man with almost 25 years under his belt and albums and bangers for days. He’s the Prince of R&B to me. There’s no one like Usher Raymond IV. Yeaaahhhhh man!

The Princess of Hip Hop & R&B: The Wonderful World of Ashanti

Before we seen her face, we heard her singing hooks on joints for Big Pun, Fat Joe, and later on, her label mate Ja Rule. Ashanti Douglas has proved herself to be one of R&B’s most greatest artists of her time. She blew up in the early 2000’s for being the girl who was singing on hooks only. Ashanti’s voice is almost similar to Aaliyah’s, she’s got that soft, sweet, sultry Soprano thing going on but her style musically was similar to Mary J. Blige’s, it is Hip hop soul. Ashanti reminds you of that nice girl in the hood who was a hip hop fan but she could sing her ass off. You’ll see her walking down the street in a fresh pair of Air Force Ones, tight jeans, chewing gum, rocking a varsity jacket and big hoop earrings just without the “ratchet”, not calling those kinds girls ratchet though. LOL! She’s the one all the hardcore guys call to sing hooks on their songs and she does it well with the songwriting as well which is why she was nicknamed “The Princess of Hip Hop and R&B.” A lot of artists both male and female have been on the “hip hop soul” movement since “What’s the 411?” but what makes Ashanti a little more different than the rest is her being a fan of hip hop. She’s not just a singer on hip hop tracks, she embraces hip hop in her attitude and her little bop in her videos. I’ve always been a fan of Ashanti since 2002 when she dropped her debut single “Foolish”, singing over The Notorious B.I.G.’s 1995 remix single “One More Chance” and DeBarge’s 1983 single “Stay With Me.” I remember when she first came out like it was yesterday because I was in the second grade, I was 8 years old and “Foolish” was on BET every five minutes and I remember when the video came out with Terrance Howard and it made number 1 on BET’s 106 & Park Top 10 Live list. I do miss those days. The days of a 90’s born-00’s raised kid. Her next joint “Happy”, turned out to be my all time favorite joint by her. The chorus and hook is the best part of the song. The beat is hard with this happy and catchy whistling sound and the chorus and hook has this beautiful harmony that’s very mesmerizing and gets you lost into the sound, that’s an effect I usually get from Brandy. Ashanti’s entire self titled debut was banger from beginning to end and then she released “Chapter II”, my favorite album from her. Another smash album under her belt. She put out “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)”, “Rain On Me” and “Breakup 2 Makeup” and the remixes were bangers too. The hip hop in Ashanti’s music were mostly on the remixes. She had everyone and their momma on those joints. When “Chapter II” came out in the summer of 2003, I was in Virginia at my auntie’s house singing those songs. My cousins and one of their friends didn’t wanna hear me though but I was feeling that album. LMAO! That was around the same time Beyoncé dropped “Dangerously In Love” and “Baby Boy” was everywhere too; that and “Rock Wit U.” The joint “Feel So Good” was the best one to me because it came from Black Moon’s “I Gotcha Opin (Remix)”, a certified banger. That one should’ve been a hit from the album to me. Her next joint “Concrete Rose” was another banger. Ashanti was no joke in her prime. She kept coming back to back with albums and bangers but this album had a couple of joints I skipped more than the first two. She blew me away with “Don’t Let Them.” That joint came straight from Raekwon’s “Heaven & Hell.” Another banger from that album is “Love Again” but after that she came out with “The Declaration” but her shit wasn’t the same. She went full R&B now, which is cool but that spark she used to give me with her first three was gone because she wasn’t down with Irv Gotti and the Inc. anymore. She still as beautiful as usual but she’s one gem that people don’t appreciate enough to me. She’s no Mary J., no Brandy, no Aaliyah, Monica, Janet Jackson but she was dope in her own right. I’ll always appreciate Ashanti aka The Princess of Hip Hop and R&B.

