Where Were You When You First Heard A Gang Starr Song?

Thun · Post by **Thun** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 11:20 pm

Fuck showers and flowers. April is in fact Gang Starr Month here at T.R.O.Y. Tomorrow (4/05/09) you're getting two Gang Starr posts in one day, and another two will be arriving on Thursday. And more will be coming down the pike all month. So we had a meeting and asked, how do we get the readers involved?

Well, it's simple. In this journey we're the journal and you're the journalists. We're posing the question to you:

"Where were you when you heard a Gang Starr song for the first time?"

Towards the end of the month we'll publish the responses. There are several ways to enter:

1) Simply reply to this thread.
2) Send us a tweet - @troyblog
3) Send us an email
4) Leave a message on our Facebook Wall
5) Post in the thread at the T.R.O.Y. Forum
6) Post in the thread at Skypager

Please keep your response to one or two sentences. We look forward to reading and publishing them.

http://philaflava.blogspot.com/2009/04/ ... heard.html

gaccu01 · Post by **gaccu01** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:53 am

I was in Italy, my home country. I had bought "Step in the Arena" and did not know what to expect. I put the vinyl on and never looked back.

Jaz · Post by **Jaz** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 1:05 am

I'm pretty sure I was at home and a friend that was living in Sydney used to send over tapes, on one of the tapes was "Premier & The Guru" and I loved it, I asked local record stores for it and they had never heard of it, I actually only got the No More Mr Nice Guy album in 1991, long after Step In The Arena.

DULLAH · Post by **DULLAH** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 2:26 am

Eating a bowl of cereal, wide eyed watching NBA Inside Stuff w/ Ahmad rashad.

DJCommunist · Post by **DJCommunist** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:21 pm

Gangstarr month? HELL YES. I think the first time I heard was when my brother picked up moment of truth. Dude buys maybe one hip hop album a year whereas I was copping albums everyday, and that cd knocked everything i had at the time out the water. He blasted it out the garage on a summer day. I was sleeping heavy. I can still put that on at any party, nobody dislikes it.

EarForGoodMusic · Post by **EarForGoodMusic** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:47 pm

I was like 11 and one of my friends went to The Wall(when it still existed) and someone in the store told him to buy Hard to Earn, when he got home i came over and listened and that was that.

hellriser · Post by **hellriser** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 1:47 pm

first heard daily operation.. my friend give me tape... on one side was daily. on other hard to earn... dope i remeber i was repeat place where we dwell.. it was so raw...

Blockhead · Post by **Blockhead** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 2:20 pm

i was on my couch watching video music box after school and the video for "manifest" came on.
i liked it and i bought "no more mister nice guy" soon after that. it didn't blow my mind. however, when i first saw the video for "just to get a rep" i loved it and copped "step in the arena" the day it dropped.

hellriser · Post by **hellriser** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 2:28 pm

step into arena was the best album of gang starr.... after longer thinking

Roy Johnson · Post by **Roy Johnson** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 2:47 pm

"Manifest", back in '89 or thereabouts. That's right around the time I got hooked on music videos. Of course, baseball cards were a hell of a lot more important to me at the time, so I never actually used my allowance money on anything music-related, with few exceptions (NWA, Run DMC, Beastie Boys). I didn't actually purchase the first two Gang Starr tapes until '91.

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CRASH DDZ · Post by **CRASH DDZ** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:40 pm

watching Yo MTV Raps

pestilence · Post by **pestilence** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:52 pm

I can't say where I was when I first heard Gangstarr... but I remember... when I was 16... I was driving around with a friend that wasn't really too deep into the music... I was playing the Militia rmx... I remember him looking at me and being like... 'Is that fuckin Dark Shadows in the background?' The kid's been a big Gangstarr enthusiast since hearing that song...

chillhood · Post by **chillhood** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:01 pm

I have no friggin idea. most likely a step into the arena track tho

Jonny · Post by **Jonny** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 8:07 pm

The LA Times did a story on them and talked about Just to Get a Rep. I heard it on the radio later that day. I was into NWA and 2 Live Crew at the time and when I heard it that shit was banging.

CRASH DDZ · Post by **CRASH DDZ** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:44 pm

pestilence wrote:I can't say where I was when I first heard Gangstarr... but I remember... when I was 16... I was driving around with a friend that wasn't really too deep into the music... I was playing the Militia rmx... I remember him looking at me and being like... 'Is that fuckin Dark Shadows in the background?' The kid's been a big Gangstarr enthusiast since hearing that song...

I've got those Dark Shadows records. My mom put me up on that show back in the day.

soopacee · Post by **soopacee** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:50 pm

CRASH DDZ wrote:watching Yo MTV Raps

ditto for me kinda......i think mine was Krush Rap

pestilence · Post by **pestilence** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:26 pm

CRASH DDZ wrote:
pestilence wrote:I can't say where I was when I first heard Gangstarr... but I remember... when I was 16... I was driving around with a friend that wasn't really too deep into the music... I was playing the Militia rmx... I remember him looking at me and being like... 'Is that fuckin Dark Shadows in the background?' The kid's been a big Gangstarr enthusiast since hearing that song...
I've got those Dark Shadows records. My mom put me up on that show back in the day.

That shit was on sci-fi right when the Greatest hits came out... And I don't give a fuck what people say... that show was the shit...

It was the opposite with me... I saw the show and thought shit... That's what they sample for Militia.

Galvatron78 · Post by **Galvatron78** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:45 pm

When the Gangstarr Posse hosted Rap City and they were pushin' their track called "Read the Label", then later on some years (or year) down the road i heard Positivity and liked it alot.

Roy Johnson · Post by **Roy Johnson** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 12:13 am

Galvatron78 wrote:When the Gangstarr Posse hosted Rap City and they were pushin' their track called "Read the Label", then later on some years (or year) down the road i heard Positivity and liked it alot.

