Earlier this week, a co-worker got a song stuck in my head. Actually, just a chorus, since that’s all I could remember. The resulting resurgence of mid-to-late-80s hip-hop memories has been disturbing, on one hand, but a hell of a lot of fun on the other.
Last night, I fired up Ye Olde SoulSeek P2P client to see what I could find. Amongst other gems of non-hip-hop-ness, I gathered enough songs to combine with the few staples already in my library in order to start the following “Hip-Hop / Dance” playlist:

Granted, the list is still small, and a couple of the songs are from the 2000’s, and one or two of them are more dance than hip-hop. I’m still working on it, though, and I need your assistance.
I’m working on locating I’ve downloaded “Pump Up The Jam” by Technotronic tonight — after that, though, I’ll need to sift through the Billboard Top 100 from 1986 to 1991 or so to find the songs I need. I’d rather have your suggestions first. I’m trying to focus on hip-hop and dance-pop music from 1986 or 1987 through 1991 or 1992. (That’s when I finally found friends who helped me hone my musical taste from the standard Top 40 to “progressive alternative,” like The Cure and Depeche Mode and their ilk.)
So, think back to the all-night skate, or the junior-high dance, Dance Party USA, or the clock-radio in your room, and hit me with some good hip-hop tunes that I’ll be almost embarrassed to admit that I used to totally love.
