WHERE OLDSKOOL LIVES: April 2014

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

UNIVERSE OF PEOPLE LOOKING FOR

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Monday, April 28, 2014

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Mom/Dad I have to have this

Keep It Oldskool remembers
THE TOYS WE HAD TO HAVE part 2

1970s Gi Joe with kung fu grip

1970 s Evel Knievel

1970s Barbie Townhouse

1980s Betty Crocker Easy Bake Oven

1980s Simon

1980s Hot Wheels

1970s Charlies Angels

1980s Teddy Ruxpin

Yo G what the hell is going on

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Mom I have to have this!!

Keep It Oldskool remembers
THE TOYS WE HAD TO HAVE
Part 1

Star Wars Action Figures 1977

1970s Barbie Dolls

1980s GI Joe Toys

1970s Snoopy Snow cone machine

1980s Connect Four

1980s Lite-Brite

1980s Malibu Barbie

1980s Hungry Hungry Hippos

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Monday, April 21, 2014

How not to get

KEEP IT OLDSKOOL PRESENTS
LYRICS OF THE DAY

Boogie Down Productions 1992
"How Not to Get Jerked"

Now technically speakin I ain't 'sposed to be doin this
Like givin information to the ones that are new to this
You wanna make a record and get into the business?
Here's a little plan from a six-year witness
First you gotta understand the music game
It's not about fame, it's about a rich name
And who you're down with, and who you clown with
But most of all, you got to have a gift ("it's like that")
Either music or the fresh lyrics
Or a vibepeople like to buy your spirit
Everybody knows KRS-One is dope
To really see it, you gotta use a telescope, hah
There's no hope when you're shoppin for a deal
Either sex appeal, or the hard street feel
But if you don't have a lawyer you're a goner
Don't even think about chillin in a sauna
You need a lawyer, and a good manager
Without this, the record companies won't be havin ya
So I'm grabbin ya now and showin ya how
Not to get jerked when you do hard work

(chorus)

Yo, there's more to it, but let's get through it
Many MC's reached the top and then blew it
You say, "I knew it, that last jam was wack"
Either you're strung out on crack, or you don't wanna
Be black anymore, or, you don't wanna rap anymore
Or, you do a wack tour, or, you get in trouble with the law
Or, your fans you ignore, or, you get punched in the jaw
Cause, you're not hardcore
What makes a jam isn't luck or fate
It's writin the jams that the people can relate to
Or else they'll hate you
The public will mark you down as a fake crew
You don't need allathat
Just rap from the heart and you'll have a good start
But a lot of MC's want girls
And wanna live on top of the world
In the jam they wanna flirt
Here's how not to get jerked when you do hard work

(chorus)

Now understand, rap is rebellious music
Therefore, only the rebel should use it
But pop artists abuse it
When the audience hears real rap, they boo it
See rap music is a culture
And everyone outside that culture is a vulture
The vulture makes money on the culture
Understand, I ain't tryin to insult ya
But you're either usin rap like the devil
Or you're pushin rap to another level
So don't wait for your company's promotions staff
Promote yourself with your own cash
But this might mean you can't buy gold
You might have to put that on hold
Cause if the artist falls, they diss him
But if the company falls, the artist falls with them
This ain't about a tight skirt
Here's how not to get jerked when you do hard work

KEEP IT OLDSKOOL

And Now a word from our Sponsor

KEEP IT OLDSKOOL REMEMEBERS
OUR FAVORITE COMMERCIALS

Where's the beef 1984

Mr Microphone 1982

Grey Poupon 1988

Pepsi 1984

Coke 1988

Bubblicious 1984

Jordache Jeans 1983

Toys r US 1982

Saturday, April 19, 2014

kick the wam on this

Video of the day

Thursday, April 17, 2014

flow like gravity

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

COME ON NOW

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Aint nothing to it

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Monday, April 14, 2014

ILLMATIC State of Mind

On April 19th 1994 one of the last great masterpieces in Hip Hop was released. Recorded at D&D Studios between 1992 and 1993 Illmatic may have been the most eagerly anticipated Hip Hop album in history. (Not even west coast phenom Snoop Doggy Dog's debut album was more awaited) Keep It Oldskool remembers one the greatest albums in history

"With Illmatic, I didn't think about it. I just did it. I believe everybody has good instincts. Now I’m a man from that past and I'm supremely grateful. There's a Nigerian proverb ‘What is past is prologue’. I'm here today because of 'Illmatic'.” - Nas

The Buzz

The year is 1991 Main Source released their debut album "Breaking Atoms" a track called "Live at the Barbecue" featured an unknown Queenbridge Projects M.C named Nasty Nas. from the first few lines Nas had stole the entire song :

"Street's disciple, my raps are trifle
I shoot slugs from my brain just like a rifle
Stampede the stage, I leave the microphone split
Play Mr. Tuffy while I'm on some Pretty Tone shit"

"And Nas, he always has books and books of rhymes. So he took this piece of this rhyme, and that piece of that rhyme, and put it all together"
Large Professor on recording "Live At The Barbecue"

