“To this day, when we perform it,” said Krayzie Bone, “there will be, like, 20 people in the crowd crying.” At the time, Bone Thugs had lost several loved ones, including Eazy E, who signed them in 1993. One of hip-hop’s most powerful mourning anthems put Midwest hip-hop on the map. Producer Sadat X couldn’t get the “what I am” refrain from Edie Brickell’s 1988 hit to fit an Ohio Players drum break, so he brought a vocalist in to sing it, not that anyone noticed. But Brand Nubian were so good they made it seem like a sure thing. “That’s what the song is about.”Īn Afrocentric crew who rapped about not dating crackheads were hardly natural stars. “Even amongst all that dark and destitution, there’s that underlying possibility that you just might be able to do it,” Keys said. With a vocal from Keys, the song took on an angelic power. This towering New York anthem began as a demo by Angela Hunte, who grew up in the same Brooklyn building as Jay Z, and Jane’t Sewell-Ulepic. Jay Z and Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind”.“ my underdog song,” she said, “but it’s become the biggest song.” ![]() In 2008, it blew up into one of the unlikeliest Top 10 jams ever. “Paper Planes” was a Clash-sampling shot at immigrant-fearing Westerners, complete with gunshot sound effects. Maya Arulpragasam was a globally connected radical who turned into one of hip-hop’s most forward-thinking artists. “Get Low” was the Number Two hit that signaled the peak of the high-energy, high-alcohol-content, shout-happy movement known as “crunk.” Ying Yang Twins brought the “to the windows, to the walls” hook (originally a black fraternity chant), and yowler-producer Lil Jon flipped it into over-the-top party music. “When I was singing ‘Grab it like you want it,’ I didn’t know what the hell I was talking about,” Tigra recalled. The first national Miami bass hit came from Lady Tigra and Bunny D, teenagers with personality for days who met as dancers on a local TV show and had rhyme battles with boys in the high school lunchroom.
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