Hits 21 - Moments of Truth: Let's Keep Livin'

Episode Date: July 7, 2024

It Was a Good Day / "Footsteps In the Dark" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRWtvbyprgo Telefone Glastonbury set: https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e35wxj/acts/a45xc8 Hate It or Love It / "Rubberband": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ-OADpJk4U It's Okay to Talk / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR1HnA4Lvtw / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp4wEewrQdU Let's Keep Livin' / "Be Real Black for Me": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARdo-uPpadc

Wham Guru! Hi babe, it's Sharon calling. I'm calling to tell you don't worry about nothing baby. Keep your head up, come see me soon. No matter where we face, we must face the moment of truth baby. Hi there everybody, and welcome back to Moments of Truth, a Hits 21 spin-off podcast about rap music. My name is Rob, hopefully after the first two episodes you still trust me to be your guide here. If you're joining me from Hits21, once again thank you so much for coming over from the main show and thank you for trusting me to put together this podcast without Lizzie or Andy's help. If you are completely new here or if you're only listening

through this spin-off show and not bothering with Hits 21 then hello to you as well. I'm really happy to be able to spend some time with you. If you want a full explanation of what this podcast is about head back to the first episode of Moments of Truth. By all means just scroll back in the Hits 21 feed and that's where I go into detail about what I want to achieve with this show. To be brief, Moments of Truth is a podcast, as I said, about rap music. More specifically, my love for rap music as a white kid from the north west of England and how I think I can help other people like me fall in love with it, fall in love with rap. A genre that we didn't grow up with

but one you can still fall in love with at any age And at any point in your life From the streets of stopport where I live to the streets of South Central Los Angeles And back to Brooklyn and back the stories told by these artists are more relatable to us than we would think These episodes cover nine different groups of five rap songs that I love with all my heart, depending on their subject matter and how each of them relates to something I've only learned about because rap artists were there to teach me and tell me about their experiences. As I mentioned in the previous episode, Through Moments of Truth will be exploring pride, optimism, defiance, family, romance, heartbreak, abuse, social decay, gangs, violence,

women's rights, existentialism, religion and so many other subjects, ones I might not have even thought of, that you will pick up as you listen, and how all of these things are the truth to whoever is living them and telling us about them. And in this third episode, titled Let's Keep Living, we're continuing the theme from the last episode which was life, but this time by exploring songs that are less about snapshots of daily life and more about carrying on and surviving. How these artists feel when they look at the world and how they try to find their place in it. How they feel when everything around them is telling them to stop but something within them keeps them going. How deaths in their lives have inspired them to keep moving and how they go through each day just trying to get to the end of

it and how their perspectives have changed as they've become more successful or grown older. So enough talking, it is time for some music. Just to advise you once again, as I always will, the versions of these songs that I'm about to play will be uncensored, they will be the album versions. I think this is important because as much as this isn't meant to be a difficult podcast to listen to, I don't really aim to challenge people with this podcast. The word truth is crucial to this show and I think that I would be diluting the truth of what these artists say for themselves if I was to tamper with their expressions of any way. It's not my truth and it might not be your truth but as I always say it is

the truth to someone. The first track up this week is from 1992 and is the seventh track on the third studio album to be released by this artist and that album was called The Predator. The album reached number one on the Billboard charts in America and was among the top 25 best-selling albums of 1993 as well. At this point, as you can tell, this rapper was on top of the world and on top of the charts. It's another song like Nas's Life's a Bitch last week that is probably among the top 10 or 20 defining rap recordings of the 1990s. But while you're listening to this song, which over the years has become a real classic, I really want you to read between the lines of this.

Because this is a song about a day where everything goes right. I may have given it away to some people there. Now you'll be thinking that this is a song about a snapshot of daily life and that I could have put it in last week's episode. But as he's talking you through his day, think about all the things that go right, and then think about every other day when those things don't go right, and they definitely go wrong. This day in question, people have actually worked it out as January 20th, 1992, but it's just one of 365 days every year. If it's so notable for things finally going

right then what is every other day like? I once again as I always do recommend that you find the Genius Lyrics page for this song because rap really started to click for me as a teenager when I approached it like poetry, documentary poetry to be more specific. Obviously as we'll explore in these episodes, there's lots of room for metaphors and other creative devices in rap, but so much of it is diary-style poetry and reports from the front lines of these artists' lives,

and you'll really get to drink it in on Genius. Before we jump in, I want to mention that the sample you will be hearing is from the Isley Brothers, again, which I think is for about the sixthth, 7th time on this podcast already. This time it's Footsteps in the Dark, Part 1 and 2 from their 1977 album Go for Your Guns. The Isley Brothers have already been featured a lot on this podcast and they really are the backbone of so much 90s rap, so enjoy their sounds again with this first song, which is Just waking up in the morning, gotta thank God I don't know, but today seems kinda odd

No barking from the door, no smog And mama cooked the breakfast with no hug I got my grub on, but didn't dig out Finally got a call from a girl I wanna dig out Hooked it up for later as I hit the door Thinking will I live another 24? I gotta go, cause I got me a drop top and if I hit the switch, I can make the ass drop. Had to stop at a red light, looking in my mirror not a jacker in society and everything is alright.

