Recently, I began a project on my site Bloggerhouse entitled “Bloggerhouse presents 75 Backpack Bangers” (1994-2000). The post was a reaction to the recently posted list on Complex dubbed “The 75 Greatest Tunnel Bangers” which was compiled by Cipha Sounds. As I perused the list I realized that about 33% of that list were songs that I hated at the time and a few more were joke fodder for my circle of friends and associates. This led me to decide to make my own damn list.

Why? Because between the years of 1994-2000, I was ages 18-25 & already a veteran of the music industry. I was the kid in school that everyone would ask for the new songs & tapes from. I knew what was going on with different projects. My crew was on the brink on “getting on” at a time when it looked like Boston Hip Hop had a chance to go national. It didn’t happen. I just felt the overwhelming need to tell my side of the story through music.

Some of the greatest Hip Hop ever made was produced during this time period. Think about it. The 2nd Golden Age Of Hip Hop was 1992-1996 (which was kicked off by what The Source dubbed “The Year Of The Underground” and the true origins of the “backpacker” in 1992). The Telecommunications Act Of 1996 was signed which in part led to the indie boom and what I call the Backpack Era (1997-2002).

Between 1994-2000 you have a time period where underground music was an acceptable part of mainstream/major label Hip Hop. By 2000, those same cats are now considered the minor leagues or a separate entity entirely by the fans. The odd thing is that the major label artists & indie artists still had venues where they could at least interact with each other. By 2002, that entire scene would be splintered.

These changes in the industry were parallels to the life changes I experienced between the ages of 18-25 as well. In 1994, I was rockin’ jerseys, Champion hoodies, Polo, Nautica, Abercrombie & Fitch, Britches, Adidas & Timberlands regularly. A lot of the time I never had to pay for it. My crew & I just went downtown deep on missions & we had brand new shit to rock that month. I’m sure everyone wondered why I had an endless supply of gear in high school, huh?

Hip Hop at the time was grimy but at the same time it was still balanced. You had variety. In our crew you had the dudes that were the thinkers and diplomats, you had the live wires that would straight knock a muthafucka out. You had the pretty boys that could get you in the door to places most couldn’t get into. The bottom line was that you had to be willing to scrap & hold down your boys when shit got hot. Shook ones need not apply.

We were all convinced that we were gonna be the next Wu Tang Clan. We were going to begin a new empire. We had all it took. We had the illest emcees and producers in house already, vocalists, the knowledge of the industry, connections, business savvy, marketability and a back catalog of material we were just going to put out independently until we caused a bidding war between labels. We had it all planned out.

During this time, all of the Hip Hop that dropped and inspired us on our mission meant so much more than just a song that we liked off of whomever’s album. Bring up a song like Shadz Of Lingo’s “Mad Flavas” remix or Da King & I’s “Tearz” remixes to a true head. You think that conversation won’t last a hour at least? This list has made me dig out all of my old issues of The Source and pore back through my tapes and Discogs checking singles and release dates. It’s launched several Skype & Gmail chats as well.

If not, then you truly don’t understand what this music really means to us. It’s literally the soundtrack to us becoming men and women. That’s why we take it so seriously when people come along and disrespect it by watering it down. There’s a reason why I wake up @ 4 AM writing down yet another song that I may have missed from this era that resonated with heads from that era.

Every year that passes is SOMEONE’S 1988. Heads understand what I mean by that. Nostalgia will always make things seem so much better than they actually were because of what you were experiencing at the time or what stage of your life you were in. That’s why adults will always tell children that cartoons were better when they were kids regardless of it’s true or not. In our cases, we’re actually usually right though.

When the game switched we just said “fuck the labels” & started up our own. We stayed in the lab cooking up heat. We split time between our home studio @ 487 Mass. Ave, Cybersound Recording Studio @ 349 Newbury St. or whomever had time at a local studio and needed beats or verses. We were still young and the future and the world was ours for the taking. Or so we thought.

There comes a time where you can’t roll up in stores @ Downtown Crossing with a crew of heads with premade lizzie bags, wire cutters, magnets that kill sensors and the will to knock out a security guard to escape with some gear to keep the freshest Rap dudes in Boston. This “75 Backpack Bangers” list is literally the soundtrack to a large segment of Hip Hop fans young lives. That’s why it’s taken on a life of it’s own. It’s bigger than us.

You get too old to hop turnstiles or pull them back so you can squeeze through to sneak on the train. Giving someone a speedknot with a bottle of Cristal at the club gets old after a while. You simply can’t stay 21 forever. When your life changes, your priorities change. When your priorities change, everything else does as well. You may not feel like digging for the new hot shit at age 25 the same way you did at ages 18 through 21.

You may not want to become the next RZA or Lord Finesse anymore, either. The bottom line is that the music of the era that defines when you grew up occupies a special place in your heart, mind & soul that never dissipates. This is why YouTube is huge and every 80’s property is becoming a movie right now. While the past will always hold a special place in my heart I refuse to be stuck in it. You can never go back. Just deal with the present and build towards the future.

I never became a Boston Hip Hop legend. Peter Rosenberg won’t ever be doing a Hellsenda Productions or Hellfire Club Noisemakers. Xtensive Nterprises Recordings isn’t currently celebrating it’s 15th year as an indie label like Duck Down Records is. I’ve accepted all of that. I’ll never lose my passion for Hip Hop no matter what year it is or what age I become because it’s a part of me I could never relinquish.

Just like not matter how far I am from home I’ll always be a Bostonian, no matter what age I am I’ll always be that kid with the tape in the deck with PLAY, RECORD & PAUSE held down waiting for that new shit to play. No matter what happens we will always be crew. Now that we’re all home and united nothing’s going to stop us. Fuck going back or talking about what didn’t happen in the past. Let’s do it NOW.

Dedicated to all of my true heads from 1985 to now. RIP to all of my fallen friends. Every day I wake up I’ll work hard to honor all of your memories. Shout to Jaz for inspiring this post and my Bloggerhouse brethren Eric & Travis for going all in with me.

One.