Remembering Boostin' Billy

a real street legend... and a real dude...

i aint really got a lot of pictures left. from movin between this city n that city and catchin bids (havin my brother or sister go n get my shit outta apartments n shit), a lost a lot of shit, a lot of history. i had a couple of pictures of a certain r&b chick in a certain way. shots of me n a singer that was on the last Jay Z album. legendary street niggas from North Philly like Chicago (RIP) and Capase. shots of legendary graff niggas; me at the Lay-Up with LEE, those photos of me, NM, ESPO and KADISM up at ESPO's 1st are show on Prince St. so when my daughter found a picture of me in the studio from back them times, it fucked me up. brought back a lot of memories...

the music shit made me think about certain shit that i aint though about in years. see, back in the day, i had a poppin record out called 'Ease Back' that had Philly on smash. i used to go by the name Jon Doe, which was a take on the graffiti shit, which is a known unknown, cause i wasnt really tryin to rock with the graff name cause i was still activ. graff was graff, and rap was rap. at least thats how i saw it. but the photo was from Larry Gold's Studio. and i remembered that Bill used to ride out wit me on that music shit too. i fucked me up when those thoughts came back to me. i aint thought about that shit in years.

i did the album release party for the Roots when they got they 1st deal. i think that was with Geffen. that show was me, Jeru The Damaja (when 'Come Clean' was smashin shit), The Fugees (just comin off the 1st album, the one wit Nappy Heads) and it was another local Philly group i cant remember. but i do remember i was late to the soundcheck cause we had went out on a me-ah. i had a Cherokee truck them times, the Laredo, fly shit. Bill used to fill the back of that mothafucka! niggas'll tell u. we dressed that hood. regardless, when we was there for soundcheck, we had on me-ah cllothes. when we came back for the show, we was CRAZY dipped. that was the year that the DKNY shield sweaters hit, n them shits was crazy. wait, i think i had on the DKNY rugby with the brown 'Lo Leather. Cookie boots, tortoise shell with wire frames, Tag Hauer watch wit the nappy. sun had some of that DKNY shit that night too, if i recall correctly. i could be wrong. Bill had CRAZY Lo shit. reagrdless, when we got there, sun started sellin shit to niggas in the backstage area! we used to stay at them girls, so sun put me on Lauryn Hill, like go get that. i mean, she wasn't Lauryn Hill yet; she was just a fly chick from Jersey that got booed that night. (1st album was wack...yall remember...) so i caught them digits and we rocked the show. as i recall it was me, B-Bill, Duece Man and Bosco. they just chilled onstage while i rocked my routine. i got loose. Bill was fuckin wit the girls in the audience. fly nigga shit.

then i remember the time A Tribe Called Quest was at University of Pennsylavania. we jus comin back from catchin shit, n we was like, 'whats this?' i aint hear about no show, so it was fly to run into one. so sun changed his shirt and we was like fuck it, we in here. i was like fuck payin, cause i knew mad niggas, so we went lookin for the side entrance. when we got there, it was nothin but whitebaws, and i aint know none of 'em. Bill was like "let's steam this shit, sun!" i was like naw, follow me. so i walked in asked where Jairobi was. dude was like, "who?" the other white dude was like "he's wit the band". Bill  jumped right in, "we got his clothes for the show, word up", and pulled a bunch of shit out of his nappy. they was like "go right in". we went right up front and Bill started screamin "Lo Life's! what?!?" so i started too. Q-Tip came over and was like "I see Brooklyn in the house!" and we started "bo-bo-bo-bo!" (im from Philly, but my pops is Guyanese who lived in the Stuy during my childhood, so some of that Brooklyn shit is in my ditty bop). but they shouted us properly. "Lo-Lifes in the buildin" Bill threw the nigga Phife a t-shirt and sun Phife put it on and rocked the show. and this was when 'Award Tour' was poppin, so they was rockin the LO End Theory shit. we blew Ls and got at some bitches. it was a fly evening. fly nigga shit, on the humbug.

