big lights will inspire you..

for years..

i hated hip hop with a passion!

i found it..

• pointless
• stupid
• misogynistic
• idiotic
• too repetitive

but suddenly..

i've turned over a new leaf.

a couple of weeks back i caught the vh1 top 100 hip hop songs of all time on mtv.

i was intrigued to see what would be on offer.

after watching a fair amount of the show

i found myself humming old hip hop tunes i remembered from the early 90s.

snoop dogg, dr dre, ice cube, puff daddy, tupac, notorious b.i.g etc..

suddenly, i held a great deal of respect for hip hop music

.. the old school stuff, not the shitty polished stuff these days.

so definitely check out the old tracks that put hip hop on the map

and allowed the pussy shit rappers of today to become successful.

cha cha cha - mc lyte

nuthin' but a g thang - dre & snoop

it was a good day - ice cube

gangsta's paradise - coolio

gin & juice - snoop

killing me softly - the fugees

i'll be missing you - puff daddy & faith evans

but this is blog is not a complete slate of new hip hop.

there is some stuff out there that deserves a mention.

as much as i'm going to hate saying this..

kanye west's graduation & 808s & heartbreaks

are fantastic feats of hip hop music.

defiantly check out his songs

flashing lights, stronger, heartless & love lockdown

and the current hip hop heavy-weight..

jay z.

his latest offering..

the blueprint 3

offers a fantastic flashback of old school hip hop

as well as introducing new elements that blend nicely.

run this town & empire state of mind are 2 tracks to definitely listen to.

so whether you love it or hate it..

hip hop is a culturally significant form of music that rose up

and conquered.

respect.