--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Back in the days when I was a teenager…" description: "\"Back in the days when I was a teenager, Before I had status, and before I had a pager, You could find The Abstract, listening to hip-hop, My pops used ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b31/q-tip-7839_abstract_back-in-the-days-when-i-was-a-teenager-b_1481736.jpg" --- # Back in the days when I was a teenager, Before I had… ![“Back in the days when I was a teenager, Before I had status, and before I had a pager, You could find The Abstract, listening to hip-hop, My pops used to say it reminded him of be-bop. I said, 'Well daddy don't you know that things go in cycles. The way that Bobby Brown is just ampin' like…” quote by Q-Tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b31/q-tip-7839_abstract_back-in-the-days-when-i-was-a-teenager-b_1481736.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b31/q-tip-7839_abstract_back-in-the-days-when-i-was-a-teenager-b_1481736.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b31/q-tip-7839_abstract_back-in-the-days-when-i-was-a-teenager-b_1481736.jpg) > “Back in the days when I was a teenager, Before I had status, and before I had a pager, You could find The Abstract, listening to hip-hop, My pops used to say it reminded him of be-bop. I said, 'Well daddy don't you know that things go in cycles. The way that Bobby Brown is just ampin' like Michael. It's all expected, things are for the lookin', If you got the money, Quest is for the bookin'.” [Q-Tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on cultural cycles, how trends repeat, and how personal experiences echo past eras. **In simple terms:** Life repeats in cycles; trends come back. Key Takeaway Recognize patterns and adapt. Themes culture music history cycles influence Mood reflective nostalgic Type observational musical When to use this quote - personal reflection - music appreciation - discussing cultural trends Key Concepts Nostalgia intergenerational dialogue musical evolution Questions to Reflect On - How do you see past influences shaping your tastes? - What cycles in your life repeat? A Different Perspective Cycles can limit originality if not examined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Bobby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bobby/) [Bobby Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bobby-brown-1013723/) [Bop Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bop-said-5401569/) [Bops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bops/) [Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brown/) [Cycles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cycles/) [Daddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daddy/) [Expected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expected/) [Hip hop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hip-hop/) [Hips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hips/) [Hops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hops/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/) [Pops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pops/) [Quests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quests/) [Rap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rap/) [Rapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rapper/) [Reminded Bop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reminded-bop-5401568/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Teenager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teenager/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way Bobby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-bobby-1562666/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [No got dang way, Bobby!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/no-got-dang-way-bobby/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [Since Bobby Brown, I was the first one to be in my video taking my shirt off and showing the 6-pack and 8-pack. Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginuwine/since-bobby-brown-i-was-the-first-one-to-be-in-my-video-taking-my/) [Ginuwine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginuwine/) > [I guess I was a combination of House of Pain and Bobby Brown: I was humpin' around and jumpin' around!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-notorious-b-i-g/i-guess-i-was-a-combination-of-house-of-pain-and-bobby-brown-i-was/) [The Notorious B.I.G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-notorious-b-i-g/) > [It's my show bitch! -Bobby Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boondocks/it-s-my-show-bitch-bobby-brown/) [Boondocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boondocks/) > [I would actually like to play Bobby Brown. To me, he was just the King of R&B at one point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-gross/i-would-actually-like-to-play-bobby-brown-to-me-he-was-just-the-king/) [Lance Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-gross/) > [Bobby Brown reminds me of a fellow who's been hitting for 12 years and fielding one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/bobby-brown-reminds-me-of-a-fellow-who-s-been-hitting-for-12-years/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) > [Woke up with the crown nigga. Serving Bobby Brown nigga. Started from the bottom now it's Carter, Nino Brown nigga.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/french-montana/woke-up-with-the-crown-nigga-serving-bobby-brown-nigga-started-from/) [French Montana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/french-montana/) > [Perm in your hair or even a curly weave, Wichya New Edition Bobby Brown button on your sleeve. I tell you come here, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ll-cool-j/perm-in-your-hair-or-even-a-curly-weave-wichya-new-edition-bobby/) [LL Cool J](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ll-cool-j/) > [A-bop-bop-a-loom-op-a-lop-bop-boom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/little-richard/a-bop-bop-a-loom-op-a-lop-bop-boom/) [Little Richard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/little-richard/) > [Dave Rocha is a modern player out of the hard-bop tradition, with a beautiful sound and tremendous facility on the horn. You can hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-feiszli/dave-rocha-is-a-modern-player-out-of-the-hard-bop-tradition-with-a/) [Dan Feiszli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-feiszli/) > [Bop is at the end of the road. Now everybody wants dance music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dizzy-gillespie/bop-is-at-the-end-of-the-road-now-everybody-wants-dance-music/) [Dizzy Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dizzy-gillespie/) > [Bop began with Jazz but one afternoon somewhere on a sidewalk maybe 1939, 1940, Dizzy Gillespie or Charlie Parker or Thelonious Monk was walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/bop-began-with-jazz-but-one-afternoon-somewhere-on-a-sidewalk-maybe/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Some guys said 'Here's bop!' Wham! They said, 'Here's something we can make money on!' Wham! 