Lyte As a Rock: Happy Birthday MC Lyte

Lana Michelle Moorer aka MC Lyte is one of hip hop’s greatest MC’s of all time. I hate when people say “female rapper”, so I’m just gonna say “women in hip hop” instead. When it comes to women in hip hop, MC Lyte has definitely been the catalyst and inspiration to other women to come into the game and do it just as well and gain respect for it, especially when hip hop is mostly a male dominated field. MC Lyte along with Queen Latifah, Roxanne Shanté, Sha-Rock (from the group Funky Four Plus One More), Salt-N-Pepa, and Monie Love, just to name a few, are some of hip hop’s earlier women in the game and these ladies definitely held their own. MC Lyte was the first woman in hip hop to actually release a whole album, which was 1988’s “Lyte As a Rock.” After the success of her debut, Lyte kept coming with albums and more hits making her one of hip hop’s most respected woman in the game and a lot of people consider her their first choice when it comes to women in hip hop. Joints like “Cha Cha Cha”, “I Cram 2 Understand U (Sam)”, “Paper Thin”, “Poor Georgie”, “Ice Cream Dream” (from the Mo’ Money soundtrack), “Ruffneck”, “Keep On, Keepin’ On”, “Cold Rock a Party” and more. Lyte is the fly b-girl from Brooklyn with the attitude that caught your attention and kept your attention too. She was hard on the mic and her rhymes were just as tough as the guys on the mic, especially 1993’s “Ruffneck.” She went the hardest on the joint to me. She was describing the hard hood guy hanging on street corners, hustling with a bad attitude with the hardest voice you’ve ever heard Lyte spit. Lyte had bangers, she don’t have too many joints that was wack to me, almost all her shit was dope. She’ll always go down in history as the one of the realest, dead or alive.

The King of New Jack Swing: Happy Birthday Teddy Riley

They call him the King of New Jack Swing. He’s the man behind the legendary hip hop and R&B groups like Guy, Wreckx-N-Effect, and BLACKstreet, he helped provided sounds for Michael Jackson’s 1991 album “Dangerous”, Bobby Brown’s 1988 album “Don’t Be Cruel” and Queen Pen’s 1997 album “My Melody.” He did a lot joints for others artists including MC Hammer, Mary J. Blige, Doug E. Fresh, SWV, Kool Moe Dee and a whole lot more of other hip hop, R&B and new jack swing artists. This man is my all time favorite producer, for he is responsible for a lot of my favorite joints. His name is Teddy Riley. It was 1985 when Teddy produced his first joint to reach the Billboard Top 100 charts, Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick’s “The Show” and then two years later, the R&B group Guy was born. The group started off with Teddy, Timmy Gatling and Aaron Hall who pioneered the new jack swing style and movement. With only three albums underneath their belt, they had some of the greatest joints between the first two albums. “New Jack Swing” of course, “Teddy’s Jam”, “Groove Me”, “I Like”, “Yearning For Your Love”, and “My Fantasy”, which is a joint not to many can remember unless you play it like “Ohhhh snap! I forgot about this one. This is my shit!” LOL! To those that never understood what exactly was the sound of New Jack Swing, it was basically hip hop production, R&B vocals, pop infused with synthesizers and heavy bass with instrument sounds. It was the early combination of hip hop and R&B until Hip hop soul came along in the early 90’s, thanks to Mary J. Blige and Jodeci. In 1989 Teddy Riley began working with hip hop group Wreckx-N-Effect. Their main two singles were “New Jack Swing”, a song that celebrates the genre and of course partying with a numerous amount of cameo appearances in the music video and in 1992, their next biggest joint, “Rump Shaker.” In the early 90’s, the new jack swing movement and sound was slowly coming to an end. I would say around 1993/1994, the industry was taken over by a new popular sound called “Hip hop sound.” Hip hop soul was more straightforward and more street. It was like church choirs meet the street corner hustlers. This sound was strictly R&B singing over hardcore hip hop production and it is my favorite sound. Teddy didn’t miss a beat and he still put out bangers even with the new sound at the time. He did Michael Jackson’s 1991 album “Dangerous”, he did the remix to Mary J. Blige’s 1994 single “My Love” featuring the late great Heavy D, another artists part of the new jack swing movement, and then came along BLACKstreet, who is one of my all time favorite male groups. Their first two albums, the self titled 1994 album and 1996’s “Another Level”, I ran to death yo. The first joint introduced Chauncey Black and Dave Hollister. Chauncey and Dave had amazing voices but Dave was miles ahead of Chauncey and could hit some of the hardest and coldest notes I’ve ever heard come from an R&B guy. Their definitely influences on me when it comes to singing. The first album was a banger from start to finish. The sound had a west coast vibe but it was a tad bit new jack swing-ish but very, very smooth and R&B on a hip hop tip that makes you nod your head something crazy. Joints like “Baby Be Mine”, “I Like the Way You Work”, “Physical Thing”, “Happy Home”, “Before I Let You Go” man, that shit is a masterpiece. Their second album “Another Level” had the perfect name and it was exactly that but their first joint was more raw and street. “Another Level” had more church vibes but it was still dope. A couple of joints skipped here and there but still a dope body work. This album had the notorious Teddy Riley joint, “No Diggity” featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen. Queen Pen is another one of Teddy’s artists. She was incredible on the mic but very underrated. Teddy did her album “My Melody” a year after “Another Level” and “Party Ain’t a Party” took Queen Pen to the top. Her second joint didn’t do so well but she’s still a monster on the mic. BLACKstreet’s third album “Finally”, was an okay album though. I don’t really care too much about it but it was cool. Very R&B all the way and “Girlfriend/Boyfriend” featuring Janet Jackson, Ja Rule and Eve was dope too. I pretty much only celebrate Teddy’s career from 1985 to 1998. That’s when he was in his prime. Album after album, artist after artist, bangers after bangers, Teddy is definitely one of the greatest producers of all time. He’s pretty much the soundtrack and King of my “old soul” life. He provided that sound I love so much and exaggerates it a lot. Those beats of his was perfect to me. His ear is an incredible one and something you never doubt. I always dreamed of someday working with Teddy in the future. Hope I can.

