9 Albums That Built Me

The hashtag #9goodalbums was going around social media a while back and I figured I'd finally give it a whirl. This list is supposed to contain 9 good albums that "built me," and generally I stay away from these things because I hate limiting my influences/favorites. 9 spots could never actually cover the albums that had a major impact on me. Inevitably, a few great ones are left off, but so be it. Gotta start somewhere.

The following albums are mostly from my youth. There have been incredible albums in the last 20 years, but I've found that with most people (myself included) the most "influential" music is generally that which you first fall in love with.

Motley Crue - Girls Girls Girls

A "Best of The Beach Boys" cassette is one of my earliest memories of music. I think it was my parents' tape, but I grew very attached to it. I loved their intense positivity and vocal harmonizing. It always felt like I was being whisked away to a California beach when I listened to them. I even had a Beach Boys windbreaker. 

My Dad also had several "Best of Motown" cassettes, with the greatest hits from each year of Motown's heyday. Between that and listening to the Oldies station on the radio during long car rides, I was exposed to a lot of older music, which I'm very thankful for. As I grew up, I was able to see the influence on current music, and even recognize some samples and reconfigured melodies.

Most of the stuff I listened to as a very young kid could be described as "pretty" and melodic. Then came Motley Crue. I saw a video (probably Smoking in the Boys Room, from their previous album) and it opened up a whole new world of possibilities. It was the anti-establishment, don't give a fuck attitude I didn't even know I needed. These were hard rocking, long haired weirdos with motorcycles and girls all around them, the essence of cool to a prepubescent boy. 

I loved Motley Crue for a while. They rocked out, they had singable hits, they were fucking crazy...Nikki Six was literally dead from a heroin overdose, paramedics revived him, and he went right back for more heroin! That's a rock star!

I don't think I was even "into" girls when this came out, but this album let me know that liking girls was cool. It also told me that long hair, leather, motorcycles, and smoking in the boy's room were cool, but somehow, those things never caught on with me.

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - He’s the DJ, I'm The Rapper 

This album changed my musical direction for good. I had enjoyed some rap songs before this point. I liked Run DMC, some Biz Markie, Tone Loc. But I was still mostly into Motley Crue and Van Halen. When this album and its videos came out, hip hop took over my musical preferences completely.

Will's charisma and humor always got the spotlight, which coincided with the larger trend in hip hop of MCs starting to take the spotlight from the DJs, who were always top billing up to this point. Technically, Jeff even had top billing in this group, and with good reason: he was a phenomenal, one-of-a-kind DJ. Without his backing, Will Smith may never have been the global megastar he is today. The Fresh Prince persona brought people in, but Jeff kept them coming back. Despite the success of Will's solo music career, the quality of his later music just never compared to his Fresh Prince days.

This album has the obvious hit singles (Parents Just Don't Understand, Nightmare on My Street) but the album cuts are the true gems. Here We Go Again, Brand New Funk, Charlie Mack - First Out the Limo. Insanely fun jams that still hold up. Then there was Human Video Game with Ready Rock C doing beatbox versions of Sanford and Sons underwater....just awesome stuff. Live at Union Square gives a good glimpse of how well Will and Jeff rocked a crowd, and how well they represented the fundamental elements of hip hop.

As silly and "commercial" as Fresh Prince could be, this album is truly iconic, a highlight of 80s hip hop that withstands the test of time.

Leaders of the New School - A Future Without a Past

This was an incredibly influential album in my life, which I purchased because I thought Scenario was on it. I ended up buying The Low End Theory for Scenario, and that is one of my favorite albums of all time (which I didn't include here because I talked about it enough already) so it all worked out, and I learned two things: always check the track list, and you can never go wrong when Busta Rhymes is involved.

Ok, maybe not never.

Similar to Fresh Prince, these guys were funny as hell. This album took on some serious issues (Just When You Thought It Was Safe, Too Much on My Mind), but always with a smirk and a snap about your mother. They all had their own identity and style, but on this album everything meshed perfectly. There's a 12 minute outro where they thank people in their lives and shout out other rap groups, and I could still sit and listen to the whole thing.

