Tonight,
the Dial scans the radio band to lock onto a frequency rarely heard on
my blog… hip-hop, specifically “old school rap”.
I
grew up just outside of Washington DC, a city known for the development
of “Go-go” music, a percussion-heavy blend of funk, R&B, and
early hip-hop styles, along with the early promotion and championing of
prototypical rap artists.
Classic tracks like Newcleus’ “Jam On It”, “Freaks Come Out at Night” by Whodini, and Midnight Star’s “Freak-A-Zoid”, crossed over from “urban” radio formats onto our local
Top 40 stations, and were occasionally heard sandwiched in between hits
by Prince, Huey Lewis & the News, and Madonna.
As
a result, my friends and I encountered many songs that kids living in
other parts of the U.S. (say… Des Moines, Iowa…) likely never heard.
One of my personal favorites of this genre was Kurtis Blow’s “I’m Chllin’”,
from his 1986 “Kingdom Blow” LP. Recorded with the Go-go ensemble
Trouble Funk, and incorporating an interpolation of the theme to my
favorite cartoon series ever, “I’m Chillin’” is largely a light-hearted
boasting record, though it features lyrics critical of other MCs for
putting down women in their rhymes…
“To diss a female is a lowdown shame, but you suckers make the records ‘cause you wanna get fame. All you radio cats, don’t play that crap. Can’t you see they’re messin’ up, all in the name of the rap?”
“To diss a female is a lowdown shame, but you suckers make the records ‘cause you wanna get fame. All you radio cats, don’t play that crap. Can’t you see they’re messin’ up, all in the name of the rap?”
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