The O.G.!
Posted on 04/16/2023 2:39:20 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Since 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop, here are examples of rappers from Diddy to Lil Wayne embracing Ol' Blue Eyes.
Over the years, rappers have proudly embraced Frank Sinatra for his style, smooth catalogue, complicated life and gangsta ties. From his defiant 1938 mug shot, Sinatra embraced his Italian-American heritage as he ran around Hollywood with a pre-Rat Pack group known as the Varsity. Interestingly enough, Sinatra was also an activist during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
He gave financial support to Martin Luther King Jr. and refused to play in segregated clubs or stay in whites-only hotels. In addition, Sinatra demanded equal pay and treatment for all musicians. His cultural legacy left an indelible mark on hip hop. Since the genre is turning 50 this year, here are a few examples of emcees paying homage to the legend.
In a 2008 campaign for Ciroc Vodka, Diddy used Frank Sinatra’s music to embody the “sophisticated celebration’ of the liquor brand. The ad started off with Sinatra’s ‘Come Fly With Me’ playing in the background. The black and white ad also used one of Sinatra’s California homes. “Frank Sinatra is one of my heroes... I couldn’t imagine a spirit more appropriate for such occasions today than Ciroc, a brand that has become synonymous with celebration,” the rap mogul said.
(Excerpt) Read more at theroot.com ...
The O.G.!
Sinatra — the only voice worth listening to beside Billy Eckstein
Take off your blinders.
To each his own, but that seems pretty myopic to me.
He was one of the great voices but not the only one I’ve heard. There have been and are many other greats.
I actually heard Frank Sinatra perform live. At a star-studded rally at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles to celebrate Ronald Reagan’s birthday in 1980, he led the audience in singing “Happy Birthday.”
A guess, and it’s only a guess, is that many of them might have gotten their love of Sinatra’s singing from their mamas. That’s how I got mine, and I’m about the same age as the first generation of rappers; he was her musical idol from her WWII bobby-soxer days until she died, a bit too young, in the mid 1990s.
I wonder if they do realize Sinatra was a big Reagan supporter, as was Muhammad Ali.
But don’t they remember all those “bigoted” songs the Rat Pack sang?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaNeh5UXDEU
My Dad loved Sinatra.
Spent many of Friday nights curled up on the sofa next to my Pops listening to Frank’s albums.
Great memories.
I didn’t enjoy Frank Sinatra until late in life, after he was dead.
The guy could sing.
I would LOVE to play that in my college music course.
But I won’t. I am many things, but stupid is not one of them.
You might get away with “Pew, Stinky Frenchman”.
His album Sinatra at the Sands is a favorite of mine.
Heck, I’m still trying to figure out the deal with all the black females wearing Marilyn Monroe T-shirts over the last few years.
He was just a little before my time. I pretty much only listen to 90s thru today’s music. 80s is OK, but nothing before that.
Sinatra is my favorite.
I nabbed a free deck of cards from the Sands in 1988.
They are gone of course from my time living in Arizona.
I never opened them but had a number of parties back then.
When I was 28 it was a very good year......
The Orchestra is out of this world!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydcUaTpiHgQ
With the Count Basie Orchestra. Great album!
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