STRETCH ARMSTRONG AND JONAH HILL GO MID90S
Last week, my wife and I took a trip to see the new film directed by Johan Hill - Mid90s. As a young kid, I can still…still remember my cousin Sean (who I idolized then, and even with all his misgivings today, still idolize - hope he’s not reading this!) telling me - what the hell is a Wu-Tang? Who the hell is Biggie? Phar…what? Back in the early 90s of South Side Chicago the playlist went something like this:
Twista
Po Pimp
MC Breed
2Pac
UGK
Too Short
8Ball and MJG
DJ Slugo
East coast hip hop in the world of Gas, Black Gangsters, Blackstones, Vicelords, Four Corner Hustlers, and whatever Chicago brought your way wasn’t really the thing. But I was always an outsider. A feeling I carry this day as a dad - a feeling of comforting my kids in being different. My difference was hip hop. My difference was chasing own DJ Clue tapes. Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito tapes. Sway and Tech. When I heard Gang Starr, Wu-Tang Clan, Souls of Michief care of my high school buddy Stephon - I never turned back. Seeing Busta Rhymes on Yo! MTV Raps with Tribe Called Quest - MIND BLOWING! And at the same time, while I never became a great skateboarder, the whole backpack, skateboard, and underground culture filled a need for me. A need that was built on a bit of outsiderness. Don’t get me wrong, I had all the friends in the world, and sadly, I was somewhat of an asshole, but inside I always felt different.
Watching Mid90s - EVEN if you didn’t skateboard. EVEN if you don’t know a damn thing about white kids in CA. Something about the coming of age story and the real connection to how I felt, many of my friends felt, and certainly much of America felt at this time - brought me chills. I’m not a movie critic, but I am a music critic and hearing Stretch Armstrong and Bobbitto interview Jonah on their podcast “What’s Good” really nailed the connection to 90s hip hop and today’s remembrance of a golden time. Worth a listen, worth a watch, and worth an openness to a world that carried a number of kids, and now dads, like me.
