My Top 100 Rap/Hip Hop Favorites

This was an interesting list to do. I may not seem like a logical expert on Rap music, but considering where I grew up(The East Village/LES), I was exposed to this genre quite a bit and actually do know every one of these tunes. Here it is:
#1 The Sugarhill Gang – Rapper’s Delight
#2 50 Cent – In Da Club
#3 Jay-Z Feat. Alicia Keys – Empire State Of Mind
#4 Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force – Planet Rock
#5 Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five – White Lines(Don’t Do It)
#6 Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock – It Takes Two
#7 House Of Pain – Jump Around
#8 Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 – The Message
#9 Kanye West Feat. Jamie Foxx – Gold Digger
#10 Kurtis Blow – The Breaks
#11 MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This
#12 Nelly – Hot In Herre
#13 Sir Mix-A-Lot – Baby Got Back
#14 Biz Markie – Just A Friend
#15 De La Soul – Me, Myself & I
#16 Digital Underground – The Humpty Dance
#17 Eminem – Lose Yourself
#18 Fugees – Killing Me Softly
#19 Coolio Feat. L.V. - Gangsta's Paradise
#20 Naughty By Nature – O.P.P.
#21 Run DMC & Aerosmith – Walk This Way
#22 Notorious B.I.G. – Hypnotize
#23 Tone-Loc – Wild Thing
#24 2Pac – California Love
#25 Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick – The Show
#26 Salt-N-Pepa – Push It
#27 Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg – Nuthin But A G Thang
#28 Eminem – My Name Is
#29 PM Dawn – Set Adrift On Memory Bliss
#30 Salt N Pepa & En Vogue – Whatta Man
#31 2 Live Crew – Me So Horny
#32 Audio Two – Top Billin’
#33 Beastie Boys – (You Gotta)Fight For Your Right(To Party)
#34 Black Sheep – The Choice Is Yours
#35 Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – Tha Crossroads
#36 Cypress Hill – Insane In The Brain
#37 DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Summertime
#38 L.L. Cool J.- Mama Said Knock You Out
#39 Eric B. & Rakim – Follow The Leader
#40 Snoop Dogg - Gin And Juice
#41 L.L. Cool J. – I Need Love
#42 Naughty By Nature – Hip Hop Hooray
#43 Public Enemy – Fight The Power
#44 Whodini – Freaks Come Out At Night
#45 Young MC – Bust A Move
#46 Arrested Development – Tennessee
#47 Digable Planets – Rebirth Of Slick(Cool Like Dat)
#48 L.L. Cool J. – I’m Bad
#49 Public Enemy – Rebel Without A Pause
#50 DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Parents Just Don’t Understand
#51 Eminem – Stan
#52 Eric B. & Rakim – Paid In Full
#53 Heavy D. & The Boyz – Now That We Found Love
#54 L.L. Cool J. – Rock The Bells
#55 Lauryn Hill – Doo Wop(That Thing)
#56 Missy Elliott – Get Ur Freak On
#57 Outkast – The Way You Move
#58 Public Enemy – Bring The Noise
#59 Run D.M.C. – It’s Like That
#60 Special Ed – I Got It Made
#61 Notorious B.I.G. – Juicy
#62 L.L. Cool J. – Around The Way Girl
#63 U.T.F.O. – Roxanne
#64 Warren G – Regulate
#65 2Pac – Keep Ya Head Up
#66 Beastie Boys – Paul Revere
#67 Run D.M.C. – King Of Rock
#68 Craig Mack – Flava In Ya Ear
#69 Dr. Dre With Snoop Doggy Dogg – Dre Day
#70 Eric B. & Rakim – I Ain’t No Joke
#71 Snoop Dogg, Pharrell, & Uncle Charlie Wilson - Beautiful
#72 Jadakiss – Why
#73 Kanye West – Jesus Walks
#74 Run D.M.C. – Sucker M.C.’s
#75 Slick Rick & Doug E. Fresh – La Di Da Di
#76 Snoop Doggy Dogg – Murder Was The Case
#77 Run D.M.C. – Jam Master Jay
#78 2Pac – I Get Around
#79 A Tribe Called Quest Feat. Busta Rhymes – Scenario
#80 Jay-Z – Hard Knock Life
#81 Biz Markie – The Vapors
#82 Eminem – Mosh
#83 Ice Cube – It Was A Good Day
#84 Ice-T – Colors
#85 2Pac – Dear Mama
#86 Jay-Z – Big Pimpin’
#87 N.W.A. – Fuck Tha Police
#88 Public Enemy – 911 Is A Joke
#89 Queen Latifah – U.N. I.T.Y.
#90 Salt-N-Pepa – Let’s Talk About Sex
#91 Slick Rick – Children’s Story
#92 3^rd Bass – Pop Goes The Weasel
#93 Big Daddy Kane – Ain’t No Half Steppin’
#94 Common – I Used To Love H.E.R.
#95 Cypress Hill – How I Could Just Kill A Man
#96 N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton
#97 Outkast – Ms. Jackson
#98 Boogie Down Productions – My Philosophy
#99 Fat Joe – Lean Back
#100 L.L. Cool J. – I Can’t Live Without My Radio