I got a beat from Kim and she could do it all night. Called up the homies at a max and y'all which part? Are y'all playing basketball? Get me on homies and I'm axin' y'all Which part? Are y'all playin' basketball? Get me on the court and I'm troubled Last week messed around and got a triple double Freakin' brothers every way like MJ I can't believe today was a good day Drove to the pad and hit the showers, didn't even get no static from the cowards Cause just yesterday them fools tried to blast me

Saw the police and they rolled right past me No flexing, didn't even look in a brother's direction As I ran the intersection went to show dog's house they was watching yo MTV raps what's the haps on the craps shake them up shake them up shake them up shake them roll them in a circle are homies and watch me break them with a seven seven eleven seven eleven seven even back dough little joe 7-11, 7-11, 7-11, even backdole little Joe I picked up the cash flow, then we played bones and I'm yelling Domino plus nobody I know got killed in South Central LA Today was a good day

Left my homie's house paid, picked up a girl been tryna dig since the 12th grade It's ironic, I had the boo she had the chronic, the Lakers beat the Supersigns Felt on the big fat Fanny, pulled out the jammy and killed the poor nanny And my Jimmy runs deep, so deep, so deep, put her butt to sleep Walk her up around one, she didn't hesitate to call Ice Cube a top gun Throw it to the pad and I'm coastin', took another sip of the potion, hit the three wheel motion I was glad everything had worked out dropped the vert off and then chirped out today was like one of those fine dreams didn't even see a berry flashing those high beams no helicopter looking for the

murder two in the morning got the fat burger even saw the lights of the good year blint and it read ice cubes up in Drunk as hell but no throwing up, halfway home and my pages still blowing up Today I didn't even have to use my 8K, I'm a killer, I'm a killer, I'm a killer, I'm a killer, I'm a killer, Thank you to Ice Cube for that. If you want to tell me any thoughts you have about today's episode feel free to get in touch on Twitter we are at Hits21UK that is at Hits21UK and feel free to send me an email too if you are so inclined that is Hits21Podcast at gmail.com. If you want to check out the songs in this episode that are being sampled by the artists that we are covering I will leave a little link

in the description to each song and you can find all of them without going too far, so the Isley brothers, they'll be in that list. It is time for track 2 this week and this next one is one of the most recent I think that we've played so far. This is from July 2016 and is the opening track from this artist's debut mixtape slash album. The name of the record is Telephone. It didn't have a lot of chart success, but it was ranked among the best albums of 2016 by the likes of Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound, and Stereogum amongst other magazines. Now, this song could have been in our first episode, or it could have been in a future episode, come to think of it, because it's about the death of a close family member.

But throughout the song, the rapper makes numerous references to people that she has lost, and how it's made her think about her life and fame, and most importantly for this episode, survival. Despite such dark subject matter though, the instrumental, it feels like being at your grandma's house, you know, maybe with a few of your friends and cousins. You'll know what I mean when it starts, almost straight away. This is Yesterday by Nonate. Check my Twitter page for something holier than Black Death. death. And I know, the money don't really make me whole The magazine covers drenched in gold The dreams of granny and mansion and happy The little things I need to save my soul

And I know, the money don't really make me whole The magazine covers drenched in gold The dreams of granny and mansion and happy The little things I need to save my soul Who am I, Gypsy rap? Gypsy need her dollar back and all of that my devil's only closer when I call him back lick her in a limelight lick her in a limelight with fine wine and ecstasy you can have the rest of me basket case silhouette cigarette internet check my twitter page for something holier than black death who am I gypsy black the, the vacancy of Hallelujah, me hollow in my interviews Me only wearing tennis shoes to clubs with dress codes, cuz fuck they clubs Everything is everything, me no name, me niggas doing cocaine, me missing brother Mike like something heavy, me heart just wasn't ready

I wish I was a kid to catch When the sun is going down When the dark is out to stay I picture your smile Like it was yesterday When the dark is out to stay, I picture your smile Like it was yesterday When the sun is going down When the dark is out to stay, I picture your smile