then there was the time the baw John Doe from Queens came to Dances. i forgot what song they had out then, but  i do remember Bill callin me like "sun! go battle that nigga, sun! word up!" im like, this nigga got me on a whole 'nother route. i left a fly ass bitch from Temple (i used to run thru them bitches. and they was some BAD bitches in that school. Zhane and Jill Scott was in school durin them times). so we get down there, and Bobby Dance see Bill comin and just let us in. this nigga rushed the club so many times that the nigga just used to let him in to avoid the ruckus (it was called 'ruckus' in the 90s. word to Wu Tang). we get inside and the nigga wouldnt have no parts of it. soon as Bill started statin Lo-Lifes, niggas got shook. the baw John Doe wouldnt come address the issue. Bobby Dance asked us to let the baw do the show. so we did. blew an L, and got at some bitches. real hip hop shit.

then there was the time we went down to the taping of 'The Show'. i cant for the life of me remember how we wound up down there, but i know we had wears cause Bill was gettin shit off.  i was on my 'i know niggas shit', so we went to the back door. Fruit was on post, so of course he got militant. so Bill was ready to rush the door, and its just me n him! so i start namin niggas, but shit was startin to get outta hand. so right when we was ready to set it, one of the promoters came over, like, "what's the problem?" i was like "Troy!" it was Troy Carter, Eve's manager. back them times he was throwin a bunch of shows. i aint even know he did that joint. that was "The Show", the Russel Simmons movie at the Armory in Philly. so he was like "let them in! tha's my man!" so we slide in, i gave money the peon smirk, Bill gave him the 'fddduck outta here!' so Troy take us backstage, right, we dont know who performin that night. but its willd bitches in the back. i see my homegirl Tasha, she's like Puerto Rican and Jamaican with one of the best asses that god gave to man. so i slides her back stage to holla at her, niggas is like, 'who is this dude? just walkin in and baggin bad bitches'. n i look, n Bill sellin shit out the nappy! so he get rid of shit quick, so we just chillin watchin, i think it was Method Man on stage when he was hot. but comin up the side is this big, fat, black muhfucka breathin hard as shit, wit a suit on. its this nigga Biggie! so Bill immediately started with that "Lo-Lifes! Nigga what!" so i start soundin off, cause i dont know where he directin this shit at. he lookin at Biggie! and, my word is bond, my word to my mother who passed this year, the nigga Big was lookin out the corner of his eye, like... like he was scared! i'll never forget it. my man Troy was like, "c'mon fam, yall got to calm down. yall got these white people nervous". the shit was on Drexel campus, which was VERY white (the Indians the only color u see in that school), so we cooled out and enjoyed the show, blew a L, and got at some bithes. fly nigga shit. backstage at one of Big's last major performances. real hip hop shit.

all of this had me thinkin about his music. we always did music together. and i was waitin on niggas to bring some good copies of his shit. im an engineer now, i used to work in studios in NY, so i know what in doin. Dollah Bill aka Dave Lo gave me his shit maybe a year or so ago and i told him i was gonna put it out and give the money to his babies. i think Bill's mom got the kids. but i went thru baby mother shit and with buildin the new studio got sidetracked like shit. but i been listenin to it for the last 2 weeks, and last week, i went in. it was TUFF, cause it was poor quality recordings that i had to work with. i turned down some money. but i got it up to par. so now, i'm gonna live up to my word.

so all you Lo-Lifes get ready, cause im gettin ready to drop Boostin Billy's music! i called the album "When I First Moved To Philly", after a song he made, and i think its fittin cause he shoutin out Philly shit on this joint. make no mistake, my nigga was ILL. he made songs. and on the real, not for nothin, when i got it good and i could hear his voice again, the shit made me tear up, sun. i aint afraid to say it. its still wild to me that he aint here. 'SPECIALLY now that Lo-Life shit is global and niggas like Meyhem Lauren is really bubblin, and Thirstin is killin shit. he should be here for this shit. and i'mma make sure he is. and then make sure his seeds have a good holiday this year. and not on some charity shit. this is what their father left for them. we gone show them what Love and Loyalty means. 

right?

be on the lookout for more info. 

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