It’s Music Monday, and I’m going back in time for this retro review. I grew up knowing Janet Jackson as an actress, seeing her on the TV shows, GOOD TIMES, DIFFERENT STROKES, […]
Janet Jackson: CONTROL
Fat Boys
Released in May 1984, the hip-hop group The Fat Boys released their self-titled debut album on Sutra Records. Consisting of rappers Prince Markie Dee (who was never that fat) and Kool Rock […]
King Sun – Righteous But Ruthless
King Sun was a rapper who was primarily active during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. He came right at the tail-end of the “pro-Black/socially conscious” movement in rap. But he just […]
The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
In 1985 Slick Rick exploded onto the rap scene as part of Doug E. Fresh And The Get Fresh Crew, when they released their double-sided single The Show/La Di Da Di, which […]
HE’S THE D.J., I’M THE RAPPER by D.J. Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince
In March 1988 this young hip-hop duo released the follow-up to their debut album, ROCK THE HOUSE. He’s The D.J., I’m The Rapper is distinguished by being what was considered at the […]
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam With Full Force
Puerto Rican beauty Lisa Velez began singing under the name Lisa Lisa, and joined with guitarist/bassist Alex “Spanador” Moseley, and drummer and keyboardist Mike Hughes who were a duo/band called Cult Jam. […]
Jesse Johnson’s Revue
Jesse Johnson was an original member and the lead guitarist in the R&B band The Time, playing on their first 3 albums and appearing in film Purple Rain. In 1985 he went […]
TO THE EXTREME by Vanilla Ice
Say what you will about the man, but Vanilla Ice remains one of the biggest selling rap artists ever. This, his major label debut album, on SBK Records, was one the best-selling […]
HI-FIVE
Sometime in late 1990, Jive Records released this self-titled debut album of this vocal quintet, which consisted of members Tony Thompson (RIP), Roderick Clark, Marcus Sanders, Toriano Easley, and Russell Neal, who […]
Loc-ed After Dark – Tone Loc
As a Los Angeles native, I remember when Tone Loc first debuted as one of the earliest and most successful West Coast rappers. This is when rap was still primarily an East […]
Ooooooohhh…On the TLC Tip
Recently a friend on Facebook posted this image: And while I loved Destiny’s Child, my choice had to be TLC. They really were an incredible group. First, let’s face it, Destiny’s Child […]
Ready For The World
In 1985 the R&B band Ready For The World released their self-titled debut album on MCA records. Lead by vocalist Melvin Riley Jr., with band members Gordon Strozier (guitar), Gregory Potts (keyboards), […]
PAID IN FULL by Eric B. & Rakim
Rakim Allah, considered by many hip-hop aficionados (including myself) to be The Greatest Rapper of All-Time, appeared on the scene in 1987 with this album, originally released on Island Records. While most […]
Paris: The Devil Made Me Do It
Originally released in 1990 on Tommy Boy Records this is the debut album from rapper PARIS, who was just 23 years old at the time. A Muslim who identified with the Black […]
RUN-DMC: KING OF ROCK
While 1986’s RAISING HELL firmly established Run-DMC in the mainstream, it was this previous album that began their crossover appeal. Released in 1985 on Profile Records, KING OF ROCK was mostly produced […]
“STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON” by NWA
This seminal rap album was released in 1988 on Ruthless Record, simultaneously ushering in an era of “gangsta rap” and the West Coast domination of hip-hop. Mostly produced by group members Dr. […]
KOOL MOE DEE “HOW YA LIKE ME NOW?”
In 1987 legendary rap pioneer Kool Moe Dee released this, his 2nd solo album, on Jive Records. Utilizing a variety of producers, including a young Teddy Riley, the music on this album […]
U.T.F.O. “SKEEZER PLEEZER”
In 1996 U.T.F.O. released the follow up to their self-titled debut album on Select Records. Once again mostly produced by the R&B band Full Force (The Real Roxanne’s DJ Howie Tee co-writes […]
THE REAL ROXANNE
After UTFO’s Roxanne Roxanne spawned dozens of answer records back in 1984-85, the group and their producers, Full Force, created their own authorized answer record, hiring a woman named Elease Jack to […]
UTFO
UTFO (Untouchable Force Organization) was a legendary and iconic four-man rap group, consisting of rappers The Kangol Kid, Doctor Ice, and Educated Rapper, along with DJ Mix Master Ice, that burst onto […]
“ESCAPE” by Whodini
Whodini was (is?) a rap group consisting of rappers Jalil Hutchins (unique at the time in that he didn’t use a rap name, he was simply Jalil) and Ecstasy (John Fletcher) and […]
RAISING HELL by Run-DMC
In 1986 Run-DMC released their 3rd (and many, including me, say their best) album, Raising Hell, on Profile Records (now Arista). Produced by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin this has both rappers […]
Rock The House by D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Long before he became the worldwide A-list movie star that he is today, Will Smith was one half of one of the most successful mainstream rap duos in the country, and he […]
“Hot, Cool, & Vicious” by Salt-N-Pepa
Released in 1986 on Next Plateau Records, and produced by Hurby “Luv Bug” Azor, this is the debut album of what would become the biggest-selling all-female rap group of all-time. Consisting of […]
FEMALE RAPPERS TODAY…AND YESTERDAY…
This is the recently revealed “cover” to Nicki Minaj’s latest single, which has gotten all of the internet talking. First, I’ll freely admit that I’m an older dude, I grew up on […]
LAQUAN “NOTES OF A NATIVE SON”
I’m going Old School again, with another rap album from back in the day that, for whatever reason, didn’t get the hype it deserved. Notes of A Native son is the debut […]
RAW LIKE SUSHI by Neneh Cherry
Neneh Cherry…the reason why I love British Black women. Raw Like Sushi is her debut album, released on Virgin Records in 1989. Neneh was probably the first artist who sang and rapped […]
BRAINWASHED by M.C. BRAINZ
In 1996 M.C. Brains, now calling himself M.C. Brainz (if the original name stood for Bringing Raps And Instrumentals Non-Stop, I don’t know what the “z” stood for…), released the follow-up album […]
LOVERS LANE by M.C. BRAINS
I’ve noticed from my blog stats that my post REMEMBER M.C. BRAINS? continues to be one of my most-viewed posts, getting several new hits a day, almost 8 months after it was […]
JIN PRESENTS THE EMCEE’S PROPERGANDA
M.C. Jin (also known as Jin, The Emcee, Jin The Emcee, and Jin Au-Yeung) is one of the best and must underrated rappers in the world. His claim to fame was participating […]
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