Chapter III: The Undisputed Champion

I was finally making my own paper on the reg.  I've always had the utmost respect and love for Oprah; around this time the queen had an episode where she encouraged parents to give their children weekly chores, and if the chores were completed the child would get an allowance of their age.  Just a tremendous idea.  I always was a cleaner and organizer anyway - free money essentially.  I did a lot of chores, but put my foot down when it came to yard work.  I always really hated yard work.  Just awful.  Drenched in the first few minutes and super dirty.  There was nothing on my mind other than an ice cold shower to get fresh.  Speaking of, in heavy rotation lately for me, Thee Tom Hardy feat. 9thmatic & Khrysis (Prod. Vitamin D) - Fresh & Fly:

My $7 per week funded my trips to the Skate Ranch, dominating helpless challengers on Street Fighter II.  They couldn't see me.  I would let cats pick who they wanted ME to use.  Ken?  Served.  Guile?  Served.  Even E. Honda?  Served even worse; I was the undisputed champion.  Further, I always carried the best and widest variety of candy; Ring Pops in flavors no one knew existed.  The economy as I saw it was booming.  There were also the $.99 cent movies at the Colony where I think I saw "All Dogs Go to Heaven" at least three times.  "Hey Mom, let me take care of this one."

Enter Columbia House, you know, one of those 10 CD deals.  My mom allotted me a few slots to do as I pleased, at which point I scoured very nearly every genre for the coolest looking covers.  I vividly remember my thought process due to the result of what I got, an unknown band at the time, Ugly Kid Joe.

Here was the picture:

It actually ended up having a decent cover of "Cat's in the Cradle", so I suppose all was not lost.

Another CD I got that day was 'The Chronic' by Dr. Dre.  I was just getting a lot heavier in to "Yo! MTV Raps" and was well aware of who both Snoop and Dre were from "Nuthin' But a G Thang."  This was my anthem back in the day - and I actually had a chance to perform it live on the mic.  

You see, my brother and law and I decided to choose THIS song on a karaoke night in an unknown redneck bar in Columbia, Maryland two years ago.  One of my good friends was also with us and looking back, he seemingly urged us to do the performance; a challenge I couldn't pass up.  Granted, I was delirious from standing on my feet for the twelve previous hours getting blessed by quite a card; Nas, RZA, Raekwon, Slum Village (a week before Baatin's tragic death), Buckshot, Reflection Eternal, The Roots, Evidence, Common, KRS-One, Evidence to name a few.  We had been caught laughing at some of the acts over the course of the hour and were starting to get mean looks.  So they challenged us to get up there; in return we'd get a free drink.  Ah, the things you do for a free brew.  I went in thinking I was taking Snoop's part, but Dre forgot all his words that night.  I had to be both Dre and Snoop and was winded as shit at the end of it.  Way to welcome me into the family.

'The Chronic' was my first in-depth experience with West Coast hip-hop, and I loved it.  Dre is a genius.  A few of my favorites from the album:

"Fuck Wit Dre Day (and Everybody's Celebratin')"

"Let Me Ride"

"Nuthin' But a G Thang"

It was only fair that I also got Dre's right hand man, Snoop Dogg's debut album, 'Doggystyle'.  I haven't always been a fan of Snoop's content over time, but you can run this album from start to finish without thinking twice.  Not only was this one of my favorite albums growing up, in my opinion, 'Doggystle' is a better album than 'The Chronic'.  They both have Dre's FILTHY production, yet Snoop can run lyrical circles around Dre.  The best of both worlds; THE perfect West Coast hip-hop album.

Another great Rock the Bells experience - last year Snoop headlined Rock the Bells, performing 'Doggystyle' in its entirety.  The performance was pretty much what I had envisioned; Snoop in a jumpsuit chain smoking blunts, accompanied by Warren G, Lady of Rage, Kurupt, RBX, and the late great Nate Dogg, plenty of lights, and plenty of props (a man in a big dog suit taking the cake).  Snoop was a great performer.

A few of my favorites from this album include (but are not limited to!):

"Who Am I? (What's My Name)"

"Doggy Dogg World"

"Gin and Juice"

At a young age you only know what you know; what you have seen, heard, been taught, or experienced first hand.  This was really my first experience with West Coast hip-hop.  It was different; darker than what I was used to hearing.  I wouldn't say that I ever preferred it over a New York sound at any time in my life, but that didn't stop me from exploring the hell out of it. 

But seriously how talented is Dr. Dre?  Can anyone knock him off of the West Coast throne?  Ever?