From The Fresh Prince to Hollywood Best: Happy Birthday Will Smith

Who would’ve thought that the same guy from West Philadelphia, born and raised, on the playground was where he spent most of his days at, with the funny and happy raps, on a television sitcom with the illest hip hop gear I have ever seen, side by side with a DJ who goes by the name of DJ Jazzy Jeff, would be one of Hollywood’s most respected actors and married to the beautiful and lovely Jada Pinkett. That man would be known as Will Smith aka The Fresh Prince. When it comes to hip hop fashion, Will have always been an inspiration to me. Besides LL Cool J, Slick Rick, Run-DMC, and Big Daddy Kane, Will was also someone I looked up to fashionably. He literally would wear something that nobody else would or do something else with his clothes that nobody else would do either and that to me was dope. I take fashion lessons from this man. Now the music, that was dope too. As the album titles says “He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper”, Will and Jazz were the perfect hip hop duo. Songs like “Brand New Funk”, “You Saw My Blinker”, “Girls Ain’t Nothing But Trouble”, “Parents Just Don’t Understand”, and the ultimate Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff classic “Summertime”, these guys are definitely one of the greatest hip hop duos of all time. Now the transition that Will went from the Fresh Prince to Hollywood actor Will Smith was a weird one to me. Throughout the last couple of seasons of “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”, Will’s style changed drastically. He went from hip hop gear in Doc Martens and Jordans, hat to the back, one sneaker white, one sneaker black, to plain shirt and jeans but still had the Jordans on. Towards the late 90’s all the way til now, Will Smith has been non stop coming out with movies back to back. My top favorites are “Hitch”, “Bad Boys II”, “The Pursuit of Happyness”, and more. I strongly disliked “Ali” though. I didn’t think he was the right person to play Muhammad Ali. It was more like Will Smith a boxer kinda movie, I didn’t get the Ali vibe from it. Wild Wild West was bad too. Just couldn’t get with it and I remember when that movie came out too. I can’t forget about how different his music became too but it was still good. DJ Jazzy Jeff was no longer beside him, and he had joints like “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” and “Men In Black” with Coko from SWV singing on the hook and chorus. From Fresh Prince to Hollywood big time, Will Smith is definitely one of hip hop’s greatest artists and Hollywood’s greatest actors on the big screen. Definitely an inspiration to me.

