Search - Afrika Bambaataa :: Looking for the Perfect Beat 1980-1985

The real roots of hip-hop

Jonathan Green | Los Angeles, CA USA | 04/03/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've waited for a compilation of Bam's hit sides since they were still fresh. There's not a wack track in the bunch.The music is not only amazing, but artistically forward. While the rest of the burgeoning hip-hop nation was just rhyming over looped disco tracks, Bam borrowed from Stockhausen and put the music miles ahead of its competition artistically. The idiom of hip-hop, or any pop music, has rarely been so avant garde.Also, extra props are due as these sides commemorate an era when hip-hop and rock were just part of the same game, with either side able to dance to the other.Run-DMC get all the props from the early 80s, and they do deserve it, but Afrika Bambatta was a real revolutionary. Any hip-hop record today can trace its roots back to Bam."

Starts slow, but ends hot!

jqr | Brooklyn | 06/27/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"To my taste, this CD is back-loaded with hits. The first couple of tracks are OK but the rapping doesn't reach the potential of the music. When it comes to the last few, however, "Who do you think you're funkin' with" being the best example, you may not be able to keep your jaw from dropping. I honestly do not think that these tracks (with the Sugar Hill Gang backing up) have ever been surpassed in the hip-hop genre. They are so dense and complicated and incredibly arranged.Disclaimer, however: I saw this band live in 1988 and it changed my life. I am so happy to have this album finally to refresh my memories of that amazing night."

Funky hip-hop

Jason | Mount Pleasant, Michigan United States | 03/31/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Essentially a greatest hits album, this has all the essentials. Planet Rock, Looking for the Perfect Beat, Renegades of Funk and Frantic Situation are four songs that are absolutely unreal and so funky that these songs are the preferred choices for breakdancers to get off on. The other tracks I view as icing on the cake. The above aforementioned songs are worth the price of the disc and then some. If you're looking for grooves which are so funky they make you want to get up and move this disc is for you. Bam basically started the whole hip-hop movement and in all honesty he and the Soul Sonic Force did it best. Probably the most underrated hip-hop artists, buy the disc and you'll know what I'm talking about."