Hip Hop Times Capsule – 1994
MVD Distribution
7/10
I love hip hop. I really do. However, I like Hip Hop that comes with, you know, verses, a catchy hook and a message, or at least a story. I Left My Wallet in El Segundo doesn’t have a message per se, but damn that’s a rad tune. What I don’t like is the modern day “bling hop” that is basically formulated as three minutes of catchy hook and no real verses or message attached. Bling Hop is created for the sole purpose of being played at clubs to have chicks rub their asses on you. Which, for that purpose, they’re exceptional. Anyways, I’m going off on tangents. Where am I going with this? Well, in 1999, even your club hits were solid fucking jams.
The Hip Hop Time Capsule 1994 is a fairly balanced documentary about the social issues, media issues and the artists leading the charge in 1994. Now, in 1994 I was blaring Screeching Weasel, Dead Kennedys and Circle Jerks, so this was a solid learning experience for me as well. I was not aware of how much of a trendsetter Nas was, nor did I know much about Channel Live. I know a lot of KRS-One’s solo stuff, but not the shit he did with Channel Live. The glaring flaw in this is that it looks like it was edited using iMovie. Poorly done green screens and picture-in-picture detract from the solid writing and information. Overall, it’s a solid deal, and I’ll probably end up having to go back and get the previous editions.
-Jonathan Yost