The second full length from the Grand Verbalizer Brother J, Professor X and crew, which while still heavy on the Afro-mystic imagery, suffers a bit from the usual X-Clan problems of overused samples and too many Vangloriouses. However, "Fire & Earth", with the traditional gospel sample (as performed by Ry Cooder?), is worth the price of the ticket. Other tracks include "Funk Liberation", "Rhythem Of God", "Verbal Papp", "Cosmic Ark", "A.D.A.M.", and "Foreplay". CD

A pair of 80s street soul soundtracks – Breakin and Breakin 2 – reissued here with the title as Breakdance, which is how they appeared in the UK! Maybe Breakin wasn't the most accurate, most faithful portrait of life on the streets in the early 80s – but the film was a great breakout moment for hip hop culture in the mainstream, and also helped sell the new style with a heavy dose of soul! The real stars here are Ollie & Jerry – who deliver two of the album's best tracks – "Breakin There's No Stoppin Us" and "Showdown" – but the set's also got some other great 80s soul and funk tracks – including "Ain't Nobody" by Rufus & Chaka Khan, "Freakshow On The Dance Floor" by The Bar-Kays, the smooth club hit "99 1/2" by Carol Lynn Townes, "Body Work" by Hot Streak, "Street People" by Fire Fox, "Heart Of The Beat" by 3V, and "Reckless" by Chris "The Glove" Taylor – featuring vocals by a young Ice T! Breakin 2 is maybe an even better soundtrack than the first entry in the series – and not just because it gave the world the term "electric boogaloo"! The team of Ollie & Jerry seem almost fully in charge here – and in addition to creating some great tracks of their own, they also produce some other beat box gems that are equally great – nestled here alongside some well-chosen street soul groovers too! Titles include "Electric Boogaloo" and "When I C U" by Ollie & Jerry – plus "Stylin Profilin" and "Radiotron" by Firefox, "Din Daa Daa" by George Kranz, "Gotta Have The Money" by Steve Donn, "Believe In The Beat" by Carol Lynn Townes, "I Don't Want To Come Down" by Mark Scott, "See It Out" by Midway, and "Oye Mamacita" by Rags & Riches. CD