Biz Markie<\/a>\u201d Hall was already captivating the rap world with his tales of success. His four previous singles were instant classics, all masterful combinations of unique humor and his powerful beatbox skills. But \u201cVapors\u201d showcased a storytelling ability that ultimately provided rap with indelible lines like \u201cCan you feel it, nothing can save ya\u201d and \u201cDamn, it feels good to see people up on it.\u201d<\/p>\n1988 was a huge year for the Queensbridge-based Juice Crew and the Cold Chillin\u2019 label, who also released debut albums from rhyme-slayer Big Daddy Kane and beatmaster Marley Marl. But only Biz Markie\u2019s Goin\u2019 Off<\/em> had odes about going to the mall, dances that seemed impossible and the joys of picking boogers. \u201cVapors\u201d would be the song that stormed Yo! MTV Raps \u00ad<\/em>(pedantic rap fans know that the video version, a.k.a. \u201cVapors (Remix)\u201d is the superior version since it lets the sample from James Brown\u2019s \u201cPapa Don\u2019t Take No Mess\u201d ride out into the saxophone). \u201cVapors\u201d has had a long life, sampled and interpolated by everyone from Ice Cube to UGK to Notorious B.I.G. \u2014 that\u2019s the Biz saying \u201cback in the day\u201d on \u201cThings Done Changed.\u201d Snoop Dogg even covered it outright in 1997.<\/p>\nRolling Stone<\/em> caught up with Biz to ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s the meaning of V-A-P-O-R-S?\u201d<\/p>\nWhat is the origins of the term \u201cvapors\u201d?
<\/strong>Vapors is like, you get a whiff of my success. Before I was successful, you ain\u2019t paid me the time of day. Soon as I got hot, you get a whiff of my success. So you get the vapors.<\/span><\/p>\nWho came up with the term? Was it something people said around your way?
<\/strong>Nah, I made it up myself. You know how somebody used to wear a lot of jewelry? Well, a person that wear jewelry at the time, they get a couple of pieces of jewelry and girls\u2019ll try to jump on their joint. So I said, \u201cYo, she caught the vapors.\u201d<\/p>\nHow long were you saying that?
<\/strong>Since eighth grade. Since \u201983.<\/p>\nWhat came first, the beat or the rhymes?
<\/strong>It was the last record on the album. So me and Kane wrote it. The beat was first. First of all [DJ] Polo made the beat and it was too slow for Kool G Rap to rap off of. So I traded him a beat for that beat, and that day, it was the last record on the album.<\/p>\nDo you remember which parts you wrote and which were Kane\u2019s?
<\/strong>Kane wrote the first two, I wrote the last two. But I told him exactly what to write. I told him the style and everything, \u2019cause at that time I was looking for beats for his first album. I had to make sure that, since he was down with me\u2026 I wanted to make sure that when he came out, he came out as bam!<\/em> It was by committee, we always helped each other out.<\/p>\nYou said before it was inspired by The<\/em> Twilight Zone<\/em>.
<\/strong>The video was. You remember how, at the end, Rod Sterling would go, \u201cand now it\u2019s the Twilight Zone?\u201d So, \u201cThey caught the vapors.\u201d You know, just like that.<\/p>\n
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