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It’s imperative for current Hip Hop fans to get an understanding of the roots from which the Hip Hop of today has grown. To me, this track {I Used to Love H.E.R.} symbolizes an important period of Hip Hop, spanning from the early 1980’s to the mid 1990’s, a “Golden Age in Hip Hop”. If you take my highly recommended trip through the tracks that originally blessed the eardrums of that time, you will see why this era has been stamped with such an impressive title.

I Used to Love H.E.R.

Chorus:
yes yes y'all and you don't stop
to the beat yall and ya don't stop
yes, yes y'all and you don't stop
1,2 y'all, and ya don't stop
yes, yes y'all and you don't stop
to the beat comm-sense'll be the sure shock

Verse One:
I met this girl, when I was 10 years old
And what I loved most, she had so much soul
She was old school, when I was just a shorty
Never knew throughout my life she would be there for me

Right off the bat Common hits you with the date when he first met this ‘girl’ and fell in love. He was 10 years old; so this would make the year 1982 since Common {a.k.a. Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr.} was born in 1972 in the South Side of Chicago. He also drops the term ‘old school’. When his “Resurrection” record was released in 1994, the term ‘old school’ represented rap music from the 70s until the early 80s. In the last line of this verse, Common expresses how his girl had been there for him throughout his life – and his fans are all very grateful.

Not about the money, no studs was mic checkin her
But I respected her, she hit me in the heart
A few New York ni**az, had did her in the park

Rap music at this time wasn’t all about the dollar bills and gaudy bling. A big reason for that was because rap music was a major part of the new inner city movement – Hip Hop culture – which many major record companies and investors thought was just a fad and not worth the risk. The second line talks about respect and how she hit him in the heart. At this time, rap was so pure that you could really feel the passion and love for the game. The last line refers to the origin of rap music in the 70s in South Bronx, New York. MCs would pump the crowd up alongside the DJ in the parks and house parties with similar rhymes like that of the hook for this Common track or other rhymes that are still just as strong today like “Now let me hear you say ho, ho…ho, ho, ho…Now scream!!!”.

Slim was fresh jo, when she was underground
Original, pure untampered and down sister
Boy I tell ya, I miss her

His words describe her initial beauty and what makes her so attractive – but he drops a hint that things have changed when he says ‘I miss her’.

Chorus:

yes yes y'all and you don't stop
to the beat yall and ya don't stop
yes, yes y'all and you don't stop
1, 2 y'all, and ya don't stop
yes, yes y'all and you don't stop
comm-sense ya'll and ya don't stop…

This is a simple but classic hook. The chorus is reminiscent of the original style that started the rap element of the Hip Hop movement in the 70s. Nice touch for a track that covers such a wide time frame.

Verse Two:

Now periodically I would see
ol' girl at the clubs, and at the house parties
She didn't have a body but she started gettin' thick quick
Did a couple of videos and became afrocentric
Out goes the weave, in goes the braids beads medallions

As rap music gained popularity in New York and elsewhere, it started hitting the nightclubs and house parties hard. This style of music and the entire Hip Hop culture was picking up steam and creating a massive buzz. Even music video channels were playing more rap videos. Through these videos, viewers were able to keep up with Hip Hop styles ranging from what they wear, haircut styles, and what rides their rollin’ in.

These videos opened a window into the way that hip hop cats were actually living. The reality present in the older Hip Hop videos, is definitely a thing of the past, in more ways than one. Videos displaying Hip Hop’s realness have were replaced by a crazy amount of materialism, where MCs and their entourages show off their very impressive flossin’ skills, in their big ol’ mansions and sick whips that they rent for the video shoot. Afrocentricity was prevalent at this time and there was a strength of pride in being black, showing the love for your roots – African medallions were rocked by many. Even up in Winnipeg, I was rocking my beautiful African medallions. Check out Intelligent Hoodlum the PRT, I’m Black and I’m Proud.

She was on that tip about, stoppin the violence

This line refers to the monster track called “Self Destruction” released in 1989 by some serious heavy weights in the game at that time, as super group assembled by KRS One.

About my people she was teachin me
But not preachin to me but speakin to me
in a method that was leisurely, so easily I approached
She dug my rap, that's how we got close

In such a clever way, Common breaks down how he and Hip Hop were connecting; so easily he stepped up and Hip Hop dug his “rap” – and they have been close ever since.

But then she broke to the West coast…
…so why should I stand in her way?
She probably get her money in L.A.
And she did…but what was foul
She said that the pro-black, was goin out of style
She said, "Afrocentricity, was of the past."…

This depict when Hip Hop music blew up on the West Coast. The West Coast dropped some gems in 1988 with Ice-T’s “Rhyme Pays” and Too Short’s “Life Is…” albums; but NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton” and Easy-E’s “Easy-Duz-It” paved the way for a whole new sound and coast in Hip Hop. These records laid a foundation for a new type of rap: Gangsta Rap. Along with Easy-E, NWA created massive West Coast rap acts  like Ice Cube (I’ll come back to him later), Dr. Dre (who eventually discovered Eminem), Snoop Dogg, Warren G, D.O.C., Tha Dogg Pound, just to name a few. Another West Coast legend that worked with Dr. Dre and Snoop, was Tupac.

