The Soundtrack to My High School Years

A few days ago I got an idea to make an entire playlist of songs that were on repeat for me throughout high school. There’s some stuff I was listening to that got axed because I either don’t like it at all anymore or it’s not on DSPs. I refrained from including entire albums as well. Those of you who have been around since the beginning will remember that I had an unhealthy fascination with Tech N9ne. Hahahaha. I legitimately don’t think there’s a single song by him that I can say is good anymore. Hahaha. I just can’t do it. He has parts of songs that I enjoy, but I can’t find any that I like as a whole anymore. Sadly my favorite Jay-Z song of all time is absent from streaming services, and the Ransom tape I was obsessed with my freshman year is inaccessible as well. The original version of Big K.R.I.T.’s Mt. Olympus was a painful exclusion.

A lot of this stuff is very different from the type of music I usually cover on this platform, so there may be some surprises in here for you. I was very intrigued by the original Chicago Drill style, which was blooming right as I entered my freshman year. Once Drill hit the UK & NY is when I kinda tapped out, but I still have a lot of nostalgia for artists like Lil Reese or Lil Bibby. Lil Durk has two different songs called Jack Boys, and of course the one that I actually like isn’t on DSPs smh. Fuck this shit, man.

There’s a lot of fire here though. Some of it is stuff I didn’t even remember existed, so this was a very fun list to curate despite being very time-consuming. There are certainly conflicting vibes here, so don’t expect too much consistency. Shuffling is encouraged, but listening in order is always an option of course. I think the Apple Music version is the best way to go since it has four extra songs that were unavailable on Spotify. Also Spotify sucks. Let me know what type of stuff you were listening to in your high school years. Who was your favorite artist when you were a teenager? Does anything on this playlist jump out at you? Let me know in the comment section. ✌🏽

Click HERE for the  MUSIC version of this playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5fiCgWP3xp0cORQwE4BmWQ?si=f2b747f5401d4bd7

#2Chainz #21Savage #50Cent #7L #ATribeCalledQuest #AAPFerg #AAPRocky #AbSoul #AceHood #ActionBronson #AKTHESAVIOR #AliShaheedMuhammad #AndersonPaak #Ant #Atmosphere #BADBADNOTGOOD #Bas #BigKRIT #BigSean #BishopNehru #BlackMilk #BlendedBabies #Blueprint #BROCKHAMPTON #BryonnBain #BunB #BurnaBoy #CaseyVeggies #ChanceTheRapper #ChiefKeef #ChildishGambino #ChuckInglish #CJFly #Common #Cozz #Czarface #DannyBrown #DeaconTheVillain #DenzelCurry #DilatedPeoples #DomoGenesis #Drake #EarlSweatshirt #ElP #Elzhi #Eminem #ErickTheArchitect #Esoteric #Evidence #Fabolous #Fashawn #FlatbushZombies #FlyingLotus #FrankOcean #FreddieGibbs #Future #GUnit #GhostfaceKillah #GucciMane #InspectahDeck #IsaiahRashad #IssaGold #JCole #Jadakiss #JarobiWhite #JayRock #JAYZ #Jeezy #JoeBudden #JoellOrtiz #JoeyBada #JoeyPurp #JohnnyMayCash #Ka #KanyeWest #Kemba #KembeX #KendrickLamar #KevinAbstract #KidCudi #KiddKidd #KillerMike #KingChip #KingLos #KirkKnight #Kno #LanceSkiiiWalker #LilBibby #LilDurk #LilReese #LilUziVert #LloydBanks #Logic #LuckiEck #LupeFiasco #Lute #MacMiller #Madlib #MattMartians #MeekMill #MFDOOM #MickJenkins #Migos #MIKE #MikeWiLLMadeIt #MssingNo #Natti #NehruvianDOOM #NipseyHussle #Noname #Oddisee #Offset #OGMaco #OnryOzzborn #PARTYNEXTDOOR #PaulWall #PeeWeeLongway #PharoaheMonch #PhifeDawg #PimpC #PlanetAsia #PRhyme #PushaT #QTip #Quavo #Rakaa #Ransom #RickRoss #RockieFresh #RoyceDa59 #RunTheJewels #Saba #Sadistik #Saigon #Sampha #ScHoolboyQ #ScramJones #SheekLouch #Slaughterhouse #Slug #SmokeDZA #SnoopDogg #SnootieWild #Stalley #StatikSelektah #SteveLacy #StylesP #Syd #SylvanLaCue #Takeoff #TayyibAli #TheCunninLynguists #TheGame #TheLOX #TheUnderachievers #TonyYayo #Torae #TravisScott #TreaZon #TrinidadJames #TylerTheCreator #VinceStaples #WakaFlockaFlame #WELL #WestsideBoogie #YCTheCynic #YG #YoGotti #YoungThug #ZombieJuice