'Here's a comedian!' Wham! Here's a guy who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-parker/some-guys-said-here-s-bop-wham-they-said-here-s-something-we-can-make/) [Charlie Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-parker/) > [My tastes range all over the place, from vocal standards to Motown to 70s funk & soul to 80s pop to film scores to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-d-abruzzo/my-tastes-range-all-over-the-place-from-vocal-standards-to-motown-to/) [Stephanie D'Abruzzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-d-abruzzo/) > [As a drummer my job is to reproduce what made the people bop their heads when they first heard the album on the radio,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hernandez/as-a-drummer-my-job-is-to-reproduce-what-made-the-people-bop-their/) [Eric Hernandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hernandez/) ## More by Q-Tip > [A thug, a thrill, you as mean as the eyes. I wanna feel you, them big ass thighs. Your Prada dress or your Gucci…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/a-thug-a-thrill-you-as-mean-as-the-eyes-i-wanna-feel-you-them-big-ass/) [Q-tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [I'm a cinephile. I love movies, I love film at every level. I'm a student of it. It informs me as does all art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/i-m-a-cinephile-i-love-movies-i-love-film-at-every-level-i-m-a/) [Q-Tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [A lot of people who curate in the business, and curate the art, don't really have good artistic sense. They may know commerce, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/a-lot-of-people-who-curate-in-the-business-and-curate-the-art-don-t/) [Q-Tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [Can I rhyme? Well you know I gets mine. Sittin round in my abstract car. This abstract thing goin abstract far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/can-i-rhyme-well-you-know-i-gets-mine-sittin-round-in-my-abstract-car/) [Q-tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [Shorty thought she subtle but she really was blatant when she shook her thing and violated. Now these wolf-like thoughts are formulated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/shorty-thought-she-subtle-but-she-really-was-blatant-when-she-shook/) [Q-tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [I read the Koran and it appealed to me. At the time I was agnostic and it really breathed spiritually back into me. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/i-read-the-koran-and-it-appealed-to-me-at-the-time-i-was-agnostic-and/) [Q-Tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [The feelin is true I'm seein me and my crew, you seein black and blue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/the-feelin-is-true-i-m-seein-me-and-my-crew-you-seein-black-and-blue/) [Q-tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [Yo your girl just moved to the joint in the club, in the car if it groove. Broad look, the movement is on. Mild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/yo-your-girl-just-moved-to-the-joint-in-the-club-in-the-car-if-it/) [Q-tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [Satisfaction, I have the right tactics... And if you need em I got crazy prophylactics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/satisfaction-i-have-the-right-tactics-and-if-you-need-em-i-got-crazy/) [Q-Tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [Yo hold the door a-ight? We comin through, Tribe beef, hold it down for the night. Big Moon got the fifth D-Lyfe he got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/yo-hold-the-door-a-ight-we-comin-through-tribe-beef-hold-it-down-for/) [Q-tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [We all have our own takes on things. To being yourself. The abstract, the whole thing that I play with, seems to result in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/we-all-have-our-own-takes-on-things-to-being-yourself-the-abstract/) [Q-Tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [I have a very connected history with Bilal. I heard his demo years ago. I heard all of the magic instantly. He's a master…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/i-have-a-very-connected-history-with-bilal-i-heard-his-demo-years-ago/) [Q-Tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [So pay attention, it's not hard to decipher, And after the horns, you can check out the Phifer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/so-pay-attention-it-s-not-hard-to-decipher-and-after-the-horns-you/) [Q-Tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [Shorty, let me tell you about my only vice: It has to do with lots of lovin', and it ain't nuttin' nice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/shorty-let-me-tell-you-about-my-only-vice-it-has-to-do-with-lots-of/) [Q-Tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [So concisely, musically we are the herb So sit back and light me. Inhale... My style's kinda fat, reminiscent of a whale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/so-concisely-musically-we-are-the-herb-so-sit-back-and-light-me/) [Q-Tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) [Explore all 87 Q-Tip quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) [Anthony W. Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-w-ivins/) > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Back in the days when I was a teenager, Before I had status, and before I had a pager, You could find The Abstract, listening to hip-hop, My pops used to say it reminded him of be-bop. I said, 'Well daddy don't you know that things go in cycles. The way that Bobby Brown is just ampin' like Michael. 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