I love hip hop. Ever since I was little it just seemed to call to me. Maybe a little bit of the culture flows through the veins of every person born in the Bronx. (The birthplace of hop hop.) From jamming to Kris Kross and Boyz II Men in 3rd grade, to spending weekend nights in middle school up late watching "Yo! MTV Raps" to catch Wu-Tang and Outkast's new videos, to having Hot 97 and Power 105 on my dials in my first car, hip hop has just always been on constant rotation on my walkmen, CD players and iPod.
I remember the summer before 9th grade I bought Lil Kim's "Hard Core" and it changed my life. Her first solo CD, I was expecting some cutesy rhymes from this little chick who had played arm candy to Biggie and was the token female in Junior MAFIA. Boy, did I receive a shock! I blushed as she rapped about drugs, money, cash, guns, glamour, fucking without love and getting head. But at the same time, it was eyeopening and amazing. She was completely uncensored and not giving a fuck: a feminist testimony in 16 bars. She was fierce and fearless. She came into the game hard off people's disapproval and claims that Biggie wrote her rhymes, that she fucked her way to the top, that she was like the Black Courtney Love, riding the coat tails of his death to make a name for herself. But she has more than proven herself since and showed the world that "hard core" was more than just a clever title. Whenever I wanna feel good, I dial up my Lil Kim playlist on my ipod, turn up the volume, roll the windows down and sing along.
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Notorious BIG, Tupac, Wu-Tang Clan, Jay Z, Lil Kim, Outkast, Public Enemy, Grandmaster Flash, KRS-One, Fatman Scoop, Run DMC, LL Cool J, Fat Joe, Big Pun, Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, Kanye West, Tribe Called Quest, Naughty by Nature, Coolio, NWA, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Warren G, Mobb Deep, Nas, Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill, Bone Thugs and Harmony, Lil Wayne, T.I., Drake, Eve, Missy Elliot, Foxy Brown, DMX, Ludacris, Timbaland, Diddy, Jermaine Dupri, Eminem, Common, Swizz Beats, 50 Cent, Queen Latifah, Junior MAFIA, Fabolous, DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, Slick Rick, Salt n Pepa, Busta Rhymes... Just to name a few.
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Sure I may not be as into the scene as some people: I don't go to shows or follow the blogs or smoke weed or color coordinate my Uptowns with my outfits. I don't listen to obscure artists and then boast about how eclectic and hip I am for it. I listen to beats that feel good, rhymes that I can enjoy and smile about and yes, even artists that are considered nonsense and garbage, radio hits, club bangers, one hit wonders. If it has a good beat, I will give it a listen. I always felt insecure about it, paranoid of comments from people like, "That white chick listening to rap - who does she think she is?" until I'd go out to the club and sing along with every track and shake it on the floor and people would go, "Aww shit! This white girl can get down."
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And now my piss poor white girl attempt at rhyming:
They think Cinderella was a fairy tale
but its just an urban legend
She wasn't going home at midnight
Just heading out at eleven
Didn't get invited to the party
showed up and just crashed it
No pumpkin coach for this lady
but a Benz with leather seats
a pair of Gucci shades
Louboutins on her feet
Condo out in Queens
and a loft in lower Manhattan
And that slipper that she lost
wasn't made of glass
A black Manolo slingback
good thing Princey brought it back
She didn't want a love story
or a wedding with the fixins
She had CEO status
a paycheck in the low sixes
he tried to sweep her off her feet
but it just wasn't happening
makes her own money and pays her own way
enough dough saved up for a year of rainy days
she said I know you're fine
but what's mine is mine
and I'd make you sign a prenup
or kick you out on your behind
so thanks for the shoe
but you best be on your way
cuz Cinderella didn't need a man
to make her what she is today
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