hippie to the hip hip hop to welcome to new york

September 30, 2010 7:16 AM

The History of Rap w/Jimmy Fallon, Justin Timberlake, The Roots. (SLYT)

Contains at least (some links NSFW) ...

Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight
Run DMC - Peter Piper
Beastie Boys - Paul Revere
A Tribe Called Quest - Award Tour
Digital Undergound - Humpty Dance
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg - Nuthin' But A G Thang
2Pac - California Love
Biggie Smalls - Juicy
The Roots - The Seed (2.0)
Eminem - My Name Is
Missy Elliott - Work It
Soulja Boy Tell'em - Crank That
T.I. - Live Your Life
Kanye West - Gold Digger
Jay Z- New York

posted by sexymofo (45 comments total)

Ga DAMN. Boys are on they shit.
posted by SPUTNIK at 7:21 AM on September 30, 2010

No one looks like they're having more fun than JT.

I particularly appreciated the Seed 2.0 --> My Name Is.
posted by elmer benson at 7:26 AM on September 30, 2010

That was like a rollercoaster of rap memories--surprisingly on-point and entertaining. I don't watch much late night, but Jimmy Fallon seems to be getting better and better.
posted by unwordy at 7:31 AM on September 30, 2010

Wow, I'm impressed. JF and JT both nailed most of those. I didn't really expect either of them to, but wow.

Oh, in case you missed it before, you should chap-hop a watch for more nostalgia.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 7:45 AM on September 30, 2010 [2 favorites]

Pretty funny that the crowd loses it when they do the Beastie Boys
posted by AceRock at 7:52 AM on September 30, 2010 [3 favorites]

This is really impressive, but it says a lot about history: a lot of great stuff is left out.
posted by rageagainsttherobots at 7:53 AM on September 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

I wonder how this thread will compare to this one. Will anyone call this a "war-crimes-level atrocity"?
posted by roll truck roll at 7:56 AM on September 30, 2010

Isn't Jay-Z's song called "Empire State of Mind?"
posted by moviehawk at 7:58 AM on September 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

Oh, also: this was incredible. Timberlake is just awesome in so many ways.
posted by moviehawk at 8:00 AM on September 30, 2010

I hate to admit this but Jimmy Fallon is slowly but surely starting to win me over.
posted by JaredSeth at 8:03 AM on September 30, 2010

HOLY. SHIT.
posted by gwint at 8:03 AM on September 30, 2010

I typically don't pass up an opportunity to dis on Fallon, but this was boss.
posted by bjork24 at 8:11 AM on September 30, 2010 [3 favorites]

I don't know what the hell you guys are talking about. That was a war-crimes-level atrocity.
posted by joedan at 8:14 AM on September 30, 2010 [4 favorites]

This sucks. No Rapture?
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:18 AM on September 30, 2010

OK Fallon was the least impressive part of that. It looked like he was having fun but having a hard time. Everything came easily to Timberlake. Look how effortlessly he moves when they do the Soulja Boy. And the Roots were the Roots.
posted by AceRock at 8:20 AM on September 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

Every time Jimmy Fallon does something great like this, I gloat internally, because I've considered him quite underrated as a host for a long time.

Oh, wait. I guess I actually gloat externally. Hey, six of one.
posted by Linda_Holmes at 8:21 AM on September 30, 2010

I don't know about war-crimes, but the certainly was atrocious.
posted by rusty at 8:28 AM on September 30, 2010

these songs are good but there's a lot of underground new hip hop out there they could have considered like aesop rock, canibal ox, little brother, swollen members, etcc...
posted by LouieLoco at 8:28 AM on September 30, 2010

History of X things only work if people know the songs, otherwise it's just wanking.
posted by smackfu at 8:32 AM on September 30, 2010 [5 favorites]

Really someone should just give Justin Timberlake a variety show. He has been by far the best SNL host in recent years. And that was an amazing Snoop that he did.
posted by maryr at 8:37 AM on September 30, 2010 [8 favorites]

Every time Jimmy Fallon does something great like this, I gloat internally, because I've considered him quite underrated as a host for a long time.

Metafilter: I gloat internally.
posted by d1rge at 8:46 AM on September 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

Is it wrong that that video entertained me more than anything I've watched recently?
posted by Magnakai at 8:49 AM on September 30, 2010

Fallon is crap at interviews, but he's pretty damn good at putting on a show. Splice Craig Ferguson's monologue and interviews with Fallon's sketches and performances and you'd have an amazing late night entertainment show.
posted by ruthsarian at 8:49 AM on September 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

Awesome. Goddamn, some people are so freaking talented. And Timberlake's impression of Snoop is awesome.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 8:54 AM on September 30, 2010

And JT isn't even there to promote an album, he's there to promote his serious drama role in a David Fincher / Aaron Sorkin movie.
posted by smackfu at 8:55 AM on September 30, 2010

