Lindsey Ardrey
&
Back in the Day: BFF Music Bytes
Picture this: the year is 2003 and two young women are far from home. They're joining thousands of contemporaries in the pursuit of independence, education, and community. One of them hailing from the bluegrass state, the other from the Motown Records capital city of Detroit, both of them trepidatiously ready to call North Carolina home for the next nine months. Their hometowns couldn’t be more different, but one night after a full day of orientation, one of them spies the other reading a familiar book. Not only were books the key to her heart, but to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in this Detroit girl's hands was nothing short of the magic infused within the book’s pages. From that moment on, she knew they would be the two best friends that anyone could have. And it was so.
These recommendations are firmly situated within that first year of friendship, forged in the fires of an Historically Black University (HBCU) at Winston-Salem State University. Two young women establishing life on their own, singing loudly in the car with the windows rolled down, dancing at the club (without having to tell their mothers where they were), and sitting in the campus caf(eteria) so long that they had to be kicked out. Please enjoy this list of recommendations lovingly curated by teammates and best friends Kel Hanna and Lindsey Ardrey 20 years after their first "meet cute".
Recommendations from 2003-2004
- Roses by Andre Benjamin via Outkast
- Slow Motion by Juvenile ft. Soulja Slim
- Change Clothes by Jay-Z
- Me, Myself and I by Beyonce (or Hip Hop Star ft. Big Boi and Sleepy Brown)
- Get Low by Lil Jon and The Eastside Boys ft. Ying Yang Twins
- Right Thurr by Chingy
- Get Busy by Sean Paul
- Beautiful by Snoop and Pharell
- Splash Waterfalls by Ludicrous
- No Letting Go by Wayne Wonder
- Knuck if You Buck by Crime Mob ft. Lil Scrappy
- All I Have by JLo ft. LL Cool J
- Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh) by Lumidee
- Excuse Me Miss by Jay-Z ft. Pharell
- Make it Clap by Busta Rhymes, Sean Paul, and Spliff Starr
- Clubbin by Marques Houston ft. Joe Budden and Pied Piper
- Luv U Better by LL Cool J
- Nolia Clap by Wacko, Juvenile, and Skip
- In Those Jeans by Ginuwine
- Signs of Love Making by Tyrese
- Emotional Rollercoaster by Vivian Green
- Mesmerized by Ja Rule ft. Ashanti
- Salt Shaker by Ying Yang Twins ft. Lil Jon and the Eastside Boys
- In Da Club by 50 Cent
- More and More by Joe
- Let’s Get Blown by Snoop Dogg
- Milkshake by Kelis
- Damn! by Youngbloodz ft. Lil Jon and the Eastside Boys
- Rock Wit U (Awww Baby) by Ashanti
- Say Yes by Floetry
- Put That Woman First by Jaheim
- Into You by Tamia ft. Fabolous
- Sunshine by Lil’Flip ft. Lea
- My Place by Nelly ft Jaheim
- My Boo by Usher and Alicia Keys
- All Falls Down by Kanye West
- Flap Your Wings by Nelly
- Charlene by Anthony Hamilton
- Can’t Let You Go by Fabolous ft. Mike Shorey and Lil’ Mo
- What’s Happenin’ by Ying Yang Twins ft. Trick Daddy
- Neva Eva by Trillville, Lil Jon, and Lil’ Scrappy
- Selfish by Slum Village, John Legend, and Kanye West
- I Know What You Want by Busta Rhymes, Mariah Carey, and Flipmode Squad
- Burn by Usher
- You Don’t Know My Name by Alicia Keys
- I Need a Girl [Pt. 1] by Diddy, Loon, and Usher
- I Need a Girl [Pt. 2] Diddy, Loon, Ginuine, Mario Winans, and Tammy Ruggieri
- Tipsy-Club Mix by J-Kwon
- Slow Jamz by Twista, Kanye West, and Jamie Foxx
- Let Me Love You by Mario
- Like I Love You by Justin Timberlake (2002)
- I Want You by Janet Jackson
- Freek-a-Leek by Petey Pablo
- Goodies by Ciara ft. Petey Pablo
- Diary by Alicia Keys ft. Tony! Toni! Tone!, and Jermaine Paul
- Stilettos (Pumps) by Crime Mob
- I Think They Like Me by Dem Franchise Boyz ft. Jermaine Dupri, Da Brat, Bow Wow & The Kid Slim