Welcome to Past the Margin where we go beyond the beats, beyond the rhymes, beyond the cars, girls and diamonds. At Past The Margin we dig a little deeper into the topics that deal with this thing we call "Hip-Hop".

We plan to bring to you those serious, comical and controversial ideas and opinions that you've had with your "peoples" whether it was on the block or in your crib. There's hundreds of conversations going on right now about Hip-Hop and everyone has something to say about it. So don't think outside the box... take it Past the Margin.

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Monday, March 30, 2009

Not quite a Maybach but Music for your whips...




East Coast, West Coast and Worldwide…
written by JusHH

It’s been a while since we had a nice workout so I’m gonna bring to you a new exercise to start off your week. (Shouts to K. Billy)

One of the best feelings in the world is hearing a new song that you love and immediately scrambling to find out who this new artist is and how you can find out more about them. It was so fun having those “yo, have you heard this joint before?” type of conversations with your friends. It was like you were let in on this great treasure. Well back in 1995, a small group from Queens burst onto the rap scene and set it on fire. Although it wasn’t their first single, “Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz” was the song that put them on the map and got all of us talking. They embodied the 90’s, New York and represented everything good about Hip-Hop music. And for just a moment, were one of the hottest acts in the country.

“MCA, this is how we do everyday/ Me and Freaky Tah (hah)/ Pretty Lou, my man, Spigg Nice…”

See this was back when getting signed actually meant something. If you got a deal, you were probably going to get a chance to shine and for that rappers LOVED to shout out their record labels. This was also before Myspace and YouTube allowed new artists to introduce themselves to the world before putting out music. Back then you had to make your introductions on your singles. So Mr. Cheeks had to let all of us know just who they were. And who doesn’t love a shout-out? People do it all the time – on the radio, at awards shows, everywhere. (Hell, I did one at the beginning of this post) It’s great to hear rappers who are so happy to have a single that they shout-out everyone that helped them get there.

“I'm representin' puttin' Queens on the map (you wear)/ double springs, wit some baggy jeans when I rap…”

Sidenote: Freaky Tah is one of my top 3 hype men of all time next to Flav and Spliff Star. With the simplest ad libs, Tah always stole the show (R.I.P.)

You’re seeing it a lot with people in the South because that region is finally getting their shine on a national level. There is a certain pride when you can see people that look like you and live in the same neighborhood, on television. Seeing those dudes from Linden Blvd in Jamaica, Queens made me so happy. Back then we all felt like we were on the same side. The idea of hating and all of that stuff never really took form. You got behind your rappers and your rappers represented the whole city.

“N***as frontin' like they ill (like they ill)/ now bustin' caps and got a muthaf***in'
thing to do to with showin’ skill…”

That was another thing about Hip-Hop in the 90’s, every one always dropped a little “science” in their rhymes from time to time. You go back to a lot of those songs and many of them had a few lines that threw in a little extra. Truthfully, Cheeks was an underrated lyricist. Because so many of their songs had commercial appeal, the depth of some of his lyrics often went unnoticed. But even though this rhyme is 14 years old, it could have been written yesterday and it would still be just as relevant.

“Is you down to go pound for pound/ toe to toe, blow for blow, round for round (hah)…”

Sometimes a rhyme gives you a lot more than just the words in it. Every time I hear this part of the song I think to the video and the LB dance that EVERYONE did. People would get so hyped of this one part. The bass would drop off in this section and you could just feel the energy.

“To the Jeeps, It's the Lex Coups, Bimaz and the Benz/ to all my ladies and my mens/ to all my peoples in the pen/ keep your head up…”


This hook summed up the entire feel of Lost Boyz. We loved this song and this group because they were so fun to listen to. On their songs they brought that rasta vibe that just added a little spice to their attitude. Seeing them run around with their dreads is an image you’ll never forget. It felt authentic and their music was so relatable. Most of their singles made you feel like you were apart of them, whether you can sing along with their hooks or can feel the pain in a song like “Renee”. Hearing the Lost Boyz always puts a smile on my face and reminds me why I love this music so much.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

A post so on point, I had to shout it on FB.

RIP Tah!

JusWritin' said...

Thanks for the "shout-out"!!!!

Mr. Hutson said...

Cheeks was what i like to call an efficient lyricist. He didn't throw a million metaphors and similes and multis at you, but you felt him.

Lost Boyz was a dope group. Thanks for the nostalgia, Jus.

JusWritin' said...

Efficient lyricist... i love it!

haha

j.D.o.T. said...

I like the fact that you touched upon Mr. Cheeks ability to write a rhyme that is still relevant today. THat's a challenge today's rappers face and usually fail at if you ask me...Not all but a majority of the mainstream artists...