I used to love H. I.M. and i still do
I have been seeing cats post about hip hop albums that either affected them or had a huge impact on the genre its self. And usually when there is a list of hip hop albums that had either a cultural, lyrical, or personal impact, you can bet that Illimatic, Takes A Nation Of Millions, Straight Out Of Compton (NWA in general), Reasonable Doubt, The Low End Theory, and RUN DMC are right up at the top. Which is right on point.
I was commenting here on this topic. The author had wrote on albums that affected his life and I got to thinking that in all honesty none of these tophiphop albums had an initial impact on my life as much as Dead Prez's Lets Get Free. Here is the comment I made.
I cant deny you got some all time big hitters in that list. One album that hardly anyone ever lists is Dead Prez Let's Get Free. This album changed my entire mind frame on life, society and culture. I was a late bloomer with hip hop. My first experiences was Skinny Pimp and Too Short. True when I was in high school I loved me some Biggie and Pac, but I was till greatly influenced by the lines in songs titled Bling Bling and Bout It Bout It. When I first heard "Its bigger than Hip Hop", "Mind Sex", and "Police State", I was blown away. This album is what opened my eyes to Tribe, the original works of NWA, and Public Enemy.
I can think back to me bopping my head and reciting lyrics to Humpty Dance and Ghetto D, and thinking that rap couldn't get no better. I was obilivous to cats like the Jurrassic Five, Talib Kweli, NWA, Public Enemy, NAS, Tribe called Quest, EPMD, Rakim, OutKast, I could just go on and on. Not only did Lets Get Free open the doors of hip hop to me, but it also opened my eyes to what was going on socially. I got schooled on Gil Scott-Heron, found out the origins of the Crips and Bloods, took as many classes as I could find on sociology, philosophy, African and African American Studies. See I just wasn't influenced musically by hiphop. I was molded into the peron that I am and the person I still strive to be.
I was commenting here on this topic. The author had wrote on albums that affected his life and I got to thinking that in all honesty none of these tophiphop albums had an initial impact on my life as much as Dead Prez's Lets Get Free. Here is the comment I made.
I cant deny you got some all time big hitters in that list. One album that hardly anyone ever lists is Dead Prez Let's Get Free. This album changed my entire mind frame on life, society and culture. I was a late bloomer with hip hop. My first experiences was Skinny Pimp and Too Short. True when I was in high school I loved me some Biggie and Pac, but I was till greatly influenced by the lines in songs titled Bling Bling and Bout It Bout It. When I first heard "Its bigger than Hip Hop", "Mind Sex", and "Police State", I was blown away. This album is what opened my eyes to Tribe, the original works of NWA, and Public Enemy.
I can think back to me bopping my head and reciting lyrics to Humpty Dance and Ghetto D, and thinking that rap couldn't get no better. I was obilivous to cats like the Jurrassic Five, Talib Kweli, NWA, Public Enemy, NAS, Tribe called Quest, EPMD, Rakim, OutKast, I could just go on and on. Not only did Lets Get Free open the doors of hip hop to me, but it also opened my eyes to what was going on socially. I got schooled on Gil Scott-Heron, found out the origins of the Crips and Bloods, took as many classes as I could find on sociology, philosophy, African and African American Studies. See I just wasn't influenced musically by hiphop. I was molded into the peron that I am and the person I still strive to be.
2 Comments:
It Takes A Nation Of Millions did it for me.
My older bro brought home P.E.'s first album and it was aiight, but when It Takes A Nation came out, that was it.
and i'm Asian...
I read with some interest your last blog and the hip hop one. In the last post you said you were a 'realist visionary'. Then, in the hip hop post, you said hip hop managed to mold you into the person you are and the person you strive to be. Do I sense a strange dichotomy here?
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