Party like it's 1985...

Ok, so im back again with my second blog entry and another story to tell. The second of many =]. Do any of you guys rememeber going to or hearing any of your friends go to house parties? I do..house parties are fun and entertaining. Of course there were house parties that I went to with friends where there was alcohol, but I was a good girl--I didn't have any. One day my aunt came to visit during one summer and we were listening to Run DMC, MC Lyte, Erik B. and Rakim, and the famous storyteller of them all, Slick Rick in the car. My aunt was excited to hear her favorite songs on the radio and I started to sing along with her. She asked "How do you know all of these songs?", and I replied back with "Mommy listens to these songs all the time and I just picked it up from her." From that point on my aunt started to talk about her experiences with my mother and her friends back in the day going to house parties in her neighborhood before she moved to Texas. My family members would even host parties in their homes until 5 in the morning lol. She told me that everyone had such a great time and that the music was HOT. When she told me this story I started to realize that house parties are still on and poppin' and its just a feel good time.

H!p Hop 101

Hey what's up everyone! Britt is here to school all of you guys out there who are not familiar with hip-hop, its culture, and how it developed over time. Hip-hop is fun, creative, and makes people want to dance. It is even a form of expression in which it can tell stories from many aspects of life. Personally I remember from back in the day, preferrably the early 90's, where I started to listen to hip-hop and enjoy it. My influence growing up was my older brother and he was a big fan of Christopher Wallace (Notorious BIG) and Jay-Z--he still is. I've noticed a pattern when I started to like the same people, but there were other artists such as Busta Rhymes, Wu-Tang Clan, Common, A Tribe Called Quest, Run DMC, Snoop Dogg, Nas and others.
Now that I'm getting older and seeing for myself how hip-hop has changed, there are many changes in the way it is displayed. The birth of hip-hop was a change in itself from other styles of music that were being played in the 70's. Run DMC made fame through MTV with the premiere of their video in the 80's. There were periods where it was criticized as being crude, detrimental, demeaning towards women, and just complete nonsense. Now hip-hop is making another 180º turn where it is producing more fresh and innovative music. People have to understand that hip-hop is more than just being popularized into mainstream contemporary music. There are artists out there who are doing something positive and influential and changing hip-hop. Artists such as Common, Mos Def , Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas, Kanye West, and Lupe Fiasco refine the definition of being or!g!nal and d!fferent. That's what it's all about folks...