A few years later, Busta Rhymes began his ascent to hip hop superstardom. Sadly, they only have one other album together, which is also good. I always loved Busta (he blew my mind on Scenario) but Chalrie Brown may have been my favorite. Pinocchio's Theory is such a bizarre and awesome song. And Dinco D is still underrated.

Gang Starr - Daily Operation

I heard Take it Personal on BET Rap City and I was transfixed. How could this mellow, smooth-voiced short dude sound so menacing? My head was bobbing uncontrollably and I wanted to hit someone over the head with a pool cue for stuntin on me. The scratches on the chorus were beautiful; besides Jazzy Jeff, I had never heard scratching sound so majestic. The beat was hypnotizing, with those interjecting piano keys looped throughout.

Then I heard Ex Girl to the Next Girl, with those horns? I had to have the tape.

But there was a problem. It had an Explicit Lyrics sticker (Thanks Tipper Gore!) and I was 11 years old. When I went to the mall with the family, I split off and went to Sam Goody, where I quickly purchased it (thanks, non-caring Sam Goody employees!) with the money I made weed whacking. Then I carefully peeled off the sticker before showing it to my parents. Honestly though, it was barely explicit. It had a few swears, but I think labels were just tossing stickers onto every rap album.

This album also introduced Jeru the Damaja and Group Home, artists I loved for a while. Gang Starr made a couple classics after this (Hard to Earn, Moment of Truth) but there's a special place in my heart for this album.

Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers

Whew. Enter the Wu-Tang. What the hell was this? Do people understand what it was like to hear this album in 1993? Like nothing I had heard before.

I heard M.E.T.H.O.D. Man a few times, including once at a roller skating jam at Bulkeley High School that my mom must've been chaperoning because I was still in middle school. It was cool, and Meth had that star charisma, but it didn't stand out that much. But then came Mystery of Chessboxin. The video. The beat. The lyrics. Mindblowing. It was like the comic books I loved and kung fu movies I had seen on Saturday afternoons coming together to create an atomic bomb of awesomeness. They had the same attitude and vibe as Motley Crue, except with timbs, jeans, and hoodies instead of leather pants and long hair. They had the same energy and cohesiveness as Leaders of the New School and A Tribe Called Quest. There were so many different styles and voices that you were bound to connect with at least one.

This album was hard as hell, but what often gets overlooked by hip hop albums deemed "gangster" or "street" is the humor. Try not to laugh during the "torture" skit. The Coen Brothers can barely do dark humor that well (one of my favorite movies ever is Fargo, which came out 3 years after this). There is wit and a dark humor throughout the album that better illuminates the tragic realities these guys were exposing. And the music...the grittiness, the grooves, the sound effects....everything combined to create this pure, unique musical experience that has still never been matched.

Their next album is also a classic (and the two after that are good) and several of the members have classic solo albums, but nothing could ever match this album's impact and appeal. Soowoo! 

Redman - Dare iz a Darkside

This is one of my all time favorite albums and Redman's entire persona and discography is hugely influential to me.

From the album cover (a reference to Funkadelic, which I didn't even get until years later) to the red cassette tape, to Redman's frenetic energy, absurdist humor, and magnetic charisma, I can't say enough about this. It came out my freshman year of high school which was not a good year for me overall. Redman provided me with a much needed release. I could lose myself every time  I put on my headphones and listened. But I could also find myself. Thanks to Redman and especially this album, I realized I could be different and weird and upend expectations. This was a departure from his previous album (which is also great) and was met with a lot of skepticism and criticism. But the music and the man were undeniable. This was who he was and the music he wanted to make, and you were going to love it.

After this album, he made several more classics, which sold even better, and he shot to superstardom with Method Man. When Redman made it, I felt like a part of me had made it. I mean, watch his Cribs episode and tell me you don't love that guy and want to root for him forever.


Outkast - Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik

For a while, I didn't want to believe Southern rappers were good. I liked Geto Boys but that was about it. Hell I barely gave West Coast rap a fair shot. Nothing could beat the East Coast!

Then came Andre and Big Boi, putting all that to rest. Their accents and their vibe and the local references I didn't quite understand drew me in. All of a sudden, the notion that geography mattered when it came to music seemed absurd. At 13/14 years old, "cool" meant more than anything, and these motherfuckers were cool. They had taken the mantle from Motley Crue and rock stars. They even made Atlanta Braves gear seem cool and I hate the Braves!

