The Fist Pump...

Written by Doesn't Matt R

I’m listening to the Nas album for about the tenth time in a week in order to write my review. I got the lyrics in front of me to make sure I don’t miss a punch line, metaphor, or allusion. And on the first track he slips in there “Bring back Arsenio.” I didn’t think much of it at the time. But a couple of days later it hits me. What do I really know about Arsenio Hall? He’s classic in Coming to America as Eddie Murphy’s sidekick, especially in the club scene (“I want to tear you apart, and your friend too.”). Most people know about his talk show, but the only memory I have of it is the fist pump that the old white lady hits Wesley Snipes with in Passenger 57 and Bill Clinton coming out and playing the sax before he moved into the White House. I don’t even think I saw that last one live, it’s just been replayed so many times that I picked it up over the years. Most recently I flipped on a Harlem Globetrotters game and Arsenio was the “funny” announcer. So now I’m wondering why Nas is calling for this guy to come back 14 years after his show went off the air.

Now I know Arsenio broke ground but he had to be good to stick around for five years. Chevy Chase got a late night show and it didn’t make it to five episodes. So I checked around on that fantastic source for everything forgotten and found some magic for ya that relates directly to hip hop history.

Arsenio & Vanilla Ice

Did Arsenio just call him a “vanilla face?” And he accused him of pulling the George Costanza-one black friend move. If I had a time machine, the first thing I’m doing is going back in time and getting tickets to the show where Ice opens for Hammer. That’s the early 90’s version of Rocky 3.

Arsenio & 2Pac

The first talk show to put rappers on. This is real stuff here. We got this recorded forever, kids. Who wouldn’t have wanted to eavesdrop on a Mike Tyson-Tupac phone conversation? Pac talking his case the night before the arraignment. Clips from the courtroom? Arsenio is raw. Tupac is one in a billion.

Arsenio & N.W.A

I’ve never seen an interview on a talk show with these guys and never imagined I would. Damn, man, he’s giving “F--- the Police” a plug on national television. Nas was right. Bring Arsenio back now!

Seriously though, there are too many clips to watch. Actors, musicians, and politicians. I don’t know who’s in charge but we gotta get a best of Arsenio Hip-Hop Acts out on DVD, like they gave Johnny Carson. For real.