"So - when did you fall in love with HipHop?"
It's my favorite line from Brown Sugar. For obvious reasons, of course. My house was definitely multi-ethnic growing up. We listened to anything from Blues Traveler, Celia Cruz, Bunny and the Wailers, Sheryl Crow, to Anita Baker. One thing you very rarely heard though, was HipHop or Rap music. My parents just weren't into that.
It's funny, cuz we lived in the hood (4th Street) - and when I got to school, I didn't know any of the new rap songs. Everybody was gettin into Biggie and Ice Cube and all that, and I was humming Melissa Etheridge songs under my breath. Kids used to laugh at me, cuz I was so out of the loop. I didn't really want to know any of the lyrics - until one day.
After school program at the YMCA - 1996 - we had an African Dance instructor who looked like Debbie Allen. She had a change of plans that day, and we wouldn't be learning any new dances. Instead, she had us sit in a circle, and she sang Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly", a capella. She explained the lyrics, talked about the mood - then she brought out her tape player. Mentioned something about young people doing covers of older songs, something about a rap group - and pressed play.
The song filled my ears, and I instantly wanted to hear more. I was one of the few kids actually listening to the words. Y'all know I'm super emo - so it hit a chord with me. The last set of notes Lauryn hit sent tingles through me for some reason. That weekend Mom took me to The Wiz (what y'all know bout that? Throwback, lol) and bought me the album on cassette. Played that tape until it popped.
Now - I can't get enough of HipHop. I find myself constantly searching for new artists, new songs to bump on my way to work. Music is my life, and HipHop is the artery leading to my heart, lol. Lauryn Hill got me interested in Erykah Badu, she put me on to Common Sense - who got me listening to Mos Def. Mos Def got me into The Roots - and the vein continues. The years go by, the beats change - but our relationship stays the same. I can't sleep without HipHop, there's always music in my head. No matter what type of music I choose this week, Hip Hop is the guy I always run to in the end. I love him.
So - what's you're type? What gets you in the mood? What soothes you? What hypes you up?
Most importantly - when did you fall in love?
CHRISTMAS TIME
4 years ago
I remember when I was 13, The summer before I entered High school in the 9th grade. All I did was stay in the bathroom all day with a radio, and a spray bottle of clorox. I never had my own room, always shared with my brothers, so the bathroom was like this retreat for me. I would clean out the tub, dry it, and just lay in it for hours.
ReplyDeleteBut what kept me entertained is the radio. I turned to 94.9 Zeta, a now defunct rock-only station, and I let the hot bands of 2003 entertain me. Linkin Park really did it for me. They spoke to me, and how I felt. But of course Nickelback, System Of A Down, Avril(first album only!), Evanescence, Audioslave, Trapt, Three Doors Down, Chevelle, and so many others, were there when I wanted to switch it up a bit.
That is when I first discovered that music could do more than just seduce your mom to shake her booty widly after that third cup of gin & juice. But as far as "Killing me Softly" goes... I was six years old when that came out. I love it. I remember singing it all the time in church, Lalala la la lala, oooo ohhh oh, la la la, oh oh oh, lalaaaaa la la laa... (clears throat). A girl once asked me why I was always singing that song, with an attitude, and this manly girl butted in and said "Cuz he be killin' it". I felt very protected.
Definitely A Classic Track.
Ugh Michael - I think we were identical (male) twins in a past life! I love Evanescence - when I feel like screaming it's Linkin Park. If I feel like no one loves me - it's Avril. Musicians deserve every penny they earn, because they convey what we all feel and can't always express. I knew you'd get me.
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