Best Hip Hop Album From 1984
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I get the feeling that nobody has heard any of these albums, so I'll give a quick review of each one
Run DMC (Profile Records) - 5 Mics. The whole album is flames. Prior to this album, record labels didn't think there was a market for an album with rapping all the way through. If you ever heard Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5, Curtis Blow or The Sugarhill Gang's albums, they all had ballads with singing. Run DMC's first album was the first studio album (not including the Wildstyle Soundtrack, which were live recordings that came out in 1983) that was all beats, rhymes and scratching. It was exactly what everybody was waiting for. Standout cuts - Sucker MCs, It's Like That, Jam Master Jay
Escape (Jive Records) - Whodini - 4.5 Mics. The album was dope from front to back, but it was kinda short. There were only 8 songs, and one of them, Featuring Grandmaster Dee, was just an instrumental to Five Minutes Of Funk. So there were really just seven songs. Standout cuts - Friends, Five Minutes Of Funk, Freaks Come Out AT Night.
Fat Boys (Sutra Records) - 4.5 Mics. This album was produced by Kurtis Blow. There was a little singing but that was ok. The beats were dope and they could rap. Also that was the first time I'd ever heard beatboxing. Dougie Fresh was actually the first beatbox and had a record out, but I didn't hear it until much later. I think the first song by Dougie Fresh I'd ever heard was The Show and Laid Dadi. The biggest flaw with this album is there were only 7 songs. Standout cuts - Jailhouse Rap, Can You Feel It, Human Beat Box.
Crash Crew (Sugarhill Records) - 3.5 Mics. This was really an EP. It had 5 songs. They had been around for a while. In fact, they're one of the original rap groups. They had a record out called High Power Rap under the name Disco Dave and the Force of 5 MCs in 1980 while Run DMC, Whodini and The Fat Boys came out several years later. Standout cuts - On The Radio and We Are Known As Emcees.
The Treacherous Three (Sugarhill Records) - 3.5 Mics. This was an interesting album. There were only six songs. Three of them were recorded while they were on Sugarhill Records, while Feel The Heartbeat, Body Rock and At The Party were recorded a few years earlier when they were on Enjoy Records. This album was rereleased in the 2000s with a different track listing. The original version of the album was cool, but Run DMC's album was much better. Standout Tracks - The Body Rock, Feel The Heartbeat, At The Party.
Living In The Fast Lane - Sugarhill Gang (Sugarhill Records) - 2.5 Mics. The Sugarhill Gang were on their way out and Run DMC, Whodini and The Fat Boys were on their way in. By this point the sound of Hip Hop had changed from session musicians playing live instruments to drum machines, synthesizers and scratching. Everything coming out of Sugarhill Records sounded dated compared to Run DMC, Whodini and The Fat Boys. Standout Tracks - Living In The Fast Lane, Kickin It Live From 9 to 5 (those two songs were actually decent).
Ego Trip - Kurtis Blow (Mercury Records) - 3.5 Mics. Kurtis Blow was the last of the Mohegans. He was one of the few people that came out in 1979 and kept his career going in the aftermath of Run DMC. The first side of the album was solid, but the b-side was R&B songs. This illustrates the problem that the first wave of Rap artists had. They didn't understand that Rap was it's own genre and people didn't want to hear rappers singing love ballads. We wanted to hear Rappers rap and singers sing. There was a clear distinction. Maybe it's because they were older (in their 20s) and I was 10 years old in 1984. I knew the difference between Rap and R&B and I wanted Rap. Standout Cuts - 8 Million Stories, AJ Scratch, Basketball.
Work Party - Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious 5 (Sugarhill Records) - 3.5 Mics. This album came out after Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 broke up. Melle Mel, Scorpio and Cowboy formed one faction, while Grandmaster Flash, Kid Creole and Rahiem formed another faction. The album was on Sugarhill so they suffered from the same problem everybody else on Sugarhill suffered; there were R&B songs and they were using session musicians. Although this album was much better than The Sugarhill Gang's album, it wasn't anywhere near as good as Run DMC or Whodini's albums. They sounded confused, like they didn't know which was to go. Melle Mel proved his lyrical prowess on World War III. There was a remix of White Lines, which would have been better if they just put the original version. Standout Tracks - The Truth, World War III.
Beat Street Soundtrack Vol 1&2 - 5 Mics. (Atlantic Records) I'm counting this as one album. It was really a masterpiece. There were R&B songs, and electro songs as well as Hip Hop songs, most notably Beat Street Breakdown by Grandmaster Melle Mel and X Mas Rap by The Treacherous Three. It's too bad they released Vol 1 and Vol 2 separately. If it was a double album it would have been perfect. Its a shame they didn't put Beat Street on Melle Mel's album. Standout Cuts - Beat Street Breakdown, Battle Cry, Frantic Situation, Into The Night.
