In lieu of posting old school Christmas videos, I figured I’d get into the wintry spirit by taking you back to the last year it snowed in south GA. 1989. That year it SNOWED. People were going crazy. It was like how Y2K was supposed to be. Absolute madness! I freaking loved it.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, how’s about a little end of the year house cleaning. Last week, Thelma and Diane complained about my forthrightness, or lack thereof, with sharing info on my personal life. Well, check out my dorm room from senior year. How’s that for sharing? Lol

I decided not to post some of my favorite pop culture videos as well this week. But nothing’s stopping me from linking to them:

EMMETT OTTER (“Barbecue!”)

RAGING RUDOLPH (Have A Merry Freakin’ Christmas!””

THE CHANUKKA SONG (”OJ Simpson. Not a Jew.”)

THE CHRISTMAS STORY(”Where’s Flick?”)

For the next two weeks, I’ll be on vacation. I may be out of town or I may just be in my bed sleeping. The point is, I may not have the time to devote to writing a proper column. So I’ll be posting random vids with a minimal write up.

Finally, I’d like to thank all you cats for reading this column since its inception. You guys have no idea how I often I check the site, on Mondays and Tuesdays, to read the comments. I love the back and forth with ya’ll. So, I hope you guys have a safe and wonderful holidays and I’ll see you on the other side. Holla.

THE D.O.C. | “THE FORMULA”
“High energy roll with the wisdom, sense of a rich man, knowledge and the rhythm. This is what I’m using to come up with a style so I’ll interact altogether better with the crowd.” Seriously, there’s not much to add to that. Dude was unreal.

BIZ MARKIE | “JUST A FRIEND”
“I thought just having a friend couldn’t be no crime.” First, you have to get past the loud, high, off-key singing. OK that’s gonna be very difficult, but give it a try. Yeah, it’s a lot harder than it seems but you can do it. Got it? Cool. Now listen to the words. What guy can’t relate to the heartbreak that Biz is going through? Just a friend? You can miss me with that nonsense. Ladies, why you treat us like so? We try to be good to ya’ll. Honest.

SLICK RICK | “CHILDREN’S STORY”
“Crumbs.” A master storyteller at the very apex of his game, MC Ricky D went solo and crushed everything in his path. Only Rick could turn a gangsta rap into a bedtime story and still make it dope. But, the whole album is pretty much classic. I will bump the hell out of “Mona Lisa” right now, and dare anyone to say something about it. If you’re feeling frisky, how about a triple dog dare?

QUINCY JONES | “THE SECRET GARDEN”
Ahh yeah. We’re gonna slow the tempo down a little bit. I’m writing this in my deepest, sexiest voice. Too bad you can’t hear it. Anyway, with Al B. Sure, James Ingram, El Debarge, and Barry White on a Quincy Jones track, this song couldn’t fail. Come on, this is like stealing. Speaking of, I might have to steal this bass line. I’m not above the occasional musical thievery.

DIGITAL UNDERGROUND | “THE HUMPTY DANCE”
“Samoans. Do the Humpty Hump.” I love how Humpty was so inclusive. He was up on the multicultural tip 18 years ago. Anyways, the dance was pretty stupid. But, it was infectious. You will be doing a tamed version of it in 20 seconds, guaranteed. Besides, it’s just one of those great party songs. Remember those?

Diallo Tyson is a filmmaker, comedian and old school music junkie. When he’s not busy, he is a rapper with the group “Two Pimps and a Dream.” Step into a groovin’ time machine every week on UTC.

ShareThis

Jay-Z – Streets Is Watching | Where I’m From
“Who’s the best MC? Biggie, Jay-Z, or Nas?”I have to admit, I wasn’t the biggest Jay-Z fan in school. I thought he was OK. When Volume One came out, I was like “Meh.” But roomie, who happened to be a DJ, would always bump Streets Is Watching during some down time. At that point, I’d say “Eh, he’s not half bad I suppose.” Neither is Where I’m From. That beat should be in quarantine for the next decade. It’s just some old foul foulness.

Erykah Badu | Tyrone
“But you can’t use my phone.” I really do like this song, but chicks did their best to make it unbearable. I must’ve heard a “Call Tyrone” reference twice a day for 2-3 months straight. OK, I get it. Guys can be jerks. You’ve pounded into my head. I. Got. It. Grrrr. Lol But I do like the song. The first line is freaking hilarious. You definitely know from the jump that this won’t be your average love song.

Janet Jackson | I Get So Lonely
This song gives me such mixed emotions. It’s got an unbelievable groove, but every time I hear it I’m reminded of how miserable I was during the 1st semester. While everyone was out having fun, I was stuck inside cussing myself out for signing up for such classes. But damn, that shot of her walking down the hallway. My God, if that don’t put a little pepper in your pot I don’t know what will. Two points for Ms. Jackson.

Busta Rhymes | Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See
“Look at shorty, she a little cutie yo. The way she shake it make me wanna get all in the booty yo.” Greatest. Lyric. Ever. OK, no it’s not but it is damn funny and makes me giggle. What can I say? I’ve the maturity of a twelve year old. But you guys already knew that. Nevertheless, I am mature enough to never walk beside an elephant. I don’t need that kind of excitement in my life.

