Monday, February 23, 2009
My Favorite Rap Video EVER!
Summer '88. White kid named Patrick Moxey used to throw these moving parties called "Pay Day" featuring live performances by the hottest acts of the day, acts like Rob Base, De la Soul and what not. Shits would be at different locations throughout the city. Hottest parties around, bar none and word bond. Joints was so hot, your favorite rappers' favorite rappers would be posted up in the joint, and casual like. Stetsasonic, I seen them at the bar, Jungle Brothers, up in the back puffin L's with Slick Rick and Kane, Just-Ice, by the speakers signing autographs. Anyway's this one night when Pay Day was running in this huge ass school auditorium in the Lower East Side, me and my Brooklyn set hopped the turnstiles to catch scheduled performances by this group The '40 Busters who had a single "I Drink Old Gold" parodying Eric B. and Rakim's monster hit "I Know You Got Soul", as well as this other group The Dismasters who was scorching the tri-state area with a local heatrock called "Small Time Hustler".
Anyways, the 40 Busters had just finished their set, dj was spinning, chicks was grinding on the God, blunt fog clouds was hanging right over our heads when suddenly, the music stops, the lights cut off and everyone was like wtf? Then, like on cue, this HUGE hanging movie screen starts dropping from the ceiling all slow and shit and NO ONE knows wtf is going on. Since Hip Hop was crazy new and mad unpredictable, the anticipation is unbearable as to what was taking place, but we all knew that shit was gonna be dope, HAD to be dope, or someone would have to leave the joint all bloodied and buck fiftied up. Shit was primal like that back during them days. Kniccas mos def had to come correct. Then, the movie projector sparks up and like a slow rumbling earthquake the sound starts pumping mad truck like through the speakers and for the first time in our young effin lives, everyone in the joint is mesmerized as we all watch in awe, the video for Boogie Down Productions' "My Philosophy" in it's fucking entirety, KRS-One in front of the Suzuki, speaking to us all in acapella. Please understand, this wasn't just us seeing the video for the first time, it was the very first time we all got to HEAR the song. By the time the video ends, the entire crowd, black, white, Asian, Martian, dudes, chicks goes freaking
B-U-C-K-W-I-L-D! That night, the Dismasters had an incredibly hard act to follow.
Patrick went on to start a label by the same Pay Day name. We even did a deal back in '95, where he signed one of my clients, a young Jay-Z for like a mere $25,000. Then he went on to drop Jay from his Pay Day label like four months later. I can't call it, but, I'm sayin'.
Directed by my dude Fab Five Freddy, the "My Philosophy" video will ALWAYS be my favorite hip hop video of all time. The production was crazy, catching KRS One in his prime, the song being one of BDP's BEST and the set up as to how and when I saw and heard it for the first time will forever be planted firmly in my noodle.
So CJ is asking you, what's your favorite hip hop video of all time and why?
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My Favorite Rap Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFZLq6R-ZtM
ReplyDeletecan't speak too much on the video, but My Philosophy is definitely one of the hardest and jammin'-est songs EVER!!!
ReplyDeleteHey CJ==
ReplyDeleteI just got a job at KFC, times iz ruff. anywayz my boss got a bangin booty and she iz always pressin on a nicca. She wantz me to tapz it but her man works acrozz the street at the tire shop and hez a big effin ese, she alwayz lacez him wit free bucketz for lunch. I wantz some free bucketz too uknowwhutimsayin--what should i do CJ?
nearly every golden age hip-hop video was dope because there was not pretentious bullshit goin' on, just real MF hip-hop.
ReplyDeleteit's not the best video but my favorite video will always be Woo-Hah by Busta. not for Woo-Hah but for the Everything Remains Raw minute at the start of the video where Busta and the crew go ape shit inside the landcruiser. that's an Oh-ffial headbanger type joint to break shit to
gotta say i agree... that video i still remember memorizing all of krs' lyrics and still to this day i got by all means on my ipod and know that shit word for word... thanks for reminding methat "bdp is the freshest"
ReplyDeleteyoo... that first wu-tang joint. sons all fatigue'd and timm'd up and Ghostface rockin the fencing mask? Hell yea.
ReplyDeleteZEEZUZ, I'd mad flirt, but never hit where u work. but then again, you know this man. Get them kfc's though.
