It’s 2008 now, and even though the some music memories are fuzzy for many I still remember true hip-hop. When there was genuine artistry with a fun attitude. Originality seems to be trying to make a stagnated come back to a degree, but we are still a long way from the early years. Remember when beat boxing was shiznit? I still remember the first time I heard the Human Beat Box (shown on the left in his diamond studded Gazelles) from the legendary group The Fat Boys a.k.a The Disco 3 do his thing. It literally blew me away! Making sounds like that was unheard of back in the 1980s, so the Fat Boys style of hip-hop changed the game. Before you knew it other rap crews were incorporating beat boxing into their hip-hop arsenal. Some were good at it while others were just straight wack. 
One rap group that held their own when it came to the beat-boxing game was The Fat Boys’ arch-nemesis The Skinny Boys. They didn’t have any real beef with each other, but it was funny how they were total opposites in the looks department. The Skinney Boys definitely showed that you don't have to be fat to be fresh. Their leading man The Human Jock Box was the equivalent of The Human Beat Box, and this kid was just as talented when it came to mouthing original beat patterns. Back in the day I used to beat box myself. I was pretty damn good too, so I was often asked to beat box for the dope local emcees in school that chose to battle for bragging rights in the cafeteria. Yep, I was the dude back then? Even today with two glasses of water and a small oxygen tank by my side I could definitely do some serious beat boxing for at least 35 seconds straight? If your freestyle is longer than that, I can’t do nothing for you man!
Outside of beat boxing, hip-hop dances were real popular back in the day too! Yes, there is still dances being developed in hip-hop today, but most of the stuff done today is too complicated or just plain stupid. Hell, maybe if I were 15 yrs. old again all of these new dances would make sense, but compared to who I had for hip-hop dance teachers in the past makes these new schoolers seem juvenile. Artists like Kid-N-Play, Doug E. Fresh, Big Daddy Kane and Mr. Can’t Touch This himself, M.C. Hammer would dance these new millennium teenagers into the ground with only one shoe on. All those other rappers were definitely good on the hip-hop two-step tip, but M.C. Hammer was the truth! I was a real fan of Hammer when he first hit the music scene. I still remember buying independently released first album on cassette before it was re-released after his deal. I know folks in 2008 try to act like they never liked Hammer even before he fell, and I quickly tell them to STOP LIEING! No, I didn’t wear those infamous Hammer pants, but I damn sure learned most of his tighest dance moves from his classic videos. They were like a dance study guide for amateurs, and I won a couple of monumental dance contests around the way for my diligent practicing sessions. I remember when Hammer challenged Michael Jackson to a dance contest, but of course Mike never accepted. I think that was the best decision for Mike though, because I think he would have lost both his penny loafers and high-water pants to Hammer during that dance off. I could probably beat the glitter gloved one in a dance in 2008, as long as my trusty oxygen tank is close by.Okay, enough talk people let’s get into some music. I took back to some real retro hip-hop that represents some of my favorite dance and beat box tracks. This is actually SIDE B of my Rap Attack hip-hop mixx series. I call this on the SoundNexx Rap Attack: Gazelles (Side B) Mixx. If you missed SIDE A of this mixx get it HERE! If SIDE B doesn’t get your head bobbin’ then check your pulse because you just might be dead.
RAP ATTACK: GAZELLES MIXX TRACK LIST
01*ROB BASE & DJ EZ ROCK - IT TAKES TWO
02*MC HAMMER - PUMP IT UP
03*CHUBB ROCK - YA BAD CHUBBS
04*KRIS KROSS - JUMP
05*HOUSE OF PAIN - JUMP AROUND (PETE ROCK REMIX)
06*STEZO - PUT YOUR BODY INTO IT
07*GIGOLO TONY - SMURF ROCK
08*2 LIVE CREW - THROW THAT 'D'
09*JOESKI LOVE - PEE-WEE'S DANCE
10*EPMD - STEVE MARTIN
11*DIGITAL UNDERGROUND - HUMPTY DANCE
12*KID-N-PLAY - GITTIN' FUNKY
13*THE JUNGLE BROTHERS - 'U' MAKE ME SWEAT
14*CHUBB ROCK - TREAT EM' RIGHT
15*SPECIAL ED - COME ON, LET'S MOVE IT
16*THE FAT BOYS - HUMAN BEAT BOX
17*SKINNY BOYS - THE HUMAN JOCK BOX
18*BAD BOYS - INSPECTOR GADGET
19*BIZ MARKIE - BIZ IS GOIN OFF
20*BROTHERHOOD CREED - HELLUVA
GET RAP ATTACK SIDE B HERE!
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