Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases Chubb Rock's 1991 Hip Hop record with Jamaican Dancehall flavor "Just The Two Of Us" by Chubb Rock. Information about Chuck Rock is included in this post along with an excerpt of that song's lyrics, selected comments from several discussion threads of YouTube postings of that video, and my comments about that record and video.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
Thanks to Chubb Rock for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
Note: Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-real-meaning-of-albert-kings-blues.html for a pancocojams post on Albert King's Blues Song "Cold Feet". Chubb Rock's Hip-Hop song "Just The Two Of Us" is one of a number of songs that sampled Albert King's "Cold Feet".
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INFORMATION ABOUT CHUBB ROCK
From [summary statement for the video showcased below]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmaaUlmaL0A
posted by old school vids, Feb 1, 2012
"Chubb Rock (born Richard Simpson on May 28, 1968 in Jamaica) is a New York-based rapper who released several commercially successful hip hop albums in the early 1990s. A former National Merit Scholar, Chubb Rock was a pre-med student who dropped out of Brown University to pursue his musical career."
-snip-
"Chubb" is a descriptive (but usually not negatively meant) nickname for a person (usually male) who is chubby, i.e. "plumb", overweight but not really fat. Chubb Rock was also affectionately referred to as the "Chubbster" ("Chubbsta") and "Chubbs".
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From http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/BTTL_chubbrockone.html
Originally posted August 28th, 2012
..."In a culture that celebrates its pioneers and prominent recording artists, the quiet and humble Chubb Rock is often overlooked, simply because he's not out there asking for it. He certainly deserves it though. Born in Kingston, Jamaica but Brooklyn by trade, the large in charge rapper who described himself as "6 foot 3, 260 and change" was collaborating with hip-hop producer and first cousin Hitman Howie Tee throughout the late 1980's on hits like "Ya Bad Chubbs" that were favorites anywhere hip-hop could be heard on radio or basic cable. It was 1991's "The One" though that really broke him out in a big way. "The Chubbster" showcased his nimble tongue, passionate flow, and ability to promote a positive mindset without coming off as cornball...
Much like his heavyset cousin, Howie Tee's contributions to hip-hop are often overlooked or disregarded, but his catalogue of work for Select Records defined not only that label but a whole generation of hip-hop. "Treat Em Right" bridged the gap between boom bap and new jack beautifully. An uptempo booming bass background met with swing, married it, and produced a top ten hit as its offspring. Despite his skill to ill on the mic and a stature that few sensible people would mess with, his skillful rap lyrics were tinged with a sense of humility almost out of proportion to the star he was...
I'm not particularly enamored with the song "Cat," even though I understand Chubbs felt the need to have at least one song expressing his love of nubian queens. The sentiment is on point, hearing him sing on the chorus less so. It really suffers in comparison to the hard hitting "Just the Two of Us," which is NOT an ode to women, but expressed a much deeper brotherly love for his friend and comrade Howie Tee."...
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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Chubb Rock - Just The Two of Us
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Old School Vids, Uploaded on Feb 1, 2012
-snip-
Read the summary statement above.
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MY EDITORIAL COMMENTS ABOUT "JUST THE TWO OF US" WITH PARTIAL LYRICS
Like Albert King did in his record “Cold Feet”, in “Just the two of us”, Chubb Rock brags about how the record he is making will be a hit.
One verse of Albert King's "Cold Feet" alludes to making love to his woman. In contrast, in a good portion of "Just The Two Of Us" Chubb Rock big ups (brags about) his sexual prowess (for example the line "She got all Vanessa Del Rio on me", "Vanessa Del Rio" is (or was) a Harlem [New York] based Afro-Latina porn star. That said, my reading of this song's lyrics is that "the two of us" in Chubb Rock's song refer to the comradery between him and his cousin and co-producer Howie Tee, and not to him and any woman he's making out with.
Here's an excerpt of that song's lyrics from:
http://genius.com/Chubb-rock-just-the-two-of-us-lyrics/.
