Throwback Thursday: "Ryde or Die, Chick" -- L.O.X. ft. Timbaland and Eve

Pshh, I'm still looking for mine. Welcome to 1999, when Ruff Ryders ruled the world, and Eve was walking through street parties with no bra, knocking it out way before sideboob was a thing.

Throwback Thursday: "Hot Boyz (Remix)" -- Missy Elliott ft. Nas, Eve, & Lil' Mo

This track would've been so much hotter without Missy involved. By '99 she'd moved past her 15 minutes of fame, and all of the younger acts like Lil' Mo were poised to take over. Hindsight being 20/20, that probably should've happened in '98.

This is still one of the must underrated beats of all time. So simple, but so crucial. I'm guessing it just didn't get as much love as it should've because...well, it had Missy Elliott rapping on it.

Throwback Thursday: "Remember Them Days?" -- Beanie Sigel ft. Eve

Irony: Beanie Sigel releasing a warm, heartfelt ode to the struggle from a position of success, that 13 years later can be looked at as an ode to that position of success. Including this:

"All dem cracks and the gats, left that life alone,
It's the tracks and the raps and the microphone/
Wish I would fuck that up now"

...*sigh* Looking back at this video, you see so much wasted potential.

Throwback Thursday: "Bigger Business" -- Swizz Beats ft. Diddy, Baby, Jadakiss, Cassidy, Snoop Dogg, & Ronald Isley

Whole lotta firepower up in this 2002 banger. (With the exception of Baby, of course. God he's terrible.) A slew of famous cameos up in the video, too.

My crew did a mixtape track to this instrumental once. Personally I think the only thing that kept it from being hotter than the original was Swizz getting Ronald Isley for his. That's just not fair.

(Oh, and special love to Jada for rocking the Jerry Rice Silver & Black.)

Tail Report: Yasmin

She DJs. She sings. She looks delish from every angle. She's Yasmin, a 22-year-old talent from England who has worked with Eve, N.E.R.D., and Taio Cruz.

She's my new crush. And soon to be yours as well.

Throwback Thursday: "Ryde or Die" -- Ruff Ryders

People tend to forget the days when this was this illest clique around. And this cut was a sick posse track that showcased their trademark bravado.

Small sidenote: Drag-On blew up after this video...then just as quickly disappeared.

Throwback Thursday: "How's It Goin' Down" -- DMX

I miss this DMX. Sure, the track is one of his more "commercial" songs. But he still brought his knack for humor and street-life storytelling to the track, and his tale has an authentic feel. It may be hard for today's generations of hip-hop fans to picture D as a masterful artist capable of infusing emotion into every bar he spits, but he truly was that at one point in time. *sigh* Crack's a hell of a drug.

Two quick sidenotes:

(1.) Someone once pointed out that the best part of this song is the very end, where he essentially kisses off shorty by laughing in her face.
(2.) Keep an eye out at the 3:47 mark, when a young Eve makes one of her first on camera appearances of her career (albeit as eye candy/scenery, not as an emcee).