Rakim | Guess Who’s Back
Rakim Allah. The God MC. If I have to hype this one up for you, then you have a fundamental lack of hip hop knowledge.

Diallo Tyson is a filmmaker, writer, beat miner, [self-proclaimed] comedian, and old school music junkie. In his spare time, he contributes to the music blog, Finessed & Blessed and is a collaborator for the sports/pop culture blog, The The Commission. He can be reached at ddog_tap@hotmail.com. Step into a groovin’ time machine every other Monday on UTC.

ShareThis

The Luniz feat Bay Area All- Stars | “I Got 5 On It” (Remix)
“Why you treat me so bad? 40 makes it happen.” The best part of this song is that it contains the only verse Spice 1 ever spit where he didn’t kill someone. That is a major accomplishment in its own right, but this track rises above that bit of mold breaking to deliver a solid joint. [Come on that was funny, even if you’re Republican]

A Tribe Called Quest feat LONS | “Scenario”
“Powerful impact. Boom from the cannon!” Busta was wilin’ out, even 17 years ago. You have to love it. By the way, is this the best posse cut of all time? If not, roll call isn’t very long. Back in high school, this was definitely the jam to get hyped to. You spent four minutes bobbing your head uncontrollably, and you just loved it. Speaking of which, commence head bobbing in 5…4…3…2…1…

Scarface feat Too $hort, Tela, & Devin | “Sex Faces”
“We said we wouldn’t. I knew we would.” I wanna take this beat behind the middle school and get it pregnant. OK maybe I don’t want to impregnate it, but I would like to spend some “quality time” with it. This track, along with the hook, is so infectious it’s making my nose run. At any rate, Brad Jordan remains one of the more underappreciated cats in the game. Face doesn’t get his due when the all-time greats are mentioned, but he should.

LL feat Keith Murray, Prod, Fat Joe, Foxxy Brown | “I Shot Ya”
“My verbal combat’s like a mini-mac to ya back.” Where have you gone Keith Murray?!? Is it me, or is he the unquestioned star on this track? Every performance is on point, even if a couple may have been ghostwritten. I’m looking at you Joseph and Inga! But in the end, Mr. Beautifullest shines the most. Sorry James Todd, but he got you on this one.

Juice Crew | “The Symphony”
Uhh, don’t really need to say much about this track. The one that started it all.

Diallo Tyson is a filmmaker, writer, beat miner, [self-proclaimed] comedian, and old school music junkie. In his spare time, he contributes to the music blog, Finessed & Blessed and is a collaborator for the sports/pop culture blog, The The Commission. He can be reached at ddog_tap@hotmail.com. Step into a groovin’ time machine every other Monday on UTC.

ShareThis

FREESTYLE FELLOWHIP feat. DADDY-O | “INNERCITY BOUNDERIES”
“I gotta be black.” Ahh jeah. How about a little smoothed out jazz to get things popping this week? I know next to nothing about these cats, but when this song came out I remember thinking “These guys are from L.A.? Really?” This song came out in ‘93, during the height of “The Chronic/Doggystyle” pandemonium. Talk about your uphill climb. In ’93 I would’ve had better luck taking Lark Voorhies to Prom, then Freestyle Fellowship going platinum. They never had a chance at commercial success. Too bad.

THE D.O.C. | “FUNKY ENOUGH”
“And with no rehearses, I’m dropping funky verses.” OK technically The D.O.C. is from Dallas but his music, flavor, and persona is pure west coast. Now with that bit of business out of the way, my God I love this song! I love this song so much, I want to make it my first ex-wife. Then after we get a divorce, I want to marry it again. This beat makes me stupid. When I get stupid, I do stupid things…like marry and re-marry sounds. What can I say?

DEL THE FUNKEE HOMOSAPIEN | “CATCH A BAD ONE”
“You might win if you start writing.” You know what? Maybe I wanna make THIS song my first ex-wife. [Feeling a cold stare through the monitor from a woman mad annoyed by all this ex-wife talk.] The beat. It’s so….hyp-freaking-notic. Skee-Lo could spit over this beat and it would still be “aight, yo.” Plus you can’t ignore the fact that Del rips this track into mangled shards, dumps said shards into a bag, lights it on fire, then cusses out the ashes. Lyrics, folks. Lyrics.

THE PHARCYDE | “PASSIN’ ME BY”
“There she goes again, the dopest Ethiopian.” When it comes to the classics, the less said the better.

KAM | ‘STILL GOT LOVE 4UM”
“Thought they were smart and got crushed like relish.” Here is a song that was practically tailor made for Old School Spotlight. Just listen to that groove. It just takes you back in time, practically forcing you to reminisce on the good ole days. Now even though the song is dope, the video is funny to me. Why is Kam wearing so many clothes? He’s got a t-shirt on under a long sleeve shirt, and later throws on a jean jacket. It’s LA. You don’t need layers in LA. Like Tommy Chun said, there’s so much gang violence in LA because cats are mad hot.

