11 Years Ago in Hip-Hop, Sports, and Life...

Yes… Technically I am getting aged as I turn 33 today. However, I don’t feel as if I am aging at all…. I hit the gym daily, I still consider myself as being fly (no FILA short sets with knee high church socks), and I still run Madden and Black Ops with the best of em . 

But being 33 makes me think back to when I turned 22. The year 2000 was supposed to be the year that the earth came to a standstill.

I was in Nashville, Tennessee embarking on my last year of college, having pool parties, road trips, and the thing I miss most which is just sitting around and doing nothing every now and then. 

 

 But what was really hot in 2000….

* Well every rapper that was hot at the time had to have their own clothing line…
* No Limit was on the way out.. Three 6 and Cash Money were beast mode. * Love and Basketball was and still is one of my top 5 movies of all time….

* Peter Warrick stunned the crowd as his performance paced a BCS championship for Florida State. 

However, young Michael Vick stole the show in a losing effort. One has become an NFL great while the other…. 

Could someone please.... please put out an APB for Peter Warrick???? ....  Please

* Steve McNair and the Titans fell a yard short as the Rams “featuring the greatest show on turf” won Super Bowl XXXIV

* Mateen Cleaves lead Michigan State over Florida in the NCAA Men’s basketball championship…  Honestly this game was mad boring. It was never close and it was lacking star power. Needless to say, I had to put a dent into a bottle of Crown during that one.  

* The series went 6, with Kobe and the Lakers… or should I say Shaq and the Lakers….  Either way, they closed the Pacers out on this day. It wasn’t as exciting as watching MJ dismantle the Utah Jazz two years earlier, but it was still fun to watch. 

With all that said, I have to focus on what was in everyone’s cd player back then. Things were different with both BIG and PAC leaving us years earlier. Diddy became a sucker for love with every song having and underlying message for J-LO. (I NEED A GIRL – WTF WAS THAT?) 

Anyways… this not a straight top hip-hop top 10, however these are the tracks that came to mind first when I thought back to the year 2000…. See if you can remember what you were doing when you heard these for the first time…. 

OutKast – So Fresh and So Clean
Everybody feels it…. Everyone says it….  But only a few can achieve it…. Andre 3000, Sir Lucious Left Foot, and Sleepy Brown showed us that fresh and clean aren’t just adjectives, but a way of life.

OutKast - Music - More Music Videos

Black Rob – Whoa
Lox left and Mase retired like Whoa….. So I put the Label on my back like Whoa. (Yeah, that was the remix, but the track is still hot)

Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz – Uptown Baby
Party Track that will get continuous airplay… I am sure Peter is lacing Cory with some of that studio knowledge.


Method Man – Break Ups 2 Make Ups
Meth and D’Angelo… Hopefully D’Angelo had his clothes on for this track. Meth always goes hard when he graces the Mic.


Jay Z – Change the Game
Jay, Beans, and Bleek…. Jump off to the Dynasty album.. What more need I say?

Talib Kweli – The Blast
This was forever on rotation, however the final track of the Album “Four Women” was one of the most lyrically advanced tracks that I have ever heard.

Eminem – The Way I Am
Whenever you need to get hype for a game, a workout, or just need to vent, Eminem is the way to go. I am positive that The Way I Am served as a release for a few Million people.

You think it’s over now… we gonna have to take it back 11 more years to 1989 and see what you youngin’s were really about...(Skating Rink... Ice Ice Baby.... Don't act like you don't know)

-     

       - Slim

Sports Legend gives NFL Players Sound Advice Regarding the Lockout....

As the NBA season winds down with the Finals soon, and MLB getting into the full swing of things, the big sports talk still surrounds the NFL.  

College football is still huge, but we all know the NFL makes everything complete. 

While many of the league’s superstars have enough saved and invested to weather the storm, there are many incoming rookies, practice squad players, and those who need this season in hopes of taking their careers to the next level.

With that being said, I feel that I should do my part as a model citizen and help these guys with some motivational words from one of the greatest sports figures ever……….. Leon.

Leon speaks on life after sports:

Leon speaks on taking up another game:

Leon speaks on helping the upcoming rookies:

 

Classic words of wisdom from Leon… With that personality and those impeccable skills, I’m sure he wouldn’t take the lockout too seriously.

- Slim

Going Back In The Day.... talking Pullovers, Jordans, R. Kelly, and something more.....

Okay…. I know that I usually go throwback style on Wednesday, but I have to address something that has been on my mind for quite some time now…. What in the Hell happened to the Starter Brand????

I have already voiced my love for the throwback Starter jerseys… but we also have to give a moment of silence for the Starter Pullover Jackets. I mean unless you lived in a desert (Phoenix, Yuma, the Sahara, or anywhere between Dallas and El Paso) you know you had a Starter pullover, or at least wanted one.

But a pullover isn’t the only thing that I need to locate…

Here are the 3 items on my list that I consider a must have purchase, RIGHT NOW….

1) L. A. Raiders Starter Pullover….

With so many teams to choose from back in the day, how did the L.A. Raiders become a NFL favorite of hip hop heads?   Simply thank Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Mc. Ren, and DJ Yella for this influence.   

You would hardly find any video footage were they were not in L.A. Raiders and Kings gear, and oh I had to have it.  I may not have been Straight Outta Compton… but chanting Straight of Alabama just didn’t sound as gangsta….   

I doubt I will throw one on to rock out here in Phoenix, but it’s still a must have.

2) Air Jordan IV

Picture courtesy of SoleTheory.com

 YES!!!! These are my favorite J’s of the series… There was dude back in middle school that had EVERY JORDAN, BO JACKSON, DEION, etc…. you name it he had it… but the only ones that made me want to chop his feet off at the ankles were these.   

But you know you weren't official unless you let the tag hang from the shoe... 

If you can help me locate a LEGIT pair of these, please hit me up.

3) R Kelly and the Public Announcement TAPE….

Yes I said the TAPE…   

I wanna keep pressing fast forward, then play, then rewind, then play, then fast forward, and then play again just to find the beginning of the song (young’uns don’t know about that). I know many people are all on R. now, but this was a 100% classic. Slow Dance, Honey Love, Dedicated…. Need I say more?!? 

Maybe I was too young to recognize everything he was talking about… But hell I knew enough

 R. Kelly - Honey Love

And for an honorable mention…. This next item isn’t for purchase, but it sure needs to come back: 
Public Displays of DISCIPLINE (aka ASS WHIPPIN’S….)

No pictures needed here...

I remember going to Kmart with my mom and playing in the clothes racks. My mom would tell me to stop and bring your butt over here. I would do as she said, then about 2 minutes later, I’m off playing in the racks again. Then I see her face change from loving mother, to the spawn of everything un-heavenly. She grabs me and proceeds to whip my but all in K-Mart. Other parents walking by looking like, Get His Ass!!! She doesn’t abuse me by any means, she simply shows me that she is always in charge.

Oh the days…..

But kids are smart now…… my daughter will push all of my buttons in public because she knows I can’t yoke her up and dust her little butt all across the parking lot. Then when we get in the car, she immediately starts crying because she knows what’s coming when she gets home. 

In my heart I know that one good butt whippin up and down the isles of Toys R Us will put an end to that mess……

Let’s recapture the good ol’ days as I close with one of the classics from the early 90’s..

Ahmad – Back In The Day

Back in the Day by ice1906 

- Slim