The Girls Look Soooo Good

Gang Starr “Ex Girl To The Next Girl (Instrumental)” – The first time that I ever heard this song was on some college or public radio show late at night when I lived in Washington, DC back in 1998. I was instantly stunned, and dashed over to my stereo to tape as much of it as I could to the nearest blank cassette, but unfortunately, the DJ never back announced it, and only played this instrumental version of the song, so I had no lyrical reference except for the snippets of Guru going “next!” But oh my God, that horn sample! It completely owned me from the first moment that I ever heard it; it is without question one of my favorite bits of any song that I’ve ever heard. There’s just something so effortlessly cosmopolitan and romantic about it, it makes me wish that my life could someday feel just like that snippet of sound on loop.

I don’t remember exactly how I figured out what the song was, but I do remember being totally thrilled that one of my old roommates had a copy on vinyl when I lived in Brooklyn circa 2000, because it meant that I could record both versions of the song to my minidisc player. (Remember them? Awwww.) There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the vocal version, by the way — either way, “Ex Girl To The Next Girl” is a stone classic, but my sentimentality is wrapped up in the instrumental, which is for my money the single best thing ever produced by DJ Premier. (Click here to buy it from Underground Hip Hop.com)