8 of the 80s: 4/17/14 (1988)...

Hey gang, we're going to 1988 in this week's 80's throwback, the year that Arizona governor Evan Meacham was impeached and thrown out of office for obstruction of justice and misuse of government funds, though in a later trial he was acquitted of all criminal charges.

Kool Moe Dee - "Wild Wild West"
from the album How Ya Like Me Now (1987)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #62
Songwriter: Mohandas DeWese (Kool Moe Dee)

In the East Coast urban-centric world of early rap this video for the single was a trailblazer taking things to the country, though this "west" could easily by Long Beach...

(Click below to see the rest of the post)


Ice-T - "Colors"
from the album Colors (Original Soundtrack) (1988)
Billboard Hot 100 peak; #70
Songwriters: Afrika Islam, Tracy Morrow (Ice-T)

Back when he was a rap force and not a mainstream actor, Ice-T gave the non-initiated the lay of the land on the streets of L.A.

Jesse Johnson - "Love Struck"
from the album Every Shade Of Love (1988)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #78
Songwriter: Jesse Johnson

The former member of the Time broke it down with his last top-10 solo R&B hit.

Keith Sweat - "Something Just Ain't Right"
from the album Make It Last Forever (1987)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #79
Songwriters: Keith Sweat, Teddy Riley

The followup to his top-5 pop hit "I Want Her" may have fizzled on pop radio, but it still made the top-3 on the soul chart...

Cameo - "You Make Me Work"
from the album Machismo (1988)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #85
Songwriter: Larry Blackmon

This record so copied their pop top-10 hit "Word Up" they could've successfully sued themselves for plagiarism.

Fat Boys - "Louie Louie"
from the album Coming Back Hard Again (1988)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #89
Songwriter: Richard Berry

The supersized rap trio resurrected this garage-rock classic for the 'hood.

JJ Fad - "Is It Love"
from the album Supersonic (1988)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #92
Songwriters: Juana Burns, Michelle Franklin

The female rap trio's apparent answer to LL Cool J in this track that puts on the brakes...

New Edition - "You're Not My Kind Of Girl"
from the album Heart Break (1988)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #95
Songwriters: Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis

Despite following a top-ten pop hit with "If It Isn't Love", and also being written by the hitmaking duo of Jam & Lewis, this only grazed the Hot 100, while climbing to #3 on the R&B chart...