They, Andre especially, grew increasingly weird over the next albums (all verifiable classics) but the quirkiness was apparent here. They embraced their black, Southern culture completely and wore it as a badge of honor. And they were so cool and confident that the mainstream had no choice but to embrace them eventually.

I love all their albums (except the Idlewild soundtrack, which was still decent) but this and Aquemini are by far the most influential. Aquemini was a staple at college. They had grown so much as artists and people, yet the're chemistry together was even better; they were diving deeper into personal and social issues, and they were even weirder. To be honest, I could have put Atliens or Stankonia here, too. But this is where it all started, so it gets the nod.

Mobb Deep - The Infamous

I was 14/15 years old, unhappy at school, going through puberty...I needed something, I didn't even know what it was. It turns out, I needed two teenagers from Queensbridge to make one of the most sinister, neck-breaking, face-punching hip hop classics of all time.

Mobb Deep had Outkast's coolness but with a side of menace. There wasn't much quirkiness or humor either. This shit was dark. The beats somehow made you want to simultaneously zone out and think about the meaning of life while punching everyone who ever wronged you. I refused to wear any boots besides Timberlands for a decade because of this album. This album sounds like a harsh winter spent in an alley playing cee-lo for shots of Hennessey. This album sounds like teens working through depression in an unbelievably harsh environment...because that's what it was. And it is beautiful. 

Danny Brown - XXX

I had to put this on here because this album was the beginning of a new era in hip hop to me. The late 2000s were particularly slow/weak for hip hop. There were some solid acts out there, and some veterans still making good music, but it had grown pretty stagnant. I had gotten really into downtempo/trip hop/instrumental acts like Bonobo and Blockhead. Rappers were starting to bore me. It was on Blockhead's blog where I first heard of Danny Brown. Blockhead was raving about him. I then saw a few other blog posts doing the same, and I finally checked him out.

He was definitely unique. I didn't take to his music right away, and I think he purposely makes it not easily accessible, especially beginning with this album. But I dug his originality and wit and overall vibes. Then I gave this album a focused listen, and it finally hit me. This was what and who I had been waiting for for a decade, at least since ODB passed, or since the last proper Outkast album dropped. Hip hop had life again. Excitement. It was breaking boundaries.

During the recording of this album, Danny was dealing with turning 30 and reflecting on his life...at the same time I was turning 30. I can't exactly say I lived a similar life, but I could definitely relate to the emotions he was expressing about getting older, worrying about running out of time, worrying about whether he'd ever be good enough, etc.

Plus he was just funny as hell. And once I got used to his high pitched yelp, I could hardly listen to any artist with a regular voice anymore.

Although Danny was 30 and had been making music for years, he was still part of a "new school" of rappers that I discovered around this time. After hearing XXX, I wanted to check out what other new artists were doing, and I discovered Schoolboy Q and Black Hippy, Roc Marciano, Freddie Gibbs (all artists who Danny has worked with). My faith in hip hop was restored. Thanks Danny!

I Love You All...Class Dismissed. 

Quintessential 90s Hip Hop Fashions

Part 1 of this post appears here on 90s Hip Hop Junkie dot com.
Part 2 appears here.

Despite what Sprite tried to tell us, when it comes to hip hop, image has always been important. Fashion and hip hop have gone hand in hand since the very beginning. The Kangol and the Adidas track suit were almost a requirement in the late 70s and early 80s.

Grandmaster Flash

Nowadays, rappers hardly spit a verse without mentioning their favorite fashion designer, or their own fashion label. Or they name themselves after their favorite fashion designer.

Gucci Mane

In return, marketing companies use hip hop slang or fashion to target the youth (to various degrees of success). It's safe to say fashion and hip hop have maintained an intimate connection.

Early on, a lot of hip hop fashion followed in the steps of disco fashion, which...wasn't great. Dre may be a billionaire, but he'll still never live down the style choices of his first group.

2 years before NWA.

In the 80s, when rappers realized they needed to do something to separate their image from that of the coke fueled disco era, most of hip hop fashion followed the b-boy style. This was much more suited to the target demographic and the participants. Hip hop wasn't for the disco clubs, it was for the streets, the neighborhood and basement parties. So track suits, Kangols, shell toes, Chuck Taylors, and Gazelles were the wave. If you were a dancer, maybe you rocked a headband. Someone in the crew was definitely carrying a giant boombox.

