Artist: Grand Mixer D.S.T. & the Infinity Rappers
Title: The Grand Mixer Cuts It Up - 12"
Label: Celluloid - 1982
Producer: D.S.T., Material
The first thing that grabs you about this record is the cover showing D.S.T. standing on milk crates in front of his pre-Technic 1200 turntables. The wall behind him is covered in various colored pieces of vinyl, and D.S.T. is dressed in complete B-boy gear with Pumas and a gold chain with a name plate. The track begins with a voice box and the Infinity rappers — KC Rock and Shahiem — introducing themselves. The focal point of the record is D.S.T. and his ability to work the turntables, and the Infinity Rappers' job is to hype their DJ as much as possible in the time allotted by the track. The raps are simplistic and to the point, but the Infinity Rappers also do some harmonizing. Keyboards add a final touch to the track, but there is no real way words can do justice to the sound. This eight minute plus jam also has a B-side which amounts to a club dub focusing on the keyboards and bassline. A truly memorable blast from the past.

Artist: Fearless Four
Title: Rockin' It - 12"
Label: Enjoy - 1982
Producer: Bobby Robinson
The production on this is unforgettable and has been sampled a number of times by others. The Fearless Four is: Tito, the Great Paso, Mighty Mike C, and DLB. A female fifth member, Sha Rock, occasionally got down on the mic too, making the Funky Four +1, but on "Rockin' It" Sha Rock is absent, leaving the other four to pass the mic back and forth trading stories about their return to the mic and their abilities. The last verse is dedicated to the group's not one but two DJs, OC and Crazy Eddie. The track runs seven minutes, but the actual time the MCs spend on the mic seems like half that, leaving us to long for more from the Funky Four.

Artist: Kool Moe Dee
Title: How Ya Like Me Now - LP
Label: Jive - 1987
Producer: various
This LP is as interesting for its inner sleeve text as for its beats and rhymes. Taking it upon himself to be the Siskel and Ebert of hip hop, Moe Dee grades his top twenty-five rappers including Melle Mel, LL Cool J, Rakim, Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy. Moe Dee begins his report card with "Rap fans tend to judge a rapper by the records he makes. Some judge a rapper on his stage show. Rakim is the best on records and Doug E. Fresh is the best live entertainer. But rating a rapper goes much deeper than that." He then proceeds to grade MCs on ten different categories: vocabulary, articulation, creativity, originality, versatility, records, stage presence, sticking to themes, and innovating rhythms. An overall letter and number grade is then given. Moe Dee is, of course, rated number one with an over all score of 95, an A+. While LL gets rated as number four overall, Moe Dee scorns him for overly egocentric lyrics — "'The baddest rapper in the history of rap itself'? If you feel that way for real, you've gotta prove it! TO ME!" The Beastie Boys also take a hit: "We rappers have worked very hard to get rap to the level it's at. Don't mess it up. Keep the wild stuff on stage." How Ya Like Me Now contains several classic tracks, including the Teddy Riley produced, James Brown laced title track that showcases Moe Dee's battle stylings: "I'm bigger and better, forget about deffer," a dis to LL Cool J; and "Wild Wild West," an ode to Moe Dee's Harlem neighborhood with lines like "We fight with our hands and nobody's a punk."

Artist: UTFO
Title: UTFO - LP
Label: Select - 1985
Producer: Full Force
With Full Force getting busy one time on the production tip, UTFO (Untouchable Force Organization) created a memorable debut LP back in 1985. Consisting of the Kangol Kid, Doctor Ice, the Educated Rapper, and Mix Master Ice, UTFO dropped cuts like "Beats and Rhymes," a breakdance favorite, Mix Master Ice's showcase "Leader of the Pack," and of course the hugely successful 12" single "Roxanne Roxanne," which spawned numerous responses and spin-offs. On "Roxanne Roxanne," UTFO all vie for the attention of a fictional heartbreaking female who plays them all one by one. The LP also contains the classic response to "Roxanne Roxanne," by the Real Roxanne and a dis record to the Real Roxanne titled "Calling Her A Crab." As a side note, after starting out as a simple rivalry on record, the UTFO and the Real Roxanne beef became quite serious, going as far as he groups sabotaging each other's concerts.

Artist: 12:41
Title: $ucce$$ Is the Word - 12"
Label: Fresh
Producer: David Eng, Kenny Beck
This record was released at the peak of the TV theme music era in hip hop music and incorporated the "Gilligan's Island" theme song. The record itself is corny, but the real value of owning this record is that's it's the first appearance of KRS 1 on wax. The other contributors to the record aren't credited, but I believe D-Nice is the beatboxer and Scott La Rock might have been one of the unknown MCs on this track. The group's name came about because of the time the record was completed in the studio — 12:41.