The Man Behind So So Def: Happy Birthday Jermaine Dupri

I consider him to be the Russell Simmons of the South. He’s the man behind some of the biggest hits of Usher, Mariah Carey, Monica, Xscape, TLC, Bow Wow, Jagged Edge and even Da Brat and Kris Kross, just to name a few. He goes by the name of Jermaine Dupri. If you’re a true hip hop fan, you should remember seeing 12 year old JD dancing background for the legendary hip hop group, Whodini, in their music video for “Freaks Come Out At Night.” Homeboy was rocking a serious jheri curl and leather jacket, with those big eyeballs of his directly in the camera as he popped and locked, straight 80’s style. LOL! But let’s fast forward a bit to the 1993. It was the year 1993 when JD launched the legendary record label, aka So So Def but it was in 1990 and 1992 when he first produced for a group named Silk Tymes Leather and Kris Kross. History books say that JD discovered Kris Kross at a local mall and then the rest in history. In 1993, he also discovered Xscape, signed them and their debut album “Hummin’ Comin’ At Cha” was released. Then on an appearance on Yo! MTV Raps, he met Da Brat through Kris Kross, signed her as well and “Funkdafied” was born. Throughout the 90’s, JD started working with other artists like Mariah Carey. He did “Always Be My Baby” and its remixed version featuring Da Brat, he also did “Not Tonight” for Lil’ Kim on her “Hardcore” album, and in 1997 he helped launched Usher’s career with the album “My Way.” A lot of people think that’s Usher’s first joint but he had an album in 1994 that was self titled and super underrated in my opinion. Also in 1997, he remixed “Everything” for Mary J. Blige with the classic “My Name Is D-Nice” beat and y’all know how Mary does it, simply raw and smooth over that joint. Rocking it like she was a rapper and even had this cat named Roc on the joint. In 1998, he met Bow Wow, who was known then as Lil’ Bow Wow. The greatest work done by JD to me is Usher’s 2004 album “Confessions”, which in my opinion is Usher’s best album, along with Mariah Carey’s 2005 comeback album “The Emancipation of Mimi.” There’s a long list of hits done by Jermaine Dupri that’s too much to think about. Hands down one of hip hop’s greatest producers of all time and definitely one from the South as well. He’s the reason why I like southern R&B better than southern rap. In his own words in almost everything he does, “Y’all Know What This Is! So… So…. DEF!”

The ILLMATIC One: Happy Birthday Nas

Yo, who would’ve guessed that back in 1991, the same guy who said that he was going to hell for snuffin’ Jesus, three years later would have created one of the most illest and most influential hip hop albums of all time? The same album that was awarded best album of the year in 1994 by The Source. That album happens to be “Illmatic.” That same guy was a then 21 year old Nasir Jones from Queensbridge. With 3rd Bass’ MC Serch as his manager and production from Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, L.E.S., and DJ Premier on the album, Nas had the right person to manage him to get the right team to create the right album at the right time. There’s no rapper on the face of the planet that’s not influenced by Nas. Your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper is Nas. With a crazy collection of hits for days, Nas is definitely the quintessential New York MC. My personal all time favorite Nas joint is “The World Is Yours.” No words to describe how crazy that beat is and it’s a great motivational song that makes me feel like Muhammad Ali at the start and end of my day. A lot of hip hop fans says “Illmatic” is their favorite Nas album but I personally liked his sophomore 1996 album “It Was Written” a little more. That album had way better production and better songs to me, at least that’s how I felt when I first sat down and listened to it all the way through. “If I Ruled the World” featuring Lauryn Hill, is one of the first joints that pop into my head when I think about the year 1996 and “Street Dreams” is another all time favorite of mine, the remix featuring R. Kelly the most. This is the part of Nas’ career where things started to feel a little different compared to his first two albums and the music was a little boring. “I Am” had “Nas Is Like” and “Hate Me Now” featuring Diddy, that song was so annoying to me honestly, and the album after that was “Nastradamus.” That album is my least favorite Nas album but the single with the same album title and “You Owe Me” featuring Ginuwine are my joints though. “You Owe Me” wouldn’t be the same with Ginuwine to be honest. Sometimes having singers on your hooks can make the song because without them, it’s not the same. 2001’s “Stillmatic” to me was a strong comeback for Nas when he came back with “Ether” dissing Jay-Z. It’s the classic hip hop beef that both Nas and Jay-Z fans still talk about til this day. It’s almost annoying to randomly hear “Yo, Jay-Z or Nas?” SMH! Other joints like “Rule” featuring Amerie is another favorite of mine and “One Mic” were the perfect singles. “One Mic” to me is one of Nas’ most memorable joints. Who doesn’t know that joint? Even your grandma and grandpa knows that joint. “God’s Son” is my third favorite Nas album. So far my top 3 Nas albums are “It Was Written”, “Illmatic”, and “God’s Son”, in that exact order too. Just like “Stillmatic”, this album was another strong one for Nas. Every joint from beginning to end was banger except “Thugz Mansion”, I didn’t care for that one like that but my favorite on the album is “Last Real Nigga Alive.” “Street’s Disciple” I didn’t like as well but “Bridging the Gap” and “Just a Moment” are also my favorites. “Hip Hop Is Dead” is what stated the whole “hip hop is dead” conversations that still happen today in hip hop discussions. Album was okay to me, “Can’t Forget About You” featuring Chrisette Michele is a banger though. “Untitled” originally named “N***er”, was cool too. “Make the World Go Round” featuring The Game and Chris Brown was crazy though. Definitely a top 5 Nas joint to me. Breezy on the hook, you could never go wrong with that. The Game, my favorite West Coast is a beast on them bars, the beat was crazy, the whole joint was crazy. Crazy, crazy, crazy dope. “Life Is Good” is my fourth favorite. It’s a very relaxed and mellow Nas but he was always that way. The album title speaks for itself and that’s the entire vibe of the album. Another great one from Nas and “Bye Baby” featuring Aaron Hall is my favorite on the album along with “Reach Out” featuring my boo Mary J. Blige. She rode that beat like no other and who better to sing on hip hop tracks than the Queen of hip hop soul? Nobody! She took it back to “You Remind Me”, her first joint on this one but y’all should know their first collab joint together for her 1997 album “Share My World” called “Love Is All We Need.” Classic right there. Nasir Jones aka Nasty Nas aka Nas Escobar, one of hip hop’s greatest MC’s, one of the most influential MC’s and definitely in my top 5 list. Yo, happy birthday to you sir! Salute the Queensbridge legend.

