Thursday, July 20, 2006

Steady mobbin'

My obsession with music is no doubt innate, but really started to blossom when I was about 10 years old. My Mom, my sister and I had moved to Philadelphia and I was being exposed to a lot of new (i.e. black) culture. The first recording I ever bought for myself was a cassette copy of Run DMC's first album. And where did I get it?

Columbia House, baby.

Yup. 12 tapes for a buck or something like that. However, once you signed up, you were required to buy about 90 more before your indentured servitude was completed. I did get a lot of good stuff from them, but in the end it was tough to keep up.

This left a sour taste in my mouth.

So it was with some reluctance that I let Susan convince me to sign up for BMG Music. Their offer: 12 CDs for the price of one and, of course, the cost of shipping, which is how they make all their money. $21 for 7 CDs! Ouch. Still, once you've done your thing, you're not required to buy any more CDs. You have to tell them you don't want the selection of the month, but that's not a problem.

So I got my second batch from BMG today and I find myself knee deep in hiphop.

Dr. Dre - The Chronic
Eminem - The Slim Shady LP
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
N.W.A. - Efil4zaggin
Ice Cube - Amerikka's Most Wanted
Ice Cube - Death Certificate
Ice Cube - Lethal Injection

Yummy! Don't you wish you were me? Of course, most of y'all probably already have these.

Or wouldn't want them anyway.

It's funny. My tastes are so all over the place that I don't always have what many consider to be classics of a certain genre. However, the above constitute a small step in the right direction, hiphop-wise.

3 Comments:

Blogger derek rush said...

"Ice Cube - Amerikka's Most Wanted"

absolutely a classic, and johnny-come-latelys get the bonus of the "kill at will" EP on the CD as well, which is worth it by itself just for "dead homiez".

may i also suggest:

nwa - straight outta compton (be ashamed if you bought any so-called "gangsta rap" before this album)

geto boys - we can't be stopped (worth it just for "my mind is playin' tricks on me")

ll cool j - mama said knock you out (don't call it a comeback!)

3rd bass - cactus album + derelicts of dialect (the beasties have higher sales and longevity, but these guys had skills and innovation of their own)

grandmaster flash - Adventures on the Wheels of Steel Box Set (yes, this is the one to get - the other collections are all half-assed)

public enemy - it takes a nation of millions to hold us back (i assume you already have this, shame on you if you don't)
fear of a black planet (a mess, but worth having), and apocalypse '91 the enemy strikes black (the sound of PE falling off even as they get in some incredible last licks)

2:01 PM  
Blogger derek rush said...

oh and another note on that geto boys: how hardcore were they? bushwick bill gets his eye shot out, rushed to the hospital, someone snaps a grisly photo and they use it as the cover of their new album. kind of a parallel with former mayhem singer dead's brains blown out on the cover of their album (WARNING, NSFW):
http://www.discogs.com/image/R-369371-1109256027.jpg

2:09 PM  
Blogger derek rush said...

that geto boys cover is at:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000000W7U.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

2:12 PM  

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