a couple of things

as some of you may know, i am a fan of good hip-hop. the first addition to my now (in my opinion) extensive musical library was Nu Thang by DC Talk. whether you define that as good or not (if you have even heard it) is irrelevant, because i was (1992-1983=...) 9 years old at the time. it was the first album i had that didnt sound like my parents' music. now i know when we all grow up, we usually go back and realize that some of what our parents listened to was pretty cool, but the first time you listened to something that made your parents go "what is that?" probably planted a little seed of independence in your tender, impressionable heart.
[random thought]
thanks, mom and dad, for the beatles, jackson 5, the supremes, the temptations, elvis, the beach boys, rich mullins and innumerable other artists for their influence on my life.
[/random thought]
back to hip hop. i liked it as a kid, as did many other white suburbanites like myself. there was us3, coolio, skee-lo, ahmad (back in the day... anyone? anyone??) and others that i would watch MTV and wait patiently for. i also owned all of DC Talk's albums at one point (up until jesus freak, that is...) i begged my parents to buy me those yellowish construction boots, and anything with the red, yellow, green and black of cross colours, and a silver chain.
point made...
then dc talk released a "grunge" song, snoop was smoking weed and drinking 40s. tupac was mad, biggie was a pimp... and me? i was alienated. they were writing songs and making videos about a life i could in no way comprehend (especially at 11-12 years old), so i stopped listening. at my 8th grade end of the year school dance, they played the offspring and green day and i was changed forever. soon after, i discovered mxpx, five iron frenzy and blink 182 and the whole world of independent/underground/counter culture/local music. after wading through the waters of operation ivy, squad five o, 90 lb wuss, appleseed cast, weezer, the huntingtons, roadside monument, mineral, gloria record, cap'n jazz, zao, living sacrifice, strongarm and various other local and national acts from various genres, i thought i had left hip hop behind.
but i had a sampler cd that i picked up somewhere from a record label and it had a few hip hop tracks on it. i listened to it and liked it, but didnt think much more about it. then, while shopping for new music, i found a promotional copy of one of those groups in the used bin for $8 at a local music store. they were on a label i had heard of, but mostly in relation to underground rock bands (jackson rubio). i went out on a limb and bought it, and to this day it is one of the cd's i listen to most. the rise and fall of... by brainwash projects is truly a classic cd, but more than that, it resurrected a dead genre to me. hip hop had made its way back into my life and is still a daily part of it. la symphony (and all related artists), beastie boys, deepspace 5 (and all related artists, talib kweli, living legends... they all have a place in my collection.
why did i write all of this? more next time...

--i went to college, then i left. that's when i got my education.
-- how ill would i be with a degree? it could just be a piece of paper to me.