After that song everyone was saying "Yo that first dude on that Live at BBQ track is ill" Large Professor who had met Nas through mutual acquaintance Joe Fatal was working with him in between studio session times for Eric B and Rakim. Large Professor was producing a Eric B and Rakim album at the time. It has been stated and confirmed that a lot of the music that Nas made in those sessions was played for Rakim.Nas was looked upon as a child prodigy in Hip Hop and was mysterious as not many people outside of his Queensbridge home base really knew him. Most people mistakenly believe that MC Search discovered Nas. In reality Nas had wanted to roll with Large Professor but "LP" had ongoing issues with his management,label and group mates and did not want to hinder Nas going forward. Mc Search then proceeded to shop Nas demo to many A&Rs and labels including his own. Russell Simmons (Def Jam) declined to sign Nas saying he "sounds to much like Kool G Rap" (is that a bad thing.. I don't think so) Search having helped secure Nas a deal with Sony/Columbia and as Executive Producer of the album set about to get producers for the debut LP of Nas.

The Making of a Classic

DJ Premier

"Represent"/ New York State of Mind

“I remember he got in the studio and we did ‘Represent’ first. That was the first one we recorded, but the version I did didn’t make the album,” DJ Premier explained. “It was a bass-line version. I played bass and then I swear to God as soon as I heard Pete do ‘The World Is Yours.’ I heard his version and went back to the studio to remix mine because I wanted to have the hottest beats on there… ( DJ Premier interview with www.hipjopdx.com)

Q-Tip

"One Love"
"I specifically produced ‘One Love’ for Nas. I knew he was special even before Illmatic. He was the MC who could capture the picture of everything he was rhyming about. His approach was incredible…he had the perfect cadence. You related to Nas because you felt he was from around the way. And people forget that Nas was a prodigy…he was younger than all of us at that time. So I told him, ‘Yo, I’m going to give you some spooky sounding shit for your album.’ And Nas was like, ‘Yeah, I need that to capture the feel of what I’m saying. I need that crazy, mysterious shit.’ So that was the vibe of ‘One Love.’ I knew that it was going to be a classic track. I just knew it. It’s one of those special songs that when you work on it you know what it’s going to be.” (Q-Tip interview with urbandaily.com)

Large Professor aka Xtra P

"It aint hard to Tell"/"One time 4 Your Mind"/Halftime

"When you see the Breaking Atoms cover you see the needle touching the record and you don’t see one big ball, you see many, many atoms breaking off. Nas is one of them. It’s weak when you feel like somebody owes you something. You are weak as a person, I don’t care if you’re doing music or not."
(Large Professor on if he felt Nas owed him something ncb1979.com)

Pete Rock

"The World Is Yours"

“With Illmatic, I met Nas through Large Professor. From there we developed a working relationship. He came up to the crib in Mt. Vernon and we were playing beats. He liked what he heard when I played the beat that would eventually become “The World Is Yours”. He was already conceptualizing the song on the spot, telling me what he envisioned – his ideas for the hook. Then the song came out and we made history with it.”
(Pete Rock on working with Nas www.revive-music.com)

ACCOLADES
Once the album was released, it was instantly recognized as groundbreaking. The Source Magazine (when it still meant something) gave the album the prestigious "5 MICS".Comments on the album ranged from "the most urgent poetry since Public Enemy's" by James T. Jones of USA Today to a Washington Post critic who stated that Nas was "balancing limitations and possibilities, distinguishing hurdles and springboards, and acknowledging his own growth from roughneck adolescent to a maturing adult who can respect and criticize the culture of violence that surrounds him" From his peers you hear quotes like:

Ghostface Killah
“The whole fuckin’ Illmatic album! The whole Illmatic album forced you to go ahead and do shit,” Ghostface added. “You know, you jump on [1995’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...] after, and you fuck around like, ‘Oh shit!’ You just try to throw your darts around. It was inspiration
(Ghostface Killah interview with wwwhiphopdx.com)

The Aftermath
Looking back at it now it was lunacy to think that Nas would be able to follow Illmatic up with a another masterpiece. Nas made a conscious effort to be more mainstream with the "It Was Written" album in 1996. From the somewhat controversial pairing of Nas and Dr Dre for "Nas Is Coming" to even dissing Notorious B.I.G in the song " The Message". It was inevitable that people would say when speaking about "It Was Written" " Yeah that jawn (Philly term) was good but not as good as Illmatic" Nas like most artists did have some missteps ("You owe me" comes to mind) But mostly he continued to make good music. It was not until a challenge from a rival New York MC did Nas step back into the forefront and reclaim his title as one of the most gifted poets who has ever done it.

ILLMATIC XX 20th Anniversary Edition will be released April 15th 2014 featuring remastered versions of the tracks on the album. The Illmatic 20th Anniversary Edition will also include and 2nd CD of remixes,demos and unheard tracks

KEEP IT OLDSKOOL REMEMBERS
ILLMATIC