Young MC Celebrates 20th Anniversary of ‘Stone Cold Rhymin”

Due this week at local Internet retailers is Delicious Vinyl's 20th Anniversary reissue of Young MC's Grammy winning hip-hop classic, 'Stone Cold Rhymin'.' Along with the original thirteen tracks, a handful of remixes are included: Diplo remixes 'Bust A Move,' Young MC collaborator Matt Dike takes on 'I Let Em Know,' and Aaron LaCrate tackles 'Know How.'

But after two decades, what still stands out in Young MC's mind from those days recording? "The best memories for me, is that it was upstairs in Matt Dike's apartment, rhyming in a closet with a mattress up against the wall to deaden the sound," he tells The BoomBox. "I don't think we even had a 24-track."

If your history is fuzzy, recall that Young MC was also busy working with Tone Loc, co-writing classics such as 'Wild Thing' and 'Funky Cold Medina.' He was a busy, busy guy back then. "I was in school, so I couldn't come in everyday," he recalls. "When I could, they'd present me with a track and I would write to it. There was some pressure on it though, because even when we were making Stone Cold Rhymin', Loc hadn't sold yet. So, the majority of 'Stone Cold Rhymin'' was made with the hopes that it could take outside of L.A. Or outside of California. Or outside of the Western time zone."

That school he's referring to would be USC, but looking back, he sees much more of a New York temperament in the earlier tracks that were written -- the narrative flow of 'Bust A Move' and 'Principal's Office' came later down the line. "I think every other cut was about how good of a rapper I was. When I do a record now where I brag about myself, it feels weird. But in the beginning, that's all I did."

These days Young MC is still working on rhymes and beat construction, with his latest release "Relentless" also at digital retailers. And had you watched the /Knight Rider/ remake last fall, you would've heard 'Rollin',' a more recent tune that didn't appear on 'Stone Cold Rhymin'.' So, moves are still being busted.