Hip Hop Twitter loves to collectively react, and why not? It’s more fun to be outraged together. However, there were almost two decades of over-the-top and/or generally entertaining Hip Hop moments that took place before Twitter’s 2006 launch — and even a few that took place afterward, but still before the platform really “arrived.”
HipHopDX has compiled yet another list of 10 tracks that — had they been released today (assuming the same fan base/reach of each artist at the time) — would warrant trending topics and endless thought pieces. Once again, a few bullets were dodged.
RA the Rugged Man f. The Notorious B.I.G – “Cunt Renaissance” (1994)
Looking into some of Biggie’s more disturbing bars in hindsight truly reveals the generally lax climate of Hip Hop in the early 90s. This particular verse found many homes but originated from this collaboration with RA the Rugged Man.
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From Biggie’s assertion that having sex with him was fatal (with gruesome examples), to RA using “OJing” as a verb and threatening to kick pregnant women in the belly, there’s no feasible way this song could be released today without an incredible amount of criticism.
Boogie Down Productions – “13 & Good” (1992)
This particular forgotten cut off of Sex and Violence stands as one of the more bizarre moments in KRS-One‘s catalog. The song follows him as he accidentally has sex with a 13-year-old girl he met at a party — the aftermath of which reveals her father to be the police chief.
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Instead of getting, you know, in trouble for having sex with a minor, her father cuts him a deal, allowing him to continue to see his daughter in exchange for a sexual relationship with him. The direct quote is “the price tag is your behind.”
Yikes!
Bizarre – “I Love Babies” (2010)
Bizarre’s third LP Friday Night at St. Andrews included this horrendous song. It is literally, as the name suggests, a dark rant in which he describes himself as a pedophile — noting he’s indifferent to murdering children. That’s just the first four bars, and it gets worse.
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Hip Hop Twitter wasn’t quite in full swing in 2010, and this album was embarrassingly unsuccessful, allowing this to slide under the radar, which probably was a blessing for Biz (if we’re being honest). Feel free to Tweet this next time he rants anywhere looking for attention.
Biz Markie – “Young Girl Bluez” (1993)
After virtually bankrupting Cold Chillin’ with his third LP, his fourth LP All Samples Cleared! stood as one of Biz Markie’s more robust bodies of work.
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However, this particular song is all kinds of WTF. More or less, the track follows a year and a half relationship that culminates with the discovery that the girl is only sixteen at — get this — her birthday party. Yeah. And the over-sexualized shots in the video, and the bar in which Biz wonders aloud if he’s “robbing a cradle” doesn’t help.
Blahzay Blahzay – “Good Cop, Bad Cop” (1996)
This classic tune, off of the duo’s underrated full-length project Blah Blah Blah, introduces us to partners with contrasting ideologies about their role as police officers in the city of New York.
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The bad cop’s vivid description of his dirt and love of legally murdering black suspects, as well as the ambiguous ending which leaves you questioning if the good cop is actually also a bad cop, would have undoubtedly had Twitter buzzing with anxiety.
Digital Underground – “Good Thing We’re Rappin’” (1991)
If there is one thing the fun-loving Oakland collective Digital Underground’s music wasn’t, it was street. Funky, yes. Entertaining, yes. Tough, no. That’s what made this particular song so captivating. After 10 songs of no cursing on their sophomore effort Sons Of The P, Shock G (and Humpty) proceed to engage in a deep storytelling rap chronicling Shock’s early days as a pimp — a story that in hindsight probably could have been probed a little more.
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From selling drugs to bail out his hoe “cookie” to stomping out someone in a bar for checking his bitch the wrong way, it’s a wild ride. Coming from the guy who sang “Humpty Dance,” it’s easy to visualize #humptywasapimp trending.
Slick Rick – “Indian Girl (An Adult Story)” (1988)
This wasn’t one of Ricky D’s most memorable tracks, and won’t make any old school playlists, but it’s pretty messed up. Essentially Slick Rick finds himself invited to a Native American girl’s home for dinner — eventually getting some alone time.
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This is where it becomes problematic. He escalates things a little quicker than he probably should have, eliciting the girl to say “Take it easy, you’re hurting me.” He then proceeds to force himself on her, while she repeatedly begs him to stop. Then he gets crabs.
Hilarious, right? Not really.
Kool G Rap – “Hey Mister Mister” (1996)
A list like this can’t exist without a Kool G Rap track. This one was originally released independently as a non-album single in 1996. Why independently you ask? At this point, G Rap was used to running into setbacks as a result of album subject matter.
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However, when it came to this immensely detailed account of women crossing him and being violently beaten (and in one case also orally raped) as a result, Cold Chillin’, Epic Records, and Sony Music took a hard pass. Twitter would have had a field day.
Tim Dog – “Goin’ Wild In The Penile” (1991)
There are countless accounts on wax accounts of being locked up in prison, but few take the same approach as this Tim Dog “classic.” After resisting becoming a victim to an aggressor named Bruce, he becomes the top dog of D-Level, where he basically terrorizes and rapes guys. Seriously. He straight up says “I’ma stick ’em and vick ’em and lick ’em and dick ’em,” before adding, “and rape ’em and tape ’em.”
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Watching the timeline group listen to this after (no doubt) losing their mind’s over “Fuck Compton” would be highly amusing.
UGK – “Pregnant Pussy” (1992)
UGK have a few songs that would raise eyebrows with a critical revisit (see “Hairy Asshole”) but this song takes the cake. It’s exactly what it sounds like, but even if you go into it expecting to cringe, you’re truly not ready. Whether it’s Pimp C’s reference to giving the baby a pacifier or Bun’s “two-for-the-price-of-one” comment, it is was a terrible mistake that would have lit Twitter up like a Christmas tree.
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Even Bun B expressed remorse.
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