Like it was yesterday When I remember memories don't last forever When I deny my empty with an open letter Who gon' remember me? My satellite, my empathy The wills be crone, crone, spiffy, the lore with me My halo said goodbye and the floor hit me Go be-linin' in a pine box, my granny filled a time slot Don't grow up too soon, don't blow the candles out Don't let them cops get you My granny almost sparrow, I can see the wings The choir sings, and I don't need no da da da da da

Only he can save my soul And I know, the money don't really make me whole The magazine covers drenched in gold The dreams of granny and mansion and happy The little things I need to save my soul When the sun is going down, when the dark is out to stay I picture your smile, like it was yesterday When the sun is going down, when the dark is out to stay

I picture your smile, like it was yesterday When the sun is going down Welcome back from Grandma's House everyone, hope you had a lovely time there. I would recommend finding No Name's recent 2020 for Glastonbury Set. She played for about an hour and it's available on PBC iPlayer. For the next song, the third song, we are going to go back about two decades. I cannot believe this song is that old already. I thought it would be much closer to the present day. It is kind of hard to believe that 2005 is that long ago. So this song comes from the album titled The Documentary,

which was absolutely huge at the time. It was number one on the billboard in America and reached number seven over here. The song we're going to play reached number two in America and number four in the UK. There's a lot of songs out there about how rap music allowed certain MCs to escape a life of crime, you know, a life of poverty. If they make money for music then they don't need to earn it in other ways that might be more dangerous. And in

many ways rap is a means of survival for a lot of these people that means you'll never have to go back to the streets if you make enough cash. And this song is a lot about the journey for being a kid in danger in your own neighborhood to being an adult with a luxurious more secure life bought by rap and money and fame. It's a reflective look back at how life used to be for these two artists and comparing it to how life is nowadays for them and one of the rappers performing on this song was once shot nine times and survived so I think it's safe to say that he's entitled to write a song about this.

This is Hate It or Love It by the game featuring 50 Cent. Used to see 5-0, throw the crack by the bench, now I'm fucking with 5-0, it's all starting to make sense. I wanna live good so shit I sell dope for a full finger ring One of them gold ropes Nana told me if I pass I'll get a sheepskin coat If I can move a few packs I'll get the hat Now that'll be dope, Torsten turned in my sleep that night Woke up the next morning, it was a stowaway fight Different day, same shit, ain't nothin' good In the hood I run away from this bitch and never come back if I could Hated the love of the underdogs on top And I'm gon' shoutin' homie until my heart stop Go ahead and envy me, I'm rap's MVP And I ain't going nowhere so you can get to know me

Beat it up love with the underdogs on top and I'm gon' shine homie until my heart stop Go ahead and beat me, I'm rap's MVP and I ain't going nowhere so you can get to know me J-J-J-J-J Nick! On the grill of my low rider, guns on both sides, rider but a gold wire's I-4-5 I'm killin' nigga on my soul, can really do it, that's the true meaning of my low rider, guns on both sides, rider but a gold wire's I-45'em Kill a nigga on my shoulder, really do it, that's the true meaning of a ghost rider 10 G's that take your daughter out of Air Force's, believe you me homie I know all about losses I'm from Compton where the wrong colors be cautious, one phone call I had your body dumped in Marcy's

I stay strapped like car seats, been banging since my lil' nigga Rob got killed for his Barclays That's 10 years I told Poo in 95, I'll kill you if you drop me for my Air Max 95s Told Banks when I met him I'ma ride and if I gotta die, rather homicide I ain't have 50 cent with my grandmama died Now I'm going back to Cali with my Jacob on See how time fly Made it to love with the underdogs on top And I'm gon' shine homie until my heart stop Go ahead and envy me, I'm rap's MVP And I ain't going nowhere so you can get to know me Hate it or love it, the underdog's on top And I'm gon' shoutin' homie until my heart stop

Go ahead and envy me, I'm rap's MVP And I ain't going nowhere so you can get to know me From the beginning to the end Losers lose, winners win, this is real win Got to pretend the cold world that we in It's full of pressure and pain, enough of me nigga now listen to gang Used to see 5-0 throw the crack by the bench Now I'm fucking with 5-0 it's all starting to make sense My mom's happy she ain't gotta pay the rent And she got a red bow on that brand new bench

Waiting on shot money to land sitting in the range Thinking how they spend 30 million dollars on airplanes When it's kids starving Pockets going to Brenda's still throwing babies in the garbage I wanna know what's going on like I hear Marvin No school books that use that word to build coffins Whenever I'm in the booth and I get exhausted I think what if Marie Baker got that abortion