Then, when Run DMC dropped "My Adidas" in 1986, the fashion world, and the world at large, realized the influence rap could have on the consumer public. Adidas sales went through the roof after the song hit the airwaves. And rappers realized the importance of style in creating their own identities. Run DMC never wore another sneaker at a performance.

And Adidas released Run DMC sneakers, coming full circle. 

As hip hop spread across the country, different regions expanded on the sounds and the styles of early rappers. The West Coast Gangsta aesthetic (Khakis, Chuck Taylors, plaid shirts over white tees, bandanas) became popular. The East Coast B-Boy became more rugged, with dark, baggy clothes and winter gear (skullies, boots, hoody). The 90s is a heralded era in hip hop, and it still remains influential to the sound and style of modern rap. The nostalgia centered on the era is almost as much about the fashion as the music.

Converse, Adidas, Reebok, and even Puma were the main sneaker brands among urban youth until Nike and Jordan came along. Throughout the 90s, Nike dominated with basketball sneakers and cross trainers. Besides Jordans, two of the most popular sneakers were the Bo Jacksons and the Charles Barkleys.

Bo knows 90s color schematics. 

Reeboks had the Classics and the Pumps, then the Shaq Pumps, which required actual tools to use.

Save up for those CO2 cartridges, kids!

There were the incredibly heavy Ewings...

And the obnoxious LA Gear and La Tech/LA Lites...

As well as British Knights and their BK Ratch Tech...

Fila even had a moment on top with Grant Hill's and Jerry Stackhouse's signature shoes.

For leisure wear there were Hush Puppies, or Clark's Wallabees, which could be self-customized of course. Clark's finally decided to work directly with the Wu earlier this year.

For jackets, there were the Avirex bombers, or the Double Goose...

Or the 8ball jackets for the ultra cool...

And Puddy.

Of course, everyone had Starter. Either the regular jacket...

The hoody with the full zipper...

Or the pullover hoody...

Bonus points for Raiders, Bulls, UNLV, Hornets, or any other 90s expansion team.

Hoodies are a vital aspect of any Hip Hop Head's wardrobe. Starter had the jackets on lock, but Champion had the best hooded sweatshirts. Rugged outdoor gear was always popular on the East Coast, and brands like Timberland, Carhartt, Northface, Gortex, even Columbia all benefited.

For clothes in general, Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, Polo, Karl Kani, Guess, Pelle Pelle, South Pole, Ecko, were all popular. These brands benefited from their association with hip hop but didnt necessarily acknowledge it. Then more brands with a specific "urban" focus came out, many under the direction of hip hop moguls. Russell Simmons had Phat Farm. Puffy had Sean John. Jay Z had Rocawear. Wu Tang had Wu Wear. At some point, rappers got into more designer brands like Moschino, Versace, Gucci, DKNY, and, because of Biggie's sweater, Coogi.

Much of hip hop fashion comes down to what brands are hot at the time, and that can change quickly. Rocking Fubu or Sean John in the 90s was cool, but if you were still rocking them in the new millenium, it was assumed you got it on clearance at K-Mart.

The most quintessential 90s brand has to be Cross Colours. It was based in South Central, and their tagline was "clothing without prejudice" in an effort to spread social awareness at a time of high violence, AIDS, and racial tension. At its height of popularity, people like Arsenio Hall and the characters on A Different World wore it.

Mark Wahlberg AND the Funky Bunch even wore it.

And I don't think anyone has worn it since January 1st, 2000. The brand seemingly evaporated with the end of the 90s.

"Keeping it real" was always been an important ethos in rap, so you were better off getting a shitty brand than a knock off. You could pull a Biggie and sew alligators on your shirt, but don't let them see the inside. You never wanted to get caught wearing the bootleg joint.

As young Donald Glover reminded us in Atlanta. The 05 jerseys were hot, too.

It was never all about brands though; how you rocked it was always as important. Would Adidas have looked so cool if Run DMC tied their laces like most people? Or if they were wearing corduroy pants?  The coolness of the style depended on the person rocking it. If Run DMC was making electro synth dance music like Dre's World Class Wrecking Crew, that would have definitely affected people's perception of their fashion. But when you mix the no laces Adidas with the all black outfits and dooky rope chains, and you add the hard rock chords over the thumping bass with DMC's booming voice and Run's energy, you get fashion and music icons.

