December 30, 2005 @ 3:35 pm

Hip Hop Roots & Hip Hop Essentials

by: Lynne d. Johnson

B-Boys and B-Girls would come out and start uprocking once the funk or soul 45 reached the break. Later DJs like Grandmaster Flash and DJ Breakout would add MCs to their Djing routine, setting the stage for much of what constitutes hip hop as a genre nowadays. In honor of that time, Tommy Boy Records has released Hip Hop Roots and Hip Hop Essentials. Hip Hop Roots is a crate diggers dream, containing not only the music that hip hop was built on but samples that are still widely used today. “These overlooked records are the foundation. Producers are still sampling this music from the 60s and 70s, and it’s the same music that Bambaataa and Flash were using,” says Tom Silverman, CEO and founder of Tommy Boy. “It was high time someone did this. These records could only be found on bootlegs and no one ever did it legally.” Hip Hop Roots contains such classics as, Bob James "Take Me To The Mardi Gras," Cymande's "Bra," and James Brown's "Give It Up Or Turn It Loose." As today's club and lounge DJs move more toward mixing MP3s and CDs this offering is priceless. left "The DJ was the master," says Silverman. "The MC came second. If the beat sucked, it didn't matter what the MC was saying." While Hip Hop Roots selections are more about the foundation, Hip Hop Essentials spans from 1979 - 1991 and includes a 12 volume CD collection featuring 144 extremely diverse tracks. These tracks feature legendary MCs and MC crews. Volume 1 takes you back to when the Bronx ruled hip hop, containing such cuts as "Rockin' It," by the Fearless Four, "South Bronx," by Boogie Down Productions, "La Di Da Di," by Doug E. Fresh, and "Scorpio" by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five. These Bronx staples are interspersed with selections from Salt-N-Pepa, Too Short, and Marley Marl. Instead of each volume being grouped together chronologically, each volume features music during this time period. For instance, while you may find "Cinderfella," by Dana Dane on Vol. 2, "Pee Wee’s Dance," by Joeski Love is on Vol. 3. It's hard to decipher whether there was any theme tying the tracks on a particular volume together, which in fact may be the only caveat here. Though volumes are not separated by era or theme, the fact that there are so many hard to find cuts makes up for it. "During these years, there were no rules and there were very few Hip Hop 'producers'. New records were written and produced by the Hip Hop group’s own DJ for the most part. As time moved forward toward the 90s, producers evolved and the radical differences from one act to another began to wane. Many of the tracks are my favorites but we wanted to represent the evolution of Hip Hop from the Bronx and Harlem to Miami, LA, San Fran, Philly, and the rest of the country. We also wanted to represent the many faces of Hip Hop from party to political from glitter to gangsta," says Silverman. Each volume is significantly diverse, and true crate diggers just might have to cop all 12 to get exactly what they're looking for. When was the last time you heard "Mentirosa," by Mellow Man Ace, or "The Godfather," by Spoonie Gee, or "If I Ruled The World," by Kurtis Blow, or even "I Got It Made," by Special Ed? For most non DJs, the only time this music is heard is at an old school party or on satellite radio. Media Assassin Harry Allen says of Hip Hop Essentials, "Whether you know these records inside-out, or are hearing them for the first time, you should consider the chance to listen to them now, all in one place, a great and rare gift. These tracks, and all the cuts of this set, are the bricks that built the home we call hip-hop. We should thank those that laid the edifice with care, and unfailingly respect the house in which we live." It's as if you can't be a true hip hop aficionado or rap nerd unless you've studied this music. Don't you know that's what great MCs like Jay-Z and Nas did? Hip Hop Roots was released August 2005 and Hip Hop Essentials Volumes 1 through 4 debuted in November 2005. Volumes 5 through 8 will be on the shelves on January 24, 2006 and remaining Volumes 9 through 12 will complete the set on March 7, 2006. Read more vibe.com reviews

Article tags: Hip Hop Roots, Hip Hop Essentials, Tommy Boy, Review 

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