Late on the posting today. I hit the road early this morning and I haven’t really had much of a chance to stop since 5 a.m. Spent a large portion of the day driving, Sammy burning up the miles in high style as I burned my way through several of my favorite podcasts. <\/p>\n

In between a couple episodes, however, I hit some of my favorite playlists. One is called “Old Skool Happy.” It’s filled with some of my favorite old school rap and go-go music. Fun, bouncy, and nothing like a lot of the negative, derogatory, misogynistic crap that passes as rap these days. No, these songs are from greats like Big Daddy Kane, Salt-n-Pepa, Eric B. and Rakim, MC Lyte, Biz Markie, Queen Latifah, EU, Junkyard Band, Grandmaster Flash, Heavy D, Whodini, Sugar Hill Gang, Sir Mix-a-Lot…Old Skool Happy. <\/p>\n

Then there’s Kool Moe Dee’s “Wild, Wild West.” I don’t know why, but there’s something about this particular song that represents perfectly the part of my life in which these were the only artists that I listened to. It’s strange with a catchy beat, an easy-to-remember chorus, and a video that gives a whole new meaning to “Urban Cowboy.” I remember standing around with friends while waiting for our turn at kickball during PhysEd, rapping all the lyrics to this song over and over. A few years later, it would be the lyrics to “Tom’s Diner,” whispered during study hall. Such is the life of teendom. <\/p>\n

It is with mixed pride and embarrassment that I admit now that I can still rap almost all the lyrics to this song. This and MC Lyte’s “Lyte As a Rock” are two songs that I can break out any time, any place. In fact, a spontaneous rendition of “Wild, Wild West” at the back of a martini bar in Chicago secured my nickname of “K-Dub” with my boss and coworkers. Before you ask, no, it wasn’t a karaoke bar. Who needs karaoke when you’ve got martinis?<\/p>\n

Will Smith tried to ruin this song just like he tried to ruin the television series of the same name with that crapfest of a movie he and Kevin Kline made back in the 90s (for which Smith did a version of this song, sampling parts of the original). Thankfully, I successfully avoided ever spoiling my memories of the original by ever listening to the full version of Smith’s “remake.” I am a purist, dammit, and it’s either the original or nothing. <\/p>\n

So, here for your listening and viewing pleasure, Kool Moe Dee’s “Wild, Wild West”…<\/p>\n

And, because I’m in a particularly giving mood this evening, here is the video to MC Lyte’s “Lyte as a Rock.” Meh to the video, but I absolutely heart this song. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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