So things like overalls became popular for a while, and it didn't matter what brand they were, it just mattered whether you were rocking one strap or two and what was on underneath.

To be honest, not many people could rock this combination. 

Fitted hats didn't have to be Starter of New Era (it helped) they just had to be worn properly. Backwards, slightly to the side, straight up with a small curve in the brim, or no curve and worn over a bandana or durag.

Some things never go out of fashion.

Karl Kani and Guess jeans were some of the most popular, but Levis or even Old Navy were fine if they were baggy enough. Nobody knew ABC's favorite brand but we knew they wore their clothes inside out. And then we all realized how "wickety wack" that was when Kriss Kross showed us how much cooler it was to rock clothes backwards.

Note to 13 year old self: not that cool.

Champion sweatpants were the best, but all that really mattered was whether you rolled up one pants leg like LL or not.

With or without a racing jacket.

The best hip hop fashion styles of the 90s had nothing to do with brands and more to do with accessories. TLC could attach condoms to all of their clothes and look fly.

Mary J showed that all you needed was a cap and hoop earrings to make us fall in love.

 

Jerseys were always dope, too. Mitchell & Ness were huge for throwback jerseys, and they're still popular, but customized jerseys and authentic jerseys from any sport were great. And then there was the jersey dress...

This happened in 2003 but I'm including it because...come on. 

Bucket hats, brought back recently by Schoolboy Q and Smoke DZA, were huge for a while. Only a few people could pull them off, though. 

It helps to be one of hip hop's best duos. 

Another thing only a few could pull off was Big Daddy Kane's lines in the eyebrow. If you didn't date Madonna in her prime, you should've never even tried.

There were giant name rings...

Fashionable and practical.

Pharoahe Monch rocked the ski goggles far away from any slopes...

And piercings became popular, especially with the more alternative/weird rappers. Rappers and their fans started wearing earrings in both ears, in the nose, the eyebrow, or even the lip...

Of course, there were also missteps. Bleached hair really went both ways. Eminem's bright blonde hair, for better or worse, became iconic...

While others were more...moronic...

Then there were the baby binkies. Lil Mama might have been the most famous offender in the 2000s, but a lot of people who should've known better walked around chewing on these things in the 90s.

It's not your fault, Lil Mama.

There were other missteps too, such as Hammer pants. Admittedly, I bought a pair of Skidz (not exactly Hammer pants, but basically the same) so I contributed to the problem, but if you ever wore them you know...they were comfortable as hell.

Don't hurt em.

When it comes to silly but not regrettable fashion trends, there were the spray painted shirts you could get at Six Flags, or if you were lucky, a neighborhood artist. White tees with bright graffiti proclaiming your name, or your love for your girlfriend, or your dead friend's name, were everywhere, and remain a staple at fairs and carnivals across the country.

But the best t-shirt trend of the 90s were the Kriss Kross Bugs & Taz shirts, with Black Bart Simpson a close second.

This was the cover for Roc Marciano's recent EP with Knxwledge. How perfect is he?

Hip hop was literally created by taking other art and making something new with it, "remixing" it, so these items were the perfect reflection of hip hop style. Everybody knew these characters, but here they were presented in a new, fresh way that resonated with a hip hop audience.

Some fashion trends are flashes in the pan (hopefully we never go back to sucking on binkies) but some leave a more permanent mark. Cross Colours perfectly reflects 90s fashion, but will never be worn again. Timberlands and  will always be fashionable and forever tied to 90s NY hip hop. As a product of the East Coast, I am completely biased, but Timz & a Hoody is the ultimate hip hop outfit.

It seems most of current hip hop fashion is a variation, or remix, of 90s fashion. Some (like Lil Uzi Vert) even take from 90s grunge or metal fashion. A lot of the same brands are around, and have immersed themselves into hip hop culture even more by signing deals with rappers to promote or design their gear (Kanye with Adidas, Kendrick with Reebok, etc.). Fashion and hip hop work so well together because rebelliousness, originality, and novelty are key components, and they both can be a powerful form of self-expression. What we listen to and what we wear reflects who we are and often helps us define who we are. Plus, both art forms are always pushing the envelope with an ear to the streets for the next big thing, so it makes sense that they have become so intertwined. Thankfully, hip hop pioneers in the 80s and 90s made the fashion world take notice.

