As a young cat DJ'ing in the Bronx there were certain things you did to improve at your craft:
Listen to Radio Shows: In Control w/Marley Marl was mandatory shit. Marley always had good stuff on there before they came out on video, sometimes stuff that never got aired on Yo! or The Box. He even had a young dude on named Pete Rock...(what happened to him?) Also listened to Clark Kent and a few others...
WATCH VIDEO MUSIC BOX!: As I mentioned those other video shows before, I didn't have cable but I had UHF Channel 31 and Ralph McDaniels and the Vid Kid introduced me to more hip hop than any of those other shows could ever do.
That brings us to my first post: Akinyele-Vagina Diner. I remember Ak from Live At The BBQ from the Breaking Atoms LP. I even thought that voice dropping shit was gonna catch on.(What do I know? I thought the light skinned cat that did the bird call from Fu-Schnickens was the one with the future...) Anyway, Video Music Box made me go and search for this album by virtue of the two-fisted video Ak Ha Ha/Dear Diary. It was like a mini listening party. You had the fun-loving, infectious Large Professor produced first single with it's horns and playful video with Ak and his boys(including Extra P) jus' chillin. And then you had the grittier Dear Diary with Ak boasting about his skills while Rob Swift cut the hell out of Grand Puba saying "A yo bus it!" among other things. I was hooked and had to find it.
The album is surprisingly good with the production by the Large Pro and some of the stand outs include Bags Packed, Outta State, and Worldwide as well as the two aforementioned singles. Ak showed potential with his lyrics(C'mon, "I'm doper than heroin, so just take my name in vain" that was kinda sick for '93) and I thought he'd be a major player in rap. Of course he went on to have Put It In Your Mouth which blew up and became a cult classic but this is classic Ak for me. It was a good starting point for a cat who could have done big things.
Vagina Diner-Akinyele
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