SHOUT OUT EVERYBODY THAT FELL OFF VOL. 1: TERROR SQUAD

Flipping through the vinyl stacks at the station, I came upon some mint Mystikal, Amerie, and Omarion wax (seriously plotting to swipe all of the above and I don’t care who knows) and thought to myself, “damn, what happened y’all?” It seems like mere minutes ago I was 13 and setting my ringtone to “Shake Ya Ass”—the New Orleans MC literally screaming “I CAME HERE WITH MY D*** IN MY HAND” every time mom texted about the soccer practice carpool. We here at WRGW Music Blog Inc. Worldwide pride ourselves on staying relevant in bringing you thoughtful features pertaining to the best new music around—but what about those who are no longer with us? Whether they were an old fashioned one-hit-wonder, had a kid, or went to jail, they straight fell OFF. I’ve decided it’s high time to resurrect some of these treasures from their Titanic-esque underwater grave, if only for a paragraph. Think of S/O EVERYBODY THAT FELL OFF as the #throwbackthursday of blog features, a peace-sign-selfie-less reminder of what once was. First up: Terror Squad.

Terror Squad was a Bronx-based hip hop collective most notabley containing Big Pun and Fat Joe, roughly 1,110 lbs of Puerto-Rican lyrical fury and FUBU.  The Squad’s ’99 debut The Album was a radio smash, but the group went on hiatus after Pun’s death from a heart attack just one year later. Fat Joe took a ticket for an Ashanti hook in the interim, enjoying a successful solo run that helped leverage the Squad’s resurrection with the release of sophomore album True Story (let me just say the cover art is amazing. Also, anthropology majors take note: it has become something of a fossil record, containing the first traces of DJ Khaled’s Tickle Me Elmo tags, “WE THE BEST” and “WE TAKIN’ OVER.”)

Competing with Martha Stewart for the hardest b!tch of ’04, Joe and new gap-toothed addition Remy Ma dropped “Lean Back,” the summer banger that had you lacing up those Phat Farm shell toes and lowkey Googling “seven forty fizive.” The track’s hilariously censored video contains more Lil John/ Kevin Hart cameos and popped Sean Jean collars than one probably ever should, and True Story failed to produce anything close to “Lean Back’s” success, resulting in the Squad’s re-disbandment. Yet in spite of all this, “Lean Back’s” beat is still FIRE, and though it’s been nine years, I still catch myself adjusting my seat to Jordan Catalano preference when I hear that first “AOOOOOW” pound my entire tricycle-sized Corolla.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajmI1P3r1w4&w=640&h=480]

Catch a rare sighting of a pale pink Florida themed five panel and much much more in Terror Squad’s phenomenal “Lean Back.”

-Emily Manning

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