Artist: Boogie Down Productions
Title: Say No Brother - 12"
Label: Rock Candy - 1986
Producer: W.R. Kamarra, Col-I Allen
For those of you who think "South Bronx" is the title of BDP's first record, here's a mystery. This record came out around the same time as "South Bronx," but according to Rock Candy (B-Boy records' distribution label), it was released a little before. The song is an anti-crack jam with KRS flipping a lyrical style similar to his later material like "Stop the Violence." Musically the record features some pretty average production, but this is a must have for all record collectors based upon it's rarity.

Artist: Roxanne Shanté
Title: Have A Nice Day - 12"
Label: Cold Chillin' - 1987
Producer: Marley Marl
Shanté is a truly gifted MC, and she shows this on this classic dis track. Comparing herself to Madonna and Hurricane Annie, Shanté proclaims she gave birth to all other female MCs. The most memorable part of this record is when Shanté, a staunch Juice Crew member, disses BDP: "KRS 1, you should go on vacation / with a name sounding like a wack radio station / and as for Scott La Rock, you should be ashamed / When T La Rock said 'It's Yours,' he didn't mean his name." The hard hitting beat Marley hooked up compliments Shanté's ferocious attacks well, helping Shanté achieve the title of Queen of the Juice Crew.

Artist: Double Dee & Steinski
Title: Lessons 1, 2, & 3
Label: unknown - 1983
Producer: Double Dee, Steinski
Although Grandmaster Flash's "Adventures On the Wheels of Steel" introduced sampling to the world of hip hop, this record took it to an all new level. New York DJs Double Dee and Steinski cut, scratched, and edited three distinct and different megamixes. Lesson 1 centers mostly around G.L.O.B.E. and Whiz Kid's "Play that Beat Mr. DJ" with samples as diverse as Herbie Hancock, voice snippets of Humphrey Bogart, and the Supremes. Lesson 2 focuses on Soul Brother #1 James Brown, and Lesson 3 on Herman Kelly and Life's "Dance to the Drummer's Beat." Tommy Boy eventually released this underground disc commercially, but it went out of print soon afterward. In 1988 someone bootlegged the record and rereleased it as The History of Hip Hop. It's so influential people are still sampling from it today.

Artist: Run-DMC
Title: Here We Go (Live at the Funhouse) - 12"
Label: Profile - 1985
Producer: Run-DMC
This record is the epitome of hip hop. Recorded live at the Funhouse, a New York nightclub, in the summer of 1983, Run and D slam rhymes back and forth while Jam Master Jay murders Billy Squire's "Big Beat," cutting it back and forth. This recording was originally on cassette only, and it was circulated in the New York underground as a bootleg for two years until Profile was forced to release it commercially to stop the mass bootlegging. This record captures the intensity of hip hop in the early 1980s, and it's legendary. A must have for all hip hop heads.

Artist: Sugarhill Gang
Title : Sugarhill Gang - LP
Label: Sugar Hill
Producer: Sylvia Robinson, Nate Edmonds, Billy Jones
When released, Sugarhill Gang was thought of as a novelty record that wouldn't stand the test of time, but nearly twenty years after its release, this piece of wax has historical relevance that can't be ignored. The combination of Chic's "Good Times" beat along with Wonder Mike's, Big Bank Hank's, and Master Gee's humorous, irrelevant (and bitten, I might add) lyrics propelled the New Jersey trio to hip hop legend status. The full length version of "Rapper's Delight" unfortunately isn't included on the LP — Big Bank's verse with "He can't satisfy you with his little worm, but I can bust you out with my super sperm" is deleted — but there are two other stand out cuts: "Sugarhill Groove," featuring some funky Confunkshun-esque beats and legendary Latin percussionist Tito Puente; and "Rapper's Reprise," with the first female rappers Sequence flipping the mic with Sugarhill Gang.

Artist: Art of Noise
Title: Beat Box - 12"
Label: Island - 1984
Producer: Art of Noise
As the EP's linear notes state, "It took the most advanced electronic equipment imaginable for the group to execute this, their finest collection of noise." While working with the group Yes on their 90215 album, producer Trevor Horn (ABC, Malcolm McClaren) came up with the idea of making an EP of original sounds in a faceless almost groupless guise. The sounds on "Beat Box" consisted of slamming doors, screeching tires, and horns lifted from James Brown. Breakers made this record an anthem in the first half of 1984.

Artist: Beastie Boys
Title: Rock Hard - 12"
Label: Def Jam - 1985
Producer: Rick Rubin, Beastie Boys
This single was released on the then fledgling Def Jam label, and the cut would pave the way a year later for Licensed to Ill. "Rock Hard," borrows a riff from AC/DC's "Back in Black" and features DJ Double R, aka Rick Rubin, on the wheels of steel. "Rock Hard" and the record's other two cuts "Party's Gettin' Rough" and "Beastie Groove" are extremely rare so if you see a copy, definitely grab it.



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