Taking You Back, Part 1

My little brother and I are some true old school hip hop and R&B heads. In a day and age where true musical talent is so unbelievably scarce, he and I like to talk and reflect on the "good old days".

Now granted, he is only 18 and a lot of the artists that we reference were out when he was around….2 years old and I was 7 years old, however, what a lot of people don't know nor understand is…my brother and I were always exposed to the stylings of Heavy D and the Boys, Dr. Dre, Public Enemy, Sister Soldja, Mc Lyte, and yes…even Big Daddy Kane. Some of these artists I just mentioned are even risqué for our elementary eyes and ears, but…that's what happens when you are raised by music lovers.

Our parents are something like oil and vinegar. They are literally polar opposites. However, they both shared an immense love for music…of different time periods. While my mom loved the real oldies music of Jackson 5, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and Minnie Riperton, my dad loved those too…..but also loved 80s and 90s Hip Hop and R&B as well. On Saturday mornings, we'd have a huge clean up day where we clean up the house all day long and while we're cleaning, we'd have combinations of 60s classics all the way down to 90s music blaring on my dad's Radio Raheem-esque stereo that he got when he was in the Army in the 80s. Over time, my brother and I rubbed off on our parents and now we refuse to cave into the powers that be with today's mainstream music…because we know better.

A few weeks ago on a Saturday night, I was at my parent's house. My brother had gotten in from work and we began chatting on one of our favorite subjects—Music. Pretty soon, we started perusing YouTube and taking turns on what we wanted to listen to next. This was only supposed to go on for a few minutes. It went on for several hours. Lol.

Here are a few clips. I'll be taking it back a bit further in more blogs, but this is just a starter. Let's call this: Taking You Back Part 1

Montell Jordan – This Is How We Do It

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Montell was one of my baby daddies back in the day. He's like 6'7" and looks good? I'm 5'9" and the tallies have always been on my radar. For me? The taller, the better. This song was hot back in '95. I think it was hot for a lot longer than that though. Where is he at? Anyone know?

Ginuwine – So Anxious

Maaaan who didn't love this song? At the time of this song, while it was more than obvious what he was talking about, I certainly couldn't relate. So I watched and thought, "dang, Ginuwint is FWOINE!" Now though? I can't really type how I react to this song/video now. I figure it's best to keep my squeaky clean image for you folks.

Silk – Meeting In My Bedroom

Again, this is a hit. Where IS this group? That main singer in this song did it for me instantly back in the day with his hair and his dimples and he looks tall too! I fell in love with him in this video and got a little semi-jealous of the girl in it too. That white jacket is FIRE though, isn't it?

Part 2 Coming Soon...