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Classic Hip-Hop Nostalgia
By J.T.
Whenever I turn on the radio these days, the same six words always seem to come out of my mouth: What the hell is this shit? Maybe I'm just getting old and nostalgic for the past but I honestly feel that hip-hop from the 1980's was a hell of a lot better than hip-hop today. Although hip-hop is definitely getting more play on commercial radio than it ever got fifteeen years ago, the quality of songs being played by these so-called "hip-hop &R&B" stations is very low. Nowadays, I can barely listen to the radio anymore because there's hardly anything on worth listening to with maybe the exception of the Wake Up Show on KMEL.I often ask myself, whatever happened to the good old days of hip-hop when DJ's were as equally respected as the MC's that they supported? What happened to all the breakdancers that I used to see along the sidewalk doing headspins? How did we get from there to here where rappers are going on stage without a DJ and breakdancing is now considered an outdated fad(to the mainstream public) that died except to those who are still true to hip-hop? It's times like this that I really wish that I could travel through time back to the past and re-live those gold old days.
One of the first records that got me into hip-hop was "Roxanne, Roxanne"by UTFO. I remember trying to imitate the Kangol Kid's first verse of that song over and over again and getting laughs from a lot of my friends back in high school because they just thought that I was just a plain fool for trying to sound like him. But I wasn't the only doing it because that song was definitely the jam back then and spawned several answer records to "Roxanne, Roxanne" from the likes of Roxanne Shante,Roxanne's Doctor, and there was also one other song which I think was titled "The Parents of Roxanne" if I'm not mistaken.
Although UTFO wasdefinitely representing, the ultimate record that really got me hooked was "King of Rock" by Run-D.M.C. and if you are a hardcore Run-D.M.C. fan, you can understand why. After hearing D.M.C. yell out, "I'm the king of rock there is none higher/sucker mc's should call me sire/to burn my kingdom you must use fire/and I won't stop rockin' til I retire," how can anybody not get hooked after hearing that?Run-D.M.C. was and still is the ultimate rap group in my book because unlike a lot of the other groups coming out today, they never relied on fancy stage props or dancers in skimpy outfits. When you go to see a Run-D.M.C. show, all you get is Run, D.M.C. and their DJ Jam Master Jay. However, those three guys are the only main ingredients you need to see on that stage because their presence alone is practically hypnotic.
In the mid 1980's, you couldn't find hip-hop shows like the Wake Up Show with Sway & King Tech on typical commerical urban radio stations of that era hardly anywhere like you may be able to do now. Your only option back then(and now)was a small community or college radio station if you wanted to hear at least one to two hours or more of continuous hip-hop. The best part about listening to non-commercial radio was that these stations were more daring to take chances on new up and coming artists and they were also more likely to let songs with explicit lyrics slip onto the airwaves. Today, you may hear a lot rap on the radio but more often than not, it will be songs where all of the profanity have been edited out or have been re-recorded to make the cut on a playlist of a commercial station. But it's not just about songs with profanity, but also songs that have that raw street sound that is the essence of what hip-hop is all about. Phat beats, dope lyrics, and wicked scratches are elements that are essential to any hip-hop record because without them, all you have left is garbage. Think about it for a moment. Do any of you believe that the L.L. Cool J of 1985 would get the same kind of support today with a song like "I Need A Beat" or even his classic "Rock The Bells" on a station like KMEL that he got for the"Phenomenon" song? I certainly don't think so. "I Need A Beat" might get play on the Wake Up Show but as for play on regular rotation during the morning drive, no way!
While I didn't get into hip-hop until around late 1984,I can't forget to give props to the other old schoolers of hip-hop such as Grandmaster Flash& Furious Five, Kurtis Blow, and the Sugar Hill Gang. Although the memories of how hip-hip used to be back in 1980's fills me with joy, my joy starts to fade whenever I think of all the wack artists that have emerged in recent times and have gone on to get an exorbitant amount of airplay on commerical radio with junk records. If stations like KMEL want to tell people that they play the most hip-hop and whatnot, the least that they can do is try and play more artists that truly represent what hip-hop is all about. How can they play Will Smith a thousand god damn times a day and hardly play KRS-One even once within a week and say that they are "Jammin The Most Hip-Hop?" It's ridiculous and now you can see why I hardly ever listen to the radio anymore.
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