"It's the Hitman, yes the Hitman, yo ya know it
The thirst quencher, the man on the sequencer
He was scared to kick a sixteen bar, he's not a rap star
Not saying that I am, but I'm the jam
I'm going to kick a little not a Dr. Suess riddle
No cats in hats, fox in some socks
But to the DJ jocks check your clocks
Half past what? Time to bust nut
Not a pistachio; he uses a Casio keyboard
And a Tascam board
To kick in the P-50, get nifty
Born with the gift, time to get riffed
Not with the manufacturing of a spliff
He never rolled one; never sold none
The beats give me the high that brought fame to us
And, how we gonna kick it, How?
(Just the two of us!)
...
And they knew this about me; was gonna be a dope MC
When I get on the mic my windpipe strikes and ignites
A lyric when you hear it you fear it and like
Chubb is not a man to get souped like Campbell
I'm the man with the plan and my jam sells
Like a whore, in the store, hardcore and more
On the tour makin money you never saw
...
But yo cousin Howie Tee and me
Our love is all about making a dope LP
That will crush and sell and bum rush
Don't hush, how we gonna do it How?
(Just the two of us!)"
-snip-
"Dope MC" means a very good rapper ("MC" is from the referent "masters of ceremony". In the early days of Rap [in the late 1970s and early 1980s] some rappers used the title "MC" as part of their stage name. Example: MC Shan.
"Dope LP" means "very good album".
According to Genius Annotation, a commenter on that lyrics page, "souped" means "filled with emotion, like a soup is filled with ingredients. Usually having to do with extreme excitement or anger. Also a reference to Campbell soup."
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SELECTED COMMENTS ABOUT CHUBB ROCK'S SONG "JUST THE TWO OF US" (from discussion threads of three YouTube clips of this video)
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgqF2g4_bpE
menace85, 2009
"Biggie always reminds me of chubb rock"
-snip-
"Biggie" is one referent for the very highly regarded Hip Hop artist who was also known as "the Notorious Big" and "Biggie Smalls".
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thisandthatnow, 2009
"Biggie studied this FLOW! And Chubb was one of the original Big Boys of Hip-Hop, yes we have the Fat Boys, Heavy D, and others. Chubb killed it!"
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iLuvNikeBlazers, 2010
"Chubb Rock is Jamaican like Biggie"
Berna, 2011
"Chubb Rock and King Tee, fathers of the "Biggie Flow""
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LGKids, 2010
"Had the pleasure of being the party before the party in college on my Saturday night radio show and this used to be the jam that I would turn up in the studio and we all would all be dancing and clowning around! Then go to the parties and watch the Fraternities step off of this! Peace to all those that know!"
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crampanparalize, 2013
"another cover of the famous jamaican riddim track I WILL NEVER LET YOU GO (answer)
-snip-
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJuyme1WDI0
for a YouTube sound file of Phillip Frazer's 1979 Dancehall record "Never Let Go" (Answer Riddim)
Another commenter also wrote that Chubb Rock's "Just The Two Of Us" was a cover of Never Let Go (Answer Riddim). I can't hear it, but it might just be my ears and lack of familiarity with Jamaican music.
In contrast, there's no question in my mind that the tune (music) for Chubb Rock's "Just The Two Of Us" sampled Albert King's "Cold Feet".
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From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmaaUlmaL0A
Kim G, 2015
I used to sit & WAIT for BET to play this video!! I wanted to be the girl in the black one piece spandex. I bought the exact outfit, had my hair cut like Hale Berry & danced all the time.
-snip-
"BET" (Black Entertainment Television) is an American television channel that specialized and still specializes in Black American content.
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Bishop Clarke, 2015
"I am old school, and the rappers back then could express their thoughts without cursing, or using the N-word or the B-word.....PRICELESS !!!!"
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Mechacelzi, 2015
"Most afro Jamaican Americans make ill lyricists in hip hop"
-snip-
“ill” (often also given as “sick”) = excellent, very good
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AQUAPHREESH193, 2015
Reply
"+Mechacelzi LOL thats cuz technically JAMAICANS started hip hop!! haha DJ Kool Herc came from Jamaica! hehe my mom is jamaican btw lol"
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DankStarDC, 2015
Reply
"+Mechacelzi I wouldn't put him in the greatest lyricist of all time category, but man could he marry the flow with the beat. "Just the Two of Us" is Chubbster and the rhythm!