A great list, if I may say so myself.............

My Top 100 80s Dance Favorites

This was the most difficult list to put together. It covers the years 1981-1989. I came up with over 150 songs that totally belonged, and the cuts were very tough to make. I tried to balance the impact of New Wave, Freestyle, Rap and Pop on this list and you may not agree with all of my choices, but it is just for fun……

#100 People Are People – Depeche Mode

#99 Love Come Down – Evelyn King

#98 Electric Slide – Marcia Griffiths

#97 West End Girls – Pet Shop Boys

#96 I’m So Excited – Pointer Sisters

#95 The Way You Make Me Feel – Michael Jackson

#94 Fascinated – Company B

#93 One Way Love - TKA

#92 Give It To Me Baby – Rick James

#91 In My House – Mary Jane Girls

#90 Nasty – Janet Jackson

#89 I Wonder If I Take You Home – Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam

#88 Rumors – Timex Social Club

#87 Give Me Tonight - Shannon

#86 Express Yourself - Madonna

#85 Mama Used To Say - Junior

#84 Numbers - Kraftwerk

#83 Spring Love – Stevie B.

#82 Girl You Know It’s True – Milli Vanilli

#81 You Dropped A Bomb On Me – Gap Band

#80 Relax – Frankie Goes To Hollywood

#79 Together Forever – Rick Astley

#78 Burn Rubber – Gap Band

#77 Hungry Like The Wolf – Duran Duran

#76 Running – Information Society

#75 Like A Prayer – Madonna

#74 Shout – Tears For Fears

#73 Rhythm Nation – Janet Jackson

#72 She Blinded Me With Science – Thomas Dolby

#71 Change On Me - Cynthia

#70 Thriller – Michael Jackson

#69 Jump(For My Love) – Pointer Sisters

#68 I Can’t Wait – Nu Shooz

#67 Forget Me Nots – Patrice Rushen

#66 Let It Whip – Dazz Band

#65 Fame – Irene Cara

#64 You’re The One For Me – D Train

#63 Venus - Bananarama

#62 Atomic Dog – George Clinton

#61 She Works Hard For The Money – Donna Summer

#60 Don’t Go - Yaz

#59 Just Can’t Get Enough – Depeche Mode

#58 True Faith – New Order

#57 All Night Passion - Alisha

#56 Tell It To My Heart – Taylor Dayne

#55 Diamond Girl – Nice & Wild

#54 Point Of No Return - Expose

#53 It’s Raining Men – Weather Girls

#52 I Wanna Dance With Somebody – Whitney Houston

#51 Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ – Michael Jackson

#50 Situation - Yaz

#49 Whip It - Devo

#48 Come Go With Me – Expose

#47 Conga – Miami Sound Machine

#46 My Prerogative – Bobby Brown

#45 Somebody’s Watching Me - Rockwell

#44 We Got The Beat – Go Go’s

#43 Strangelove – Depeche Mode

#42 Mickey – Toni Basil

#41 Wild Thing – Tone Loc

#40 Let’s Groove – Earth, Wind & Fire

#39 Pump Up The Jam - Technotronic

#38 Love Shack – B-52s

#37 Rapture - Blondie

#36 I Feel For You – Chaka Khan

#35 Girls Just Want To Have Fun – Cyndi Lauper

#34 Genius Of Love – Tom Tom Club

#33 Rhythm Of The Night - DeBarge

#32 When Doves Cry - Prince

#31 Electric Avenue – Eddy Grant

#30 Back To Life – Soul II Soul

#29 Bizarre Love Triangle New Order

#28 Material Girl - Madonna

#27 Planet Rock – Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force

#26 Push It – Salt-N-Pepa

#25 Gloria – Laura Branigan

#24 Let’s Dance – David Bowie

#23 Boy, I’ve Been Told – Sa-Fire

#22 Never Gonna Give You Up – Rick Astley

#21 Live A Virgin - Madonna

#20 You Spin Me Round(Like A Record) – Dead Or Alive

