Throw on your Funky Vest & Tie combo, and head to Waco, TX as we take you back to the 90's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!
Artist: Hi-Five Song: She's Playing Hard To Get Album: Keep It Going On (1992) Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 5 Bonus Fun Fact: The album "Keep It Going On" would reach #9 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and was certified Gold with sales of over 500,000 albums by the RIAA.
The year was 1988 and I was at my friend Corey's birthday party. His Mom had taken about 10 of us to Bushkill Falls in PA for some outdoor fun. After a hike we were then taken out for pizza and some roller skating at Bushkill Park!
As us rowdy 7-10 year olds were racing around the track a song came over the speakers in the roller rink. It was a song I had never heard before! It had a cool beat, high energy and lyrics talking about Freddy Krueger! I had to know what it was. I asked one of my friends and he said "Nightmare On My Street". From that point I was hooked on the catchy rhymes of Fresh Prince and the amazing cuts of DJ Jazzy Jeff!
I bought all their albums from "Rock The House" to "Code Red" and even got in a fight with my buddy Little Joe when he told me that Fresh Prince sucked! Well, we all know what happened to Fresh Prince aka Will Smith after his rapping days with Jazzy Jeff were over, but what became of Jazzy Jeff?
He had some great appearances on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" TV show and was a video game character in DJ Hero, but did you know he has released some great hip-hop albums and produced songs for some amazing artists? He has worked with everyone from Bart Simpson (Deep, Deep Trouble) to Eminem (When To Stand Up) and Jeff is still writing, producing and cutting up records with the best of them today! Like any good DJ, a good percentage of DJ Jazzy Jeff's releases are mixtapes, but he has put out a few records with original content. No matter what the content, I have enjoyed them all. Here are some of the albums of Jeff's I have in my collection:
HIP HOP FOREVER II: MIXED BY DJ JAZZY JEFF
2004 BBE
Favorite Tracks: "Danger" by Blahzay Blahzay, "Buck Em' Down" by Black Moon & "Electric Relaxation" by A Tribe Called Quest
HIP HOP FOREVER III: COMPILED AND MIXED BY DJ JAZZY JEFF
2006 BBE
Favorite Tracks: "Passing Me By" by The Pharcyde, "Mass Appeal" by Gang Starr & "The Choice Is Yours" by Black Sheep
HE'S THE KING, I'M THE DJ
2009 DJ Jazzy Jeff & UNDRCRWN
Favorite Tracks: "Human Nature/Right Here Mix" by Michael Jackson & SWV, "Remember The Time" by Michael Jackson & "Off The Wall" by Michael jackson
DJ JAZZY JEFF: THE SOUL MIXTAPE
2005 Groovin' Records
Favorite Tracks: "No Tears" by Pete Rock featuring Leela James, "Make Love Last Forever" by Michael Bohannon & "Daydreamin'" by Kelli Sae
THE MAGNIFICENT
2002 BBE
Favorite Tracks: "Da Nitro" feat. Pauly Yamz & Baby Blak, "Mystery man" feat. The Last Emperor & "How I Do" feat. Shawn Stockman & Cy Young
THE RETURN OF THE MAGNIFICENT
2007 BBE
Favorite Tracks: "The Definition" feat. Kel Spencer, "Practice" feat. J Live & "Brand New Funk 2K7" feat. Peedi Peedi
Not only do I have a decent collection of DJ Jazzy Jeff albums, but I also purchased this autographed 2015 Panini Americana card for around $10 a few years ago, but that's not all...
I also picked up this autographed DJ Jazzy Jeff World Tour lanyard! I got this from Jazzy Jeff's website back in the day for around $10-$15. You can visit his site if you want to check out the rest of the merch that includes shirts, vinyl albums, masks, hoodies & more. While you are visiting DJJazzyJeff.com, don't forget to check out the "Music" section for your chance to download some of his mixtapes for FREE! I highly recommend the "Summertime" mixtape series put together by Jeff & Mick Boogie. These are the perfect playlists for any cookout or a game of any backyard sports!
