Grand Puba was definitely a style icon as an emcee because he kept his gear flashy (literally) and he had some of the freshest lyrics and flows. When music videos were showing rappers like Public Enemy and N.W.A. in all black everything Grand Puba was rocking the crispiest POLO Hi-TECH jackets and most official ALPINE spell out rugbys.
Grand Puba – ‘360 (What Goes Around)’
Timeless Truth honors the veterans of hip-hop thoroughly. When Solace knew he was going to cross paths with one of his favorite rap legends he made sure to show the man that the next generation is still repping the lifestyle quite lovely.
TimelessTruth – ‘360 Freestyle’
TimelessTruth will be repping this classic Hip-Hop at the ‘Lo-End Theory.
1st three Brand Nubian albums + 1st Grand Puba solo + Sadat X “Wild Cowboys” = tremendous body of work.
Fuck Jay-Z.
Yo…even though I didn’t get to meet the illustrious Dallas Penndergras during my recent visit to NYC, I did get to meet Grand Puba in Time Square. He was a really cool and approachable brother, and chopped it up w/me and my homie for a minute.
yo peep his 360 performance on in living color, son had the ill purple jacket on. http://www.themeaningofdope.com/2009/02/26/with-the-puba-frenzy/
didnt peep you already had the link
Willis, do you not rate 2000? One of my favorite albums of all time. Puba was ahead of his time with a prescience worthy of the title, also old school to the bone in both the dancehall AND hip hop traditions with his style conceit for that album, interpolating HELLA Latchkey Children-style AM radio easy listening jams, couplet after couplet.
PS Whoever brings back the Girbaud Brand X jeans will make a milli.
The Brand X let you sag ya pockets without exposing the heinous amounts of anus you see hangin’ out on these skinny jeans n’ boxer briefs kids climbing subway staircases nowadays.
I think 2000 is the Bulletproof Wallets or 808s And Heartbreak of the Puba corpus, a line in the sand between Purists and Futurists.
Also, who remembers the ILL African Street Fair/Early 90s Romare Bearden painting that Puba used in the booklet for I THINK IT WAS Reel To Reel (rather than 2000)?!? Someone needs to interview whoever that artist was; he was like the Limonious of hip hop.
And FINALLY (and someone needs to do a Tumblr of JUST the shoutouts from hip hop album booklets) I always thought it was dope how Puba took time out to big up ALL his influences, past and present, on one page of the Real to Reel book…remember that?!?
Shoutout to the Midnight Ride Of Paul Revere: “Hardly a man is now alive who remembers thy fateful day and year…”
Tommy Hill sure doesn’t!
yo..what year did the video for “one for all/all for one” come out?
I think Lord Jamar might have rocked the 40 belows in video BEFORE Das Efx….if I remember correctly.
Puba was just a cool ass dude….dudes were really following his every fashion move…. he even brought back the ceasars with the video for the 360.
I didn’t follow Lo””still don’t so a lot of the gear went over my head….if i didn’t see a man on a horse…I didn’t put it together that it was Lo….
I do remember that the lead single was hot but I couldn’t rock with the rest of the album….
the 2nd brand nubian album…was better than reel to reel
Is Stud Doogie the most obscure hypeman/ w carrier of all time or what?
Outside of getting shouted out on Puba’s songs..what did he DO?
And..unless you are from the tri state area..and wathced video music box…….you more than likely never saw THIS…..pre-One For All video from Brand Nubian.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIhYBH8bqwI
this song was hot as hell…….and if you were alive back then…the gear was hot…rayon shirts and jean shorts…..
it’s worth a click just t see the dance steps…
Word Is Bawn! Get, that was my joint!..and I’m takin it back further….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KmJJ1g4NNw
Jerz. Out.
shorty in the polka dot shirt could still get it
Big ups to Grand Pub! That dude made certain that every time he made a TV appearance….SPLASH!!
“….give a pound to my brotha with my right hand,
cuz I keep the Sprite in my left hand,
then I push the button when I don’t wanna hear nuttin’
I let go when I wanna hear sumthin’…”
Puba/Extra P Sprite joint, FTMFW!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOYFL_mDd5E
Lo’s, Girbaud’s and Jordan’s,Timberland(Low Top Boots had to go against the grains, lolz) and a whole slew of matching baseball caps)mostly Philly and LA teams) and u could catch me on the Creeps around the time this shit dropped.
I think this era was my favorite dresscodes, feel like everything was flavor and meant for chicks to say they diigggin your steeze……..
^^
see Stud Doogie is even there in the commercials….just…there….
Jerz..the masters of ceremony joint takes it back to the dapper dan..might shirt kings era
Puba is overlooked when they talk about hip hop history…
when the “Black conscious era”of hip hop seemed to have been over and it was about guns and drugs….he dropped “wake up” and single handedly gave that movement a lifeline…
“hittin skins”..that’s straight from Puba..
Brand Nubian was THAT group….Derek X’s style was just sick…(still is)…Puba had flow….and Lord J had a hard style…
Stud Doogie deserves props right along with Jarobi & Egyptian Lover.
^^
hhehehhe
i was thinking along the lines of Pretty Lou and Spigg Nice of the lost boyz
^^^tht Lost Boyz shuffle was awesome. I’m gonna bring that shit back. For no reason at all. While I stand in line @ McD’s or BK.
I wonder how much shit Puba wrote for Diddy?
The answer is prA’li = A LOT
TG,
Lost Boyz were so influential that they made it cool for grown men to dance with each other.
it’s actually just uprocking from breakdance era…but think about it…
that shit looked cool as hell…cheeks and tah…
===============
Puba probably ate for years just off ghostwriting for puffy and others around that time…
GRAND PUBALAH WAS DEF. AHEAD OF HIS TIME AND AT THE FOREFRONT OF “GETTIN DIPPED” BACK IN THE LATER YEARS OF THE GOLDEN ERA, WHICH MANY CONSIDER ’96 BEING THE END (that’s def. debatable depending on where u from). HE WAS ROCKIN’ THE ILL TOMMY B-UPS W/ THE ILL LION CREST & BRAND X GIRBAUDS WAAAAY BEFORE TOMMY REALLY BEGAN TO COMPETE WIT RALPHY. I WAS FRESHMEAT AT HOWARD UNIV. THE YEAR REEL TO REEL DROPPED AND THAT ALBUM WAS BLASTIN’ OUT OF EVERY DORM ROOM ON CAMPUS AND EVERY PATHFINDER AND DATSUN Z IN THE STREETS OF DC. I REMEMBER CATCHIN’ PUBA IN ALL HIS SPLENDOR AT WHAT USED TO BE CALLED QUIGLEYS IN DOWNTOWN DC THAT SAME YEAR. I EVEN SNUCK MY DICTAPHONE TAPE RECORDER IN AND RECORDED THE WHOLE SHOW & WAS SELLIN’ COPIES TO A FEW CATS IN MY DORM FOR WEED MONEY….LOL!! QUIET AS KEPT, PU FATHERED A LOT OF DUDE’S STYLES BACK THEN AND PRETTY MUCH PUT THE ‘LO UP ON THE BIG STAGE, ALONG WIT DEM ZHIGGE CATS, WHEN IT WAS REALLY CONSIDERED TO BE ONLY A BROOKLYN THING….
Puba rocking the Alpine on Raps was legendary.
It’s actually very complicated in this active life to
listen news on TV, so I just use internet for that reason, and take the newest
news.