THE RAIN- Music That Inspires U

[JumpinJack AJ]

This post is kinda inspired by some of Bigted's recent posts...

For people who love real music, u probably identify with the lyrics and what the artist is saying...reguardless of the artist, music genre, or it's airplay. When u find the right song, u find the perfect outlet to help organize your thoughts or clear your head. Well, about 3 years ago, i waz going thru' a really rough time and created a mixtape 2 help me clear my head and get my thoughts right. I actually organized it 2 help me go from a hopeless kind of attitude 2 a place of peace and patience. I just wanted 2 share this tracklisting for those who might identify with music in a similar way i do. I'm including the albums u can find the trax on for those who are interested in tracking them down...again, this is off the top of my head, but i think my memory is good.

THE RAIN - MiXtAPe

1. DMX - Sometimes (Intro) (The Great Depression 2001)

2. 2PAC - F*** The World (Me Against The World 1995)

3. LL COOL J - Can't Think (The G.O.A.T. 2000)

4. BLACK EYED PEAS - Anxiety (Elephunk 2003)

5. SNOW - That's My Life (Two Hands Clapping 2002)

6. 2PAC - So Many Tears (Me Against The World 1995)

7. DMX - Slippin' (Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood 1998)

8. GANG STARR + SNOOP DOGG - In This Life... (The Ownerz 2003)

9. A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - Stressed Out (Phife Dog Version) (Beats, Rhymes, + Life...remix on CD Single 1996)

10. DE LA SOUL - Trying People (AOI: Bionix 2002)

11. BIZZY BONE - Nobody Can Stop Me (Heaven's Movie 1998)

12. MC HAMMER - Where Will I Go (Active Duty 2001)

13. HEAVY D - Dancin' In The Night (Heavy 1999)

14. 2PAC - Me Against The World (Me Against The World 1995)

15. JJ+FP - The Rain (Willennium 1999)

16. GANG STARR - Moment of Truth (Moment of Truth 1998)

17. MC HAMMER - Keep On (V: Inside Out 1995)

19. SPEECH - Movin' On (Hoopla 1998)

EDIT By Big Ted: Now I think we should use this post to talk about what songs we specifically like, I was thinking about using that in the Prayer and Support Circle but I figure it'd probably make more sense to put here, really we could talk about songs we really feel that got us through tough times, I'm gonna make a post now talking about that now, just post about a song that got you through a tough experience if you want to

Edited December 21, 2006 by JumpinJack AJ

[Hero1]

9. A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - Stressed Out (Phife Dog Version) (Beats, Rhymes, + Life...remix on CD Single 1996)

10. DE LA SOUL - Trying People (AOI: Bionix 2002)

15. JJ+FP - The Rain (Willennium 1999))

19. SPEECH - Movin' On (Hoopla 1998)

I listen to those a lot..when i'm feelin like that

[bigted]

Thanks AJ, btw I was playing "The Rain" last night and that lifted my spirits up, I played Hammer's "Help Lord Won't You Help", "Music For Life" on Hi-Tek's album, and LL's "The Crossroads" a lot too, music is therapy :jazzy:

[Turntable]

I allways play "Cant Think". That Album helped me through allot.

[bigted]

There's actually I couple songs on that list I didn't hear but I'm gonna look into them

[bigted]

Now I like to bump KRS-ONE's "Spiritual Minded" album that he released in 2002 everytime I go through tough times, I remember buying the album a couple months after my grandma passed away and it felt like it was what I really needed, even though it ain't really his best album, it's my favorite from him 'cause it really gets me to soul search pretty good, in fact I just pulled it now and started playing it

Edited December 4, 2006 by bigted

[Turntable]

R. Kelly's "U Saved Me Disc" of Happy People/U Saved Me inspired me like nothing else ever did.

[mfuqua23]

Chamillionaire - Void In My Life, Outro

Nas - War, Just A Moment, What Goes Around, Every Ghetto, My Country

Talib Kweli - Around My Way, I Try, Beautiful Struggle

Hip Hop For Respect EP

Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek - On Mission

Jean Grae - The Wall

These songs do it for me.

