Allow me to... introduce myself

As yet another new contributor to the site, I thought I'd take a quick second to introduce myself, as others have before me, just so you get a feel of where I'm coming from.

I'm 28 years old, grew up in New Jersey, live in Northern Virginia, and have been listening to hip-hop since I was in the second grade. My first record was the self-titled Fat Boys album and I have fond memories of buying L.L. Cool J's Radio at the local supermarket. When was the last time you saw a supermarket selling vinyl?

I also remember buying BDP's By All Means Necessary and Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions... on vinyl on the same day. Don't tell anyone, but I hated PE's album the first time I listened to it. Fortunatel, as with several other artists and albums I didn't like at first listen, PE's album became and remains one of my favorites, even if the vinyl itself was stolen at a house party many years ago.

I've been an emcee for many, many years and a producer for the last decade. I still have a tape of me rhyming on the playground in fifth grade and trading off lines from "Son of Byford" with a friend on the school bus. My music since then has been straight underground and I don't have any aspirations to make a living out of it. That's the one way I can guarantee that what I create isn't getting tainted by a desire to get rich.

During my formative years (1988-1994) I lived on a steady diet of Yo! MTV Raps (I'm officially the only one that remembers when they played Raheem's "Dance Floor" and Stezo's "It's My Turn" back-to-back) and Club Crush/Raw Deal on Princeton's WPRB 103.3. During college, I DJed at the college station and eventually became the general manager. All the while, I was selling, copying, and giving away my own albums on the Urban Ambiance label.

It's kind of weird to feel like an old-timer at 28, but when I look at what passes for hip-hop today, I can't help it. I don't mind the fact that commercial hip-hop exists, but when it starts negatively influencing the underground geniuses I love most, that's when I start to get bitter.

Thanks to Hashim for letting me join the fold. I look forward to touching some nerves, making some change, and connecting with some other people who remember the chills that went up their spines whenever the "My Philosophy" video came on TV.

Comments

[Hashim]

Laze, welcome to the fold. Hopefully others will get to know your site from what you do on this one. I've been checking for you since last lear.

[rock]

just out of curiousity - all the contributors male?

[Bol]

I've noticed that pretty much all of the so-called hip hop bloggers are guys, even though it would seem to me (I have no evidence to back this up) that most bloggers are chicks. Granted, most of the really big blogs are men, but it seems like the majority of smaller, less publicized blogs (LiveJournal, etc.) are chicks. Discuss.