Blast From The Past Vol. 2: AZ- Gimmie Yours Remix (Video)

I know its been awhile but im back with Vol. 2 of this series. And this right here is a rare gem that not too many people knew about.

Back in '95, i was feelin AZ alot (pause) with Sugar Hill. That joint was too ill and i was desperately tryin to look for it!! I was askin my friends left and right if any of them had it and luckily one came thru for me. He had the cassette single and let me borrow it. Now as i was jammin this single, i flipped over to side B and saw that it had a remix to Gimmie Yours on there prod. by Erick Sermon. Now Gimmie Yours was already a dope joint that Pete Rock produced so i was thinkin how E-Double come close to toppin that? Erick Sermon at that time (and still is) was one of my fav. MC's & producers so i was interested in how he flipped this joint. When that track came on next on the tape, i was blown away yall!! 1st the sample he used had me hooked from the jump!! If yall dont know, the sample was a Freddie Jackson joint and E-Double flipped it just right!! I must played this joint like 8x in a row when i 1st heard it man, it that ill.

Forward to '05, my friend of mine was a huge AZ fan and when i asked him if he ever heard the Gimmie Yours remix he looked at me kinda crazy. He didnt know there was a remix for that record. U know i had to clown him for that, then i let him hear it and he was surprised by it as well. Then when i told him that Erick Sermon produced the record he didnt believe me at all. He tried to deny it for the longest until i finally showed him the credits and he saw for himself.

Then later on that year, i copped a best of AZ DVD with some of his videos on there. Now mind u there is no listing that came with this DVD so i didnt know what vids was on here. So as i was lookin at it, i heard a familiar tune comin on and before u knew it the vid for that track was on and was i dumbfounded. This track came out in '95 and 10 years later im just now seeing a vid for it, i didnt even know a vid was made for this track. Thats crazy! But its a classic nonetheless. Hope yall enjoy!!

Its The Questions.............

You know in hip-hop there were alot of events that changed the course of it. U always wonder what if this happened or what if this didnt happen? How would hip-hop be like today? Would it still be the same ( i hope not)? Would it be different? So i was thinkin and brainstorimg and i came up with #10 really good solid questions for u the people to answer. I would not be answering these, i wanna see what u all's take on them are. I know these questions will get some great quotables from u the people. So please answer these in the comment box and let ur thoughts be know!! Here we go.....

1. What if 2Pac successfully broke away from Suge Knight as he intented?

2. If BIG was still alive would Mase & The Lox still be on Bad Boy?

3. What if Suge Knight never said what he said at the 1995 Source Awards?

4. What if Blackstar came out with a 2nd LP shortly after their 1st one?

5. What if Lauryn Hill never left after her 1st LP?

6. What if The ROC never broke up?

7. What if Big L had actually signed with the ROC?

8. What if MOP never left DJ Premier?

9. What if Rakim had actually recorded that LP with Dr. Dre's production?

10. What if P. Diddy was still Puffy or Puff Daddy? What i mean by that is, what if Diddy actually stayed committed to makin music instead of going Hollywood.

BET: The Legend Of Freestyle Friday 2000-03 (Video)

U know there was a time when BET was on point!! They had the classic years in the 90's when i was a youngster, then when the new decade came around in 2000 they had to re-invent themselves. And they did just that with the birth of 106 & Park. Now if people dont know, 106 & Park started in early 2000 taking Hitz on the Street timeslot. Now at the time i was pissed off cause Hitz was funny as hell, but soon after watchin 106 & park with AJ & Free i was thinkin hey they might be on to somethin. The hype even grew bigger for the show when they start doin Freestyle Friday battles, and the nigga to put that on the map was Postaboy. Man let me tell yall, back in those days when i was in the Navy, when Freestyle Friday was gettin ready to come on and Postaboy was doin his thing...imagine 20-30 people all crammed up in one little spot to see it!! It was that ill yall. It was something i never forget. And from then on it was on and poppin, it was livest part of the whole show. Alot memories watchin those wit my boys back then. Now this BET special is from 2003, and they give us the viewers the history of how this thing jumped off. They feature past Freestyle Friday champs such as... Postaboy, Jin, Avalanche, Backland, Uni-bomber, Shivy, Whyte-out, Drift & Nova. Im tellin yall, watchin this will bring back alot of memories if watched these guys doing their thing back then. Enjoy people!!