Only a few years after NWA kicked down the door for the new Gangsta Rap style, things in the rap world got ugly, as the East Coast // West Coast battle started getting personal. This battle between the two coasts is an article by itself; but without getting too deeply into it, there were many artists’ from both sides who were involved. But, the main people from the West were Tupac and Death Row label co-founder Suge Knight and from the East, The Notorious BIG (Biggie Smalls) and Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, the owner of Bad Boy Records.

Unfortunately, this battle became much more than just words, and eventually caused the death of two of the greatest MCs to ever bless a mic. Tupac Shakur was shot and killed in a drive-by on September 7, 1996. Suge Knight was in the car with him. Less than a year later, on March 9, 1997, Biggie Smalls was also shot and killed in a drive-by. They haven’t found the shooters in either of these cases; this seems to be a popular outcome when it comes to murdered Hip Hop stars.

Hip Hop definitely “got her” money in LA, as the West Coast albums started flying off the shelves and the West Coast style came along for the ride as Gangsta Rap’s popularity took off. Even though I’ve always been a bigger fan of the East Coast sounding Hip Hop, I still grew up owning about five different Los Angeles Raiders Hats, and trust me, I wasn’t the only one.

The main rap topics like being pro-black and afrocentricity were being replaced with lyrics about gang violence and black on black crime.

Chorus:

yes yes y'all and you don't stop
to the beat yall and ya don't stop
yes, yes y'all and you don't stop
1,2 y'all, and ya don't stop
yes, yes y'all and you don't stop
to the beat comm gotta be the sure shock

Verse Three:

…once the man got to her, he altered the native
Told her if she got an image and a gimmick
That she could make money, and she did it like a dummy
Now I see her in commercials, she's universal
She used to only swing it with the inner-city circle

As the Hip Hop wave swept over North America in the late 80s and early 90s, it wasn’t only the fans of the music that were keeping a close eye on the incredible popularity growth. Big business America was also fully aware of the powerful impact this music was having on the youth. On Run DMC’s ground breaking Raising Hell album, they had a track called “My ADIDAS”, and when they rocked this joint at a sold out show in NY at Madison Square Garden, the ADIDAS representatives noticed that something special was taking place. It definitely didn’t hurt that Run asked the crowd to take off their ADIDAS and put it in the air. Lucky for Run DMC, Run’s brother, the legendary Russell Simmons was also aware that something unique was taking place and, being the business mogul that he is, worked his magic to secure a $1.5 million (in 1986, this was some serious dollars, especially for a Hip Hop endorsement deal) ADIDAS endorsement deal for the group. As DMC mentioned in an interview years after their classic album changed hip hop music forever, "We sang 'My Adidas' because we just liked them," says D.M.C. "That's the difference. Now a lot of guys are just hoping to get that phone call."

Name dropping is massive in today’s Hip Hop music; again, that’s an article by itself, but six years after the “My ADIDAS” hit, Grand Puba was awarded with a somewhat small but significant token of appreciation from Tommy Hilfiger. He received $10,000 from Hilfiger when the clothing line gained crazy buzz after Grand Puba mentioned them in his sick verse on Mary J. Blige’s 1992 “What’s the 411?”. All of this led to rap music going even further, popping up in TV commercials. Marketing executives were all over the new and hot sound and the extraordinary connection it had created with youth. This Hip Hop phenomenon left the inner-city in favour of the global stage, and it has just gotten bigger and bigger over the years.

…on some dumb sh*t, when she comes to the city
Talkin about poppin glocks, servin rocks, and hittin switches
Now she's a gangsta rollin with gangsta bitches



These lines upset “Boyz N The Hood” star Ice Cube, who was offended by the point Common was making, as he stuck popular West Coast references in the line (i.e. - poppin’ glocks, hittin’ switches) after mentioning how “she was on some dumb sh*t”. Common drove his point home even further, when he stated “Now she's a gangsta rollin with gangsta bitches”…yikes! This sparked a few years of beef between Ice Cube and members of his crew (WC & Mack 10) against Common. Check out the 1995 Cube/WC/Mack 10 cut track “Westside Slaughterhouse”, and Common’s hype 1997 Pete Rock produced retaliation joint, “Bitch in Yoo”.

I see ni**az slammin her, and takin her to the sewer
But I'ma take her back hopin that the shit stop
Cause who I'm talkin bout y'all is hip-hop

The “slammin” comment refers to the 1993 ONYX  hit “Slam” from their sick debut album “Bacdafucup” (ah yes, the things that you could get away with back in the day). And the “sewer” comment is talking about the amazing 1992 debut album from DAS Efx, called “Dead Serious”, check out “They Want Efx” and “Straight from Da Sewer”...these cats hit the rap world with one of the most unique flows ever.

In the second to last line, Common talks about bringing the old Hip Hop vibe back, the one that initially hit him in the heart and got him into the game. That is why he called this album “Resurrection”. In his very last line, Common finally reveals who the “Her” is…“Cause who I'm talkin bout y'all is hip-hop”. You could just imagine how hype it was to hear this song for the first time back in 1994, to find out in the last line that he was referring to H.E.R. (Hip Hop in its Essence and Real) throughout the track. From the first listen, you knew right away…that this was going to be a Hip Hop Classic!{w}

symbols: volume i, issue iv

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