WERS bumped this throwback tune last night as E, Pete, Linds and I were in the car on our way to NYE festivities in the city. At some point during the night, each of us were caught singing/humming/slurring the hook, reminiscing about back in the day (When I was young, I’m not a kid anymore, but some days I sit and wish I was a kid again).
Which obviously made me think about all the other goodness we were listening to back in the day: J5, The Roots, Tribe, Pharcyde, Big, Pac, Dj Shadow, Blackalicious, Lateef, Lyrics Born (the whole Quannum label really), Black Star, Nas, Jay, KRS-1, the list go on and on. I wont spend time defending the dynamics of white suburban middle school kids obsessing over hip hop (not that I could necessarily), except to say that at the time there was nothing worth listening to more. Hip Hop, for whatever reason, was pertinent to our lives.
We’ve all watched mainstream rap music dissolve into a commercialized frenzied machine of poppy ridiculousness, but there are still a huge number of artists holdin’ it down and pushing the envelope of creativity. Andre 3000, for instance, can do no wrong in my eyes; I still think Jay-Z is one of the best rappers alive (in spite of wheezy’s claims); and that doesn’t even take into account independent labels (whatever independent means anymore)like RhymeSayers, Quannum, or QN5 maintaining a forum for underground artists.
I don’t know what it will mean for creative hip hop artists as music becomes less and less lucrative. The last album I paid for was a used compilation of Miles Davis for my brother’s birthday, since he downloads more music than I can keep track of. It’s too easy to “happen upon” full-length records while cruisin’ the inter-webs, using mojo, trackers or the myriad ways of “sharing” music. I guess I’ll leave it too the industry to find a better way to pay rappers and producers? Kind of irresponsible, I know, but I’m a college student so…
This last one isn’t throw-back, but I just saw the video and liked it. Q-tip is still what’s up.
Back in the day, when I was young
I’m not a kid anymore
But some days, I sit and wish I was a kid again.
The Crunk Bunny 