The progress bar isn’t moving. I don’t know if that’s the computer frozen or an existential metaphor. ‘Not quite understanding this WP interface either. It’s been aeons since I’ve logged on.
Although it might be accurate (nope) to refer to me as a pincer populated crab, what I’m going to type out over the next 15 minutes or 15 days (4 months) between pixel pushing is not based on the kids being on my lawn. I hit a point where I didn’t listen to music regularly so my references are to where I was closer to active. You want to help me out on what I might I have missed, cool. I’m not a social media cat but such intervention would seem appropriate for this medium.
Over the last 6 years or so, *stop*. [It’s been days since I started this sentence and I forgot where I was going.] Spade begat Ghetto begat Destruction. Explanation: I got my Spade Ghetto Destruction CD in the mail yesterday. I have the vinyl from ’94 but I refuse to buy speakers for the turntable. It was easier to find the DVD burner and rip it. SGD had been signed to Zoo/BMG and released 12 tracks of “ghetto metal”. In ’95 the acid test was applied when I unleashed the final cut “Never Could Kill Me” on the kids who had been tortured by their mother’s insanely saccharine choice of noise pollution. The 6 year olds slammed against the walls and each other like they had been infused with an IV of radioactive glucose. Victory for the hardcore!
I will get to the point… eventually. In ’96, Weapon of Choice released “Highperspice” on a Sony imprint which I think was Eddie Vedders label “Loosegroove”. Track 6 is “Spade” – in homage to SGD. Lonnie Marshall, leader and bass player of WoC (search engine nightmare group name but Lonnie is one of my favorite bass players), came up on the L.A. scene along with members of Spade, Frija, Caustic Monkey, Underground Railroad, Blackasaurus Mex, etc. You know what I’m talking about: Al’s Bar, Raji’s, Gaslight, etc. Side note 33.3: One of my favorite Thursday things to do was cruise through the L.A. Weekly music section to see the crazy ass names playing. I’ve probably typed this before — The top two were Don Knotts Overdrive and Phlegm Cocktail.
Anyway, last connection that reminded me to finally type out this collection of opening lines was Righteous Family. The Righteous Family were/are? Inland Empire MCs who had hooked up with Backlash (members of Frija) to do some distortion heavy dub rock hop stuff. One of the most fucked up yet funny things I saw on the strip was them at the Viper Room. During someone else’s set 2 of the cats were in the mosh and sandwiched a dude. You could see cartoon stars and birds circling homie’s head. ¡Loco en el coco!
No order list genesis and from the dome so accuracy is optional —
1) “Bionic” by The Righteous Family were one of the earlier performers at KNGR: Underground Radio most commonly known as “The Good Life” or “Open Mic Hip Hop at…”. They released an EP around ’96 and the first lines of “Bionic” starts as such:
“This man is made of Earth, wind and FI-Yah! Moon with the Sun and Good and Bad just like one plus one. But there’s two reasons why I won’t die: My soul goes on and I won’t never live no lie.“
When I first heard them do that cut, it was live and I just shook my head. The comedy of electrifying a sensitive anatomical part for activation later in the song didn’t hurt either. But I’m talking about openings.
2) “Raw” by Big Daddy Kane. Simile rhyme LIKE a mofo but BDK is strafing fools throughout. I heard this on KDAY and the speakers were glowing red.
“Here I am… R_A_W. A terrorist here to bring trouble to phoney emcees I move on and seize. I just conquer and stomp another rapper with ease.“
3) “6 In The Morning“, Ice-T. Oh, Tracy, Tracy, Tracy… (my cousin’s namesake. About the same age, too.) Heavily *cough* inspired *un-cough* by the rhythm and rhyme of Schoolly D’s “Gucci Time” and “P.S.K.”, Ice the hustler T mined those motifs and busted out an all-time classic. ALL TIME! That mofo could do no wrong. I even forgave him for my purchase of Cold Cold Wind. Ice-T was like my older cousin who always was in the mix and a step ahead. ’87-88, at a stop sign on Crenshaw and 54th in my ’79 280ZX who pulls up beside me in a red Porsche? I revved the engine like we were going to race. I was joking; I barely knew how to drive stick at the time. Whether he knew I was clowning or not, light changed and he laser beamed that German chariot to the vanishing point. Power LP cover? Yep, never going to one-up T.
“Six in the morning police at my door. Fresh Adidas sneak across the bathroom floor. Out the back window, I make my escape. Didn’t even have time to grab my old school tape. Mad with no music but happy ’cause free ’cause the streets to a player is the place to be“.
4) “Colors“, Ice-T. I literally don’t remember a single couplet after the 1st quatrain hence “favorite opening lines”. Not really a song that earned repeat status. Don’t know if I used the terminology correctly but Mr. Holmes is decades removed from grading my Engrish.
“I am a nightmare walking, psychopath talking. King of the jungle just a gangster stalking.”
5) “Paid In Full“, Eric B and Rakim. Rakim said exactly what I was feeling. Nothing like preparing for another day of a cop slapping the cuffs on me because he was on a break between donuts.
“Thinking of a master plan ’cause this ain’t nothing but sweat inside my hands. I dig into my pockets all my money’s spent. So, I dig deeper and still coming up with lint.”
6) “I Ain’t No Joke“, Eric B and Rakim. Probably my last double up. Just hard emcee baptism.
“I ain’t no joke. I used to let the mic smoke. Now I slam it to the floor and make sure it’s broke. When I’m gone no one gets on ’cause I won’t let nobody press up and mess up the scene I set.”
7) “Conspiracy“, Gang Starr. From “Daily Operation“, Guru had that rasp in his delivery that made lines feel like they had been etched in some stone from antiquity. The entire album was bomb. I used to put lines in the bottom gutters of my magazine. I believe I used the first line in my 3rd issue.
“You can’t tell me life was meant to be like this, a Black man in a world dominated by whiteness. Ever since the Declaration of Independence we’ve been brainwashed by just one sentence. It reads, ‘All men are created equal.’ That’s why corrupt governments kill innocent people.“
8) “(Delta Force One) Ced Gee“, The Ultramagnetic MCs. I’m a fool for Ultra. Absolutely one of my favorite groups; One of my worst interviews. Totally my fault. I went to Wild Pitch or whatever label’s office and face planted the interview. Hungry as charged. My brain was misfiring from jump with no energy to fire up the dendrites. Woe unto the can’t-grab-and-go vegan trying to get to the meeting on time in ’93 NYNY. See, Parliament freed my music sensibilities when I was a youngster. Ultra let me know there were no walls to the microphone.
“I’m a radar sending message to competitors eliminating another predator from the face of the Earth. Not the first to feel the wrath of my curse. Competing just like David and Goliath. My rhymes a slingshot and yes they triumph over the weak minds that claim they’re giants.“
9) “Black God Theory“, Sa-Roc. Newest thus far. This was the first song I heard of hers while at the gig 2017ish. The big beat and 5ths are in my Rock Box reflex. The entire song is draped in numeric and gnostic reference with hard cadence points. So, I check the video for confirmation… I’m all in. Burn Me Up.
“They said I was a walking contradiction: Black and intelligent, cerebellum heavy like a gatlin fiction (?). I got a whole crew that will murder you mathematically subtract your existence.“
Maybe I’ll add to this; Maybe I won’t. I lost the thread awhile ago but now I know how to add YouTube embeds in this version of WP. I was set to abandon the platform. Got some work or sleep to do now so… adios.