Last night I was searching for some old school rap videos on YouTube. Today, we're spoiled being able to search for videos at the drop of a "left-click." Back in the day, hip hop fans had to hope and pray in front of their TVs in hopes to see videos from their favorite artists to be aired on rap video shows, especially the rare ones from underground hip hop artists. BET's and Much Music's show Rap City, Yo! MTV Raps, Pump It Up in (LA), The Box, Uncle Ralph's Video Music Box (NYC), and late night local public access shows airing these videos were like major events, with our VCR's "record" and "play" buttons pressed, and "pause" to edit the commercials and wack videos for your own VHS-recorded compilation. Videos from that time were like comic books or toys that hip hop heads traded, and also helped us figure out a true head’s knowledge and tastes. Some of these videos clips are really bootleg from their home-made editing, which makes them even more vintage artifacts. Some of you reading this were either in kindergarten or elementary school when Arsenio Hall was at the top of the late night world in the early 90s. Aside from video shows, performing on his show made bonafide stars out of many of hip hop legends, and was integral in bringing rap music to mainstream audiences. This clip was from his last show in 1994, and hip hop's elite at that time gave him a memorable sendoff. This is the ultimate impromptu posse cut. The lineup freestyling in this is classic!

Trends of Culture were a group that had the early 90s East Coast that made you bang your head to their hard-thumping, boom-bap sound. If you're a fan of old mixed tapes and East Coast hip hop from that era, I'm sure you've heard this song maybe once or twice. OFF...and...ON!!

Ok, surely Hammer was deemed as a sellout by many of his hip hop peers and fans. But this clip was from a time when Hammer was a respected hip hop artist in the late 80s when he first came out with his first album Let's Get It Started. You'll get a kick out of the dance moves in this. Not one of my favorite videos per se, but this was funny to watch in retrospect the days of when lycra biker shorts, steel-toe shoes, and pleated pants were cool. Like the name of this song, the hype man helps “pump it up” with comical and obnoxious screaming at Hammer and his dancers. (LOUDERRRRRRR!!!)

Ultramagnetic MC's was the legendary Bronx group that arguably wrote the blueprint for the subgenre of underground hip hop. Rising out of the late 80s amidst tongue-and-cheek and political rap tunes, their offbeat rhyme cadences, ultra-lyrical styles, and crazy performance antics was unheard of at the time. Their videos were no different. This video is for the song "Raise It Up" off their last album The Four Horseman with all four original members. This is back when it was cool to jump around with your posse in front of a fire-burning garbage can in the cold at night, almost as if “keeping’ it real” meant looking hardcore with hoodies, Timberland boots, and damn-near homeless. Being that Wild Pitch just re-released their catalog, they owe us a check for posting this!