Essential for Oldschool hiphop historians
Andre M. | Mt. Pleasant, SC United States | 03/31/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This and the Cold Crush Bros vs. Fantastic 5 are must haves for the oldschool hip hop fan.
First, to clarify, the title "Death Mix" comes from the fact that around 1978-81 in New York's Black neighborhoods (I was in the Bronx during 78-79 when I was 13-14), "Death" meant "cool," (i.e., "That mix was DEATH!")and this somehow evolved into the slang "Def," as in "Def Jam Records."
With that said, "Death Mix pt. 1 and 2" consists of pioneer rap producer Paul Winley recording a live party Bam was hosting at James Monroe HS in the Bronx sometime very early in the 80s, judging from the tunes. Bam mixes on the turntables as his MCs from the Cosmic Force gives some mike checks, party raps, and shout outs to friends and other rappers. Having been around this embryonic scene as a teenager myself, this is truly the Rosetta stone of hip hop and it gives the novice a time capsule of what the birth of hip hop live at the party jams really sounded like. Bambaata mixes tunes like the J5's "It's Great to Be Here" and the Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Computer Games."
Along with this, we get some pre-"Planet Rock" Bam-Jams such as "Zulu Nation Throwdown Pt. 1" with Bam's rappers the Cosmic Force. This is an example of the high-spirited, party chanting and harmonizing that defined the early years of recorded rap. Even though I somehow did not hear this tune when it first came out around 1980, it truly captures the spirit of the era. ZNT #2 is a different tune altogether with the Soul Sonic Force, another of Bam's Zulu Nation groups. Not bad, but the section where these guys chant and fill up space over the instrumental with streetcorner jive without rapping in the strictest sense has a certain urban charm to it.
So students of the old-school: the class is in session. Get this and the Cold Crush Bros. 1981 Battle w/ Fantastic 5 and a DVD of "Wild Style" and you'll see what TRUE hip hop was like before NWA and the gangster
(c)rappers in their wake all but destroyed the genre with ignorance and excessive negativity."
I have the original record check out my profile
JCUTT | OAKLAND CA | 02/09/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Yeah i was happy to keep my record the original im from cali oakland my homie went back to nyc to visit his family and he gave me this record i had it for a while the bomb point blank"
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1