Vintage Veritas

So I'm sitting here playing Eric B. and Rakim...*doing the head whop from my chair* ("I aint no JOKE, I used to let the mike smoke, now I slam it when I'm done and make sure it's BROKE.") That was serious stuff. Of course I wasn't exactly all in the know back then. But I identified in my little "black-girl-who-wears-a-funny-uniform-because-she-goes-to-a-private-school-and-gets-clowned-because-she-can't-do-the-"Bobby Brown"-quite-right" way.

As I click on the next song in my playlist, De La's "Buddy", I'm not feeling obligated to the traditional blog mode tonight. Paragraphs and sentences seem so blah. So, as an "analog girl in a digital world" (shout out to Erykah Badu's "Mama's Gun"), I'm shaking things up a bit. So sit on the curb, pour a glass of Crystal Pepsi or eat the faux Koolaid from a few Pixy Stix. Just be in the house by the time those streetlights come on. Announcing, my old school/new school edition of "Good and Betta"...

New School Good vs. Old School Betta

Bling... "Black medallion, no gold" (De La Soul)
Diamonds are a girls best friend. But they didn't need to sparkle when their lyrics shined

Leanin' back... the Whop, the Smurf, the Kid-n-Play
Joe says we don't need to dance and that's cool. But if you could nail these, you were so cool (my Jack and Jill buddies tutored me when they saw me floundering in my rhythmless abyss. *sniffle* Thanks guys!)

Queen Latifah singing showtunes... her singing "U-N-I-T-Y"
She deserves the mainstream recognition she's finally getting. But how fierce was this refrain?

Stankonia... Player's Ball
B.O.B. was hot , but not quite "coola than a polar bear's toenail."

"Holla" ... "2 Hype"
Hova made this phrase cool, but Kid-N-Play made theirs legendary. I still have a flourescent hat I etched the words on. With silver puffy paint y'all. Puffy freakin' paint!

Layered wrap... Asymmetrical two-tier with side parts
These days one style fits all, but raise your hand if you wanted to be Salt or Pepa (or Spinderella).

Cropped coat... Plastic red Michael Jackson jacket
Cute, classic looks are nice, but I begged my mom for one of these...and a Jheri curl, so I could have curly hey-ah. (She said I had "clean lost my mind." That's a direct quote. In retrospect, thanks Mom.)

Ciara... Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
Even the purist in me likes "1, 2 Step". But "Head to Toe" and "Take You Home" were untoppable. Still classic.

White ankle socks... Fluorescent colored socks mixed and matched
Perfect for those who rock vintage Adidas like me. But remember layering your two pairs of "slouch socks"? I had pink and green ones. I'd wear green and pink on the right foot, pink and green on the left. And when you put your ankles together, they'd look like checkers. Word up.

John Legend... Christopher Williams
"Ordinary People" is infectious. But this other light-skindeded brotha wore a song out. Anyone still "Dreamin"?

Chapelle's Show... In Living Color
I fall out when Rick James yells, "Unity, It's a celebration!" But the man with da git-taw "Wrote a song bout it, like to hear it? Here it go." (And I still snap three times in a circle for good measure.)

"G-g-g G-Unit" ... "The jungle, the jungle, the brothas, the brothas"
Fitty makes that money, but De La and Native Tongue made me love them