And there you have it! A collection of music and memorabilia from one of the best DJs of all time! Thanks for reading. As a reward below is a "Magnificent Lunch Break" from 3/3/21! Man, he's still got it after all these years! ENJOY!!!!
Throw on your Neon Tank Top, and get to rehearsal as we take you back to the 80's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!
Artist: New Edition Song: If It Isn't Love Album: Heart Break (1988) Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 7 Bonus Fun Fact: This song and video introduced Johnny Gill as the newest member of New Edition and was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals" in 1989.
Back in 1986 Rankin/Bass Productions introduced us kids to the Silverhawks! They were partly metal, partly real, but all action! Allegedly this cartoon was created to be the equivalent of an outer space Thundercats. It was created by the same company, had many of the same voice actors and that may be why I really liked it!
A quick synopsis of the series goes a little something like this...It's the 29th century and a big bad guy named Mon*Star has escaped from prison in the Galaxy of Limbo. A team of heroes is needed to bring him back for the crimes he has committed. Commander Stargazer recruits the best of the best for this mission and creates the Silverhawks! Each Silverhawk came with their own avian companion who helped them fight against the worst criminals in the galaxy, like Yes-Man, Hardware & Mo-Lec-U-Lar.
It was so cool and me and my brother bought into the hype. We had the toys, watched the cartoon after school and even bought a few of the Marvel Star comics! But, our minds were blown when we saw this in 1987...
Burger King had Silverhawks toys in their kids meals!!!! What? We had to go! We bugged our Mom and finally she gave in and we made our way to the local BK!
There were some cool items in this promotion like a lenticular ring & Copper Kid foil sticker, but the item we wanted most was that Tally-Hawk pencil topper! Tally-Hawk was the companion of the Silverhawks leader, Quicksilver and he was AWESOME! This really was the golden age of fast food premiums! We lucked out and got him in our meals. The next day, I had to bring him to school to show off to my classmates.
That day in school just happened to be our 1st grade class trip to the local library. I brought Tally-Hawk with me on this excursion. This would be a mistake! During our librarian's boring lecture on the Dewey Decimal system, I took out my newly gotten toy and started playing with him. My teacher saw me making Tally-Hawk fly majestically through the musty library air while making exciting "WHOOSH!" noises and she immediately took him away!
When we got back to school my teacher put my Hawk in her desk and told me I could have it back at the end of the week. The time came and I was too scared to ask for it back and I thought I would get punished if I told my Mom what happened, so my Tally-Hawk was never returned to me. Sadly, he lived in that cold, dark desk drawer for the rest of his life!
Flash forward to February of 2021. In a search for random stuff from my childhood on ebay, I found a listing for a Tally-Hawk pencil topper from BK for $4.99! I immediately clicked "Buy" and today I have been reunited with this tragic piece of childhood past. I am so glad to have this heroic hawk back in my collection and I vow to never have him taken away from me again and I can finally sleep in peace! Just so you can also witness the coolness of the Silverhawks cartoon, I have placed the intro animation below for you to enjoy. The 80's really were the best, weren't they?
The comic book I am most excited to read this week is... X-MEN: DEMON DAYS #1
(W) Peach Momoko (A/CA) Peach Momoko
From STORMBREAKER PEACH MOMOKO comes a Marvel story unlike any you've ever seen before! A wandering swordswoman with a psychic blade arrives at village that's being targeted by demons. One demon is black and white with a terrifying red tongue and another may be the strongest demon there is! In the stunning kick-off issue of this prestige quarterly story, you'll see a revolutionary reimagination of the Marvel Universe that could only come from Peach Momoko. Ready your katana and enter a mysterious world of demons, monsters, mutants, and magic! Book ONE of FIVE of the DEMON DAYS saga!
Throw on your Timex, and head to the Social Club as we take you back to the 90's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!
Artist: Timex Social Club Song: Rumors Album: Vicious Rumors (1986) Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 8 Bonus Fun Fact: Based on the success of this song, Timex Social Club was hired by Russell Simmons to open for RUN DMC on their "Raising Hell" tour in 1986!
