With Sadat X and Dinco D on "Treacherous Three". 12-inch, Vinyl record

A huge dip into the history of hip hop – in a set that's something of a groundbreaking effort from the folks at the Smithsonian! If we're honest, we'll tell you that we're old enough to remember a time when folks thought that hip hop was just a fad – when it was a musical style that would disappear in just a few short years. But now, all these many decades later, the form has had such an impact on American culture that the Smithsonian Institute is giving it some official sort of due – something we never would have believed back in the 80s! The package is huge – 9CDs with a whopping 129 tracks in all, and a 300 page book that supports the recordings with an insane amount of notes, photos, and all sorts of other information – alongside a track list that was put together by folks who include Questlove, 9th Wonder, Chuck D, Jeff Chang, and MC Lyte! The set is especially great on old school tracks up through the golden era hip hop years – but also moves into the 21st century too – and artists include Treacherous Three, Afrika Bambaataa, Fearless Four, Cold Crush Brothers, Herbie Hancock, Run DMC, Fatback, Sugarhill Gang, Kurtis Blow, Funky Four +1, T La Rock, Schoolly D, Beastie Boys, Kool Moe Dee, LL Cool J, Eric B & Rakim, Mantronix, Stetsasonic, Audio Two, Big Daddy Kane, MC Lyte, Marley Marl, Tone Loc, Jungle Brothers, NWA, Public Enemy, Slick Rick, 3rd Bass, De La Soul, Queen Latifa, DOC, 2 Live Crew, Dr Dre, Sir Mix A Lot, Digable Planets, Positive K, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Naughty By Nature, Black Sheep, Tribe Called Quest, Geto Boys, Pharcyde, 2Pac, Warren G, Gang Starr, Notorious BIG, and many many more! CD

Nice comp of old school cuts including "PSK What Does It Mean?" by Schoolly D, "Ego Trippin" by Ultramagnetic MCs, "Rockin It" by Fearless Four, "Body Rock" by Treacherous Three, "Going Way Back" by Just Ice, "Bring The Beat Back" by Steady B, "Girls I Got 'Em Locked" by Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud, "Stick 'Em" by The Fat Boys, "Def Fresh Crew" by Roxanne Shante and Biz Markie, "It's My Beat" by Sweet Tee and Jazzy Joyce, "Peter Piper" by Run DMC, and "Fresh" by Fresh 3 MCs. LP, Vinyl record album

The classic first solo album from Kool Moe Dee – pivotal solo rap from the onetime Treacherous Three rhyme slinger – formative stuff that works nearly as well, to our ears anyway, as his platinum breakout How You Like Me Now! 9 tracks on the original album: "Go See The Doctor", "Do You Know What Time It Is", "I'm Kool Moe Dee", "Dumb Dick (Richard)", "Monster Crack", "Little Jon", "The Best" and "Rock Steady". This great, necessary reissue has the bonus "Go See The Doctor (Uncensored Version)". CD

Jurassic 5 deliver thoroughly new school hip hop, but with an eye over their shoulder to the old school sound of groups like the Treacherous Three and Funky Four + 1. Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark keep the production nice and funky, but steer clear of the repetitive sound of that era, and MC's Chali 2na, Zaakir, Marc 7even, and Akil do a nice job of updating the old school 4-MC rhyming style. Imagine the best parts of the Wild Style soundtrack updated to 1997. 8 tracks on this version "Concrete Schoolyard", "Action Satisfaction", "Jayou", "Lesson 6: The Lecture", "Quality Control Part II", "Setup", "In The Flesh" and "Sausage Gut". LP, Vinyl record album

The stand-out cut here is the break dance track "Son of Beat Street" with lots of cutting by Jazzy Jay. Also includes Treacherous Three "Santa's Rap" with beatboxing by Dougie Fresh, Rockers Revenge "Battle Cry" produced by Arthur Baker, and some club cuts by Juicy, Tina B and others. LP, Vinyl record album

Include music by Kurtis Blow, Sugarhill Gang, Treacherous Three, Eric B. & Rakim, Too $hort, Roxanne Shante, Naughty By Nature, Biz Markie, Public Enemy, 3rd Bass, Black Sheep, Onyx, Method Man, Wu-Tang Clan, Common, Busta Rhymes, 2Pac, and more! CD

The classic first solo album from Kool Moe Dee – pivotal solo rap from the onetime Treacherous Three rhyme slinger – formative stuff that works nearly as well, to our ears anyway, as his platinum breakout How You Like Me Now! 9 tracks on the original album: "Go See The Doctor", "Do You Know What Time It Is", "I'm Kool Moe Dee", "Dumb Dick (Richard)", "Monster Crack", "Little Jon", "The Best" and "Rock Steady". This great, necessary reissue has the bonus "Go See The Doctor (Uncensored Version)". CD

Single track mix with music from De La Soul, Beastie Boys, Special Ed, Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud, Whodini, DXT, Funk Inc., Treacherous Three, Davy DMX, Herbie Hancock, The Mean Machine, Grandmaster Flash, Pumpkin And The Profile All-Stars, Sugarhill Gang, Hot Day, Z-3 MC's, Mantronix, and more. CD