It would be great if they reissued Livin' Like Hustlers with the "Untouchable" remix (titled "What Cha Can Prove [Mega Mix]" on the 12"). I love the LP version, but the remix is one of Dr. Dre's best productions. Here's the music video, which uses the remix:
Again, a great year for rap music, but I wasn't much into it that year. I'll have to think back to what I was listening to at the time.
Oh man. Premier is one of my favorite producers ever. This album was definitely in heavy rotation when it came out. Premier's production just kept getting better and better, but this was the first album where he started to create his trademark sound. My favorite track on the album, which has one of the greatest ever Primo beats, is "Just To Get A Rep."
Gang Starr "Just To Get A Rep" After hearing the remix/video version, the song seems incomplete on the album.
Hell no! It was more like Ice Cube's "Death Certificate", NWA's "N**gas4life", and Public Enemy. I was all into gangsta rap at that time.
LOL! I was only joking. To The Extreme really was not a good album at all. But the single "Ice Ice Baby," as much as it gets made fun of, was huge at the time. Actually, it still gets lots of requests at parties today, and it's very catchy. I do like it, and I'm not ashamed to admit. But the rest of his songs really were quite awful. As for Death Certificate and EFIL4ZAGGIN, those will have to wait until 1991 . PE's Fear Of A Black Planet was '90, though. I'm far more into that album than It Takes A Nation...
Ahh, I was already thinking, what happened to this thread? Anyways, here are my favorites from 1990: Albums: 01. Gang Starr - Step In The Arena 02. Stereo MC's - Supernatural 03. Paris - The Devil Made Me Do It 04. Ice Cube - Amerikkka's Most Wanted 05. Brand Nubian - One For All 06. LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out 07. Laquan - Notes Of A Native Son 08. Boo-Yaa Tribe - New Funky Nation 09. A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm 10. Public Enemy - Fear Of A Black Planet Songs: 01. Stereo MC's - Two Horse Town 02. Gang Starr - Execution Of A Chump 03. N.W.A. - Sa Prize 04. Geto Boys - ***k ' Em 05. Brand Nubian - Slow Down 06. Dream Warriors - My Definition Of A Boombastic Jazz Style 07. Gang Starr - Who's Gonna Take The Weight? 08. Boo-Yaa Tribe - Pickin' Up Metal 09. Public Enemy - Power To The People 10. Ice Cube - Once Upon A Time In The Projects 11. Boogie Down Productions - Blackman In Effect 12. Paris - The Devil Made Me Do It 13. LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out 14. Laquan - Imprison The President 15. A Tribe Called Quest - Luck Of Lucien 16. Caveman - Victory 17. MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This 18. Stetsasonic - Anytime, Anyplace 19. King Bee - Must Be The Music 20. Ice Cube - The Nigga Ya Love To Hate
Yeah, I know. I know lots of people who stand by the song, mainly because it samples "Under Pressure", and it doesn't sound like rap. It's kind of like rap music for those who don't like rap music, like MC Hammer. Agreed! And, my bad! Somehow I read it as us being into 1001 now. That's OK because that time of my life was kind of a blur, as I was really focused on work, and one particular woman at the time. And, though I was listening to the current stuff (teen pop ) I was getting more and more into collecting oldies from the 60s and 70s. Led Zeppelin, Kiss, CSN, and those beautiful Have A Nice Day CDs!
Speaking of MC Hammer, you couldn't go anywhere around this time without hearing one of his tracks or seeing him on TV, in commercials, doing interviews. It's pretty crazy to look back and see how massive a presence he was. Huge tours, too. It was kind of the next step for hip hop, to start to get that real mainstream push, they needed a guy like Hammer. He was the farthest thing from gangsta rap and the mainstream loved it, I can remember everybody at school buying those super baggy pants and trying to bust out those dance moves.
This gets kind of forgotten, because it was tacked on later to the "Amerikkka's Most Wanted" LP but some good stuff on this EP, especially "Jackin' For Beats" great track!
I like Please Hammer Don't Hurt Em. He's remembered only for "U Can't Touch This," and I'm sure some people think he's a one-hit wonder. This album, though, also had "Pray"'and "Have You Seen Her," both of which were big songs in 1990. "Here Comes The Hammer" wasn't quite as successful as a single, but the album was actually pretty decent.
Not forgotten! Where's @smokeverbs? I'm a collector of promotional CD singles, and I've looked high, low, and everywhere in between for any evidence that "Jackin' For Beats" was issued on a promo CD. As far as I can tell, it was only ever a music video. Not even a 12" single was released--just the EP. Here's the official video: This is one of my all-time favorite hip-hop tracks. I love how the beat keeps changing to go along with the lyrical theme. Genius. Songs that are "jacked" in this track are: "My Name Is D-Nice" (D-Nice) "So What Cha Sayin'" (EPMD) "Welcome To The Terrordome" (Public Enemy) "The Humpty Dance" (Digital Underground) "Big Ol' Butt" (LL Cool J) "Heed The Word Of The Brother" (X Clan) "100 Miles And Runnin'" (NWA) There are numerous other samples used, but those are the main ones.
I remember thinking how clever that was, too. Definitely made me appreciate Ice Cube even more, the guy was one of the best lyricists and storytellers in hip hop, then comes out to the East coast, hooks up with the Bomb Squad for "Amerikkka's Most Wanted", then drops the "Kill At Will" EP, then "Death Certificate" in 91. Crazy!
If you were around back then and into hip hop, man, you couldn't escape MC Hammer! I even remember my parents, who HATE hip hop, not really being bothered by him, which was a miracle in itself. He got all types of airplay and I do remember those singles being big at the time, not so much today, though. You're right, most people probably think he's a one hit wonder but the guy was crushing it at that time. I do think "Here Comes The Hammer" is remembered just due to it being the lead track on the album, so it was always the first track you heard when putting it on the stereo, that's how I remember it, anyway.
One of the greatest albums ever, and yeah, we will discuss when 1991 is up... Such a great time in hip-hop!
Not as good as "The Originator," but here's another Jaz track called "Hawaiian Sophie" featuring Jay-Z, who is mainly just interjecting a few words here and there rather than having a proper verse.
