I am originally from Tennessee ( still here) so, in the early days of hip hop , we got everything second or third hand. To be honest , when I first got I to hip hop , I had no idea what it really meant. It was just "rap music". I have since done my homework on an art form that I've really grown to love. But I am aware that a few people here were around to see it unfold , and I was Hoping to hear about some of their favorite experiences and standout moments. You know, things that most of us had to read about or see in documentaries.

I'm from Wisconsin. (Still am) and in the early days of Hip Hop for me I learned to love it on my old ass fischer price turntable. I started with that and graduated to an old panasonic turntable\stereo. I remember digging thru my big sister's crates when I was in 2nd grade, and she had a K-Tel compilation with Twilight 22s - Electric Kingdom on it. (I bought that record 25 years later for my collection BTW, it's damn cheap) and she had 2 Sugar Hill 12"s that I'll never forget. The Sugar Hill Gang's - Rappers Delight and Grand Master Flash - Adventures on the Wheels of Steel. GMF in particular blew my mind and to this day it still does. In hindsite, I was lucky to even have access to such records in Wisconsin in a small town where country music ruled the airwaves.

That year I somehow talked my mom into signing me up for breakdancing lessons at the nearest YMCA in Dubuque IA, way back in 82. It was an hour drive, but my mom knew I wanted to learn how to B-Boy so badly from watching TV commercials and what not that featured breaking on the regular. I remember going to a packed gymnasium on the first day and saying to myself, "Holy crap, there's actually black people here teaching B-Boying!" Back then, in my area, it was mostly rural white peoples, so this was not normal for me to see at all. But these dudes knew how to dance and taught over 60 kids like myself the basic moves. In the end of the session, we had to perform a routine for our parents and the ONLY moves I was really good at was the backspin and, for some strange reason, the backwards worm. I couldn't do the frontwards worm for shit, but I ROCKED at the backwards worm. The teachers made my backwards worm the finale of the routine, I remember I had to do it under a human bridge. My mom was impressed and I was pretty fly back then so it was a good thing.

That was the beginning of my love affair with Hip Hop though, and to this day, I will still do a backspin at any townie bar for a free shot of Jagermeister. You gotta give me the shot first before I'll do it though. It clears the dancefloor every time.

True story BTW.

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“Lesser artists borrow... great artists steal.” - Igor Stravinsky
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Awwsome^^ I used to rock the Fischer Price joint back in tha day. But unfortunately, no hip hop records . I wore out a few Michhael Jackson records on it . Now what I want to know is has anybody ever caught the back spin on video ? And if so , why haven't they posted it?

I think there's video of me out there doing that at my little bros wedding last summer, I've paid good money to have that suppressed though, so it should never surface thank God!

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“Lesser artists borrow... great artists steal.” - Igor Stravinsky
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^BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO