Remember the days when hip hop party tunes were about having a good time, sippin’ on a cold one and maybe snagging yourself a fine Applebaum? When names like Big Daddy Kane, Redman and The Pharcyde rung true? When Dr. Luke was your endocrinologist and David Guetta was another anonymous floppy haired muppet? The times have changed young grasshopper. If you asked the average teenager what party hip hop is, the answers would probably boil down to a collection of MMG, Young Money and G.O.O.D. Music artists with a Chief Keef or two thrown in here or there. It’s easy to be a golden era yearning curmudgeon after spending a night at a (read: any) club and listening to “Niggas In Paris” and “Ass” on repeat.

We recently enlisted Portland’s own Rap Class aka John Kammerle of Dropping Gems to lay down some tracks for our Guest Mix series and while it is firmly nested in old school hip hop and R&B, it remains decidedly fresh. We tend to focus on “future music” here at The Astral Plane, but even we need to indulge in some nostalgic listening every so often. It is called the “golden era” for a reason. Anyways, my words don’t really do the mix justice so I’ll let John take it away: