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I don’t mean to alarm anybody, but rap legend and fashion icon Kool Moe Dee turns 50 years old today, which seems completely insane. Is it possible that I feel this way because he was one of the first real rappers I ever heard, and that his 50th birthday reflects on my own advancing age and reminds me that we’re all on a path that leads inevitably to our deaths?
And he’s got a special place in my heart because his “Wild Wild West” appeared on the Yo! MTV Raps Vol. 1 compilation that accidentally fell into my hands at a young age, thereby introducing me to a whole lot of incredibly good late-80s hip-hop that wasn’t otherwise getting much play in rural Michigan. After the jump, check out the amazingly art-directed video—wraparounds and cowboy hats are such a great combo—for “Wild Wild West,” as well as “How Ya Like Me Now,” which is still just bad as hell, its LL Cool J dis a classic moment in rap beef.
