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I recently copped Walking With a Panther on vinyl. I sat down with it last night and it took me right back to 1989. This cut in particular. Go L.L.

Back in the day I used to memorize evey album I bought within days of the purchase. The particularly dirty raps (N.W.A., Geto Boys, etc) were stictly played in headphones to avoid my parent's wrath. But for tamer acts like the Beastie Boys, L.L. and Run DMC I was able to cover most obscenities with a well timed cough or by bouncing a basketball when my folks were within earshot. Found this video this morning of a thirty-something couple playing N.W.A for their son. Killer.

Cool J has made a few appearances here - but today I wanted to share a lesser known track called "The Doo Wop". The track uses a sample from The Moonglows' song "Over and Over Again" and finds Cool J is full blown storyteller mode. Always loved this cut. Dig.

By the late 80's Def Jam had become the go-to label for all my hip-hop needs. Run DMC, The Beastie Boys, L.L. Cool J were all well established. Then came the political movement with acts like Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions. In 1989 BDP dropped Ghetto Music - fusing boom-bap and reggae with overtly political rhymes. This was my favorite cut on that album.

I'm coaching youth basketball this year. Saturday we had our first game and fought through the season-opener jitters, overcoming a twelve point deficit only to lose by one. Tomorrow we plan to put it on the opposition. Monstar stylee. "Wildcats on 3".