Then, I was reading last week's US Weekly's magazine and came across this little gem...
Further validating the point. BOOM. And I have to say, I DO agree with most of US Weekly's list (scratch Mariah) as they are a frequent on my summer jam playlist replays. My 1 year old apparently knows his stuff. Well played, Jackie. I shall call you mine.
Now, that's most definitely not all that's playing on my playlist. Daddyo has fancied himself a JAMbox to use by the pool (well, two actually - but one's for his personal use for work and such) which is oh so, so cool (see them HERE) and thus I've been hittin' up some Pandora. I must admit, I haven't been one to use it much because I hate the 3 skip rule and such, but recently, I stumbled upon the 90s HipHop station and it's like a blast from the past of my youth...my days of prime...my fun in the sun...and stellar memories of all encompassing adolescence.
As I floated upon my island oasis in the pool under the heat of the sultry summer sun, I dreamt a trip down memory lane - jammin' to classics such as Biggie, 2Pac, Snoop, Dre, Too Short, etc... and couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic. Summer jams or not, these songs are the soundtrack of my teenage years and I was absolutely LOVING IT. It instantaneously took me back to distant memories of jamming with friends in my basement, taking country cruises on the backroads of 'chester, house parties, field parties, and generally rollin' deep in my car about town thinking we were the absolute shiznit.
Then it hit me...like a slap in the face; it doesn't have to be a summer song to resonate within you; it's simply a song that conjures up fond memories of good times past with friends a plenty or experiences that I'd rather hold onto for years to come; able to look back fondly and think I dominated the years in which I was young, wild, free, and full of zestful life. It wasn't until Brad played HipHop of the 2000s that it REALLY hit me. I did not care near as much about those songs as I did the songs of the 90s because they just didn't have the same nostalgia or memories entwined within. Sure college was an absolute blast - possibly the best time of my life, but these were not complete memory making songs that I grew up listening to with lifelong friends. These were songs that I merely danced to at a club or a college house party...and to me, they all sounded the same. Do I sound crazy? Or maybe it was because they didn't have the same feeling of taping them onto a cassette from the radio and making a mixtape, or paying a fine friend to burn some of the first mix CDs (he made an absolute KILLING with THAT business in high school!) Those were the days before the end of Napster and LimeWire and Pirated music was all the rage. Ahhh sweet memories of innocent crimes...or so we thought. Hell, we had no idea, we just wanted all our jams in one place and that was farrrrr before iPods.
Thus, I have compiled a list of the songs that conjure up fond memories. These are all songs deemed HipHop from the 90s...according to Pandora and according to yours truly. Many are quite vulgar and probably completely wrong for little baby ears over here (seeing as how some go back to elementary school for me), but I love them and feel blissfully nostalgic upon hearing them. And yes, if you're wondering, I most certainly DID listen to a variety of many other things and especially have a fond love of 90s rock as well (Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, Silverchair, Live, etc), but these songs have just been what I've been jammin' to lately) Do you have the same feelings about any of these? What memories (if any) do these songs serve you?
- Nuthin' but a G Thing -Snoop
- How do you want it? -2Pac
- Notorious Thugs - Biggie
- 1st of the Month - Bone Thugs N' Harmony
- Who Am I (What's my Name) -Snoop
- Juicy -Biggie
- Gin n' Juice - Snoop
- I Need a Freak -Too Short
- I Got 5 on it -Luniz
- Big Poppa -Biggie
- Hypnotize -Biggie
- This is How we do it - Montell Jordan
- I Wish - Skeelo
- Make 'em Say Ughhhhh -Master P
- Bourbons n' Lacs -Master P
- Mr. Ice Cream Man - Master P
- Doin' It -LL Cool J
- Dre Day - Dr. Dre
- Wanna be a Balla -Lil' Troy
- 'Bout it, 'Bout it - Master P
- Thuggish Ruggish Bone -Bone Thugs
- Regulators -NateDogg and Warren G
- Crossroads -Bone Thugs
- I Got Candy -TRU
- Rapper's Delight -Def Squad
- Ghetto Cowboy -Mo Thugs
- Ain't No Fun -Snoop
- Gettin' it -Too Short
- Player's Club -Rappin 4 Tay
- California Love -2Pac
- Smokin' on Hay -Crucial Conflict
- All Eyez on Me (and the ENTIRE 2 disc accompanying cds which songs such as, "Can't C Me"; "I Ain't Mad at Cha"; "Wonder why they call you..."; "What's your phone #?", etc)
- The Chronic CD collections
- The entire Ghetto D cd
- Keep it All Good -TRU
- Dear Mama -2Pac
- Po Pimpin' -Do or Die
- Loungin' -LL Cool J
- Ditty - Paperboy
- The Humpty Dance -Digital Underground
- Check yo self -Ice Cube
- Back that Azz Up -Juvenile
- One Day -UGK
- Call me when you need somethin' (Plan B) -Kane and Abel
- Nann -TrickDaddy
- Shine -Big Tymers/ Cash Money Millionaires
Now, do I sound ghetto or out of place? I assure you I am not. We just enjoyed us some fine and fancy hiphop and I literally could go on for days upon days with all the songs we loved back then. It was fun, it was free, and it was no frills...the motto of the parties of our youth. I must reiterate that I listened to much more than these songs listed and was not stuck on just hiphop, it's just that these are the songs that have flooded back the memories upon me like a fatty doing a cannonball from the roof onto the pool. It just makes sense :) It also must be said that there are a few songs I DID NOT list because they are too vulgar to name or too shameful to admit. Hope you've enjoyed my list and have brought back some memories of times past to you. What have I left off? Maybe I'll be back with my collection of rock, R&B, and other Pop songs of the 90s still resonating fond memories of my teenage years :)
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