"Collector Items" is a section where you can read some reviews of collectable old school records. It contains over 70 reviews. All of these records were innovative and many of them were hits during their time. Most are out of print and only found used. If you would like to contribute a review to this section, see an error, or have any comments, e-mail me at rokbotom@hotmail.com.



Artist: Positive K & MC Lyte
Title: I'm Not Havin' It - 12"
Label: First Priority - 1988
Producer: Audio Two
Long before he hit with "Nightshift" and "I got a Man" this record helped pit Positive K on the map. Although it would be another three-and a-half years before Positive K got around to putting out an album, his skills as a lyricist are more than apparent on this joint. A humorous song, Positive spends almost the whole record trying, unsuccessfully, to pick up a less than impressed MC Lyte with an "Excuse me miss" line. Utilizing a sample from the Pointer Sister's "Yes, We Can Can," this track has held up well over time.

Artist: The Real Roxanne featuring Hitman Howie T
Title: Bang Zoom (Let's Go-Go!) - 12"
Label: Select - 1986
Producer: Full Force
If you are a scratch DJ, you'll want this for some of the classic sound bytes enclosed therein, including the record's intro: "You are now rocking with the best." The bytes of "The lady devastator with the big drum beater" and "Sorry, uh, wrong beat" are also found on this record. The real meat and potatoes of the record is the spiraling percussive rhythm that apparently caught Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis' ears because they took a piece of the beat for Janet Jackson's "If."

Artist: LL Cool J
Title: Mama Said Knock You Out - LP
Label: Def Jam - 1990
Producer: Marley Marl
Anytime I think about Uncle L's landmark LP Mama Said, one of the first things that pops into my mind is the unforgettable first line of the title cut "Don't call it a comeback, I've been here for years." After becoming one of rap's first true platinum stars with the success of 1985's Radio LP, LL faced significant negative criticism from many other rappers and a finicky rap audience always looking for the latest style. Silencing most of his critics with the diverse, jam packed Mama Said, LL was back on top. He updated his classic "I Can't Live Without My Radio" with "The Boomin' System," created ferocious battle rhymes on Murdergram" and "To Da Break of Dawn," the latter ripping apart Kool Moe Dee, Hammer, and Ice T like an unleashed junkyard pitbull. With legendary producer/DJ Marley Marl proving to be the perfect accompaniment for LL's wicked lyrical abilities on the mic, LL covered a lot of ground on this album.

Artist: The Rake
Title: Street Justice - 12"
Label: Profile - 1983
Producer: Marc Blatte, Larry Gotlieb, Jay Rifkin
In the social commentary vein established by "The Message," this cut is a serious story of how Rake's experiences in the streets have removed his faith in the justice system. Rake's hard, almost soulless voice slides like an alley cat over the groove and puts you right in the middle of the mayhem as he runs through his native streets. The three producers did a remarkable job of creating a track that perfectly expresses the way Rake flows, helping show that while may it have been six years before the release of Straight Outta Compton, hip hop wasn't all about Adidas and parties at the time.

Artist: D.S.T.
Title: Why Is It Fresh - 12"
Label: Celluloid - 1984
Producer: D.S.T.
This record stood out vividly from the first time it was released. Basically it's a pure scratch track, and not just that but one limited to only the Celluloid catalog (eight records) at the time. Considering what little D.S.T. had to work with, it's a miracle that he came up with such a diverse collage of beats. Reminiscent of the way Jazzy Jay and Red Alert, D.S.T. can cut up a well known record and make it sound completely different. This is definitely one for the Rock Steady Crew.

Artist: Jonzun Crew
Title: Pack Jam - 12"
Label: Tommy Boy - 1982
Producer: Michael Johnson, Maurice Starr
One of the many records to be inspired by Afrika Bambaataa, "Pack Jam" was actually turned down by Arthur Baker at Streetwise Records for sounding too much like "Planet Rock." Consisting of brothers Michael Johnson and Maurice Starr, this track definitely got the party started back in the day. After releasing the classic follow-up "Space Cowboy" and album Lost in Space, the brothers split up to produce other artists. Maurice most notably produced New Edition and New Kids On the Jock.

Artist: Ultramagnetic MC's
Title: Ego Trippin' - 12"
Label: Next Plateau - 1988
Producer: Ced-Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's
One of the dopest cuts from one of the most underrated groups in hip hop, "Ego Trippin'" was a dis to Run-DMC's "Peter Piper," citing Run-DMC's lyrics as childish and simplistic. This jam is anything but, however. Also noteworthy, "Ego Trippin'" is one of the first rap records to use the "Substitution" breakbeat. If you own a copy of this single or their acclaimed Critical Beatdown, you hold a true collector's item in your hand.

