Being In LA now I am reminded of the first time I really got into Rap / Hip Hop. I always had a surface level connection with liking the music of course, but I didn’t get motivated to seek knowledge about it until one day when coming back from the beach with my cousins here in LA, and they started playing Biggie’s Life After Death. When I heard those stories being told I was hooked. Ever since then, hearing old Hip Hop n Rap songs that I used to be into throws me into nostalgia, but a good kind of course. Here’s some of the tracks that give me memories.
Q-TIP – YOU
I grew up around a lot of Tribe and Q-Tip was always my favorite. I remember staring at his album cover while this song was blasting and just thinking it’s so dope that he made his own beats.
LES NUBIANS – MAKEDA
I actually just recently discovered this track but it fits right in with all this music resurfacing in my life.
RES – GOLDEN BOYS
I remember hearing this track by Res for the first time with my mom, and this memory of us listening to it in the car together runs through my head.
REFLECTION ETERNAL – MEMORIES LIVE
My cousins put me on to Reflection Eternal really young because they were obsessed with the likes of Talib Kweli and Mos Def. This album stays in my rotation to this day.
SLUM VILLAGE – CLIMAX (GIRL SHIT)
Dilla became a big topic of history to me when I started making beats, and so naturally Slum Village followed, this song is beautiful to this day and will hold its own forever to me.
DIGABLE PLANETS – JIMMI DIGGIN’ CATS
This track always had one of my favorite beats ever. Digable Planets was a fiery trio back in the day and they all had mad talent, definitely inspired me in a lot of ways.
MOS DEF – THE PANTIES
One of my favorite songs of all time, Mos Def was someone I grew up on, memories of me being alone as a kid slapping this, or even when Im grown driving around to this at like 2am in LA after getting off work.
QUASIMOTO – AM I CONFUSED FT. MADLIB
Madlib is such a Icon he featured himself under his alter ego, and it’s crazy good.
2PAC – DO FOR LOVE
My favorite 2Pac song and this still resonates with me as much as it did the first time I heard it at school when I was younger.
HIEROGLYPHICS – MAKE YOUR MOVE FT. GOAPELE
This track reminds me so much of home it’s crazy. Growing up this was ALWAYS playing. Oaklands got a lot of history and Hieroglyphics is definitely a large part of it. Not to mention Goapele’s beautiful vocals.