Edited December 4, 2006 by mfuqua23

[bigted]

Today would be my grandma's birthday if she was still alive, I remember that DMX's "Great Depression" CD dropped a few weeks earlier but after she passed it seem like the album had an even deeper meaning to it, really it was a depressing time 'cause I was real close to my grandma, she was sick for awhile though too so we sorta had a feeling she was going but it still hurt pretty bad, "I Miss You" of course really got me through that time,she loved writing poetry too so I know she'd be proud of me to know that I'm taking after her legacy, she just did for herself though but I'm doing it to reach out to others, really I was sorta just doing songs for fun and to get chicks but really after that I started writing songs with a bigger purpose, I sat in my room the night after I heard she died and I wrote a song reflecting what I thought about how much I love her, maybe I'll post the lyrics in "Numero Uno" later on, it actually felt like her spirit went in me since I've been writing with such a passion and a purpose over these last few years, she's my angel for real, she's in heart forever, in case you never heard DMX's song here are the lyrics, I'm actually playing it right now right when I'm speaking here, RIP nana:

[DMX]

I know that my savior lives

And at the end, he will stand on this earth

My flesh may be destroyed, yet from this body, I will see God

Yes, I will see him for myself - and I long for that moment

Grandma, I really miss you and it ain't been the same

I drop a tear when I, hear yo' name

Mariella Holloway, why you gotta be so far away?

Used to say, "Don't worry, it's gon' be okay"

But it ain't - it's like when you left, you took the Lord witchu

Why couldn't I come when he came to get you?

Damn I really miss you - I had to say it again

I remember the time when I was like ten

Crept up in the neighbor's yard, yeah, bein hard headed

You told me I would get it - you said it!

And boy did I get it, but after you spanked me, you hugged me

Kissed me on my forehead, told me that you love me

And I saw, that it hurt you, more than it hurt me

I thought - how bad could this hurt be? I know now

That's why it's only done out of love

What I wouldn't give for one mo' hug, from grandma

[Chorus: Faith Evans]

Baby it's gon' be okay (she used to tell me that)

Baby it's gon' be okay (I really miss hearin)

Baby it's gon' be okay (she used to tell me that)

Baby it's gon' be okay (I really miss hearin)

[DMX]

What I'm about to say a couple of family members is gon' hate me

But I'ma let you know what's been goin on lately

Now you know since you left, a lot of things witcho kids done changed

Yeah Jackie's still crazy, don't know what's up with James

Ain't seen Jerry in a while, you know he walk like you

And Renee's back in jail, you know she talk like you

Riculah's(?) doin real good now, she workin

Rhonda's still runnin around, trickin, jerkin

Buckeye's buggin, he done lost his mind

And Jarvis? Back out of jail, doin fine

Kylie? He done changed, it ain't all about self

As for my father.. well, that's somethin else

But that's my dog, he hold his grandmother down

My great grandmother, makin a lot of trips out of town

But that's a good thing, and if I could only hear you sing

once more, oh Lord, the comfort it would bring

[Chorus]

[DMX]

You left behind a mother (and) eleven kids (and) eleven grandkids

And since then, two of yo' grandkids done had kids

They had a boy named Tacoma, Xavier's brother, that's right

Xavier's made you a great grandmother

I thank you for the best times of my life

I thank you for when you first met her, accepted and lovin my wife

I thank you for those Sunday dinners, they were vital

I thank you for my - life, I thank you for the bible

I thank you for the songs that you sing in the mornin

(Amazing Grace..) while I'm yawnin

I thank you for the two beatings you gave me

Cause I know somewhere along the line

the lesson I learned from the two beatings saved me

And when you died I cried like a baby, I begged the Lord to take me

Cause no one else could give me what you gave me

But life like everything comes to an end

I pray I go to heaven to see you again - amen

[Chorus] - repeat 2X

[Faith Evans]

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound

that saved a wretch like me

I once was lost, but now I'm found

Was blind, but now I see, yeahhh

EDIT: Today was really a day of reflection for me and my family since today was my nana's birthday, we went to her gravesight today and we prayed for her soul, it was me, my parents, some of my uncles and aunts and cousins, then we went out and had a nice lunch afterwards and then tonight after me and my parents had dinner I basically shared the song that I wrote about her I was talking about earlier to them, I did a performance, and then I played that DMX song to tell them how I was inspired and I played this LL Cool J song "Big Mama" and read a poem that I wrote after I first heard that song too, music is life for real, I thank god for it, nana's smiling down on me right now, she's pushing me to go on, I ain't gonna stop now, I wasn't even gonna come online here today but man what happened today is just too uplifting than to just keep it to myself, I had to come share it with y'all, my other fam through the common bond of that one great duo we all here enjoy, lol, btw here the lyrics for LL's song as well in case you never heard it:

Yeah, this one's dedicated, to my grandmother, and your grandmother

It's all love, let's not forget who raised us, word up

[LL Cool J]

