Kurtis Blow - The Best Of Kurtis Blow @320

With his funky, hooky beats and confident, distinct lyrics and flow, Kurtis Blow established himself as one of rap's earliest crossover artists, a fact which at times obscures his actual talent and innovation. THE BEST OF... offers a fair sampling of the output of a man who stood as one of the first public faces of hip-hop.
His two best-remembered hits are both present, of course: "The Breaks" stands decades later as arguably early rap's greatest participatory song, with its handclaps and chants and uncommonly groovy riff, and while "Basketball" inevitably dates itself both lyrically and by its light, bubblegum sound, there's sweetness in its simplicity. Blow's rhymes are generally simple but memorable, and the melodies are designed perfectly to hook the listener in. Statement songs such as "Hard Times," "Tough," "America," and "Starlife" (perhaps the first rap lament on the pitfalls of stardom) drive their respective points home. A forgotten classic lurks in 1986's "I'm Chillin'," featuring the Transformers theme and the sparsest and baddest lyrics on offer here. Kurtis Blow was the first popular MC of hip-hop and this collection offers ample evidence why.
01. The Breaks
02. Christmas Rappin'
03. Hard Times
04. Starlife
05. Tough
06. Daydreamin'
07. Party Time
08. One-Two-Five (Main Street, Harlem, Usa)
09. 8 Million Stories
10. Aj Scratch
11. Basketball
12. America
13. If I Ruled The World
14. I'm Chillin'
Personnel includes: Kurtis Blow (rap vocals, DMX synthesizer, timbales); Run-D.M.C. (rap vocals); Adam White (spoken vocals); Denzil Miller (guitar, keyboards); Danny Harris (guitar, synthesizer); John Tropea, Dean Swenson, J.B. Moore, Curtis Bedreau, Dean Bailin (guitar); Mark "Sugar Rico" Rivera (saxophone); Onaje Allan Gumbs, Don Blackman (piano); Robbie Kondor, Gerard Charles, Jeff Bova (synthesizer); T-Bone Wolk, Richard Pascual, Craig Short, Seth Glassman (bass); Jimmy Bralower, Alonzo "Go-Go" Robinson (drums); Jaime Delgado (congas, timbales); Sam Jacobs (percussion); Davey Dee, William Waring, Larry Smith, Wayne Garfield, Robert Ford (background vocals).
Producers include: Kurtis Blow, J.B. Moore, Robert Ford, Jr., Robert Reed.
Compilation producer: Harry Weinger.
Includes liner notes by Nelson George & Russell Simmons.
Digitally remastered by Gary Mayo (Polygram Studios).
Label: Mercury/Polygram
Orig Year: 1994
BITRATE: 320
My cd-rip (EAC and Lame)
Covers Included
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