I Love You All...Class Dismissed. 

Let's Talk About Sex and Hip Hop: How 90s Rap Helped Stem the AIDS Epidemic

Hip hop has always been a reflection of society, yet since its inception, certain people have blamed hip hop for society's problems; it's been labeled the cause of violence, drug use, Fred Durst, even AIDS. It still gets the blame whenever a conservative needs a convenient scapegoat for mass shootings. Or when their own kid is caught with cocaine. It must be that damn rap music!

There are valid criticisms of rap (and all art) for its content and the influence it has on consumers, but most arguments focus only on the negative and miss the point of influence. Biggie talking about selling drugs and kidnapping a Knicks player isn't going to make me want to do the same. But Biggie wearing a Coogi sweater might make me want to get one. Biggie saying, "Now I throw shields on the dick, to stop me from that HIV shit" might make me think twice about going bareback. Throw in Snoop saying, "I got a pocket full of rubbers and my homeboys do too," and Ghostface Killah telling his boy to "take this raincoat, and practice safe sex," and  protecting yourself from STDs and unwanted pregnancy becomes the cool thing to do. And when it comes to reaching people, especially young people, nothing works better than cool.

Ask Phillip Morris.

Critics argue that rappers promote promiscuity, but studies have shown that hip hop had no negative effect on people's sexual behavior. This study from the National Institutes of Health states, "Popular discourses on young men’s health risks often blame youths’ cultures such as the hip hop culture for increased risk practices but do not critically examine how risk emerges in urban young men’s lives and what aspects of youths’ culture can be protective." The authors of the study claim that Hip hop did not lead to riskier behaviors, and more studies should be done on the positive, or "protective" qualities of hip hop. Nothing says protective like promoting condoms, and it's quite possible that hip hop not only had a positive effect on sexual behavior, but that it played a vital role in helping to stem the HIV/AIDs epidemic in the 90s.

Throughout the 80s and 90s, HIV was rampant in the US. Once people realized it wasn't just killing off "the gays," the realities of the disease caused nationwide panic. TV shows and movies started to address the crisis. Hip hop, the most socially aware genre of music in history, constantly reminded its listeners, and viewers, of the dangers of HIV and the benefits of safe sex.

It wasn't exactly subtle either.

As usual, women led the way. In 1990, fresh off the success of their provocative "Push It," Salt-n-Pepa came back with an educational after school special of a song that somehow became a hit. "Let's Talk About Sex" was all over MTV, BET and mainstream radio. I remember hearing it in the car with a friend's parent and getting embarrassed, but it's such a good song that we were all singing the chorus by the end of it, with my friend's mom emphasizing "and the BAD things that may be."

The song wasn't preaching, it was fun, and conversations about sex should be fun. Kids are more likely to learn that way, but most adults are so uptight about sex that they can't overcome their own discomfort long enough to discuss it with children.

Salt-n-Pepa was by no means the first to mention the merits of condoms and safe sex. It was just the most earnest, and frankly, the most popular instance, so it was the most important. They reached an audience a lot of earlier rappers didn't.

The Teacha, KRS One, deserves a lot of credit for his contributions to providing comprehensive sex education to 80s kids. In 1988, Boogie Down Production released "Jimmy," where KRS says: “Jimmy hats are now in style ‘cause you can’t trust a big butt and a smile.” That song is loaded with gems like: "drippin jimmy’s is straight up wack." The shit is absolutely hilarious, but at the time, HIV was ravaging the country, and the federal government was openly mocking gays and calling people gay for even asking about HIV. Then here comes KRS telling straight men (who he calls "super hoes," so he was ahead of his time on gender equality, too) to wrap it up. It wasn't just gay people who needed to be careful. There was nothing like this in music at the time. BDP didnt exactly make it to mainstream radio, but this song was a legitimate rap hit. About putting on a rubber. In Reagan's America.

