Throwback Thursdays

Ah...Collaborations. They can be a beautiful thing. I'm not talking about the type of callabo that you hear these days. You know, when you can't tell whether it's an RNB song with some dude rhyming or a Hip-Hop song with someone singing the hook. I'm talking about a perfect pairing. Like fine wine with the best meal. Today's Throwback pays homage to the flawless marriage of two notable musical genres. Grand Puba and Mary J. Blige practically define this dynamic combination on Check It Out. And if Puba Maxwell was the peanut butter to Mary's jelly- then The Brand New Heavies were definitely the bread that brought it all together production-wise. The bass line is still one of the flyest to be done on a Hip-Hop track with live instruments. No disrespect to Leonard Hub. This video always takes me back. People were yet to really crown the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul. Puba had just recently gone solo from Brand Nubian with Reel to Reel and I was not getting over it easily. Granted, 360 (What Goes Around) was a nice way for him to kick in the door all by his lonely- but it was this joint that made me cop the album. And the treatment for the video was so simple- it just worked. Mary, Puba and few heads chill out in a warehouse. There's some dancing, but nothing too crazy. That's it. Ain't no more to it. The way they go line for line is what endears me most to this song. As usual, Honey from Uptown was in songbird mode- and this was raw Mary. Like Mary singing back-up on Father MC's Do For You. Also, you have to appreciate Puba as an MC. Even on the more structured tracks on this album, he maintains an almost improvisational, freestyle flow.
"I drink a Snapple and I wet my Adam's Apple..." Does it get any better? I have to agree with Ms. Blige on this one. Puba knows how to flow. As Ferris would say, "It is so choice."