Mark B Presents: Harlem World [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Acclaimed UK Hip Hop Producer Mark B Presents a Collection of Rare Rap Tunes from the 1979-1981 Period.

Mark B Presents: Harlem World,Various Artists,Hero

Album Details

Acclaimed UK Hip Hop Producer Mark B Presents a Collection of Rare Rap Tunes from the 1979-1981 Period.

Customer Reviews:

"To the beat ya'll and ya' don't stop"!.......2005-09-01

A sho'nuff sure-shot, ya'll! Some of the deffest Rap classics on any compilation, b! Check it out!! It's the serious joint-ski!

Are You REALLY Old School????.......2002-07-28

To many Hip Hop fans, when they speak of "old school" hip hop, they're referring to acts like Whodini; Eric B. & Rakim; Run-DMC; EPMD; et. al.. While those artists undoubtedly represent the old guard by Hip Hop's rapidly evolving standards, there is an even older school in Hip Hop's relatively brief (studio) recorded history.

Commonly referred to in Hip Hop circles as the "true school", the period between 1979 and 1982 was when many of Hip Hop's original pioneers made the transition from the streets to the studios. The period was dominated by two record labels...SugarHill and Enjoy. Their respective rosters included the royalty of the "true school"...Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five; The Treacherous Three; The Funky Four + 1; Spoony Gee; The Fearless Four; The Crash Crew; The Disco Four; The SugarHill Gang; et. al..

For this reason, many people think that the period began and ended with the catalogs of the two independent powerhouses. While it is undeniably true that the most significant music of this period came from those stables, they were by no means, the only game in town. The fact is, there were a number of independent labels releasing rap records...some of which featured those same artists that went on to help build the legends of SugarHill and Enjoy, as well as other seminal labels like Profile and Tommy Boy.

"Harlem World-The Sound Of The Big Apple Rappin'" is a double-CD set that showcases some those releases. Some of the most distinguished names in Hip Hop history are represented on this collection: Afrika Bambaataa; Kurtis Blow; Busy B; Dr Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde; Grand Wizard Theodore & The Fantastic Romantic 5 and Spyder-D to name a few. The set also includes two legendary "true school" classics, "High Power Rap" by Disco Dave & the Force of The 5 MC's (who would later be known as the Crash Crew) and "Rappin' Ain't No Thing" by the original Boogie Boys featuring Kool Ski and the late Kid Delight (who subsequently went by the name Boogie Knight in the group's second incarnation).

The inclusion of those two rare and new-to-CD songs alone would make this compilation worth the money, but the fact of the matter is that the majority of the material contained here will surely entertain any fan of the "true school". It is an absolute MUST for any Hip Hop collector and to the uninitiated, it's an interesting glimpse at Hip Hop's origins.

Highly recommended!!!!!

Soul Music: