Seven Blazin' Summertime Joints That Aren't "Summertime"

During June, July, and August (and even including a few sweat-inducing days in late May), the temperatures rise stratospherically, and as a result, we trade in our rugged Timberlands for sandals and kicks, dump our hot chocolate in favor of chocolate ice cream cones, and Sunday home-cooked dinners turn into outdoor brunches and barbecues on the beach. The extended daylight recharges our energy, and as a result, are moods are livelier and happier (take that, winter depression!).  

Music connoisseurs like as myself tend to mentally compile and shuffle personal soundtrack for every mind frame, mood, or place that we’re in. Of course, this includes  the summertime, and I’m sure that the eponymous, Grammy Award winning 1991 hit by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince lands in everyone’s top 5 “summer jam” list (you know, that track that you HAVE to play at least three times during these sultry months because it captures how fly you thought you were when you finally threw on a pair of fresh, white Air Force Ones for the first time all year, or that euphoric feeling doing the Electric Slide with your grandmother during one of your weekly cookouts). But you know what? There are some other songs that also effectively encapsulate those special summertime moments. Check out the joints I’ve listed that serve that purpose for me. This isn’t a numbered, all-inclusive list, but you will see something old, something new, something borrowed, and something…Drake. You’ve been warned. 

“Ice Cream”- Raekwon f/ Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and Cappadonna

I was just a chocolate deluxe in training when this song debuted. However, the concoction is mainstay on my summer playlist because it’s a humorously blatant reminder of how the hot sun brings the wolves out: you know, the brothers itching to get a minute (literally, haha) with the fly honey traipsing the city streets rocking those tight, denim short-shorts. Even as a young girl, I knew that if a dude came at me the way that Starky Luv or Cappa did on the track that he would not get any play from me (“I love you like I love my d*ck size” ? No, thanks!) except a big smile for making me laugh. 

“Living Dangerously”- Bounty Killer f/ Barrington Levy

 I’m a Brooklynite, born and raised in the sections of Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy, to be exact. The Caribbean population in my home borough and their culture played a huge part in my development, so any personal soundtrack that I could create - be it summertime or anything else- would be incomplete and unbalanced if I didn’t include any reggae or dancehall on it. Every time I hear Bounty Killer cry, “Lawdamercy” when the music start, my hips snap into auto-gyrate, whether I’m in the street or the subway. In my adult life, living dangerously may be traveling solo to some land where I don’t speak the language just for the hell of it, or involving myself in a summer fling with Mr. Good Time Guy. However, when I was young, living dangerously meant getting my pepa seed, heel toe, the butterfly and of course, the inevitable whine up with my homegirls during the annual West Indian Day (Labor Day) Parade on Eastern Parkway while my parents were out of eyesight. And who doesn’t want to walk on the wild side when the air is sizzling? 

"Go L (What Recession)"- Likwuid Stylez

I added this one to the list not only because the free-spirited lyrics or the bounce-inducing,  go-go beat, but also due to the fact that I’m still getting the ever-tiring question from my peers and friends, “where are the female emcees? Where the ladies at?” This joint is one of the first singles off of Likwuid’s newly released album, Gummy Bears and Champagne. I’m sure females as well as the dudes will find this worthy of repeat play while joyriding in your car at midday, speakers at full blast with the windows rolled all the way down.

“Fancy”- Drake f/ T.I. and Swizz Beatz

I was one of those people who adamantly refused to play into the oversaturation of Drake—and I still am. However, after hearing this spun in a club this past 4^th of July, I fancied that I had to make it Summer Anthem 2010. Sometimes, the onset of a new season can mean a new start or stepping one’s game up to a new level, and you gotta love a man that praises the ladies who work hard to better themselves – not to please a man but to satisfy themselves (yup, the “diploma-holders” and the “homeowners”).

"Genius of Love"- Tom Tom Club

Truthfully, there’s only one sentence I want to write for this song: This joint is Summer.  Forgive me for sounding whimsical, but it’s almost as if the sun's rays were intertwined with the guitar stings, releasing endorphins straight into your ear. Okay, enough of that- this song makes me feel happy to be alive, no matter what time of year it is. Some kids may have vibed to the song for the first time while showing off their moves at the famous Skate Key roller rink, but I took to it years after its initial introduction, hearing it while playing within earshot of a radio during my summer vacation (and subsequently attempted to imitate the video with my paper and Magic Markers after the first time I saw it on television – go figure, I was a bit weird). It intrigued me then because, as a five-year-old, I didn’t know what the heck the Tom Tom Club was singing about—just the fact that the song made me want to dance while chanting “Bohannon! Bohannon! Bohannon!” before I knew anything substantial about disco music. However, when I became a preteen, I realized I wasn’t the only kid gung-ho about “Genius of Love” after watching my peers run around in tune after the amusement parks started playing this song incessantly after its debut (which, cleverly sampled the predecessor in order to make an even bigger hit).

“Follow Me”- Aly-Us

Yes, this song has a great message of love and peace, but you know what it conjures in my mind? Cheeseburgers! To this day, Aly-Us has rocked every single barbecue I have attended in my lifetime-without fail. Drink in hand, women and men of all ages caught the spirit, jumping to their feet to shake their bodies as soon as that familiar bass dropped. Family members of mine would head-nod to beat while flipping raw meat on the grill or digging through water coolers to hand out “quarter waters” to us kids. Every time I hear this, I am forever reminded that the summer is not only for my solo adventures, but for making time to break bread with the ones who unconditionally love me.

“Buddy” (Remix)- De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, Monie Love, Queen Latifah

As previously stated in this post, when the mercury’s rising, the clothes shed, the bodies are revealed, and smiles are shared in the street between path crossers as opposed to the ice grills they have been accustomed to throwing at each other to match the earlier, sub-zero weather. Not only was this song another roller-rink/barbecue staple, but it depicts that flirty spirit of the season (similar to “Ice Cream”, but on a more coy level), as brothers and sistas alike are hunting for a “buddy” to have “all in [their] mix” (at least, for awhile). Plus, it samples “Heartbeat” by Taana Gardner, a party jam that surpasses being on just a “summer jam” list.

 

… yeah… I had to do it… (Wanda, this is for you!)

 

Thoughts or questions about my list? Wanna tell me what's on your playlist? Don't be afraid to do so in the "Comments" section and please share this post with your friends, maybe it'll invoke some fond summer memories for them!

Comments

[Jay-P]

Breezy:
I must say Jeff Redd's "You Called and Told Me" is an CLASSIC and I would've have been out there like I was back in the 90's with a polka dot shirt, slacks and a pair of bumper shoes from Wild Pair. I will say this is one thoro list you came up with, this is a blueprint for up-n-coming DJ's and some ol' skool DJ's that might be a lil rusty to really rock the 1's and 2's and get everybody on there feet movin and groovin or just boppin there head if there to cool to really get down with the get down. May you enjoy the rest of your SUMMER!!!

[GangStarr Girl]

OMG! You hit this list right on the head! My favs are def "Ice Cream," "Follow Me" and "Buddy"but it always has to be the remix (which is what you posted). Ooh and "Action" by Chaka Demus and Pliers. YAAAAASSSSSS lol.