I love you, Ma And I'm gonna shine home until my heart stops Go ahead and envy me I'm rap's MVP And I ain't going nowhere so you can get to know me And I'm gonna shine MVP and I ain't going nowhere so you can get to know me Later the love with the underdogs on top and I'm gonna shine on me until my heart stop Go ahead and envy me, I'm rap's MVP and I ain't going nowhere so you can get to know me Thank you to The Game and 50 Cent for that one. We won't be coming to it on this podcast at any point in the near future, but I would

eagerly point people towards 50 Cent's debut album, Get Rich or Die Trying, for a bit of a reassessment. I think there's more to that album than I think a lot of people have given it credit for over the years. Up next, we are not only going to bring it as close to the present day as we have ever been for this fourth song, but we're also going to bring you back across the Atlantic to the UK for the very first time on this show. And not only that, but I'm going to bring you not just to the UK, but to my home town of Stockport and the surrounding areas because this next rapper is from East Didsbury which lies right on the border between Stockport and Manchester.

I first came across this rapper when I was in high school, before I even really had a clue about what rap was. I must have been 12 or 13 years old, and this is around 2007. And the most remarkable thing was that this rapper was the same age as me when his career basically started. He was 12 or 13 years old, and he only lived up the road from me. You know, we used to Bluetooth his songs, his earliest recordings to each other. Some of them probably don't even exist anymore, but some of them are still on YouTube, I will leave links to them. And over the next few years his profile rose and rose and rose.

And he got famous for becoming involved in a rap battle with his teacher. That's another link I will leave for you in the show notes. And he even got a couple of songs on BBC Radio 1. This was around 2014 and I just waited for him to blow up. I used to see him around Manchester, wave to him, chat to him. I reviewed a couple of his EPs and he took a lot of the criticism on board and we had some lovely conversations together. But then in 2014, 2015, just when it looked like

he was about to go over the top and become one of the biggest names in rap in the UK, he vanished. Completely. No music, no social media activity. None of us were sure what had happened. Until he re-emerged years later with his first proper album, titled Logic on Lunch Break, which was released in 2020, and explained where he had been for the last six years. And it turns out he had quite a story to tell. This is It's Okay to Talk by Blizzard. Somebody told me chin up like that's a magical cure. I know what depression's like, trust me I've had it before Catatonic barely leave the couch to answer the door My own worst enemy struggled to handle my thoughts

Somebody told me chin up, like that's a magical cure I used to be charismatic, now I don't have the rapport It's weird I never used to have this before Suffer inside the weather, mask when outdoors They think I'm fine because I laugh when I talk I hide it well because I practice it more Trust me I know what depression is Not progressing when I go to the therapist Moping expressionless at home feeling negative

I won't even mention it to most people Nobody's getting it Switching off my phone I'm bombarded by loads of new messages Struggling controlling this mess I'm in The doctors try to give me doses of medicine Days after overdosing Trust me I won't see the benefit Recently I'm writing to escape Pieces of my life on every page I can then be saved Still not feeling perfect but I fight it everyday

Because I know it's something I cannot erase It's okay though, present day I'm learning to be kinder to myself And I find I'm doing well I've done everything to stop my declining mental health I just hope it's gonna last cause time is gonna tell cause time is gonna tell It's okay to talk about how you're feeling How you're feeling It's okay to talk about how you're feeling

About how you're feeling Okay, to drop off How you feeling? How you feeling? Sending messages to friends like listen I'll be distant for a bit I need to think about some things I've never had an episode as difficult as this Five nights a week I've been chained smoking cigarettes and drinking like a fish Need to do some soul searching Start feeling like a whole person Find my own purpose I've been feeling so nervous I won't sit in a lounge unless there's closed curtains Feeling paranoid, don't know why, hard to explain

It's like I've damaged some part of my brain that can't be retained It's strange, I think the smoking bud was partly to blame I'm about to make some changes in life, things can't be the same Can't be in hospital beds with drip stuck in my wrist I hate the jaw that saw me looking so shit, I was a myth Couldn't apologise enough that I did that I still ain't paid him back for the cigs and the Big Mac Bound in hospital I remember the day Got myself in debt didn't have the rent in my name I was ashamed, stupid thoughts led me astray

I still can't explain to this day but hey You live and learn, I'm not ashamed of being depressed But I'm ashamed I once thought the one relief would be death Don't suffer in silence send me a DM You need a friend I'll be there in a sec I swear it's no stress It's okay to talk About how you're feeling How you're feeling It's okay to talk about how you're feeling About how you're feeling, it's okay to talk It's okay to talk It's okay to talk Thank you to Blizzard for that. It's great to be able to put a local name and a local voice on this show, which could be reaching anybody right now in any country.