Big Mama, my grandmother, my main girl

I love you much more than the scandalous world

As a young boy you gave me whoopings to save my life

Cursed me out, to keep me out the streets at night

Cause my momma had me when she was young

So you took on the responsbility to raise your grandson

You taught me if a task is once begun, Todd

Never leave it 'til it's done, Todd

Be thy labor great or small Todd

Do it well or not at all, God

Big Mama, my blood is your blood

When the whole world's against me, I know I got your love

If I was in a cell for the rest of my life

I know I'd hear your prayers in the middle of the night

Used to sit me on your lap and teach me mother wit

Early Sunday morning for them salmon and grits

I love you baby, you the one and only, that's a fact

'Til death do us part, I'ma always have your back

You beefed cause you heard that I was cursin in my raps

Eighty-six, still you wanna run and get the straps

I love you, I promise you I care for you deep

Cause when I had bronchitis you would rock me to sleep

Rub me down with green alcohol

Little brown-skinned lady bout five feet tall, Big Mama

[Chorus: Dru Hill] + (LL)

Early one Sunday morning

Breakfast was on the table (you gave me unconditional love)

There was no time to eat, she said to me

Boy hurry to Sunday school (you gave me unconditional love)

[LL Cool J]

I remember when you told me certain friends wasn't real

I didn't wanna listen, I swore I knew the deal

Come to find out, everything you said was true

Who I end up goin to for advice? You

I love you, that's why you got nurses and maids

Ever since I got paid, you ain't never been afraid

That's granddaddy wife, she taught me how to think

How to navigate through life, you made the sacrifice

You kept on livin, cause when my granddaddy died

It took all your might, but you ain't quit on life

We took trips down South, biscuits and chicken

Me you granddad and Alison, trippin

Remember, you used to pick me up from junior high

And classmates laughed when the Buick rolled by

Remember, I pulled my privates out in class

And from Farmers to Dunkirk you straight whooped my (woo!!)

The best cookin a man could ever taste

It's written in my heart, it can never be erased

Thank you so much, you taught me well

How to not get souped up, because I'm LL

How to walk the street, and hold my head real high

How to live with Christ and not be afraid to die

We sipped daquiris, but you never told moms

We even shared beers, Big Mama my dear

A toast to a woman that raised a man

In popular demand all across the land

You're my lawyer, my teacher, my doctor, my friend

My mother, my father, you with me 'til the end

I love you, I mean that from the bottom of my heart

That's the reason why my record's #1 on the charts

I'ma tell it like it is, I love you forever

Dead or alive, we'll always be together

Big Mama I love you

[Chorus]

[LL Cool J]

I dedicate this to the Big Mama's everywhere

The ones who raised us - when nobody else was there

The ones who held us and told us it'll be alright

When gunshots was goin off every night

Taught us how to lock the door and check the peephole

And how to swallow Vicks when we had a chest cold

How to stay proud, and represent hard

Eat plenty baby, but first say grace for God

Big Mama, I'ma miss you

When one of us leave this earth

But baby for what it's worth, I love you since the date of my birth

And if it wasn't for my children, I would wanna go first

You're the reason I'm the man I am today

The inspiration, for me to be LL Cool J

When you told me "Knock 'Em Out," I brought you home a Grammy

I learned to be tough from Big Mama and Aunt Cammy

A black man that was raised by black women

On tour, sippin your special honey and lemon

You told me, gargle with vinegar water and salt

The concert was hot, thanks to your support

Girl - you're the one I love

Whether right here with me or smilin from up above

Trouble or no trouble, you always had my back

So I had to let you know your son appreciates that, Big Mama

[Chorus] - repeat 2X

Edited December 5, 2006 by bigted

[bigted]

I compiled a list of songs to squeeze on my 90 minute blank cassette,

I'm calling it "Big Ted's Motivational Mixtape":

1-Twista and Faith Evans “Hope”

2-Fatih Evans “Again”

3-MC Hammer “Living In A World Like This”

4-MC Hammer “Brothers Hang On”

5-Haiku D'Etat “Wants vs. Needs”

6-JJFP “Shadow Dreams”

7-De La Soul “U Can Do”(Life)

8-Brandy “Who I Am”

9-Donell Jones “Cry”

10-JJFP Feat. Jill Scott “The Rain”

11-LL Cool J “We're Gonna Make It”

12-Wyclef Jean “Grateful”

13-Wyclef Jean, Rah Digga, Scarface “Next Generation”

