I used to call a goatee a Magic Johnson

My friends and I would take turns pushing the “A/B” button on the cable box real fast so that we could see glimpses of the Playboy Channel

Vanity was my favorite Prince babe; followed by Sheila E and Susan from Vanity/ Appalonia 6

I thought and still think that Marvin Hagler beat Sugar Ray Leonard.

The first movies that I recall seeing at the “Show” were The Wiz and The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh (Big Dr. J fan back then. See below).

I remember moms took me on the bus to see the Sixers play the Bucks. After the game, Dr. J flagged me off when I asked for an autograph.  Andrew Toney saw what happened and gave me his autograph.  I have neither been a Dr. J fan, nor asked for anyone’s autograph since 1982.

During the winter of 1990, my moms bought me a fake Triple Fat Goose coat out of the JC Penny catalog. Two weeks later, I was jacked for my coat after a basketball game.

The one and only time that I recall my grandmother (see Old School Junkie) whooping my ass was after I stuck a hair pen in power socket.

My grandmother cooked fried chicken at least three times a week for at least the last thirty-one years (fried chicken isn’t considered a stereotypical African American meal in my family).

My moms and sister would tell me every night during the summer to take a bath because I smelled like outside. I never knew what that meant until I found myself saying the same thing about my nephew.

The two bullies that tortured the younger kids on our block and me are now two of my best friends. The two bullies had to go home before the streetlights came on, well before the kids that they tortured.

I was in fifth grade P.E. class when the school’s Principal announced that the space shuttle blew up.

I wore those karate shoes with the slit down the middle and thought that I was Bruce Leroy until a roundhouse kick to the stomach knocked me out during a karate tournament. 

I couldn’t spit a rhyme to save my life back in the 80’s, but do believe that I am better than 95% of the rappers out today.

I truly believed that I would win every obstacle on Double Dare and the Bozo the Clown Show.

One of my friends got all of the girls because they said that he looked like Eddie Murphy and Bobby Brown. He hated the comparisons, but gladly took on the admirers.

I remember people would test whether or not your fat gold chain was real by burning it with a lighter.

I remember that you called everybody that you were cool with your cousin.

I used to wear two big buttons of Michael Jackson and Prince on my fake Members Only jacket.

I remember my cousin used to rock this fake-ass plastic “Beat It” jacket.

It’s funny watching my niece rock the same color IZOD/ alligator shirt that I remember her mom rocking when she was her age (collars up and everything).

My uncle openly admits that his hair fell out after using an S-Curl kit in 2005.

My sister  (See Old School Junkie) got beat up by this kid named Ronnie when she was in middle school because she wouldn’t give Ronnie her phone number. My aunt then beat up Ronnie.

We had quite a few white families on our block until around 1987. 

You couldn’t tell me that the Beastie Boys weren’t black.

My friends and I would walk a mile to and from elementary school everyday.

I thought Big Daddy Kane, Special Ed, and Dominique Wilkins had the coolest looking high top fades.

One tear trickled down my cheek when Villanova beat Georgetown.

My sister and I were scared to go in our attic because of the movie “The Exorcist.” I still won’t watch that movie.

My eyes almost popped out of my head when BET aired Caribbean Rhythms and I first saw Rachel.

Read Part I

If you would like to share your fondest memories of the 70's, 80's, and early 90's with our readers, submit your experiences and a picture (if desired) in our Forum, or e-mail us at ost@urban-archives.com.

Gerald Levert: A Wakeup Call For Us All Gerald Levert, one of our generation's best soul singers passed away from a heart attack at the age of forty.  We should all remember his music, but also take note that our diets and inactivity can have drastic effects.

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Dear Hip Hop:  Political Rap is Gone The days of rhyming about the community have been replaced with materialistic rap. This letter to Hip Hop discusses how Old School MCs used to be the voice for inner-city communities.

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