Diallo Tyson is a filmmaker, comedian and old school music junkie. When he’s not busy, he is a rapper with the group “Two Pimps and a Dream.” Step into a groovin’ time machine every week on UTC.

ShareThis

Gangstarr feat Nice & Smooth | “Dwyck”
“And pure knowledge expands from my esophagus. I write in the night to bring truth to the light. My dialogue is my own, cause Smooth B. will never bite.” I hate to be Bitter-Can’t-Leave-The-90’s-30 Year Old Guy, but that’s just some real live authentic hip hop right there. Oh yeah, there are about three or four chicks in this video that should’ve been my first ex-wife. I’m just saying…

Digital Underground | “Kiss You Back”
“Freak me girl and I’ll freak you back.” Doesn’t this song make you wanna go out and plant a big fat wet one on the first person you see? Ok maybe not the FIRST person you see, but you get my point. By the way, anyone know who the honey with the light eyes and short haircut is? I’d like to see her shimmy her cocoa pops.

Slick Rick feat Outkast | “Street Talkin’”
I love this video because even though Dre doesn’t spit a verse, he showed up for the video shoot anyway. And what do we get from Mr. 3000? We get Dre wearing Dre-type clothing, doing Dre-type dances, while being 100% Dre. You HAVE to love this cat.

Snoop Dogg | “Ladi Dadi”
I don’t really need to say much about this joint. When I saw this live, I was in complete awe. You just didn’t see hip hop acts backed by live bands that often, if at all, in the early 90’s. Snoop and crew totally wrecked it.

Jamiroquai | “Return Of The Space Cowboy”
Oh Jay Kay. I don’t know what manner of dance it is that you’re doing, but keep on keeping on pimpin’. I guess the spirit moves us all in different ways. Very different ways. At any rate, this arrangement is different from the album version but the song still rocks. Jamiroquai never puts out a wack product. What about Synkronized, you say? That album was never recorded, so it doesn’t count.

Diallo Tyson is a filmmaker, writer, beat miner, [self-proclaimed] comedian, and old school music junkie. In his spare time, he contributes to the music blog, Finessed & Blessed and is a collaborator for the sports/pop culture blog The Commission. He can be reached at ddog_tap@hotmail.com. Step into a groovin’ time machine every other Monday on UTC.

ShareThis

The summer of 1999 was perhaps the best 3-4 month stretch of my entire life. I had an absolute blast. I was making tons of money, traveling all over the country, hanging out with my friends, eating VERY well, drinking even better, and listening to some really good music. I can’t believe it’s been ten years. To be 22 again. Anyone got a spare flux capacitor?

Missy feat Big Boi – “All In My Grill”
“I told you I was a street talker.” I have to admit that I wasn’t the biggest Missy fan when she first burst onto the scene. I think it was the finger waves. No one should ever have finger waves. Ever. Sorry, my prejudices aren’t always logical. Anyway, this is the track that turned me around. Those strings are so hypnotic. Missy rides the beat like only she can. And Luscious Leftfoot comes on and straight slaughters the track. The only excuse for not bobbing your head to this song, is that you’re a quadriplegic. Or, you’re deaf. But those are the only two.

Dr. Dre – “Still D.R.E.”
“They wanna know how I feel about it.” The song is perfect. The video is perfect. I want to go back to L.A. Although, I don’t remember it being green at night, the last time I was there. Of course, the last time I was there I was drunker than a drunk at a Drunk’s Convention. But that’s neither here nor there.

The Roots – “The Next Movement”
“The Dalai Lama of the mic.” Let’s see here. In the pantheon of underrated, slept on MC’s, where does Black Thought sit? He has to be in the Top 5 for sure, right? Unfortunately, The Roots have never had that huge crossover hit that would allow them to blow up in the mainstream. Maybe they’ll get their shine as Jimmy Fallon’s house band. Of course, hitching your wagon to Jimmy Fallon is probably not the soundest of business decisions. Because, well…it’s Jimmy Fallon. At any rate, this was always one of my favorite songs. The musicianship is on point, and Thought rips the track. Great jam.

Jay-Z feat Beanie Sigel & Amil – “Do It Again”
“With that new blue Yankee on. Who but me?” Initially, I wasn’t a big fan of this song. When it premiered, I was like “Ehhhh.” But the second time I listened to it, I was like “Hmmm.” The third time was like “Okaaaaaay.” The fourth time was like “Doooooope.” I have issues. I know. Work with me, people. That’s all I ask.

p.s. WTF ever happened to Amil? And WTF was she ever on the Roc roster in the first place?

BG feat Hot Boys – “Bling Bling”
“You know how slow that new Rolls Royce be.” As a matter of fact Weezy, I haven’t the foggiest how slow the new Rolls Royce is. I need to get my oil changed and tires rotated on my 5 year old Cherokee. Anyway, Cash Money pretty much owned 1999. Between “Back That Thang Up” and this song, they had the game on serious lockdown. We all knew it wouldn’t last, but it was a damn fun ride. Wouldn’t have minded riding in that slow Rolls Royce, but beggars can’t be choosers.