Of course, there's one more legend we can't overlook for his contribution to keeping your jimmy from drippin. Kool Moe Dee. The epitome of cool (it's in the name!). Before he was a "player" he had to go see the doctor. This was a cautionary tale about the consequences of unprotected sex. "As I turned around to receive my injection, I said "Next time I'll use some protection." This was 1986, two years earlier than BDP. It was straight up comedy, but it was no joke. Again, the best way to teach young people is using humor and fun, and there's not many songs as fun as this.

"Jimmy hats" became a popular term in rap in the late 80s and 90s. It was like a rebranding of the too technical "condoms" and too silly "rubbers." Jimmy hats was a clever, funny term created by hip, young black men. Hip hop slang, though often ridiculed, travels the world and eventually becomes mainstream. (Remember how many old white people said "fleek" in 2016? They used it mockingly at first, but they used it.)  The term "jimmy hats" maintains that sense of coolness that is so important in reaching young people when it comes to changing risky behavior.

KRS may have pioneered using the term "jimmy" in a song, but others weren't far behind. In Digital Underground's awesome 1990 single, "Same Song," everyone's favorite fake-nosed rapper Humpty says:
Pull out my jimmie, time to get busy wit a Jenny
If it's good and plenty, don't you know
There I go, there I go, there I go
But I don't go nowhere without my jim hat
If I'm rapping, 'cause she's clapping
Then I'm strapping 'cause I'm smarter than that

In 1991, former NWA member Ice Cube released "Look Who's Burnin." The song starts with people talking at a clinic, with one guy saying "I came here to get some rubbers." The nurse lists off STDs. Then Ice Cube comes in and raps:
I went to the free clinic, it was filled to capacity
Now how bad can a piece of ass be?
Very bad, so I had to make the trip
and thank God, I didn’t have the drips
I was there so a hoe couldn’t gimme that
Just to get – twenty free jimmy hats.

One of the top comments on that video says: 
"One of the main reasons I always kept condoms on me...Thankz Cube!"

The same year Ice Cube dropped that song endorsing condoms and clinical check-ups, Magic Johnson was diagnosed with HIV. To say it was a shock doesn't do it justice. The electric chair is a shock. This was an asteroid landing on our heads. The NBA and hip hop have always been closely connected, and Magic's diagnosis reverberated through hip hop culture. There were the obvious jokes but there was also serious concern. If Magic, an icon, a hero, can get this disease, that meant anyone could. It wasn't just the black community or basketball or hip hop community that felt it, it was the whole world waking to this realization.

That's why it was so iconic and powerful when TLC debuted in 1992 and Left Eye wore the condom as an eye patch.

I can't explain the hat though.

It couldn't be ignored. The whole group often wore condoms as accessories. It was a fashion statement with a message. It was provocative, because everything related to sex is provocative in this uptight country, but they were promoting safety as well as female and self empowerment. They showed that women could take control of their own sexual health. They may not have been too proud to beg for sex, but they were too proud to have it unprotected.

Many other rappers deserve credit as well. There were countless lines promoting safe sex in the 90s. In Bonita Applebum, one of hip hop's greatest love songs, Q-Tip lets people know that "if you need em, I got crazy prophylactics." That was before TLC came out, and later, his rhyming partner (RIP Phife) reupped the claim, even shouting out the ladies who had become synonymous with condoms: "But just in case I got more condoms than TLC."

There were also some...questionable references to safe sex. You'd think the man responsible for creating the Hip Hop Love Ballad would be a little smoother with his sexual metaphors. And yet, he released "Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed By Buildings." As a single!

This came out in 1993 and I had no idea it was a metaphor for safe sex until 2017.

It still makes no damn sense, but good job I guess, LL.

Jay Z once said he "got a condo with nothing but condoms in it." Damn, Shawn, not even a fridge? Or a bed? Where are you gonna use those condoms? There's not even a rug you can lay out on the floor? It seems a bit excessive.

Dre Dre had an extended verse about his experience with STDs. If I had to guess, I'd say the doctor has had to treat himself a few times:
And before me dig out a bitch I have ta’ find a contraceptive
You never know she could be earnin’ her man,
And learnin’ her man, and at the same time burnin’ her man
Now you know I ain’t wit that shit, Lieutenant
Ain’t no p**sy good enough to get burnt while I’m up in it"

Many rappers like Dre focused on the consequences of unprotected sex to shame people who didn't protect themselves. Shame can have a powerful effect, too. It was not cool to get "burned." We all loved Ol' Dirty Bastard, but we didn't want to be like him and get burned not once, but "actually two times goddammit." Unfortunately, a lot of the shame tactics turned into anger at women, a common male tactic, which is why TLC's fashion statement was so powerful in a male dominated industry.