Awesome. I knew JT was a risk-taker and a heartbreaker from his SNL stuff, but this has me seeing Fallon in a much brighter light. Sure, he couldn't dance and sing like JT, but who can? JT has been doing it professionally since he was a child. There is no shame in looking worse than JT. Props to him for trying.
posted by acheekymonkey at 9:04 AM on September 30, 2010 [2 favorites]

Goddammit, I can't hear that New York song without my mind immediately switching to Coldplay.
posted by hopeless romantique at 9:31 AM on September 30, 2010

[obligatory comment about the audience being entirely white]
posted by davejay at 9:32 AM on September 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

Timberlake's on the jazz.
posted by Dreamcast at 9:59 AM on September 30, 2010

I don't watch much late night TV, but Fallon never seems to get any respect. When I see stuff like this, I wonder why.
posted by howling fantods at 10:00 AM on September 30, 2010

Jimmy has been getting better and better for the last year or so. I found his show in a Winnipeg hotel room last winter, and was prepared for it to be terrible. Instead, I stayed up to watch the whole thing and really enjoyed it. Now I catch the show whenever I have the chance. He comes up with some funny, really original things.

One recurring gag he does is the "Battle of the Instant Bands," where they pull 8 people from the audience before the show who say they were musicians, split them into two bands, then gave them an hour or so to name themselves, write a song, and practice it together. Each band then performs their song on the show and the crowd votes for the winners, who get to keep their instruments. It's pretty cool to see instant collaboration among strangers, and for the performers (even if their song is necessarily not that great) it must be a thrill to be announced as a band and then play on national television.
posted by AgentRocket at 10:25 AM on September 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

I don't watch much late night TV, but Fallon never seems to get any respect. When I see stuff like this, I wonder why.

I think late night shows are actually better via YouTube clips. Most of the interviews, which take up most of the time, are boring. And the daily monologue can be pretty intolerable too.
posted by smackfu at 10:51 AM on September 30, 2010

That was pretty enjoyable until they started doing the Soulja Boy, at which point it became Great.

Also, apropos of Live Your Life, what a long, strange trip it's been for the Numa Numa song.
posted by Copronymus at 11:13 AM on September 30, 2010

I hate to admit this but Jimmy Fallon is slowly but surely starting to win me over.

I'm afraid I feel the same way about JT. Fallon was mediocre, but that Timberlake kid has some skills.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:19 AM on September 30, 2010

I watched one Fallon episode a week or two after the show first started, and he did this wonderfully hilarious bit. He started with a completely straight-faced introduction about how local news sometimes gets overlooked in national television, but it shouldn't because it's just as important. Then he started "reporting" local news for some small town in Michigan: doing jokes of the standard "headline + pop culture reference" formula, except both the headlines and the punchlines were extremely esoteric to this one town. Is that a recurring segment?
posted by roll truck roll at 11:54 AM on September 30, 2010

Template for a Vegas revue in the near future...
posted by bonefish at 2:34 PM on September 30, 2010

I don't know about war-crimes, but the certainly was atrocious.

So is your proof-reading.
posted by arveale at 4:13 PM on September 30, 2010

Missing some big ones, assume all links are not necessarily safe for work (language):
Public Enemy
2 Live Crew[NSFW - despite being on Phil Donahue]
Sir Mix-a-Lot
Ice Cube
Ice-T
Vanilla Ice
Black Sheep
Jurrassic 5
WuTang Clan

And history people never noticed when it was occuring:
Talib Kweli
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:19 PM on September 30, 2010 [3 favorites]

I really, really enjoyed that. So much fun. I miss Fallon since we don't have cable anymore (I'm in Australia). Gave me goosebumps. JT is a guilty pleasure of mine and I think Fallon gets better and better.
posted by bdave at 6:03 PM on September 30, 2010

Alternate link. The Youtube clip has been taken down.
posted by roll truck roll at 6:56 PM on September 30, 2010

AAAAAAAAAAAUGH! FUCKING NBC BLOCKED IT!





*pouts*
posted by liza at 8:25 PM on September 30, 2010

caught and am having a cognitive dissonant moment here.


i mean ...


if our politics were more like our music, we wouldn't have the Tea Party.


just sayin'
posted by liza at 8:32 PM on September 30, 2010

Uh, this is an old Roots bit. This used to be a staple of their live show.
posted by Kattullus at 9:14 PM on September 30, 2010 [2 favorites]

if our politics were more like our music, we wouldn't have the Tea Party.

the music business had it's own tea party during the 90s through the 2000s. slyts: 1 & 2
posted by the aloha at 10:12 PM on September 30, 2010

An old Roots bit? Oh, that explains it then! There's no way Fallon or Timberlake would have come up with this list.

Kudos to them for including Award Tour, that's one hell of a joint.
posted by Catblack at 11:03 PM on September 30, 2010