COLLECTION

CELLULOID: THE 12" SINGLES VOLUME 1, THE ROOTS OF RAP

  1/  Cuts It Up                                 (Showard)                     8.44
        Grandmixer D.ST.
  2/  Home of the Hip Hop                        (Showard)                     3.54
        Grandmixer D.ST.
  3/  Megamix II                                 (Showard)                     4.53
        Grandmixer D.ST.
  4/  Mean Machine                               (Showard,Nuriddin)            5.33
        Grandmixer D.ST. and Jalal
  5/  Change the Beat                            (Zekri,Material)              7.35
        Fab Five Freddy
  6/  Escapades of....                           (Futura,Clash)                6.52
        Futura 2000 with the Clash
  7/  Wild Style                                 (Bambaataa)                   6.54
        Time Zone feat. Afrika Bambaataa
  8/  World Destruction                          (Bambaataa,Laswell)           4.00
        Time Zone feat. Afrika Bambaataa and John Lydon
  9/  World Destruction (remix)                  (Bambaataa,Laswell)           3.51
        Time Zone feat. Afrika Bambaataa and John Lydon

          Track 4 recorded at RPM Studio, New York City
          Track 5 recorded at OAO Studios, Brooklyn, New York
          Tracks 8 and 9 recorded at Evergreen Studio
          Track 4 produced by D.ST. and Bill Laswell
          Track 5 produced by Material
          Tracks 8 and 9 produced by Material
(4) Jalaluddin M. Nuriddin: vocals; D.ST.: vocals, DMX, prophet 5, moog rogue, moog source, turntables; Bernie Worrell: Prophet 5; Bill Laswell: shortwave; INFINITY - The Fliest Booski, God Father K.C. & King Pin Shahiem: background vocals; (5) Fab Five Freddy: vocals; B-Side: vocals; Phillip Wilson: percussion; Bill Laswell: DMX, bass; Michael Beinhorn: synthesizer; Roger Trilling: voice; (8,9) Afrika Bambaataa & John Lydon: vocals; Bill Laswell: bass, DMX; Bernie Worrell: synthesizer; Nicky Skopelitis: guitar; Aiyb Dieng: percussion.

          1992 - Celluloid Records (USA), CELD 6205 (CD)

REVIEWS :

This compilation was put together in 1984, when the art form was still young and still relied more on beatboxes than samplers, when vocoders were new and exotic, and the rhythms tended to be a bit more blocky and straightforward. The artists featured on this collection of 12" mixes are mostly names since consigned to the hip-hop history books -- turntablist Grandmaster D.St is still active (now recording as D.X.T.), but Fab Five Freddy, Futura 2000, and Time Zone haven't been heard from in years. But while no one could call this music timeless -- in light of later developments, much of it sounds fairly rudimentary and simplistic -- it does have a certain enduring charm. The tag-team rapping on Grandmaster D.St's "Home of Hip Hop" celebrates the Bronx in charmingly chest-thumping style to the accompaniment of sparkling keyboards, minimalist machine beats, and shards of metal guitar. On "World Destruction," Time Zone is joined by John Lydon for a heartwarming dose of intercontinental musical insurrection, while the Clash guests on Futura 2000's "Escapades of...." All of it will bring a smile to the face of anyone who was a teenager in the 1980s.

Rick Anderson (courtesy of the All Music Guide by way of the Get Music website)