The Legend of Freestyle Friday 2000-03 from Brandan Evans on Vimeo.

BET: Nas On Rap City 1999 (Video)

At this time Nas is one hottest rappers on the planet. I mean it was him, Jay & X. That was the line up with Nore, Ja & Pun comin up next. Nas' at that time was comin off hiatus from his last LP, doin things with the Firm, clothing line Willie Esco (which was dope but i never had any) & and a dope actin debut in Belly. I dont care what yall say for a actor makin his 1st film, him & DMX did damn good job. Creatin classic lines like "One" & "Thats ya man", those were the days. On this episode Nas talks about his new LP which was I Am at that time, state of hip-hop at that time and future projects. I remember hearing "Nas Is Like" for the 1st time and losing my mind. I couldnt believe Premier did it again with a classic joint, that track was crazy when it came out! Ok yall lets go back to '99 in which to me was the last year hip-hop was still hot and exclusive.

Nas on BET Rap City 1999 from Brandan Evans on Vimeo.

MTV: Diary Of Jay Z 2000 (Video)

Yall remember when Jay Z was still grimy and gully? When he said he would wear a bandana & a doo rag to ur so-called awards shows with his chain & shirt out? Personally i miss the '96-'02 Jay Z alot cause at that time he wasnt Hollywood yet and was still acting like he was in the hood. He was arrogant and very boastful, plus a trend setter!! Whether it was AF1's, 1st person to rock platinum, 1st person to pull out the black American express card (4 Da Fam vid), one of 1st person to rock Iceberg clothing, 1st person to rock Evisu, bringing back button ups, wearing a t-shirt wrapped around ur head in a form of a doo-rag trend-starter.....I mean i can go on & on with the stuff this man done during that time period. If u go back and check the manuscripts, Jay Z was a different person from '96-'02 than '03- present date. I guess getting older have somethin to do with it, but the old Jay Z will have a good place in my hip-hop heart to me cause he was on top at every level. U want to see what im talkin about? Ok, well check this out and tell me the Jay Z from 10 years ago is different from now. And thats in more ways than one!! Check out classic hip-hop footage right here!! Lets Go Hova!!

Jay Z MTV Diary '00 from Brandan Evans on Vimeo.

Looking For Old Shows of BET's Rap City & Yo! MTV Raps!!!

As yall may know i am old school to the max, and i am a avid collector of classic hip-hop whether its music, magazines or etc. But i am desperate need, in DESPERATE need of old Bet Rap City & YO! MTV Raps episodes for my collection!! I need yall help out there for this mission, i am countin on my fellow followers for support!!
If anyone has any BET Rap City episodes from 1994-2000 or Yo! MTV Raps episodes from 1988-1995, please lmk in the comment box, chatbox or please e-mail at dipsetgunit456@aol.com!!! I am willing to pay if it comes to that. I prefer them to be on VHS or DVD, that will be just fine. Please people, this project means alot to me and i am relying on u all to help me. Remember, please e-mail me or say somethin in the comment box or chatbox. Lets make this happen people, thanks again for ur help!!

MTV: Big L On Yo! MTV Raps 1995 (video)

Nowadays u see rappers dressin up and staying maddd GQ all the time. But there was a time when dressin up and stylin and all of that wasnt happenin. It was very grimy and gully and minimal to no ice wearing, but at the same time u still stylin cause some of the gear at that time was dope! Even when rappers was on TV back then, they was like fuck dressin up we are gonna do us and what u see is what u get. And the crazy thing was.....it was acceptable!!! Nowadays u would look like a damn fool by many. So let's go back to '95 with the legendary Big L, as u can see he stylin on his own level on national TV with a jersey (no undershirt), kangol hat, sweats and AF1's!! Now thats gully, but this was my era and that is what it was. L is in the da house promoting his 2nd single "MVP" and lettin the people know some tidbits about his upcoming LP "Lifestyles ova da Poor & dangaerous"!! Real classic footage right here, and u can only get this stuff right here on Recognize the Real. And props to other people out there in the internets world recognizing these vids i put up and making the views #'s shoot out the roof! Now if i can only get yall to DL more of the music im puttin up.............

Big L on Yo! MTV Raps '95 from Brandan Evans on Vimeo.