#19 Beat It – Michael Jackson

#18 1999 - Prince

#17 All Night Long – Lionel Richie

#16 Let The Music Play - Shannon

#15 Celebration – Kool & The Gang

#14 Flashdance(What A Feeling) – Irene cara

#13 Show Me – Cover Girls

#12 Pump Up The Volume - MARRS

#11 Superfreak – Rick James

#10 Paid In Full(Remix) – Eric B. & Rakim

#9 Holiday - Madonna

#8 Tainted Love – Soft Cell

#7 Sweet Dreams(Are Made Of This) - Eurythmics

#6 Blue Monday – New Order

#5 It Takes Two – Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock

#4 Silent Morning - Noel

#3 Don’t You Want Me – Human League

#2 Billie Jean – Michael Jackson

#1 Into The Groove - Madonna

What memories! The Underground, Palladium, Limelight, 1018......

My Top 100 Disco Favorites

I consider the disco era to be the years 1974-1980, those are the years that it was the most popular. I will do another list of 80’s dance music that will cover a lot of new wave dance and freestyle dance music. A lot of these disco songs bring back a lot of great childhood memories. I’ll start at #100 and countdown(Casey Kasem would be proud). Keep in mind that these are my personal favorites and not necessarily the actual best disco songs…….

#100 Rock The Boat – Hues Corporation

#99 Boogie Nights - Heatwave

#98 Turn The Beat Around – Vicki Sue Robinson

#97 Pick Up The Pieces - AWB

#96 Do It Any Way You Wanna – People’s Choice

#95 Hot Stuff – Donna Summer

#94 We Are Family – Sister Sledge

#93 Do You Think I’m Sexy? – Rod Stewart

#92 T.S.O.P. - MFSB

#91 Can’t Fake The Feeling – Geraldine Hunt

#90 Bad Girls – Donna Summer

#89 Boogie Oogie Oogie – A Taste Of Honey

#88 Knock On Wood – Amii Stewart

#87 Get Down Tonight – KC & The Sunshine Band

#86 Got To Give It Up – Marvin Gaye

#85 Love To Love You Baby – Donna Summer

#84 Soul Makossa – Manu Dibango

#83 You’re The First, The Last, My Everything – Barry White

#82 The Break – Kat Mandu

#81 Heart Of Glass - Blondie

#80 I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor

#79 Ring My Bell – Anita Ward

#78 Night Fever – Bee Gee’s

#77 Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe – Barry White

#76 San Francisco – Village People

#75 Never Can Say Goodbye – Gloria Gaynor

#74 Hot Butterfly – Gregg Diamond(Luther Vandross)

#73 Glow Of Love - Change

#72 Born To Be Alive – Patrick Hernandez

#71 The Love I Lost – Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes

#70 Doctor Love – First Choice

#69 Take Your Time(Do It Right) – SOS Band

#68 Funkytown – Lipps Inc.

#67 Bad Luck – Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes

#66 Movin’ – Brass Construction

#65 Disco Circus – Martin Circus

#64 Rough Diamond – Madleen Kane

#63 Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel - Tavares

#62 Shame – Evelyn”Champagne”King

#61 Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson

#60 Shake Your Body(Down To The Ground) - Jacksons

#59 I Got My Mind Made Up – Instant Funk

#58 Spank – Jimmy “Bo” Horne

#57 Move On Up - Destination

#56 Get Off - Foxy

#55 After Dark – Pattie Brooks

#54 Copacabana – Barry Manilow

#53 Spring Rain - Silvetti

#52 You’re The One For Me – D Train

#51 Love & Desire - Arpeggio

#50 I Feel Love – Donna Summer

#49 Hot Shot – Karen Young

#48 Devil’s Gun – C.J. & Co.

