Welcome To My Mind

What is up world? Allow me to introduce myself. My government is Steven J Bailey and I have a deep love for Music. It is my strong belief that without music, this would be a whole different ballgame. Now let me clarify what types of music I am speaking about. I grew up on Hip Hop and that is where my heart is. When I say Hip Hop, I am referring to late 80's early 90's Hip Hop. You know when Hip Hop was an art form and not a radio spins competition. Times were a lot different back then and so was the music. Can you close your eyes and remember what it sounded like? I can. Listen closely.... Cant you hear that drum line and piano opening up and starting the classic "The Bridge Is Over", by the Legendary Boogie Down Productions. I can.

My mistress to my love of Hip Hop is the gorgeous sound of Reggae music. I will save that love story for another day. I want to focus on Hip Hop for right now. If you are around my age, 36, you have seen the evolution of our culture and music. To me, it used to have a purpose. Sure it had all the braggadocios lyrics and male bravado that it does today, but it still had a meaning back in the day. Where are the political and revolutionary emcees and groups repping our culture like we had in the 90's? Where is the next Public Enemy, Paris, or X-Clan?

I remember those Golden Years of Hip Hop, when I couldn't wait to get my hand on the newest album from NWA or Eric B and Rakim. When a record came out back then, every joint on that was a banger. It was all fire and no filler. Today's artist seems to put out their albums with one or two quality songs and 14 others that had no business even being made. I-tunes should force these artists to make a hot album, because if you only have one good song on a record, you will only get .99 for that song and not the whole 12.00 or whatever a CD goes for nowadays.

Oh well enough for today. I will be posting everyday....... if possible and life permitting..... something about hip hop. I will also be reviewing shows as they come through Southern California. When there are no shows to write about, I will review records from today's artist and the Glorious Past. Hey speaking of 90's Hip Hop, if you haven't heard about it or got your tickets, the Cypress Hill Smokeout is this Saturday. I am so amped up to see the reunion shows of The Geto Boys and The Goodie MOB. This show will be pure DOPE.