Some Things Never Get Old...

Some things never get old or outdated. Whether it be your favorite pair of classic kicks or your favorite sweater, some things never go out of style. Midnight Marauders happens to be a quintessential example of what a classic hip hop album should be. It's one of those albums that a lot of people overlook yet it deserves the biggest props. No record sales numbers will ever define and defeat this album in terms of content and quality or degree of style and hipness. 

The first time I experienced Midnight Marauders was when I was like 13 me thinks…

T'was a cold December morning in the DC area. I remember me being a shorty who needed to get his ass to middle school. It was like 6 am and my crusty ass was still asleep. It was then when my radio alarm went off and I heard this phatass track with this real ill loop. It was real jazzy and at the same time the beats were intact and aggressive. I heard Q-Tip’s nasal tone spitting on this track along with Trugoy (from De La) on the chorus chanting, “we on award tour with Muhammad my man going each and every place with the mic in they hands, Houston, Delaware, DC, Dallas…"

I said "what the hell was that?" Come to find out it was my favorite group in the world…. A Tribe Called Quest… It was their single, “Award Tour” along with “Electric Relaxation” that blessed the radio stations in my area for the entire summer and winter of 1994. Me being a poor young man, I couldn’t cop the album in a CD format. Finally a tape version of this album landed in my hands during early 1995. A local cat near my neighborhood named Tae let me borrow his tape for my school trip to Atlanta. The bus ride was long as hell down to Atlanta. However, the Tribe kept me company throughout the 10 hours I was stuck in the bus.

During the ride, I was mesmerized by the deep bass of "8 Million Stories" told by Phife. “We Can Get Down” was another track that I kept on rewinding and playing it over and over. The lyrics were just so precise, sick, and reflective of the state of life and fashion of the eastcoast then…(”standing on the wall with my Polo on/talking to the girl with the Liz Claiborne/Keep the poetry in my black knapsack/got my Timbo hooks and my Doublemint pack…)

When we touched down and checked into the hotel, all my classmates were jumping into the hotel pool. While I was hot and tired, I decided to kick it outside the pool by listening to “Oh My God” over and over again… This was one sick track. The beats and samples were just amazing and cohesive. Shaheed used a sample of “Who’s Gonna Take the Weight” by Kool and the Gang on this one. An entire 12 pack of AA Duracells were depleted because of this tape that I bumped in that yellow Walkman. This classic took me on a journey from that weekend on… It was my best friend throughout my 4 years in high school and through college… I even bump it while I drive in 2006.

Did I ever return that tape back to Tae? Um… NO…

[MP3] A Tribe Called Quest :: Electric Relaxation
[MP3] A Tribe Called Quest :: 8 Million Stories

[MP3] Ronnie Foster :: Mystic Brew (Electric Relaxation Sample)
[MP3] Bola Sete :: Bettina (8 Million Stories Sample)

[MP3] A Tribe Called Quest :: Lyrics to Go (Tumbling Dice Remix)
[MP3] A Tribe Called Quest :: Oh My God (Remix)

[kangbang]