ReplyDeleteGreatest hip hop video of all time is easily "Hell Yeah" by Dead Prez.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVDEDvob2U4
For what it was the time Xzibit had some fire videos. "Papparazzi" was ill... That orchestra, tuxed and gowned-out, on the beach was slick.
ReplyDeleteAnd "What U See is What U Get". One shot following him walking through his hood spittin the whole way.
C.R.E.A.M.
ReplyDeleteIt brings back some ol' memories, and it's so fun to watch Meth with that big afro.
Btw, there are too many videos..
BDP's "My Philosophy" and X's "What U See is What U Get" are both GREAT videos but my Boho, Ivy league, Ft. Greene ass has to concede that De La's "Buddy" has always been my favorite rap video of all time. It's nothing special as a piece of music video filmaking to be honest, but I just loved the fact that some (seemingly) suburban, progressive cats were all reppin' together in one video for that side of hip hop (and for me!). Also loved BIG's "One More Chance" for similar reasons: Brooklyn brownstone parties in Ft. Greene? That was my LIFE from '92-2000. Also always loved PE's "Night of the Living Baseheads", Tribe's "Scenario," Black Sheep's "The Choice is Yours" and almost all the early (1st album) Cypress Hill videos.
ReplyDeleteGreat song, video n story, CJ. I'd have to co-sign C.R.E.A.M. as well, though. Raw gritty Wu w/ Rae lookin five L's deep at least! Always loved G Rap's 'On the Run' n 'Ill Street Blues' too. Amazing blog; keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteMy Philosophy was a dope ass video. KRS in his matching BDP hat and jacket was ill.
ReplyDeleteThe other videos are good, but for pure entertainment value, I have to say Redman's "I'll Be Dat". When chick runs into the car with her bike? Over.
PayDay and $100,000 Bar were part of a spate of parties that popped up after the close of Latin Quarters (Union Square had already been shuttered 2 yrs prior).
ReplyDeleteI feel like Clark used to spin at the PayDay joints. I can't totally remember though because I was fully embedded in the hazy dust cloud. Clark definitely spun at the Trip parties at Mars.
My favorite video of all time is the Wu-Tang's Triumph which is arguably the greatest rap song evar and part of Wu Tang's best album evar.
^ My knicca Dallas! Welcome back, whaddup D?
ReplyDeleteI was in college without cable during the first burst of hip-hop videos so I gotta go back to what I saw in real time, i.e. "Beat Street--
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhkOPNRV8Pk
I love the "Fight The Power" video Spike did with the "Brooklyn" sign going right up front but I didn't see that 'til years after "Do The Right Thing."
On the no-budget side, it was wild to see things like "Sound Bwoy Bureill" for the first time, esp. because West Indian BK is so marginalized by the media except on Labor Day--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6zJ6ds2rqM
I still don't know the story on this but graf heads oughta love this, Lordz of Brooklyn "Bomb The System" (music from '92, video from ??)--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAtO5iL4dD0
Yo, I wanna hear more about those Fort Greene brownstone parties! Those were REAL?!? Sorry, I'm from the bumboclaat real estate bubble generation: "It's Dom Perignon, it's SUPPOSED to bubble!"
ReplyDeleteClearly Poppa large by Ultra. And of course all the joints I worked on lol!
ReplyDeleteIce-T - I´m your pusher
ReplyDeleteselling his raps like drugs, dissin LL, cameos by Red Alert and Kane, scarface imagery...
"DROP" PHARCYDE or ANY PE vid even the last one with the retrospective look...
ReplyDeleteahh there are so many. but one is
ReplyDeletedef poppa large.the whole vibe is ill.
mefs bring the pain is another.
and...
I'd have to say that "Poppa Large" is mos def my 2nd fave.
ReplyDeleteFor posting up so many ill stories, and golden age memories, i have to share that my experience was similar. It was 88 and i was a freshman at john jay college. my first college party and it was laced with the finest women, smoke machines and a large video screen. I was rocking grey slacks and my brother's suede ballys and what comes on..."Ain't No Halfsteppin" by Big Daddy Kane. My favorite video! To this day, that moment was surreal. Long Live the Kane. Peace, CJ. High School Class of 88 forever!
ReplyDelete