I always thought that the Gangstarr Posse was a completely different act. Did Guru ever record anything with 'em? If so, I need that shit for the non-album tracks series.

Thun · Post by **Thun** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 12:37 am

soopacee wrote:
CRASH DDZ wrote:watching Yo MTV Raps
ditto for me kinda......i think mine was Krush Rap

Your sig is pretty fucking crowded there, hops.

Moolah · Post by **Moolah** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 12:50 am

Posting on Hip Hop Infinity in 2002.

Mark 563 · Post by **Mark 563** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 2:10 am

I'm not entirely certain that this is my first Gang Starr memory, but back in high-school, I remember one of my class-mates lending me his Gang Starr 'Step In The Arena' and EPMD 'Business As Usual' cassettes. I taped them and both got serious play on my Sony Walkman for the following months.

I do remember the first time I saw them live - They were touring the 'Full Clip' album and performed at London's Astoria. My boy, Jon and I worked round the corner on Oxford Street and dealt with the promoter frequently at our work who scored us a couple of VIP tickets.

The show was dope - A rubber-masked DJ warmed up the crowd, and as the sets began, he removed the mask to reveal he was DJ Premier. Hanniball Stax and Afu Ra opened, before being joined by Guru and then Big Shug. The biggest cheer came when Freddie Foxxx hit the stage, and the crowd went off.

After the show, we hit the afterparty upstairs, where either Big Ted or Shortee Blitz was DJing. There was a mosh-pit kicking off, that I did my best to avoid while crossing to the bar. As I passed the outskirts of the pit, Big Shug tried, unsuccessfully, to push me. I continued on the bar only to get, literally, picked up and throw across the mosh pit by Freddie Foxxx - I mean, dude grabbed me, lifted me up and threw me in the air and I landed in heap at the feet of the fellas slam-dancing.

I saw Freddie Foxxx at the bar minutes later where, surprisingly, he very politely apollogized and offered to get me a drink from the free bar, which turned out to have been drunk dry - too bad. Top bloke, mega humble.

I met Guru a few times, but he was always far more concered with chasing skirt than to chat with the likes of me, and who can blame him.

DJCommunist · Post by **DJCommunist** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:10 am

Mark 563 wrote:The show was dope - A rubber-masked DJ warmed up the crowd, and as the sets began, he removed the mask to reveal he was DJ Premier.

Ill

Moolah · Post by **Moolah** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:32 am

Mark 563 wrote:After the show, we hit the afterparty upstairs, where either Big Ted or Shortee Blitz was DJing. There was a mosh-pit kicking off, that I did my best to avoid while crossing to the bar. As I passed the outskirts of the pit, Big Shug tried, unsuccessfully, to push me. I continued on the bar only to get, literally, picked up and throw across the mosh pit by Freddie Foxxx - I mean, dude grabbed me, lifted me up and threw me in the air and I landed in heap at the feet of the fellas slam-dancing.

Jaz · Post by **Jaz** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:20 am

Mark 563 wrote:I'm not entirely certain that this is my first Gang Starr memory, but back in high-school, I remember one of my class-mates lending me his Gang Starr 'Step In The Arena' and EPMD 'Business As Usual' cassettes. I taped them and both got serious play on my Sony Walkman for the following months.

I do remember the first time I saw them live - They were touring the 'Full Clip' album and performed at London's Astoria. My boy, Jon and I worked round the corner on Oxford Street and dealt with the promoter frequently at our work who scored us a couple of VIP tickets.

The show was dope - A rubber-masked DJ warmed up the crowd, and as the sets began, he removed the mask to reveal he was DJ Premier. Hanniball Stax and Afu Ra opened, before being joined by Guru and then Big Shug. The biggest cheer came when Freddie Foxxx hit the stage, and the crowd went off.

After the show, we hit the afterparty upstairs, where either Big Ted or Shortee Blitz was DJing. There was a mosh-pit kicking off, that I did my best to avoid while crossing to the bar. As I passed the outskirts of the pit, Big Shug tried, unsuccessfully, to push me. I continued on the bar only to get, literally, picked up and throw across the mosh pit by Freddie Foxxx - I mean, dude grabbed me, lifted me up and threw me in the air and I landed in heap at the feet of the fellas slam-dancing.

I saw Freddie Foxxx at the bar minutes later where, surprisingly, he very politely apollogized and offered to get me a drink from the free bar, which turned out to have been drunk dry - too bad. Top bloke, mega humble.

I met Guru a few times, but he was always far more concered with chasing skirt than to chat with the likes of me, and who can blame him.

damnnnnnnnn you got tossed by Bumpy Knux...now that is something I would want on my epitaph. props Mark563

step one · Post by **step one** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:56 am

Jaz wrote:
damnnnnnnnn you got tossed by Bumpy Knux...now that is something I would want on my epitaph.

K-Funk · Post by **K-Funk** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 9:23 am

i remember it was '97 and i was a kid going at an older friend and he had nothing to do with hiphop but he knew i was listenin' this type of shit and when i arrived at his place he told me "check out what i found on napster, i think you will like it". it was Gangstarr - Moment of Truth. i'm a fan since then!

Bongloid · Post by **Bongloid** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 10:36 am

when i heard jazz thing for the spike lee movie. I made it my first 12" ever

christian from austin · Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:56 am

used to dig it when manifest and ex girl to next girl were playing on BET.
then I really got into their music later them when the mass appeal and bodyguards videos aired

DJMIKENICE · Post by **DJMIKENICE** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 5:35 pm

must of been 89 when i first heard Manifest i was sittin on my man Lil Joes stoop out in Brooklyn after a game of whiffle ball