Artist: JVC Force
Title: Strong Island - 12"
Label: B-Boy - 1987
Producer: JVC Force
In 1987 these brothers hit us hard with this track. Each MC gives himself major props throughout the song accompanied by simplistic scratching, a catchy drum track, and fat horn stabs, making this song a dancefloor killer. The only actual tribute to JVC Force's home of Long Island is in the hook, but the combination of braggadocios rhymes and classic music makes this joint one that cannot be overlooked.

Artist: MC Shan
Title: Beat Biter / The Bridge - 12"
Label: Bridge - 1986
Producer: Marley Marl
Back when dis records were the fad, Shan dropped "Beat Biter," a song in which he talks about taking out all beat biters, and especially LL Cool J, claiming LL bit "Rock the Bells." Over a typical Marley drum track laced with cartoon bytes, Shan explains how his and Marley's beat was stolen by LL and what the penalty's going to be. However, the real treat is the B-side, because this jam gave birth to the legendary Queensbridge-South Bronx rivalry between the Juice Crew and B.D.P. "The Bridge," which can also be found on Shan's debut LP Down By Law, outlines the formation of the Juice Crew and some history of hip hop in Shan's section of Queens.

Artist: Fat Boys
Title: Fat Boys - LP
Label: Sutra - 1984
Producer: Kurtis Blow
Of all the albums released by the trio of Prince Markie Dee, Kool Rock Ski, and the late Buffy the "Human Beat Box," their self-titled debut is their absolute best. After winning a talent competition in which they were rewarded with a recording contract, the Fat Boys were on their way to stardom. Although they were originally known as the Disco 3, the group was renamed Fat Boys by their manager after an incident at a hotel where the hungry trio wolfed down an especially enormous breakfast and were served with an even larger bill. Shortly afterwards their first single "Fat Boys" was released on Sutra Records. The album also included such gems as "Jail House Rap," a humorous track about being thrown in jail over crimes involving food; my personal favorite, "Can You Feel It," which was recently remade by Dru Down; "Stick 'Em," a classic beat box track utilized by many DJs and sampled countless times for breakbeat records; and "Human Beat Box," showcasing Buffy's supreme beat box skills and igniting a massive, although short lived, fad in hip hop.

Artist: Just-Ice
Title: Kool and Deadly (Justicisms) - LP
Label: Fresh - 1987
Producer: Just-Ice, KRS 1
One of three self-proclaimed "Original Gangster of Hip Hop," Just-Ice may have dropped out of sight, but he left a mad legacy with his second LP. Backed by KRS-One's raw beats, Just-Ice tossed and spit the roughest of Bronx verbal beatdowns. Whether it was the old school flashback of "Going Way Back" or the KRS and Just-Ice tag team romp of "Moshitup," Just-Ice plain wrecked shop on this album. As if that wasn't enough, Just also shocked it on the acapella tip with "The Original Gangster of Hip Hop," rolling rough rhymes over DMX's fly ass beatboxing.

Artist: DJ Chuck Chillout & Red Alert
Title: Hip-Hop On Wax Vol. 1 & 2
Label: Vintertainment
Producer: Vincent Davis
These are the two best DJ solo records of all time, released when hip hop music wasn't yet labeled as rap, DJs ruled hip hop, and the culture was still pure. With Volume 1 by Chuck Chillout and Volume 2 by Red Alert, these records were a demonstration of skill of two of the biggest DJs in New York at the time, both of who were featured on WRKS radio in New York with live mix shows on Friday and Saturday nights. The records are packed with fat, breakdance oriented beats and mad cuts ranging from sirens to snippets of classic jams like "Apache," "It's Just begun," and "Blow Your Head." The scratches were the best of the time, being on point and creative. These records belong in hip hop history.

Artist: B.M.O.C. (Big Men On Campus)
Title: Play that Funk - 12"
Label: Sire - 1988
Producer: Nile Rodgers
While this record isn't very good, it is collectable because it features Sultan MC, aka John Shecter, a founding member of the Source Magazine. The cover shows him and his partner Kevi Kev sporting the mad Harvard gear. "Play that Funk" utilizes a sample from Wild Cherry's "Play that Funky Music" and featured Nile Rodgers on bass. The rhymes were, at best, a Beastie Boy's bite, making this record pretty weak if not for it's historical value.



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