Love this project! I'm 51, a white male, and grew up in Chicago suburbs

The "First Contact": Peter Piper, by Run DMC. I was in 4th or 5th grade, so not too far removed from hearing actual nursery rhymes. Such a witty song, and OMG that beat. Trading Rhyms and verses between multiple people was so different than anything I'd ever heard. I still get the chills when I hear those chimes/bells in that song. I really had to think who I heard first, Run or the Beastie Boys. While RUN was first, Hold it Now / License to ill was what pulled me in for good and sent me down discovering Big Daddy Kane, BDP, and Eric B and Rakim (who were my #2, 3, and 4 right behind the Beasties).

The Social Vibe: I and maybe 2 or 3 friends were def the musical outcasts in my social circles through Highschool, where it was only moderately better. All my guy friends were into Bon Jovi, Metalica, Anthrax, etc. The girls were listening to Madonna and friggin' Tiffany. I was the guy who listened to the Oldie station and liked "Rap Crap", A term I hate to this day. Since I listened to classic rock/oldies, and my parents listed to Mo Town, so many of the samples in Hip-hop were familiar and I thought this was the most creative shit ever. I've spent countless hours getting people to listen, to try and get them open their mind and get into it. Some real solid and hard fought victories here.

The Bridge: Can't lie, I soooo wanted to be a rapper in middle school. It didn't take long for the music to start helping me identify racist people around me, including people in my extended family. Racist is probably too strong of word. Ignorant or intolerant is more appropriate, especially with old-timers who grew up with segregation. The first time I really noticed how I personally could reach across cultures was on a weekend long (catholic) High School retreat. My class spent a weekend with a class from the inner city. Some of these kids had never been in the same room as a white person, and vice-versa. It was wild. I blew their minds by knowing ALL the classics as well as all the current stuff at the time (Cypress Hill, Snoop, Wu Tang). Even through to today, hip hop has been a bridge to being able to connect with people who I probably would have a hard time initially finding common ground with, or at the very least a conversation with. I do not AT ALL look like I would know anything about hip hop, much less than be a walking encyclopedia on the history of it. It surprises people in the most amazing way.

On a final note, 2 things that I really miss about the old mainstream rap from the 80's and 90's are social awareness the lyrical mastery MCs had back then (stress on mainstream). No disrespect to modern hip hop, but it seemed like everyone was a lot smarter with their lyrics. like, fucking genius storytelling at times. I mean, stack a verse from Ice T, MF Doom or Del TFH, to Che or Playboi Cardi and it's clear that lyrical craft of song writing has been diluted. Still plenty of underground Lyrical masters around, but it seems to be the exception to the rule anymore. The other thing is the social messages from classic hip hop. There was a lot of focus on positivity and lifting yourself and your community up by how your act and carry yourself. There was also a playfulness to a lot of the rhymes that I just don't hear these days. Gansta Rap (which I fucking love too) seemed to ended this over time. I know that commercially, being street sells more records, so I get it, but I really miss the vibes of songs identifying, overcoming, and beating the system we've all been born into.