Hip Hop

black man listening to music from retro cassette recorder outdoors

Best videos I watched on MTV Classic’s “Yo! Hip Hop Mix”

I don’t watch enough MTV Classic on my cable box. I should though, considering music that was made in the late 1980s and throughout the ’90s is now the template for such a channel.

So I recorded four hours worth of “Yo! Hip Hop Mix” music videos on the night of March 1, 2021 and finally found enough time to give it a go.

The highlights, lowlights and everything in between are listed below for your amusement. The breakdown includes my Top 10 favorites (alphabetically by first name) among the 45 videos aired that night.

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Making music with J.C. and Joel

Two years ago I recruited two of my younger brothers to record a hip-hop song. It was a hectic process at times, but the track turned out well. I tell the behind-the-scenes story of that process in the latest edition of the Mass Chatter podcast.

Joel recently recorded and added musical elements to a song performed by a young female vocalist at his home studio. He shares that recording process and how he lucked out while tweaking the track on a rainy day.

I recorded a song with my younger brothers

The quick backstory begins on New Year’s Eve…

My guy Swamburger was offering a holiday special on hip-hop beats and I felt the time was right to make a move on the offer. The intent was to have two of my younger brothers put together a complete song, something I figured they’d be suitable for after so much time spent rocking the 8-track recorder without much direction up north.

So I sat with Swam for an hour, nodding my head and making facial expressions as he fleshed out an instrumental. Then I sent it to Ohio for Arron and Jayson to begin putting their pieces in place.

Jayson drove to Orlando two weeks later ready to roll with two verses sometime in late January/early February. Arron flew down with no idea what he was planning to record, which I guess could be considered both a gift and a curse depending on your viewpoint.

All I did was figure out words for the intro and hook, and guide the creative direction.

Check out the track “Matters of the Mind” by clicking here on the link or hitting the play button below. Leave a comment and let us know what you think. And stay tuned because more music is on the way later this year.

Playlist: Wu-Tang Clan Solo Album Compilation (1994-96)

The Wu-Tang Clan hit the scene in 1993 with a debut album that featured nine emcees rapping over gritty soundscapes unheard of at the time in hip hop.

What followed was the release of a handful of solo albums from 1994-96, by six individuals from within the group. The Clan’s creator, The RZA, oversaw the majority of production for each record outside of his involvement with the Gravediggaz.

This Spotify playlist contains 26 tracks from those albums. It opens with one song from each of the selections listed below, in order of release date, and repeats itself throughout. The intent was to include tracks from each solo album that featured other Wu-Tang members. Enjoy.
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