2003 - THE BEST YEAR IN HIPHOP & R'N'B

soulmarcosasoulmarcosa 4,296 Posts
edited June 2011 in Strut Central
Apologies if this topic has been discussed recently but I'm nostalgic today.

By 2003, I'd been DJing 60s-70s original vinyl soul/funk/freakbeat in the Triangle area of NC long enough that I was frequently asked to do more mainstream parties where I could bust out some hiphop vinyl. Masala Beat Club also started about that time, so I found myself picking up a lot of new urban 12"s to fill out my sets.

Luckily the hiphop & r'nb charts of 2003 (give or take monhts from late-2002 and early-2004) were straight-up BLAZING with one track after another of bangers, and almost every week saw me excitedly traveling to 44 Records in Raleigh (and what was the name of that hiphop store Durham?) to pick up the latest club wax and chop it up with owners Merlin, Mooney & Co. I gotta say I really miss those days... downloading MP3s just ain't the same as dropping the needle on a freshly-minted promo 12" and though there's still great jams being made today, that year just had the right flavor.

I mean look at this 2003 year-end chart and tell me this year wasn't PACKED with future classics:
http://www.soulsystem.it/yend.asp?date=12-31-2003&image2;.x=12&image2;.y=5&image2=ok

Anyway, here's some of my favorite jams from that era.

Nas - Made You Look


Joe Budden - Pump It Up


Beyonc?? & Jay-Z - Crazy In Love


Clipse feat. Pharrell - When The Last Time


Tha' Rayne-Didn't You Know


Juelz Santana - Dipset (Santana's Town)


Three Six Mafia - Testin My Gangsta


Monica - So Gone


Missy Elliott - Gossip Folks


Sean Paul - Get Busy


What were your favorite 2002/2003/2004 bangers?

  Comments


  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    thats a damn good list.

  • mrmatthewmrmatthew 1,575 Posts
    Killer Mike - A.D.I.D.A.S.

  • soulmarcosasoulmarcosa 4,296 Posts
    I think what made a lot of these tracks special for me was their flipping of oldschool samples into totally modern club-worthy and commercial jams that someone didn't have to be a beatdigger to get into. And man it was nice playing top-40 songs at the club that I actually LIKED instead of ones I had to force myself to throw on.

  • SIRUSSIRUS 2,554 Posts
    what happened to the neptunes?

  • the_dLthe_dL 1,531 Posts

  • SIRUSSIRUS 2,554 Posts
    i bet he's still spending early 00's money. i wish they would make some rapp schitt again.

  • i bet he's still spending [del]early 00's[/del] rumpshaker money. i wish they would make some rapp schitt again.

  • CosmoCosmo 9,768 Posts
    That's when you played with me in Philly right? That was fun as hell. Mad Punjabi MC steez.

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,904 Posts
    95

  • grandpa_shiggrandpa_shig 5,799 Posts
    hell if i know what came out in 03 but that list brings back some great memories. didnt burn rubber come out around this time? and how about birdcall? the one with the rubberband man thing but more awesome.

  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
    "Shake ya tailfeather
    P. Diddy Nelly Murphy Lee "

    ewf.

    if I never hear that song ever again it will be far, far too soon.

    I recall when it was 100% unavoidable on the radio.

  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
    the_dL said:

    that's a rental.

    not saying dude isn't PAID. AS. SHIT.

    which he is, obv.

    but that's a rental.

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Was it you who used to post your set lists ever week from the bike rallys you played over the weekend?
    Who was your partner?

  • kitchenknightkitchenknight 4,922 Posts
    rootlesscosmo said:

    that's a rental.

    not saying dude isn't PAID. AS. SHIT.

    which he is, obv.

    but that's a rental.

    I love the pacing/carriage returns/use of caps in this post. Perfectly conveys rhythm and tone.

    A+ Internet Post.

  • soulmarcosasoulmarcosa 4,296 Posts
    LaserWolf said:
    Was it you who used to post your set lists ever week from the bike rallys you played over the weekend?
    Who was your partner?

    Yep that was me, and they were SCOOTER rallies man, get your machines straight haha. Although in NC, there were so few scooterists that they almost always included British motorcycle enthusiasts in the mix too. My partner was DJ Midnite Cowbwoy who's still doing events in the Triangle area of NC.

    As for my setlists, here's my latest...

    I had 20 minutes to throw down some bollywood disco & boogie on original vinyl at Falls Lounge DTLA for Ubiquity's MOVEMENT weekly (and resident Duran Castro's b-day) with Agent45 a couple of weeks ago. Here's what went down, including Indian versions of Swingtown, Hot Stuff, Billie Jean and Don't Stop Til You Get Enough:

    SOULMARCOSA BOLLYWOOD SET (All original vinyl LPs)
    Vijay: Aavi Ja Mehfil Jawan Chhe Sensuos
    Rajesh Roshan: Ham To Aap Ke Deewane Hain
    Bappi Lahiri: Let's Dance for the Great Guy Bruce Lee
    Usha Uthup: Aaj Mere Ghar Aye
    Bappi Lahiri: Ding Dong Ding Dong
    Bappi Lahiri: Jeena Bhi Kya Hai Jeena Pt. 1
    Usha Uthup: Chhupke Kaun Aya


  • soulmarcosasoulmarcosa 4,296 Posts
    But back to 2003, I played this one a couple million times back then (including at DENIM in Philly with Cosmo where I left it at the club oh snap)


  • n8starrn8starr 9 Posts
    This was always one of my favorites from '03.. Not sure why I can't find the unedited copy like I remember but still...


    DJ Kay Slay ft Nas, Amerie , Baby and Foxy Brown - Too Much For Me

  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts
    2003 was an incredible year for rap. just skimming the surface so far



  • and T.I. - Doin My Job

  • 2003 love
    12: jaylib "the official/the red"
    cd: outkast "Speakerboxxx,The Love Below"
    fm: twista "slow jamz", luda "splash waterfalls", usher "yeah" (Jem Aswad of Entertainment Weekly called it "irresistibly crunked-out", Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine said that the song has brought Usher to a "whole new level of crunk.")

    nice.

    haha jamie foxx on my radio in 2003

  • MjukisMjukis 1,675 Posts
    Yeah, that's an impressive list. Frontin' is still so awesome. I wish Pharrell would have tried that route more, basically making modern radio pop that still has that Prince quality, rather than "Can I have it like that".
    Glad to be reminded of this one too, always thought it a bit underrated:

    Really brilliant beat - another Dre/Elizondo masterpiece I guess. Very melodic, yet stripped down. Just perfect modern funk.

  • tokyobeatstokyobeats 505 Posts
    gatorontheloose said:
    2003 love
    12: jaylib "the official/the red"

    first list has some good looks, but this was THE track of 2003 for me at least!

  • edith headedith head 5,106 Posts
    soulmarcosa said:

    Three Six Mafia - Testin My Gangsta


    I HEARTILY ENDORSE THIS PRODUCT

    Great list, M***. This is thread is making me crazy nostalgic especially since I really don't listen to hip hop that much these days. Thank you for posting!

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    soulmarcosa said:


    Sean Paul - Get Busy



    Sean Paul owned 2003.









  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    edith head said:
    soulmarcosa said:

    Three Six Mafia - Testin My Gangsta


    I HEARTILY ENDORSE THIS PRODUCT


    Yea, this whole record is so good.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
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