Back in Da Dayz (Reminiscin' From Way Back)

Felt like waxing poetic today.  Hope that you enjoy......


Back in da dayz...when early Hip Hop culture was a reality,
Instead of this corporately controlled commercialized fallacy...
Back when you were respected because of your verbal, artistic, and dancing skills,
And selling lots of records, or commercial acceptance from the mainstream didn't mean that you were ill...
The culture was in your heart, you felt it and you dealt it,
Now, you just wanna be ignorant and act hardheaded like a helmet...
FUCK rockin' Prada, Gucci, Hilfiger, and DKNY,
Stick to rockin' Mecca, FUBU, PNB, and Karl Kani...
Street dreams used to be made of these,
But now we suffer from a commercially controlled, corporate disease...
People like MTV and VH1 telling stories of our culture that are ALL wrong,
Profiting off of our genius and creativity; historically, always the same old song...
Our culture regionally represented, giving rise to the masses a voice,
Now being able to tell of OUR stories, now having an alternative choice...
No longer about Civil Rights, it's now about Power to OUR people,
Historically, always were we separate...and we DAMN SURE weren't equal...
The telling of our stories, the way things were in our hoods,
A new form of Black media or Black Press; telling it in a way that only the griots could...
Verbally, visually...displayed in some new dance form,
Even musically through DJs; these true hip hop elemental forms...
Back in da dayz...with graf artists, and breakerdancers that popped and locked,
Back in da dayz...when the only true hip hop beats were the DJ's scratch, and the Human beat box...
Bck in da dayz...when B-boys and B-girls could dress alike,
It wasn't about thug cats and hoochie mommas always lookin' for a fight...
Flattops, Fades, Gumbies, bald heads, and braids,
Hightops, waves, cornrows, Gheri curls; hairstyles that were all the rage....
Sweatsuits, hats, sunglasses, and then the baggy style,
Cross Colours, 8-Ball, Lees....yeah, names that you haven't heard in a while....
'86-'93 was the Golden Hip Hop era,
The music, the messages; that's when it was for real y'all!!
Cable television never had hip hop music videos on lock,
Religiously watching New York's #1 music video show, Video Music Box...
Back in the dayz, when WBLS and KISS-FM musically kept it real,
With DJs like Red Alert, Mr. Magic, and Kid Capri....yeah, y'all know the deal...!
Also DJ Chuck chillout, and local mixtape DJs that you know,
Always there to set the mood, helping to get the clubs and house parties ready to go...
Back in da dayz, during the times of my youth,
Back in da dayz, when the culture was foolproof...
Back in da dayz, when the culture was pure,
Back in da dayz, when the love for the culture was honest and sure...
Back in da dayz, in my youth looking back,
Back in da dayz....reminiscing from way back.


Kevin Sabio
a/k/a "Knowledge As Supreme"
(C) 2002