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Pssst…did you take my survey yet?

I don’t remember exactly when I graduated from cheesy 80s piano ballads to “rap”. But “Yo! MTV Raps” is to blame. I remember watching it after school everyday.

The banter between Ed and Dre was fun. The videos were awesome. For a kid interested in writing, in poetry, who couldn’t carry a tune with a wheelbarrow, hearing these guys talk over slamming beats resonated with me.

The gangsta rhymes did nothing for me. I was more into the playful and political. The Native Tongues and PE.

I had no idea, that years from then, the stuff I was listening to would be groundbreaking. The Low End Theory and It Takes A Nation of Millions are two of the “hip-hop” albums that are always on lists of 100 albums you MUST own. I got them when they first came out.

Oh yeah, and then there was the Ed Lover Dance. Every couple of days, Eddie would toss up his arms and shake his hips like it was nobody’s business. To this song:

The 45 King ~ 900 Number The 900 Number

Besides not being able to sing, I couldn’t dance either. It’s like this show was catering to a white guy in south eastern Minnesota.

Further listening:
A Tribe Called Quest ~ I Left My Wallet in El Segundo I Left My Wallet In El Segundo

Public Enemy ~Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos Black Steel In The Hour of Chaos

What do you remember most from when MTV played videos? Leave a hullabaloo.