Top 10 Hip-Hop Moments
"...cause who I'm talking bout ya'll is Hip-Hop."
Common
Being a longtime fan of Hip-Hop and an Emcee since my teen years I have several moments in my life that stand out because of Hip-Hop some good, some bad. Here is my personal top ten list of memorable Hip-Hop moments.
10) Virgin - I had written rhymes before and recited them, but the first time I freestyled was bourne from frustration. We would cut school to blaze and three cats could beatbox, but only my current wingman would freestyle, one day after he stopped I just jumped in thinking if I messed up at least I tried. Well, I went on a 4 minute rip across a distance of more than 200 yards. Somebody said I reminded them of Blackthought and figured...I had to be o.k. then.
9) FAB - 5 - When I attended Morgan I quickly realized that most of the people there were from N.Y. and Conneticut with a few Southerners thrown in and very few Baltimore natives. On top of that most of the cat's there hated Bmore. So FAB - 5 (Heltah Skeltah and O.G.C.) came to perform one year and I go down with my crew. At first I'm pissed cause there's all these Morgan heads acting like it's an Opera and not a Hip-Hop Show...then I notice all of these cats in the front are pumped and going crazy. I get up there to find about 15 dudes that I grew up with and I mean dudes who lived two and three homes down from me. It made me glad to be from here.
8) Harbor Circle - If you are at least my age and you rhymed in Bmore you should know about the Harbor Circle Cipher. A spot where pan flute bands and clowns entertain tourists in the day this used to be a place where every weekend you could catch some of the best in Bmore. After it had died down (when I was really getting good), me and some friends are downtown and end up rhyming at the circle. Some dudes who were well known at the time join in and eventually we notice their rhymes turn towards the battle side of things. One by one we shred these cats and when we were done they just dapped us up and left. This was when I knew me and my peoples could rhyme.
7) Bohagers - I went to see The Roots, Common, Buckshot and Evil Dee Perfrom at this club on S. Broadway and when I got in I not only got in the front but, out of 200 people I found I knew 50 in the main area. We had a massive cypher before the show started and the show itself was murder. Hearing all those cats rock to the Clones beat was the joint.
6) BEEF - One of my big issues with Hip-Hop is there aren't as many real lessons in it anymore. I remember picking up Edutainment in high school, knowing it was one joint I had to own (and managed to keep to this day). Well when I heard the song Beef made me think about meat in a way never had. Since I had gave up pork a year or two prior...dropping beef became real easy after that song.
5) Tupac "Tribute" - I was going to this club on Friday, Sept. 13th, 1996 and as I passed by the 7-11 on the corner me and my friends were told that Tupac had died. We were shocked by it especially cause it seemed like bullets couldn't kill him. We go into the club and after a few minutes the D.J. announces the news. Then he says here's a "Tribute" to Tupac and this asshole plays 10 Biggie songs in a row. I never thought I would see something that cruddy.
4) Artscape - I have already had my Artscape post but, it ranks up there in my Hip-Hop moments cause it's the first time I got to see Tribe and while it's the third time I got to see Biz it was the first time I got to see him really rip on the tables.
3) Breaking In - Me and my crew went to Morgan one year to see K.R.S. and Common perform. They ripped and we got to speak with them afterwards. Not only was it a good show but it was the first time I got chill with some cats I respected after a show and they were very cool...this is the bridge to my #1 moment.
2) Beat Box - I go to the Harbor with about 5 cats from around my way and through associations we end up about 50 deep. There was some concert going on and we saw the Mayor of Rap City - Chris Thomas. Then who to our wandering eye should appear but Biz Markie...dudes rushed him and he ended up sitting down in front of the Gallery to chill for a minute. People tried to get him to rhyme but he wouldn't, he did offer to beat box if someone else wanted to rhyme. So Biz and a local cat are going back and forth on the beat and dudes are rhyming. I'm in the back and when my peoples realize this the start pushing me to the front. I'm getting pissed cause all these dudes start claiming various parts of N.Y. (For the uninitiated due to the drug trade running through N.Y. and Bmore used to have some beef issues, plus I hate when dudes can't accept where they come from and want to claim another city). So I jump in just as the beat switches to Biz and straight murder with a Bmore reference laden rhyme. I can't even remember what I said but I know I had a line that made Biz's eyes light up. I will never forget that day.
1) Tramps - As a result of meeting K.R.S. and Common me and my crew got put on for the Temple of Hip-Hop show at Tramps. Not only did we get to perform but I got to meet and see, K.R.S. and Common (again), Big Daddy Kane, The Cold Crush Brothers, Biz Markie and in the crowd I meet Black Thought and Jeru the Damaja. The only down side was because of the combination of Bidi, cig, and weed smoke, I eventually got too dizzy (I fought for a while) and had to leave. This was the greatest Hip-Hop show that I have ever seen in my life.
Any personally memorable Hip-Hop Moments?
posted by Amadeo at 11:10 AM
3 Comments:
OK, hope this does not get my hip hop pass revoked but seeing Salt n Pepa perform live! I thought they were the shyt. I was in jr high, we had recently moved to OH and while I can't remember who else was on the bill those ladies rocked the house!
Also meeting Snoop, Dre and the Dogg Pound before people really knew who they were, except for Dr. Dre. They were really cool and down to earth, shy even. That was then, my how things have changed!!
I cant match your ish son but now you got me feeling nostalgic. for some reason i always end up in spots at shows where the other artists would come hang and watch the act on stage so i've stood next to cee-lo which watching de la perform and next to jeru watching the roots and next to black thought watching rass kass. my thoughts are usually like damn these cats are way shorter than they look on tv, lol
oh snap you dun made me remembered something lol. most interesting hip hop related moment: going to see BCC in about 96 or 97 with my girl and some of my boys. I got left in the line as they made it in so there is like this 15-16 year old white girl in the lne ahead of me. as the security and cops do the frisking they pull a 9 inch knife out of hommegirls bag. I kid you not. I'm like what da? thing is they gave it back to her told her we cant let you in with this go and put this in your car. unbelievable all i could think is if it had been me instead of her i would have caught a beatdown like rodney king .
ok now i need to blog about this
Yooo Amadeo! What the heck man???! I was going to post a Top 10 Hip-Hop Moments list of my own. You know a brotha's got that 10's List Month thing going on over there at the Splinter Cell. Well, here go a few of my own. Yours were tight by the way and so true on # 5 and maaaad props on # 1 man. that had to be a highlight for you dawg, kudos!
But it had to be the MC battle back in, I think it was 82 or 83. It was a round robin battle theme that featured the best mc's of their respective crews. Like CAZ & JDL from Cold Crush 4 battle Dieda Rock and Whipper Whip from Fantastic Romantic 5, Reggie Reg and B-Stro from Crash Crew battled..um,.. I think it was Scorpio and Melle Mel from the Furious 5, Gangster Gee of Masterdon and the Death Committee battled Kool Moe D of the Treacherous 3 went up against Rodney C of the Fearless 4.
By the end of the night, those guys were rhyming on fumes and if my memory serves me right (hasn't let me down so far-lol), Kool Moe D was victorious. Or was it Grandmaster Caz? One of those 2. That was a classic, CLASSIC hip hop moment man.
The only other memory that was closest to that was the Radio City Music Hall concert, ironically the last hip hop concert I'd ever go to sometime in '95 or '96.. it was Apache, Naughty by Nature, Nikkee Dee, Tribe Called Quest and Run DMC with Pete Rock and CL Smooth doing Down with the Kings. That was maaad tight. Thanks for the breakdance down memory lane my man!
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