The Fugees. Lil’ Kim. Aaliyah. Looking back at 1996, Red Shaydez can hardly contain the musical glory of that year – the key word here being hardly. Sharing her new song “Circa ’96” yesterday (November 4), the Boston-based rapper honed in on stylistic authenticity for the snappy throwback track.
“My engineer International Show of SOE Complex in Weymouth really knew how to capture the essence and feel I was trying to portray in the song,” Red Shaydez says. “To add to the authenticity of the track, we added DJ scratches throughout the song – a component often used during that era. We even added the well-known ‘Funk Flex bomb’ that is used when someone drops a dope freestyle on his show. There are a lot of references in the song that transpired in the year of ’96. See how many you can point out!”
Notes on ’90s pop culture pour out from the tune, but there’s one moment where Red Shaydez really brings the nostalgia: “For me, bars still matter. I’m about bars,” she speaks over the song. “See, I’m even talking on the track like they did in the ’90s. Y’all don’t even do that no more!”
Listen below, and catch Red Shaydez this Saturday (November 9) at the Midway Cafe in Jamaica Plain for the newest edition of All Together Now.