Kickin' It Old School

For some reason...many people are surprised to discover that I have a rather decent understanding of rap music...especially stuff that was released between 1980 and 1995. Two of the volunteers here were highly amused by the fact that I was listening to De La Soul and Public Enemy this afternoon. That gave me the opportunity to explain just how a white kid in 1988 made the transition from hair metal to hard-core rap. It really was not much of a leap. Teenagers (most of them) have a history of gravitating towards the things that terrified (or scared) their parents. Rap was no different.

Once the middle class folks realized that Motley Crue and Twisted Sister were nothing more than cartoon characters, the kids needed something scarier. Can you imagine what it was like for white parents the first time they heard Public Enemy or N.W.A. blasting out of little Johnny's room? I realize that I am generalizing and using rather broad strokes...but I think I am pretty close.

Like I said earlier...it was not a huge leap either. Groups like Run-DMC and Beastie Boys were already blending hard rock and rap so those young headbangers had no problem tracking along. By the time Public Enemy and Anthrax teamed up...rap was already starting to become a part of every day life...well...it was in my world.

I still like to listen to a lot of the old stuff...I like the beats...I like they way they rhyme. I can still spit off most of the lyrics from Run-DMC's Raising Hell album. I never really considered the fact that some people would be surprised by that. Rap has been around for most of my life. It is a part of my generation. I do not like all of it...but...I do not like all of the bands that play hard rock or metal either. I just took for granted that everybody likes at least some rap. My mother even liked the Fat Boys...although I do not believe that earned her any street cred.