#wutangclan

┊“as long as i’ve got you” or “i’ll never grow old” was a song sang by the charmels, a female group emerging in 1966 previously known as the dixiebells and then the tonettes, the members being mary hunt, barbara mccoy, mildred pratchett, and eula jean rivers. they released 3-4 singles on the volt label (part of memphis based stax records or soulsville usa, that brought us many iconic southern soul artists like otis redding, booker t. & the m.g’s, william bell and many others.) in the late 60s. 𓂃˖ ࣪

┊the charmels recorded their singles 1966 – 1967 under the guidance of Isaac hayes, their official singles being “baby come get it” and “loving material” released in 1967, and “something sweet about my baby” released just the year before, but more of their songs can be found in compilation albums of the stax-volt. the song “as long as ive got you” was written by david porter and isaac hayes and released in 1967, the song talks about the feeling of eternal youth and freedom that comes from being in love, and how being in love makes one person feel youthful and ageless, tho the song never got any attention back in the late 60s, nobody knows why but my theory is that maybe it’s because people were busy giving attention to other artists under the same record label ??

┊anyways, fast forward to 1993, a short lived rap-rock group called smokin suckaz wit logic released a song sampling “as long as ive got you” produced by peter “ajoe” jorge called “gangsta story”. 𓂃˖ ࣪

(sample comes in 3:00).

the song talks about a gangster little boy named sunny, even though this song explains well on how somebody lives as a gangster and the sad truth of it, and how it was produced by mixing soul, hiphop, and rock into one song, it didnt gain any attention.

┊coincidentally a week after that song was released, the wu tang song “C.R.E.A.M”, sampling the same song and its produced by the RZA, releases and steals the spotlight. 𓂃˖ ࣪

the song is considered iconic due to the lyricism, production, and the concept of it, since it talks about the struggles of poverty and the hustle for survival, and the way the RZA sampled such a romantic song into making it sound hypnotic. the song was so iconic it influenced hiphop culture, ever since it came out people have been quoting the hook “cash rules everything around me”, the song “as long as ive got you” started gaining the attention it deserves and more rappers & producers sampled it — like mad flava, westside connection, snoop dogg and more.

Crate-digging chaos, rare vinyl gems, and the thrill of the hunt—it's Record Store Day 2025, and we're all in! In this episode of the Music Matters Media Podcast, we're sharing our RSD highlights, collector tips, and the wild stories from our multi-store adventure. From scoring limited-edition releases to soaking in the community vibes, this is a celebration of vinyl culture you won’t want to miss! Press play and relive the magic of the hunt, the finds, and the music that brings us all together.

Listen now wherever you stream podcasts!

Happy Blessed Birthday to Clifford Smith Jr., better known by his stage name Method Man; born March 2, 1971

Photo of Aaliyah and Method Man at the Vibe Music Seminar - Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Show (1995) - 30 years ago.

When Interviewed on his thoughts of Aaliyah, he said:

The word in the hood was, she had a cockeye. Cause she always wear them shades, yahmean? But the next album came out and it was like, Whoa, she killin it on some real warrior shit. I didn’t see anyone doing what she did. I mean, Britney Spears tried but I laughed at that fuckin video. It was hilarious, yo. I liked that song Britney bit, where Aaliyah had the snake [“We Need a Resolution”]. It was deep. Aaliyah was our pop princess. To be associated with R Kelly in any way at that point in time, that was street credibility. Some people just have that “it” factor, where it doesn’t matter where they’re at, they appeal to both sides. White kids adored her; that’s a hard bridge to cross right there, man, but she had a lot of talent. And when you meet the girl there’s a level of comfortability I can’t even describe. Her and a friend of mine were best friends, so we used to hang out. We went to Universal Studios [to a photo booth], you know those little corny sticker pictures? We used to go do stuff like that. I remember watching a home movie of her and her friends portraying the Spice Girls, that was kinda kooky. It was like being around your little sister. It wasn’t Aaliyah the big superstar. It was just Baby Girl. I’ve always said that a comedian ain’t funny to me if he try too hard to be funny. Same shit with sexy. Aaliyah didn’t have to try hard. She was a total package as far as singing, dancing and entertaining. She was killin all that, and it was a relief to find out she actually ain’t cockeyed. And her moms was mad peace but very stern, remind me of my bougie aunts and shit. Not bougie in a bad way, but you know, Nigga I ain’t havin it. -Method Man

Method Man was part of the Rap group Wu-Tang Clan.