You know that moment when your parents do something annoying and you swear to yourself that you will never, ever become like that? And then a few years later you do that same annoying thing and realize “Oh my word, I have become like my mother!” (or father).  Now THAT!

I found myself listening to a DJ mix on the radio one morning and for a few seconds I almost vomited and immediately switched stations…that’s when it dawned on me. All that time my parents use to yell at me for playing my “doef-doef”, I used to think “errr lady, listen to this funny accent man music you’re listening to” (not knowing that one day I would also become an Elvis fan).

My music taste hasn’t changed. I am still turning up the volume when I hear a TLC, Aaliyah, (old) Brandy, Missy Elliot or even an R Kelly track play on the radio. And then I become the karaoke queen of Cape Town on the N1…blasting this old school classic at maximum volume, not caring about the other drivers. Who are they now really?! But these moments are short-lived. Just as I get excited, radio ruins it by following it up with an overplayed, mainstream, poppy track that also plays at every club, is in every person’s Facebook status update or tweet, and that has basically reached the level of irritation by the 2^nd day.

I switch the radio off and play my CD instead. “Aaah, finally music I can relate to” I think to myself as I’m rap loudly and full of confidence to Snoop Doggy Dogg (now known as Snoop Dogg) and Dr. Dre’s Nuthin but a G thang. And then it dawned on me…in twenty years’ time, should I have children, I’m going to be (unknowingly) rapping to explicit rap songs in front of them and they’ll be thinking to themselves “Dafuq???? I think we’re adopted!”

And that’s the thing, music changes. Every era has its own unique style which will remain bittersweet stings of flashbacks for its generation. But, for the life of me I cannot get my head around the music of today. As each day passes, I feel the music from the era I grew up in, is slipping away faster and faster and faster…and there is nothing I can do to stop it.

Some of the artists I fell in love with in the 90’s have sold their souls to the era of auto tune, dubstep and techno. Another few we have lost to death and then there are the small few who have turned away from music and have gone into acting instead.

And I love Justin Timberlake so much, it actually hurts me to see him kiss another girl on my TV screen and not hearing him sing to me “Ain’t nobody love you like I love you” or LL Cool J playing a fiiiiiiiine police officer and not hearing him lick his lips as he whispers to me “I’ve been watchin’ you from afar, for as long as I can remember…You are all a real man can need”. Common’s all gangster on TV now too (and beefing with youngens) and not too long ago he was teaching me about what real love is all about:

“Love has no limit, let’s spend it slow forever
I know your heart is weathered by what studs did to you
I ain’t gon’ assault em cause I probably did it too
Because of you, feelings I handle with care
Some niggaz recognize the light but they can’t handle the glare”

Today we’re exposed to artists telling us they’re sexy and they know it, that they wake up in the morning feeling like plastic bags, that they want you to suck their cockiness and lick their persuasion and to top it all off, they WILL brag when they hit home run (yes Akon and Lonely Island, we see you).

I can’t help feel that my future children will be deprived of something their mama values as “good” music…thanks to peer pressure.

The 90’s was awesome! Not only the music but the cartoons too! If I had a time capsule I’d go back…but I’m taking this era’s fashion with me. Damn, what were we thinking back then???

Eish…I have really turned into my parents. Only difference is, I can rap every song on the Marshall Mathers LP whilst my Mum will make Elvis shy with her rendition of “Return to Sender”. And somewhere in heaven my Dad is looking down and laughing his toots off, thinking to himself “yeah Reesie, I told you so!”

To music: the love of my life, yesterday, today and forever! Man, I miss the 90’s! “You down with OPP?”

Love, Reesie – awesome since ‘83

4 Responses to “BORN IN THE 80’s, RAISED IN THE 90’s – by Reesie”