Dr. Dre bluntly lays it out there how good he is while hanging in Long Beach. Do you think those Yo! Mtv Raps graphics would still be around today with all the computer nerds out there?
Diamond D makes his pitch to the record labels to keep pressing that vinyl. He is standing in front of the Source van. That van used to tour around the country in the summer, at least in 1992 not sure if it hit the streets again, bringing rappers along. The van was full of speakers and you could grab a free copy of the magazine and a mix tape. I still have one of those laying around somewhere here. Word up to Benzino for his part helping ruin our music and the once great periodical.
Run DMC has got to be THE greatest Hip Hop group of all time. If for anything else, simply for paving the way for everyone else after them. A movie, a Christmas song and the ADIDAS contract set precedence for Hip Hop artists to become a business entity not merely “just a rapper”.
Chuck D sets this segment off by teaching the masses about rap’s intelligent and culturally aware artists. And then irony sets in when Young MC intros a piece by saying “Of course veteran rappers will continue to evolve” and it features Kool Moe Dee, Stetsasonic, Vanilla Ice. Hmmm
I don’t have any logical explanation for why I have come across so many MC Lyte clips lately. Milk Dee’s sister holds down a major place in hip hop history. She has had two Grammy nominations, her diary is part of a Smithsonian display dedicated to rap music and she has been celebrated at VH1’s Hip Hop Honors. Audio Two’s younger sister started rhyming at age 12 and is still finding consistent work in the entertainment field today.
Ed O.G. You don;t see many video clips of this guy. He is still kicking it today too. Did that Masta Ace & Ed O.G. collabo drop yet? Ed is cracking me up in this one as Fab is trying to talk to him as he’s out of breath from playing hoops.
LL wants to be a legend. He says so here. We already dropped some of the LL Unplugged episode in a previous post and it is again featured here.
Fab 5 Freddy is everything that is New York Hip Hop. But, being the consummate historian that he is for the culture, he realized that New York wasn’t the only coast rocking the game. In the early 90’s the west coast started on the map. Tone Loc with “Wild Thing” and “Funky Cold Medina”, MC Hammer with all his hits and the black Beatles, N.W.A, all helped bring a new vibe to Hip Hop. Here is Fab’s homage to the west on his 3rd anniversary. And, in case you haven’t seen it before, the first clip with Hammer, is the famous J Lo appearance before she had blown up yet.
D-Nice drops a live version of “25 ta Life” off his 2nd LP “To tha Rescue”. Take note of the spelling of song and album titles, this is right around the time it became en vogue to spell your words using the street slang version. Check out D-Nice walking up above where Dre & Ed are sitting, I don’t remember too many artist walking around the studio while performing on Yo!…
Coming back from a 2 and 2, Arsenio jumps into Snoops legal case that was the inspiration for Murder Was the Case. Buuut Snoop shows his comedic chops as he isn’t having any of that. Does controversy = sales? Peep the freestyle that was cut off, here: Freesytle. Does Arsenio’s constant “Yeah’s” get annoying to anyone else? We don’t love dem hoes.
Back in the early 90’s Mtv was still deciding whether or not they were going to go along with the fad that wouldn’t go away, called rap music. After all, this was the home of Yo! Mtv Raps, the most well known show for rap videos. On the other hand, the station also had it’s rap detractors, lead by Kurt Loader. That’s why it was a shocker to see this special documentary on the station. I don’t have the actual date of the special featured here in part one of a two part post. It was called Rapumentary. Hosted by the likes of LL Cool J, Ice-T and Queen Latifah to name a few. They host this thing, shedding some light on complex angles of our culture and music.
Pieces of Yo! Part 9