Run DMC (Profile Records) - 5 Mics. The whole album is flames. Prior to this album, record labels didn't think there was a market for an album with rapping all the way through. If you ever heard Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5, Curtis Blow or The Sugarhill Gang's albums, they all had ballads with singing. Run DMC's first album was the first studio album (not including the Wildstyle Soundtrack, which were live recordings that came out in 1983) that was all beats, rhymes and scratching. It was exactly what everybody was waiting for. Standout cuts - Sucker MCs, It's Like That, Jam Master Jay
Escape (Jive Records) - Whodini - 4.5 Mics. The album was dope from front to back, but it was kinda short. There were only 8 songs, and one of them, Featuring Grandmaster Dee, was just an instrumental to Five Minutes Of Funk. So there were really just seven songs. Standout cuts - Friends, Five Minutes Of Funk, Freaks Come Out AT Night.
Fat Boys (Sutra Records) - 4.5 Mics. This album was produced by Kurtis Blow. There was a little singing but that was ok. The beats were dope and they could rap. Also that was the first time I'd ever heard beatboxing. Dougie Fresh was actually the first beatbox and had a record out, but I didn't hear it until much later. I think the first song by Dougie Fresh I'd ever heard was The Show and Laid Dadi. The biggest flaw with this album is there were only 7 songs. Standout cuts - Jailhouse Rap, Can You Feel It, Human Beat Box.
Crash Crew (Sugarhill Records) - 3.5 Mics. This was really an EP. It had 5 songs. They had been around for a while. In fact, they're one of the original rap groups. They had a record out called High Power Rap under the name Disco Dave and the Force of 5 MCs in 1980 while Run DMC, Whodini and The Fat Boys came out several years later. Standout cuts - On The Radio and We Are Known As Emcees.
The Treacherous Three (Sugarhill Records) - 3.5 Mics. This was an interesting album. There were only six songs. Three of them were recorded while they were on Sugarhill Records, while Feel The Heartbeat, Body Rock and At The Party were recorded a few years earlier when they were on Enjoy Records. This album was rereleased in the 2000s with a different track listing. The original version of the album was cool, but Run DMC's album was much better. Standout Tracks - The Body Rock, Feel The Heartbeat, At The Party.
Living In The Fast Lane - Sugarhill Gang (Sugarhill Records) - 2.5 Mics. The Sugarhill Gang were on their way out and Run DMC, Whodini and The Fat Boys were on their way in. By this point the sound of Hip Hop had changed from session musicians playing live instruments to drum machines, synthesizers and scratching. Everything coming out of Sugarhill Records sounded dated compared to Run DMC, Whodini and The Fat Boys. Standout Tracks - Living In The Fast Lane, Kickin It Live From 9 to 5 (those two songs were actually decent).
Ego Trip - Kurtis Blow (Mercury Records) - 3.5 Mics. Kurtis Blow was the last of the Mohegans. He was one of the few people that came out in 1979 and kept his career going in the aftermath of Run DMC. The first side of the album was solid, but the b-side was R&B songs. This illustrates the problem that the first wave of Rap artists had. They didn't understand that Rap was it's own genre and people didn't want to hear rappers singing love ballads. We wanted to hear Rappers rap and singers sing. There was a clear distinction. Maybe it's because they were older (in their 20s) and I was 10 years old in 1984. I knew the difference between Rap and R&B and I wanted Rap. Standout Cuts - 8 Million Stories, AJ Scratch, Basketball.
Work Party - Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious 5 (Sugarhill Records) - 3.5 Mics. This album came out after Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 broke up. Melle Mel, Scorpio and Cowboy formed one faction, while Grandmaster Flash, Kid Creole and Rahiem formed another faction. The album was on Sugarhill so they suffered from the same problem everybody else on Sugarhill suffered; there were R&B songs and they were using session musicians. Although this album was much better than The Sugarhill Gang's album, it wasn't anywhere near as good as Run DMC or Whodini's albums. They sounded confused, like they didn't know which was to go. Melle Mel proved his lyrical prowess on World War III. There was a remix of White Lines, which would have been better if they just put the original version. Standout Tracks - The Truth, World War III.
Beat Street Soundtrack Vol 1&2 - 5 Mics. (Atlantic Records) I'm counting this as one album. It was really a masterpiece. There were R&B songs, and electro songs as well as Hip Hop songs, most notably Beat Street Breakdown by Grandmaster Melle Mel and X Mas Rap by The Treacherous Three. It's too bad they released Vol 1 and Vol 2 separately. If it was a double album it would have been perfect. Its a shame they didn't put Beat Street on Melle Mel's album. Standout Cuts - Beat Street Breakdown, Battle Cry, Frantic Situation, Into The Night.
:lol9: