Alright. Okay. Alright. Okay.

Last night I went to Funky Buddha with foxycoxy for Itchie Fingers's birthday. I don't really go to FB because I feel uncomfortable with 1) the intense orientalism of the decor and 2) their drinks being hella expensive. But sometimes you make exceptions, because I knew it would be good to chat with Coxy, because Itch is a friend-of-friends and I wouldn't mind if he became my friend, and because I knew the music would be amazing. And sure enough, he and Aquil did not let us down. Getting in without paying a cover didn't hurt either.

I haven't been in a space playing all hip-hop in such a long time, I was like, oh yeah, why don't I do this more? But my favorite part of parties and clubs and events is that moment when a classic (or underplayed) gem comes on and it unites the room, everyone perks up and nods their head or dances and sings along. You know what I'm talking about. When I was standing at the bar, singing along to Pharcyde's Passing Me By with a stranger, I thought "I want to make a 2-disc mix of all these songs!" I told Coxy I would make it for her as part of her indoctrination to hip-hop.

So this morning, I'm up early, and I'm culling songs. But I want help. Normally I'm controlling about my mixes, but I think this would be served better as a collective effort. I know I will forget songs, and because the nature of this mix is such that I might choose stuff that would get me (and thebrownhornet) super-excited, but won't quite elicit the phenomenon in the club that I'm talking about. So help me, livejournalers who listen to hip-hop! Here's what I have so far. Songs with asteriks are "maybe" votes, so if you think they might be too obscure, let me know. And tell me what songs I'm forgetting! They don't have to be 'old', my choices are heavy in the late 80s to late 90s, and I don't want this to be a mix about 'who can name the oldest, most influential joint in hip hop" game -- I want songs that create collective love, but also don't want it to be too pop-y.

Ok, so far I have:

Passing Me By - The Pharcyde
Ready Or Not - The Fugees
Quiet Storm (remix) - Mobb Deep feat. Lil'
If I Ruled the World - Nas with Lauryn Hill
Juicy - Notorious B.I.G.
Flava In Ya Ear (remix) - Craig Mack
A Roller Skating Jam Named ''Saturdays'' - De La Soul
SpottieOttieDopaliscious - Outkast
Daytona 500 - Ghostface Killah *
Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik - Outkast
Take It Personal - Gang Starr *
I Used To Love Her - Common Sense
All That I Got Is You - Ghostface Killah
You Can Do It - Ice Cube [I should probably do "It Was a Good Day" instead?] *
Sock It 2 Me (Featuring Da Brat) - Missy Elliott [Or should I do "The Rain"] *
Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A.
Stress - Organized Konfusion *
Verbal Intercouse - Raekwon
I Ain't No Joke - Rakim
Elevators (Me And You) - Outkast
The Next Movement - The Roots
Can I Kick It? - A Tribe Called Quest
Gin And Juice - Snoop Doggy Dogg
Roughneck - MC Lyte [or should I do "Lyte as a Rock" or "Paper Thin"?]
Crush on You - Lil Kim [though I'm considering "Drugs" instead, if only because that Sylvester sample is hot and gets used later on by Dr. Dre and Erykah Badu]
My Philosophy - BDP
My Mind Playin' Tricks on Me - Geto Boys

(This isn't an intentional order, btw. I'm just in the gathering songs phase. Also, this might be a 3-disc set.)

Damn, I just realized I have no songs from The Chronic as mp3s. I might need to go peruse my vinyl collection for more inspiration.

Tell me your thoughts.