I miss you so much. I know I sound like a needy chick…’Redman oh Redman, wherefore art thou Redman?’ but I need your kind of verbal wordplay and tomfoolery right now. Let me tell you, as grimy as you are (remember your episode of MTV Cribs?), you are also just as attractive because you are a true wordsmith. I remember meeting you at Peanuts in LA; you were high as a kite and confused by my friend’s attempt to partake with you. I was so caught up in the visual stimulation that is Method Man, that I never took advantage of my opportunity to have a conversation with you. Look I’m tired, I’m hungry and I hate the radio-on the way home from work, I had to shut that mess off. This is total stream-of-consciousness so it might seem that I rambled for a just a minute but I’m trying to express how I feel right now. I need that good ‘ol mobbing to the city (NYC) kinda feel I used to have listening to you while getting ready for a night out in my dorm. We girls would congregate on ‘the lawn’ around 11 or midnight, dressed in some form of black in keeping with the unofficial NYC dress code, we’d then pile into Rachel’s car, and hit the Major Deegan, rolling to some then-hotspot like Tramps, Bentleys (I hated that place), or S.O.B.s. I used to get so pumped and ready to party when listening to your music. When I first started college Dare Iz a Darkside was out, that joint was dark and gritty, but still witty. Muddy Waters was released several years later and had the catchy single ‘Whateva Man’, leading to why I even started my Redman ramble in the first place. While stopping at the store after work today I spied a 40-something year old black gentleman, who from a distance looked well-dressed, crossing the street against a green light (that should have been why I stared at him, but sadly in Baltimore crossing on the green is everyday behavior). He was wearing a faded dark blue button-down collared shirt with the sleeves rolled neatly to the elbow and on the bottom, a pair of starched lime green khaki-style pants. Well, his color combo against his own deep-brown palette made for quite a look and not in a good way. The first thing that popped into my mind after seeing this image, was a line from your song ‘Whateva Man’, “Everything that’s lime green ain’t the bomb bitch!” I swear that just popped into my mind like a little leprechaun. What’s especially funny is that at the time this album was released lime green was the ‘in’ color, mostly favored by chicks although some of the fellas got in on the action. I hee-hawed in my car, less at the man’s outfit more for the memory that seeing his pants conjured. I should thank this man for taking my mind off the mundane details of my evening to-do list. As soon as I got home, I flipped through my cd book, pulled out the Muddy Waters cd and immediately started playing it. Thank you for your lyrics; I’m not just responding to the beat when I listen to your music, I’m connecting on all levels and your skits, should be stand-up acts. I’m definitely stuck in the mid-90s when it comes to you even though I like some of your later work particularly both Blackout cds, but the ones I mentioned here will be in rotation forever.
Take a look at the ‘Whateva Man’ music video on the site last.fm:
Cija's Quips 