Can you dig it?
I'm still putting the finishing touches on a "next level" mix, but in the meantime I've been compiling a mix of early 90's hip hop tracks. This era of hip hop is the my favorite for several reasons, listed in order of importance:
1) Rap groups didn't have to clear ( = pay for) the samples they used. What was bad for James Brown, George Clinton, Curtis Mayfield, and Rick James was good for the rest of us. The best funk makes the best breaks. These days you gotta travel half way across the world to find samples that you won't get sued for using without compensation. F'n lawyers, man.
2) Gangsta Rap hadn't taken over yet; popular rap hadn't devolved to appeal to the lowest common denominator. The gangsta's weren't the first generation of black musicians to experience deplorable living environments while growing up, but they were among the first to glorify the violence and other negative aspects, without anything to balance it out.
3) Super-Producers weren't running hip hop. (See Reason #1 for why Super Producers run hip hop these days.) The focus was still on the rhymes, the rhythm, and the beat. The rapper's voice was more of an instrument than it is in today's hip hop. The remixes were the producer's territory, and that's where your dance tracks came from.
Here's the mix:
1. Lord Finesse (feat. Percee P & AG) - Yes, You May
2. Nas - It Ain't Hard To Tell (remix)
3. Biz Markie - I Hear Music
4. Original Flavor (feat. Jay Z) - Can I Get Open?
5. Constant Deviants - Catch a Speed Knot
6. Justin Warfield - Season of the Vic
7. Ahmad, Ras Kass, Saafir - Come Widdit
8. Lords of the Underground - Chief Rocka
9. Diamond D - I Went For Mine
10. Positive K - Nightshift
11. Jaz (feat. Jay Z) - It's Just That Simple
12. Dr. Dre - Express Yourself
13. Jeru the Damaja - Mental Stamina
14. Top Priority (feat. Percee P) - Let the Homicides Begin
15. Supreme Nyborn - Breathless
16. Jungle Bros (feat. Tribe Called Quest) - Promo No. 2
17. Main Source - Fakin' the Funk
18. Pete Rock & CL Smooth - T.R.O.Y. (Vibes Remix)
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3 comments:
Consider it done. I'll give it to you and leave it up to you if you want to burn a copy for Paloz. Haha.
D Friendly,
I can't believe you opted to call them "Digable" Underground. If I had a nickel bag of funk for everytime I heard those two groups mixed up like that...but, hey, do what you like, Mr. Friendly...
"Doowutchyalike" is a definite party starter but, it's a song I would skip pretty often otherwise. I tried to stay away from the megahits, which was the only thing that kept me from including Another Bad Creation's "Iesha"...haha!
Dre and Jeru more popular than Digable Planets or Digital Underground? Not in the white-on-white 'hood where I grew up. I was still listening to PM Dawn and Vanilla Ice and I'd heard of the DP and DU. De La Soul's "Say No Go" came closer to making the mix than "Cool Like Dat". But, that's all neither here nor there. Any one of those groups could've made the mix and held their own.
Yeah, I got a 'next level' mix on simmer right now. It's kind of a narrative about the back story of Koopa. Pieced-together dialogue, genre-specific music, all kinds of fun stuff...
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