14- Nas “One Love”

15-Heavy D Feat. Chico Debarge “Ask Heaven”

16-Tribe Called Quest “Vibes And Stuff”

17-2Pac "Keep Ya Head"

18-R. Kelly "When I Think About You"

19-DMX Feat. Mashonda “You Could Be Blind”

20-R.Kelly "I Believe I Can Fly"

21-KRS-ONE “Take Your Time”

22- Public Enemy "Don't Believe The Hype"

23-MC Hammer “Help Lord Won't You Help”

24-Blackstreet “The Lord Is Real”(Time Will Reveal)

25- Boyz II Men & Mariah "One Sweet Day"

Bonus Song: "Music For Life" on Hi-Tek's New Album

[bigted]

Btw here's the final tracklisting that I did for the tape, I finished it last night, btw I'm the only here that gets inspired by music? Don't anybody else have stories to share about songs that make them feel something, even you could talk about songs that give you great memories, take you back to a great experience in your life? I could go on and on...:

1-Twista and Faith Evans “Hope”

2-Fatih Evans “Again”

3-MC Hammer “Living In A World Like This”

4-MC Hammer “Brothers Hang On”

5-Haiku D'Etat “Wants vs. Needs”

6-De La Soul “U Can Do”(Life)

7-Brandy “Who I Am”

8-Donell Jones “Cry”

9-JJFP “Shadow Dreams”

10-JJFP Feat. Jill Scott “The Rain”

11-LL Cool J “Power Of God”

12-Heavy D Feat. Chico Debarge “Ask Heaven”

13- Nas “One Love”

14-Wyclef Jean, Rah Digga, Scarface “Next Generation”

15-BBD “Show Me The Way”

16-2Pac “Keep Ya Head Up”

17- Public Enemy "Don't Believe The Hype

18-Blackstreet “The Lord Is Real”(Time Will Reveal)

19-Boyz II Men & Mariah "One Sweet Day"

20-R.Kelly "I Believe I Can Fly"

I also just added some more motivational songs on the B-side of a cassette that I had mostly r&b songs on the A-side:

DMX “Life Be My Song”

DMX Prayer VI

DMX “Lord Give Me A Sign”

Wyclef Jean “Grateful”

Guy “The Future”

KRS-ONE “Take Your Time”

KRS-ONE “Love Is Gonna Get Ya”

Ja Rule/Lil' Mo “I Cry”

Boyz II Men “Never”

Christina Aguilera “The Voice Within”

Hi-Tek/Nas/Common/J.Dilla/Marsha From Floetry/Busta Rhymes “Music For Life”

Edited December 8, 2006 by bigted

[Turntable]

LL Cool J-Cant Think

Ja Rule-Where I'm From

Public Enemy-Make It Hardcore

Will Smith Feat. Mc Lyte & Tatyana Ali-Who Am I

Eminem-Lose Yourself

Fat Joe-Hidden Hand

Remy Ma Feat. Keysha Cole-Whats Going On

Talib Kweli-I Try

Tupac-Life Goes On

Ja Rule Feat. Chink Santana & Trick Daddy-Life Goes On

Cypress Hill-Trouble

Lil Kim Feat. The Game-Quiet

Biggie-Sky's The Limit

LL Cool J-Big Moma

Will Smith-Potnas

Samy Deluxe-Sorge Song

Samy Deluxe-Gott Sei Dank

Headliners-Homie

Eminem-Toy Soldiers

Fredro Starr Feat. Jill Scott-Shinning Through

Good Charlotte-S.O.S.

Good Cahrlotte-Secrets

Green Day-Boulevard Of Broken Dreams

Good Charlotte-Walk Away

R. Kelly-3 Way Phone Call

R. Kelly-Prayer Changes

R. Kelly-Spirit

R. Kelly-Leap Of Faith

R. Kelly-I Wish

R. Kelly-The Storm Is Over

[Turntable]

I forgot about:

D.O.E. Feat. Lil Jon & Timbaland-Rollin'

Fabulous-Breathe

LL Cool J-Were Gonna Make It

The Roots-Long Time

[JumpinJack AJ]

Since everyone is givin' input and this topic is pinned...i altered the title of this post. When i get a second, i'll post more trax i considered for the tracklisting 4 my mixtape 3 years ago...and some stuff that's come out since.

[Turntable]

I done did some soul searching recently, especaly about Naomi, and I've been listening to allot of old soul record's. Especaly Wilson Picket and Percy Sledge. It really helped me clear out my mind about love.