For our fifth and final song this week, I thought I would try to be a bit clever. Both these last two episodes have been about life, whether that is a snapshot of life, rappers talking to us about their lives, or high stakes survival stuff. The first song we played in episode 2, which kicked off this two-parter, was On My Block by Scarface, and that sampled Be Real Black For Me by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. Now, a couple of years after that song, the exact same beat was used by another rapper for another song on her own mixtape, which was called The Bootleg of the Bootleg and that came out in 2003. Now this song, which gives the episode its title, it's written from the rapper's perspective as she watches the people around

her fall into addiction and depression, and how she herself has used substances to make her own life easier, all while remembering that there is something worth sticking around for. This is Keep Living by Jean Grey. Grew up a child of an alcoholic, sister to a schizophrenic, an already inherited one, and they both are genetic. Yeah, this the one they told me not to put out But you gotta give the people what they want So brothers, sisters, I've been holding this one back This one's for y'all, let's go I'm feeling numb, thinking of changing my name to Crystal Beth

I'm playing this game, holding my mic like a pistol Aiming at death, and I love nobody Alone in this world, that's how I came in it But shit can flash and reverse the same in a minute I don't even love life no more my niggas I just live it And I don't love love all the hurting is infinite I cry myself to sleep sometimes wept a gallon of tears From malice divorced mates to lost peers

Drowning in a haze of smoke and glasses that never ran empty Bottles of SoCo cheap vodka in 2020 Spending my pennies for thoughts on courts of Henny fame Got none pain like the movie have plenty Like a shotgun, double barrel, fully loaded, ready to blow I wanna turn around and aim at myself, been failing my health I hardly even eat no more My lunch is munchies from the corner store

Chop up a fantasy, yeah Me and my family, me and my niggas used to be tight But now we see each other on the block with no pans And keep it moving, gotta move on I know I'm doing it right I'm still living hustling life is still shit for all my niggas smoke a pack a day for all my niggas hold a bottle drink the pain away what type of life is this for all my niggas getting the cash and all my niggas who chill on the Av let's keep living

for all my niggas drink the pain away for all my niggas smoke a pack a new pour today what type of life is this for all my niggas drink the pain away For all my niggas smoke a pack of Newport today What type of life is this? For all my niggas getting the cash And all my niggas who chill on the app Let's keep living Grew up a child of an alcoholic, existed a schizophrenic And already inherited one and they both are genetic When sun falls I get no sleep, nights are filled with party and bullshit Bacardi and folk clips just to deal with it.

Got a full heart, but I don't feel with it no more. I have fury, a woman who swore, just live my life like the X-Files and trust nobody. Forgetting everyone, now I'm just forgetting the money. Funny how shit can change and switch up fragile to rip on you. Spent too much of my young life just trying to stick shit up. I'm living day by day now, every step is play by play, hand to mouth I'm just tryna make the moments count

Eyes read, stressing my soul Chest full from a heavy smoking addict Since nine, a nicotine addict Devoted at a Bastille I need some type of release I quit the trees at least I'm learning niggas but I'm slow at it Always gave my motherfuckers the benefit of the doubt But it seems that everybody's just out for self I used to love her now. I gotta make her work for my wealth I gotta eat you all my niggas smoke a pack and date for all my niggas hold a bottle drink the paint away What type of life is this for all my niggas getting the cash and all my niggas who chill on the app?

Let's keep living for all my niggas drink the paint away For all my niggas smoke a pack of Newport today What type of life is this? For all my niggas gettin' their cash And all my niggas who chill on the app Let's keep living From rapping to nicotine, niggas clapping to niggas who fiend From some shit I haven't seen to everything I've been through It's like, losing the love of your life twice in the same night Being deaf for years, gained your hearing and losing your sight

Trying to shine but I'm just getting eclipsed I'm just trying to find the perfect words to fall for my lips Thinking too hard about what shit is falling, mainly the chips Hoping that the next time it's storming but I'm not attempting to slit wrists Got nothing now, I worked my way up from the bottom to the top of the ladder Claim what's rightfully mine Working against time has been too long And I haven't even had a chance to leave y'all yet

I apologize, getting older wiser Seen the picture painted, my destiny fated for this And not for easy times, I put my heart in these rhymes for always Love it or leave it or ready to die? Yeah, I'm ready, come on Thank you to Jean for not only recording that song but for giving this episode its title. That is it for the third episode of moments of truth in episode 4 we will be looking at family happy families sad families family histories all sorts and I look forward to

seeing you for it and sharing some more great music with you. See you soon.