I recently had the opportunity to watch the brand new feature-length documentary about ODB called Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys, and I wanted to tell y’all what I think. The film was directed by Sam Pollard & Jason Pollard, and was produced by Four Screens & Pulse Films. It debuts on the A&E Network this August 25th at 9 PM EST, and then hits streaming platforms the following day.

https://youtu.be/xzp2xIXd6zs?si=ZYDJu6EF0pfXkggu

Before I talk about the movie itself, I would just like to provide some background on my experience with Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s artistry. When I first started this blog, I would do this activity that I called a “marathon” that basically involved listening to and writing about every album in an artist’s discography. I believe I started an expansive Wu-Tang Clan marathon some time in 2016 when I was about 17 years old. This marathon is still in progress, but I have done both of ODB’s albums at this point. I was a fan of both of the projects, and I believe I pretty much liked them equally. However, if you put a gun to my head and told me to say which one I prefer, I would probably go with the second album. I always thought the title for that project was wild, but I learned from this documentary that it was originally planned to be one million times wilder. It may have already been public knowledge prior to this film, but I had no idea about that until now. I have to say that if he actually managed to stick with the original release plan, that would perhaps be the hardest title for a Hip Hop album ever. Is it fucked up for me to say that? I just think it would be kinda funny and also a little badass to call an official album something like that. Album titles just don’t get harder than that. Anyway, one of the first things that stood out to me about the film was the fact that they got an official interview from Bryonn Bain. When I was 15 going on 16 I listened to an album by Saigon called The Greatest Story Never Told 3: The Troubled Times of Brian Carenard. It features two interludes called Definitions and Reincarnated, and they were both performed by Bryonn Bain. These were my favorite two tracks on the whole album. This was almost exactly a decade ago now that I think about it. I was so entertained by Bryonn’s performance on that album that I did some research on him. When I found out that he was a professor and prison activist of Trini descent, I followed him on Twitter. This was on my old account that eventually got banned due to some questionable things I was posting while going through a mental health crisis. Speaking of which, that’s another thing that I really loved about this documentary. I guess it should’ve been obvious that the subject of mental health would come up in a film about Ol’ Dirty Bastard, but it’s somehow just not something I really thought about. As someone who has been institutionalized for my own mental health issues three times in my life, this section of the film really helped me feel closer than ever to ODB on a human level. It was a bit challenging to see certain images and details about his struggles. To be specific, the image of him being visited by Icelene and the rest of his family while he was at Clinton Correctional Facility was a bit eerie to me. I don’t know what it was, but something about that photo is unsettling. I guess the visible weight gain along with the additional context just made it feel very dark. I have to admit that my eyes did start to well up at that point in the film. However, the tears were not actually shed until they began speaking about his death. It’s understandably a very emotional film, so it definitely resonated with me on that level. I think that’s pretty much all I have to say about the content. There’s a lot more major stuff that I didn’t mention, but those were the things that stood out to me the most, and I of course don’t want to spoil anything. As far as my overall opinion of the film goes, I actually think this was amazing. It’s definitely a must-watch documentary for any major Wu-Tang fan. If Ol’ Dirty Bastard was ever one of your favorite members, then it should be a no brainer. It genuinely felt like everyone involved really wanted viewers to understand Ol’ Dirty Bastard as an artist as well as a human being. Again, it’s premiering on the A&E Network on August 25th at 9 PM EST, so be sure to catch it then.

https://focushiphop.com/2024/07/20/rip-ason-unique/

#BryonnBain #GhostfaceKillah #GZA #InspectahDeck #MastaKilla #MethodMan #OlDirtyBastard #Raekwon #RZA #UGod #WuTangClan