#47 Searchin’ - Change

#46 Disco Inferno - Trammps

#45 Love Sensation – Loleatta Holloway

#44 At Midnight – T-Connection

#43 You Make Me Feel Mighty Real - Sylvester

#42 Young Hearts Run Free – Candi Staton

#41 Le Freak - Chic

#40 Got To Be Real – Cheryl Lynn

#39 Love Hangover – Diana Ross

#38 Disco Nights(Rock-Freak) - GQ

#37 Vertigo/Relight My Fire – Dan Hartman

#36 Good Times - Chic

#35 Don’t Leave Me This Way – Thelma Houston

#34 I Love Music – O’Jays

#33 Heart To Break The Heart – France Joli

#32 This Time Baby – Jackie Moore

#31 Risky Changes – Gregg Diamond

#30 Dancer – Gino Soccio

#29 Souvenirs - Voyage

#28 Love Is In The Air – John Paul Young

#27 Let Me Take You Dancing – Bryan Adams

#26 All Night Thing – Invisible Man’s Band

#25 Doctor’s Orders – Carol Douglas

#24 Lady Marmalade - Labelle

#23 There But For The Grace Of God Go I - Machine

#22 Mandolay – La Flavour

#21 In The Bush - Musique

#20 I Love You – Donna Summer

#19 Come To Me – France Joli

#18 Swearin’ To God – Frankie Valli

#17 That’s The Way(I Like It) – KC & The Sunshine Band

#16 Streetplayer - Chicago

#15 More Than A Woman – Bee Gee’s

#14 Ain’t Nothin Gonna Keep Me From You – Teri DeSario

#13 Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now – McFadden & Whitehead

#12 September – Earth, Wind & Fire

#11 That’s Where The Happy People Go - Trammps

#10 Another One Bites The Dust - Queen

#9 Rio De Janiero – Gary Criss

#8 Miss You – Rolling Stones

#7 I Was Made For Lovin’ You - Kiss

#6 Whispering/Cherchez La Femme/Se Si Bon – Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Bandz La Femme/Se #5 You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine – Lou Rawls

#4 Play That Funky Music – Wild Cherry

#3 Native New Yorker - Odyssey

#2 Stayin’ Alive – Bee Gee’s

#1 You Should Be Dancing – Bee Gee’s

Yes, I’m a Bee Gee’s fan. Please don’t hold it against me….

More Worst Songs 11-20

11. Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice - Rips off "Under Pressure" by Queen & David Bowie, sin enough for me
12. Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm - Crash Test Dummies - The most annoying voice in pop music, since the Chipmunks and the most uncreative lyrics ever!
13. Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus - Annoying attempt at a line-dancing anthem
14. Everybody Have Fun Tonight - Wang Chung - "Everybody Wang Chung tonight", really?
15. Party All The Time - Eddie Murphy - Did you really have to?? Career suicide...
16. Dancing On The Ceiling - Lionel Richie - He was on such a run of hits, until this crap.
17. Sunglasses At Night - Corey Hart - The most uncool song of the 80s
18. You're Having My Baby - Paul Anka - "You could have swept it from your life, but you wouldn't do it" Yuck!!!
19. Ebony and Ivory - Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder - I'm all for the positive racial-harmony message but,"on my piano keyboard, oh Lord, why don't we" jeez...
20. The Heart Of Rock N Roll - Huey Lewis & The News - Go ahead, name every town in America. It's been done before.......boring...

I'm sure I'll probably think of more........

My Ten Least Favorite Songs Of All Time

1. We Built This City - Starship - Bernie Taupin wrote this crap??? Are you kidding me???
2. Disco Duck - Rick Dees & His Cast Of Idiots - The worst disco song ever!!! Hands down!!
3. It's Raining Men - The Weather Girls - Do I even have to explain???
4. Cotton-Eyed Joe - Rednex - Stupid song, even stupider dance...
5. Kokomo - Beach Boys - They were legends until they did this.....
6. 1-2-3 - Gloria Estefan - I generally like Gloria Estefan, but not this song...
7. Wild Wild West - The Escape Club - Has made me want to puke every time I've heard it since '88...
8. Mambo #5 - Lou Bega - Does he really have to have a little bit of 8 different girls??
9. Barbie Girl - Aqua - I almost enjoy the stupidity of it. NOT!
10. MmmBOP - Hanson -What the hell does that mean, anyway?

