MY TOP 10: 90s/00s Pop/R&B Divo Music Video Jump-Offs – 2. The Notorious B.I.G. “Juicy”

So, it’s been a year since I started popolio.com and kicked it of with my first MY TOP 10 Countdown in September 2008.  Since popolio.com was jumping off, I kicked it off with MY TOP 10: 90s/00s Pop/R&B Diva Music Video Jump-Offs.  Well, this is the twelfth month, so I thought it would create nice symmetry if I presented the men as a bookend to that very first countdown before Year 2 officially begins.  This time around the Div-Os, or Divos, will get the spotlight.

Two down; one to go.

2. The Notorious B.I.G. “Juicy”
Hip Hop became the dominant force in music from the ’80s and into the ’90s.     Hip hop today is “pop.”  Not that there’s a “poppy” sound there, but it is one of, if not the, dominant genres of mainstream popular music.  At the heart of its story are the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac.  I heard Jamie Foxx refer to himself and KanYe West as the Batman and Robin of music on TV once.  I think the true Batman and Robin of hip hop were Biggie and Puffy.  Biggie could definitely rhyme and Diddy provided, arguably, some of the best beats in all of hip hop history.  Something about that pairing at that time worked and it started with this single “Juicy” from his debut, Ready to Die.   Now, when someone dies, it does seem to make them a deeper and faster legend than maybe they would have become.  Still, this represents a moment in time that can never be duplicated.  The BONUS, the posthumous ”The Notorious B.I.G” from Born Again, is a tribute to Biggie Smalls.  I was impressed when I found out the sample was from Duran Duran BITD.

***BONUS*** Notorious B.I.G. featuring Lil’ Kim and Puff Daddy “Notorious B.I.G.”

 

MY TOP 10: Music Video Cameos — 5. Jennifer Lopez “Been Around The World”

I thought it would be fun to countdown MY TOP 10:   Music Video Cameos.  That is, music videos with cameos by non-musical personalities who are known for working in other areas of show biz.  My criteria were that:

1) the video be memorable, of course;
2) the featured personality not be another musical artist at the time (now if they became musical artists at a later point that’s another story; they’re still eligible);
3) the featured personality be known at the time (not be an unknown who became known later); and
4) the cameo be a worthwhile part in the video (not just a 2-second spot).

5. Jennifer Lopez in Puff Daddy & The Family’s “Been Around The World” featuring the Notorious B.I.G. and Ma$e

Okay, so it’s no secret I’m a J.Lo fan.  Now, this was right at the brink of J.Lo mania.  A little before kicking off her music career, but she’s in Diddy’s video here who was instrumental in her early pop success.  So, you know things were already percolating and brewing between the two regarding her next moves musically and personally.

If you’re going to have cameo in a music video, this is the way to do it — as the queen of some fictional country.  I’d be the queen of some fictional country.  (Okay, so she’s the princess of Tunisia, but queen of some fictional country is so much better.)  And you get to get your dance on.  I’d get my dance on, too.  A remake of sorts of the Lisa Stansfield classic, “All Around The World.”  Vivica A. Fox, Quincy Jones, and Wyclef Jean also guest.  Enjoy!