Memory Lane Blabs: Sir Mix-A-Lot

I came across a copy of a CD I hadn’t listened to in some time and it was super important to me back when it was new, so I felt like doing a little blabbing today on someone I was always real fond of: Sir Mix-A-Lot.

I was mighty young when Baby Got Back was out, and that is the tune it seems everyone associates with him, meanwhile, it is low on my list of his tunes. I always thought he was an intelligent lyricist and not given much attention outside of that particular ass shaking club tune. By way of my cousin, I had the album that song was from, “Mack Daddy” on cassette and it was one I listened to in my headphones all the time. Serious shit, it was probably weird to see such a young kid constantly plugged into headphones but that’s how I was, even when it wasn’t smart to do so. Riding my bike around the neighborhood, headphones. Roller blading around? Headphones. The Mack Daddy album, I jammed alot amongst my other tapes, and just had a taste for more intelligent hiphop. Some of my favs from that album were “One Time’s Got No Case”, “The Jackback”, “No Holds Barred”, “Swap Meet Louie” and “A Rappers Reputation.” I knew the album front to back don’t get me wrong, but those tunes in particular were my jams.

Somewhere down the line, I totally missed contact with the album that came out a couple years later called “Chief Boot Knocka.” I never came across it, and the internet wasn’t quite a household staple yet, so I never knew about it. Flashing forward a bit, middle school and high school. I used to get made fun of constantly for my music, because in an era when what I called “bullshit rappers” were on the rise (Master P or Juvenile for example), and the other half that were just living and breathing constant hardcore shit like say DMX, I wanted no part of either camp. I lived and breathed hiphop but I had my own set of standards and more often than not, it was shit much older than the here and now. So, yep, made fun of all the time for shit either “nobody has ever heard of” or “it’s way too old.” That was a funny thing. It something was more than like 6 months old, it was just “old” which translated to being burned out or becoming garbage. That was a big deal I guess with kids in my school years. Whatever.

So, I’ve started my freshman year of high school, mostly cranking Public Enemy, KRS, 3rd Bass, and a few others, and drawing their logos all over my folders and book covers and other shit. I had sort of disconnected from Mix-A-Lot by this point because I had nothing new, not that I didn’t occasionally listen to his albums. I had acquired “Swass” and “Seminar” by this age too, fucking loved Seminar. Great album.

Here came the big news of my day though: I had been at the mall and saw something brand new in the music store: Return Of The Bumpasaurus. It was truly a holy shit moment for me, because here I was annoyed all the time by hearing about how old my music was, and here was something brand spanking new from someone whose music was a very rememberable part of my youngest years. Sweet. I was straight up excited. Honestly, I don’t know why what everyone likes listening to was such a big deal but it was. It was as if everybody knew what everybody else liked, I honestly never understood it. It was easy to ask me though since I would sneak in my cd player and headphones as often was possible. So, this album. History seems to have recorded that it was one of his less successful albums, and then just as much as right now, I don’t care. It was dope, and I felt so awesome having something new from someone I really respected. Just a little more forward, and I had my first car and learners permit. I had saved every bit of money I could no matter if it was a dollar or a quarter let alone more from doing work for my dad, mowing some lawns, etc. and had a friend of mine install my system.

There were these subs that Hills old for a whoppin’ $38, a brand called Urban Audio Works. Because of the logo this brand had on their packaging (a character called the Urban Rat), these subs were often just referred to as “Urban Rats.” My very first car? A 1994 Ford Taurus, and in the back, THREE of these bitches with a “1000 watt” Jensen Amp, all pushed by an Audiovox Rampage head unit. At this age, I didn’t know the kind of things I know now, so it was cobbled together with garbage, but I can’t lie, I was impressed and still think back on that with a degree of pride. Say what you will, but my car hit hard as fuck, you definitely knew when I was coming down the block. There were me and quite a few others in high school that had subs in their ride. We all used to talk shit about our “pull in music”, stuff you’d crank on purpose when arriving at school (or leaving) to show off how your system sounds. Return Of The Bumpasaurus was still in my rotation as in my eyes, it wasn’t even that old yet. The title track “Bumpasaurus” was one of my usual pull in songs, bumping hard as hell, seconded by the Posse On Broadway remake “Man U Luv Ta Hate.” So if you read all of this story, that album is another from years past that has nothing but fond memories for me.

So I came across that in a used music shop the other day and haven’t taken out of my Jeep yet. Good times. I still remember all of those tracks word for word, just like with Mack Daddy.

I also remember getting excited at the return of Sir Mix-A-Lot when “Daddy’s Home” came out. From that 96′ album, he hadn’t released anything until this early 2000’s joint and of course I picked it up right away. It’s the first Mix-A-Lot album i’m mostly disappointed with. He is a much better lyricist than that album, but it’s mostly him playing on what him real popular in the first place: shaking of asses and pimp game.

I wish he’d come back onto the scene with an album that has the lyrical genius of most Mack Daddy, a touch of the focus on booming in your system like Return Of The Bumpasaurus, and yet bring a modern sound alongside those awesome lyrics.

I’m done rattling shit off now, but honestly, I want to give a headnod to the great Sir Mix-A-Lot, he’s on the list of musicians that I have always loved and always will. If you are someone reading this who only thinks of the guy for “Baby Got Back”, you missed out on a whole other world of awesome music that this man has made. As for me, it’s nice to hear Bumpasaurus in my Fosgate 15″s, takes me back 🙂

–BitPusher