Read more Show less"
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Aminah Shabazz, 2015
"Another Chubb Jam and again he got the Q's reppin like always this time alongside my faves Kappa Alpha Psi. It's good to see our College Bruthas stepping in videos! And to Mano's comment below, Black Greek Letter Organizations are beyond your understanding. You were either denied membership into one or never made it to college altogether. I'm guessing the latter!"
-snip-
"The Q's" refer to the historically Black Greek letter fraternity Omega Psi Phi Incorporated [since the Greek letter Omega looks very much like the letter "Q".
The commenter Mano wrote that the Greek portion of the video was "gayer than the Village People". The Village People were a popular late 1970s, 1980s Disco male vocal group who are known for the hit record “YMCA” and other songs.
Here's an excerpt of the article "That's My Jam! The Top Five Hip Hop Videos With Black Greeks" by: Lawrence C. Ross Jr.
Posted: Aug. 4 2010 9:32 PM http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_divine_nine/2010/08/black_greeks_in_hip_hop_videos.html
"Y'all thought I forgot about the top Hip Hop Videos with Black Greeks list, didn't you? Never fear, the list is here!
...The #2 and #1 Hip Hop Videos are smashed together because they're different songs by the same artist, Chubb Rock. Why did I pick these two videos? Because there's hella stepping in them! The Chubbster was one of the first hip hop artists to realize that 'hey, if I put black Greeks in my videos, they'll call into the televisions stations and request my song. Genius, I tells ya!" And genius it was. The #2 video is Treat 'Em Right, while the #1 video is Just The Two of Us. Why one over the other? Oh, I don't know. They're basically 1a and 1b, but I think Just The Two of Us is the funkier joint. Plus it reminds of a fun time of black Greek picnics... So here you go, the TOP TWO HIP HOP VIDEOS WITH BLACK GREEKS..."
-snip-
"There's hella steppin in [those videos]" means there's a lot of steppin in those videos.
Lawrence C. Ross is an expert on Black Greek letter organization (BGLO) cultures. For the record, here's the #5 - #3 videos with Black Greek steppin that Lawrence C. Ross showcased in that article:
5. Biz Markie's "Just A Friend"
4. Shaquille O'Neal and Fu-Schnickens - "What's Up Doc? (Can We Rock)"
3. Lords of the Underground - "Here Come The Lords"
-snip-
I should also note that although both the Ques and the Kappas stepped in Chubb Robb's "Just The Two Of Us", I think that the Ques consider this to be their song more than the Kappas (meaning they use it for party walks).
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From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmaaUlmaL0A
662chillin, 2012
"Old School Greek life..."
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Keith Hudson, 2015
"The rap and the dancing/steppin is off the chain."
-snip-
"Old school Greek life" refers to how historically Black Greek letter fraternities (and sororities) stepped in the 1990s. The fraternities that are featured in this video are Omega Psi Phi, Inc (also known as the Ques; Q's) and Kappa Alpha Psi, Inc. (also known as the Kappas). The Kappas are the men with the canes. The video also shows Ques "throwin the hook" (giving the hand gesture that only members of that fraternity are supposed to use).
The women in the video are dancing and not stepping.
"Off the chain" means "exceptional", very good. A very similar saying is "off the hook". Another way of saying this is that the rapper and dancers/steppers were "killing it".
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Keith Witcher, 2014
"Classic jam and i love the video. Black actress Elise Neal is in this dancing. Elise was in the movies How To Be A Player and Hustle And Flow. She was also Chris Tucker's woman in Money Talks movie and she played on All Of Us tv show with Duane Martin and LisaRaye."
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Iris Roberts, 2015
"The jam. Everybody was gettin down"
-snip-
"The jam" probably means "This was the jam" (This was a lot of people's favorite record/song.)
"Everyone was gettin down" means "Everyone was dancing to this record".
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jdilly1000, 2015
Chubb Rock's flow is sicker than any of the rap flows I hear today. I love the 90's!
-snip-
"rap flow" - how the rapper delivers his lyrics
"sicker" = much better than
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