Search - Various Artists :: Kurtis Blow Presents The History Of Rap: Vol. 3

Fine Representation of mid-late 80s rap

Andre M. | Mt. Pleasant, SC United States | 10/18/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This series is to rap what the "Didn't I Blow Your Mind" series on Rhino is to Classic Soul. An excellent representation of what was popular at the time (in this case, roughly 1985 to 88). Rp was still fun at this point, as evidenced by the Fat Boys' "Jailhouse Rap", Rob Base's eternal party starter "It Takes Two" (based on Lynn Collins' "Think."), UTFO's "Roxanne Roxanne (which spawned some unfortunate imitators in 1985). etc. The Biz keeps the comedy going with the laugh fest "Just a Friend" and the seriocomic "The Vapors." Kris Parker signals things to come with "Criminal Minded" (which does not endorse gangsterism as the title may indicate) as does Public Enemy's policial rap "Rebel Without a Pause." Fortunately, Kurtis Blow stops things just before rap got ruined with the gangster garbage, so enjoy and learn."

Conclusion of a great series

R. Riis | NY | 07/20/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The third volume in this indespensible series takes the history of rap through the mid-to-late 1980s. It's a fine overview, even if the music has stylistically gone all over the map, making it hard to represent in a single disk. Great track selection (more of a concentration on big hits and major artists than on the previous volumes) and sound make this a good sampler even for those who aren't interested in the whole series. Even better are Kurtis Blow's own liner notes that put these tracks and their artists into the large historical context."