Jay-Z - "Things Groupies Say (Skit)" (mp3)
Revisionist history makes it harder to recall, but I do remember when Jay was actually underrated. Back in '98, I was a big fan of In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (the good 2/3rds of it are still some of the best stuff he's ever done and it amazes me that people routinely write off that album as a failure or lowlight), copped the original Priority Records pressing of Reasonable Doubt, and lurked on the AOL message board for Roc-A-Fella Records, getting early info on Vol. 2 (like that tentative track listing that included "Imaginary Player 2," which ended up only being on some import-only version, and I'm still curious to hear that). And that ramp up to Vol. 2's release, realizing it was going to be huge, my brother picking up one of the limited edition copies (I think it was the first 100K or 500K, either way they probably sold out the first week) with the bonus disc, Roc-A-Fella presents This Thing Of Ours. It's only 7 songs and a Pain In Da Ass outro, not really anything special, and some of the tracks were later released elsewhere ("Can I Live 2" on the Def Jam reissue of Reasonable Doubt, "Cru Love" on the Belly soundtrack), but it's still kind of a cool little collector's item.
The best thing about that bonus disc, though, is "Things Groupies Say," a bizarre, hilarious little track that's part skit, part Jay and random crew members or Roc-A-Fella staffers making up a song on the spot. Pounding out the beat on tabletops and tapping pencils against drink glasses or something, singing "thiiiiiings groupies saaaaay" while Jay and other voices interject phrases like "I thought I seen you on BET," "can I sit in the front seat?" and "YO, I AM PREGNANT," everyone trying to crack each other up and one-up the last guy. And then someone shouts "remix!" and the chant changes to "I got a groupie/on my jock/got a groupie on my jock." It's more than a little mean-spirited and misogynistic, but it's still fucking hilarious and way more lighthearted than Jay tended to be in public back then.
Revisionist history makes it harder to recall, but I do remember when Jay was actually underrated. Back in '98, I was a big fan of In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (the good 2/3rds of it are still some of the best stuff he's ever done and it amazes me that people routinely write off that album as a failure or lowlight), copped the original Priority Records pressing of Reasonable Doubt, and lurked on the AOL message board for Roc-A-Fella Records, getting early info on Vol. 2 (like that tentative track listing that included "Imaginary Player 2," which ended up only being on some import-only version, and I'm still curious to hear that). And that ramp up to Vol. 2's release, realizing it was going to be huge, my brother picking up one of the limited edition copies (I think it was the first 100K or 500K, either way they probably sold out the first week) with the bonus disc, Roc-A-Fella presents This Thing Of Ours. It's only 7 songs and a Pain In Da Ass outro, not really anything special, and some of the tracks were later released elsewhere ("Can I Live 2" on the Def Jam reissue of Reasonable Doubt, "Cru Love" on the Belly soundtrack), but it's still kind of a cool little collector's item.
The best thing about that bonus disc, though, is "Things Groupies Say," a bizarre, hilarious little track that's part skit, part Jay and random crew members or Roc-A-Fella staffers making up a song on the spot. Pounding out the beat on tabletops and tapping pencils against drink glasses or something, singing "thiiiiiings groupies saaaaay" while Jay and other voices interject phrases like "I thought I seen you on BET," "can I sit in the front seat?" and "YO, I AM PREGNANT," everyone trying to crack each other up and one-up the last guy. And then someone shouts "remix!" and the chant changes to "I got a groupie/on my jock/got a groupie on my jock." It's more than a little mean-spirited and misogynistic, but it's still fucking hilarious and way more lighthearted than Jay tended to be in public back then.
Labels: hip hop
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