Long Live the Kane: Happy Birthday Big Daddy Kane

One of my all time favorite rappers, especially from the 80’s. This man taught me how to be smooth, he taught me how to be fly, he taught me how to be stylish, he taught me how to not be a half stepper, he taught me that my flat top rules but for ’16, if you know what I mean. His name is Big Daddy Kane. Big Daddy Kane always have been an inspiration to me. I literally study this man and learn from him. He was loved by the ladies and respected by the fellas. He had Mister Cee as his DJ and both Scoob and Scrap Lover, who were his backup dancers. My sister has a friend whose father is Scrap Lover. That would be so fuckin’ dope to actually meet the man, the man who actually danced on stage behind Big Daddy Kane. My all time favorite Kane joints are “Warm It Up Kane”, “Ain’t No Half Steppin'”, “Rap Summary (Lean On Me)”, “Children R the Future”, and a few more. I always have a picture of Big Daddy Kane saved in my phone because I get so much inspiration from his style. I be like “Yooooo! This is what I’m trying to go for.” It’s not the regular look in 2016 but it’s in my book of dope shit. Word! I can’t forget the time that I actually seen Kane live in Central Park last year at the Summerstage Concert Series with a homie of mine I met through Instagram. We didn’t exactly planned on meeting each other that day but when we found out that we were both gonna be there we had to exchange numbers. It was so hot that day. Yo, I was almost ready to head back Uptown to the Bronx before Kane stepped out on the stage. It was hot, I was super dehydrated and thirsty, hungry, legs weak and tired, feet damn near numb, it was real yo. The things I go through for hip hop. LOL! Kane finally came out and he tore it up. I was especially waiting for him to bust a move and start dancing but he didn’t but I was still satisfied. Kane was still rocking and moving like it was the 80’s. He didn’t look lazy on the stage, he sounded great, full of energy, his style is not the same but his energy on the mic is still the same too and I have a few videos saved on my phone. Definitely a hip hop moment for me that I will never forget. I only own his first two albums. I hear the same things about Kane from everybody but of course I like to check things out for myself and I gotta hear the rest of his stuff. I’m pretty sure it’s not that bad. People do exaggerate but that’s what hip hop fans do. LOL! To the B-I-G D-A-Double D-Y K-A-N-E, thanks for the inspiration sir and oh yeah, he STILL ain’t half steppin’.