For the hip hop community, HIV/AIDS hit even closer to home in 1995 with the death of Eazy E. There became a sense of urgency to address the virus in the hip hop community and society as a whole. This was at a time when hip hop was becoming the most popular music genre in the country, so its impact was being felt on a massive scale.

In that year, 1995, there were more deaths from AIDS in the United States than ever before. There were well founded fears of a new age plague.

In 1996, the immensely successful Wu Tang Clan, fresh off a classic debut and several successful solo albums, decided to use their considerable influence for good. They came together with many other popular rappers (Common! Spice 1! Coolio!) to release "America is Dying Slowly," an album full of warnings and advice about HIV/AIDS. On the lead song, "America," Wu Tang raps in the chorus:

AIDS kills, word up respect this, yo
Coming from the Wu, it's real

Here were some of the best and most popular rappers in the world talking about the dangers of unprotected sex and AIDS over a 1996 RZA beat. Incredible.

This album went deep. These artists took real time and effort to make quality music with a powerful message. RZA even gave a great line about the popular conspiratorial claims about HIV:
Overcome with passion, big ass want lust upon him
But nigga he forsake to grab the condom
Fuck it, he said AIDS, was government made
To keep niggas afraid so they won't get laid no babies be made
And the black population will decrease within a decade
German warfare product against the dark shade

They dismissed the myths about AIDS and gave real life advice. It wasn't just a "my label wants me to do something positive" thing. They saw people dying in their community at a rapid pace and knew how serious the situation was, so they decided to do something about it.

By all accounts, it worked. There was a drastic drop in the number of AIDs related deaths in 1996. Many people credit the antiretroviral drugs that became widely available that year, and sure they deserve some credit (okay, a lot of credit) but it's not a reach to say that hip hop played a significant role in raising awareness about the disease.

Despite the rapid drop in AIDS related deaths in the late 90s, HIV/AIDS and STDs never went away, and rappers never stopped promoting safe sex.

In 2003, Freeway rapped: "And she want me to sneak in the building like trolls and a toy, Best believe there's Trojans involved, hats lift over the boy, oh boy."

In 2007, Beanie Sigel, always brilliant, provocative, and politically incorrect, rapped: "I'm Ruthless, but nothin like Eazy, I keep a pocket full of Magnums, believe me."

In 2008, the guy who made eating buttholes popular said: "Safe sex is great sex, better wear a latex cuz u dont want that late text, that 'I think I'm late' text."

Hip hop's promotion of safe sex is so well known that even condom manufacturers and brands took notice. In 2004, a company called Jimmie Hatz (great name!) marketed condoms to the young "urban" crowd. This had the added benefits of making the people at Fox News blow a fuse.

Magnum condoms, a brand popular with rappers for the...genital implications, saw their sales boosted 14 percent from 2001-2010. They largely attribute that boost to rappers referencing the brand in their songs, such as Ludacris ("Stop by the convenience store and pick up them rubbers, Magnum I hope") and Rick Ross ("Hit the Dodge lot I must've copped six Magnums/ Marriott suite, I must've used six magnums"). In 2010, with their first ever marketing campaign (they literally did not run ads because they relied on the free publicity from rappers) they held a rap contest in 2010 to see who could come up with the best song about Magnums.

Even the current White Boy Wonder G-Eazy referenced condoms just last year on a hit song: "keep a Costco pack of rubbers by my night stand." He's smart and thrifty!

Everyone seems to focus on the risky behavior that rap "promotes," such as promiscuity, but if the argument is that rap influences people, logically (considering the abundance of condom references) some of that influence must be positive.

Hip hop, for all the ridiculous blame it receives for society's problems, never got the credit it deserved for raising awareness about HIV/AIDS. The genre was highly influential in avoiding a much worse AIDS epidemic in the 90s and remains an important tool in promoting safe sex.

I Love You All...Class Dismissed.