Guide For My Younger Friends: How To Not Be An Under-Achiever Like Me

Looking at one of the friend statistics apps on Facebook, I realized that I have over 200 friends under the age of 30. This blog post is for you youngsters and for the parents of youngsters.
        I think the most important thing a parent can do for a child or young adult, especially one that shows they have some smarts or talent, is to keep them motivated to keep developing their smarts or talent and don't make it more difficult for them to continue developing by forcing a heap of responsibilities on them and distracting them off course. I'm not saying that my parents did that to me, but they did force me to pay for my own college, which I had to work full time to try to do and took away from my study time. They also went from being strict about me getting my homework and studying done during my elementary school years, to being more lenient during my high school years to not even caring once I reached college. I do understand that students need to motivate themselves to be successful, but you also need that little push to keep you going through some growing pains in your life.
            As a child, I was driven and motivated to get the best grades in my class, and I usually was near the top, if I may be so boastful. My parents told me that if I kept studying hard and getting good grades, I might be able to get into a very good high school and I'd get a reward for those good grades. Usually it was a toy or game that I wanted. Once I got into Stuyvesant HS, they loosened the reigns a bit, but I was still focused on doing well there. I didn't quite have good enough grades to go to an elite or Ivy League college, but I felt as if I held my own with some of the best and brightest in NYC. But, once I hit St. John's, I had to work, I was also distracted by chasing after young ladies who weren't interested in me at all, I starting drinking, more than most of my friends realize and I had no drive whatsoever to do well in college. I ended up leaving St. John's after a year, I flirted with going to Hunter College, but I withdrew after about a week. I didn't know what I wanted to do anymore and I didn't feel that I had anyone to help me. Since then, I've bounced around from job to job for 23 years. I don't want anyone to feel bad for me. I caused it myself. Though things seem to be on the right track for me now, I will always regret the time I've wasted.
       The moral of the story for my friends, especially the younger ones, is keep yourself motivated and get that degree. Studying might be a pain in the neck, but it easier when you're younger than at my age. You don't want to have to work two or more jobs to survive. It's prevented me from settling down and having a family. I still can't afford to take care of anyone else besides myself. If you learn anything from me, learn how not to be me.

Ok, I'm Back

I hope you didn't miss me too much.........the truth is, I needed a break from posting because I had so much spinning around in this crazy head of mine. I had to pack to move, work two jobs, decide about a relationship and about ten other ideas, thoughts, dreams and fantasies. There's still a lot happening but I didn't want this blog to die. I probably won't post every day anymore but I'll do something to keep you folks entertained. Let me give you a summary on what has happened:

I moved to Stuy Town two weeks ago. A friend had a free bedroom because his roommate moved out, and so I took it. I feel that I can make enough between the two jobs to afford it. It happens to be two blocks from O'Hanlon's where I am the house DJ. It's a few buildings away from my aunt and uncle, who I love. There are several other friends who live in Stuy Town as well, which is good because I don't feel as if I'm a total stranger there.
           The only downer is that my very favorite female classmate from high school, "The Lady Of My Dreams", lives virtually in the next building and she has unfortunately determined that my always being around equates to me stalking her. Whether people believe it or not, it's up to them, but that is not my intention here. It's a crazy coincidence that I live so close. I am making an effort to actually avoid her to help remedy the situation. I actually try to time my errands for when she is most likely to not be around. At the same time, I plan on staying here a while, so people who don't accept me can just deal with it. I've always wanted to live here, and I will.
            Just a quick note to any ladies interested, I'm available again..... :) That's all I'll say about that for now.

        The next thing is: I'm working for Zaarly.com now. It's an internet startup company that I think has a lot of promise. It's only in existence a few months and is only active in New York a few weeks. It's basically the reverse of Craigslist, where people place offers for items to be purchased or errands to be run for a price. I think this is a great opportunity because I will get a salary plus receive a fee for every offer I fill, whether its picking up food or bringing clothes to the cleaners or walking the dog, for example. There's a lot of very busy and/or lazy people in New York that I think will use this service.
       Besides that, I am the house DJ at O'Hanlon's bar on 14th St. Every weekend, the place is pretty crowded and it seems that everyone likes the music I'm playing. The important thing is the owner and bartenders like what I'm doing as well. It's fun and it's close to home. The free drinks don't hurt either, unless I have too many. :)
       I'm also starting work on setting up my high school class reunion, the 25th Reunion(ugh, am I really that old). Anyway, I am excited about doing it and the plans are coming along nicely. It will be in October 2012 and I pretty much have the venues chosen for that weekend. I'm hoping for a really good turnout. It's wild to me that I've gone from not wanting to go to reunions to being the main organizer, but life can certainly change. I can surely attest to that.
       That's it for now. I'll be back when another 10 things happen in my life, probably by Monday.....