Tommy Boy
Greatest Beats - The First Fifteen Years 1981-1996
Format: CD
Price: 75.00
Samples, drum machines, and hip-hop beats are now the stuff of mainstream pop, but imagine a time when they weren't, when they still connoted a mysterious and mystifying sonic underground. The four-disc set Tommy Boy's Greatest Beats: The First Fifteen Years 1981-1996 traces the history of the New York rap/dance label Tommy Boy and conjures up that precise moment in the early '80s when singles by Afrika Bambaataa and the Jonzun Crew, among others, introduced urban musicheads to gritty space-funk odysseys. And once the chintzy drum machines and electronic hand claps of those hits wore out their welcome, Tommy Boy kept evolving. De La Soul and Stetsasonic added head-spinning sampling and clever wordplay to the roster; their singles are some of this box's highlights.
Unlike its prime competitor, Def Jam Records, Tommy Boy had multiple personalities; the wan balladry of Force M.D.'s and the Duran Duranisms of the Information Society now seem to come from another, blander universe. But like Def Jam, Tommy Boy fought its way through creative droughts to blast back in the '90s with hits by Coolio and Naughty by Nature, which were harder and deeper than anything the label had offered before. 808 State's 1990 ''Pacific'' now sounds like a precursor of the current turntableist movement, and the label also introduced the world to many future stars (Lisa Stansfield, Queen Latifah, Tupac Shakur). From ''Planet Rock'' through ''Gangsta's Paradise,'' these 56 tracks still feel deliciously sooty. The four volumes are available separately, but if you can, splurge on the box, which houses the discs in a miniature replica of a plastic DJ crate.
Vol. 1
01 Afrika Bamabaataa & Soulsonic Force - Planet Rock.ape
02 Naughty By Nature - Everything's Gonna Be All Right.ape
03 Digital Underground - Doowutchyalike.ape
04 De La Soul - Plug Tunin' (Are You Ready For This) (12'' Version).ape
05 Total - Can't You See.ape
06 K7 - Move It Like This.ape
07 Choice MC's (feat. Fresh Gordon) - Gordy's Groove.ape
08 Planet Patrol - Play At Your Own Risk (12'' Version).ape
09 Stetsasonic - Sally.ape
10 Queen Latifah (feat. Monie Love) - Ladies First.ape
11 Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force - Renegades Of Funk (12'' Version).ape
12 Club Nouveau - Lean On Me.ape
13 Force M.D.'s - Tears.ape
14 Afrika Bambaataa & James Brown - Unity.ape
Vol. 2
01 House Of Pain - Jump Around.ape
02 Naughty By Nature - Uptown Anthem.ape
03 Club Nouveau - Jealousy.ape
04 Planet Patrol - Cheap Thrills (12'' Version).ape
05 K7 - Come Baby Come.ape
06 Coolio - 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New) (Timber Mix).ape
07 Queen Latifah - Come Into My House.ape
08 De La Soul (feat. A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, Queen Latifah & Monie Love) - Buddy (12'' Remix).ape
09 Afrika Bambaataa + The Jazzy 5 - Jazzy Sensation (12'' Remix).ape
10 Naughty By Nature - Feel Me Flow.ape
11 Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance.ape
12 Force M.D.'s - Let Me Love You.ape
13 808 State - Pacific.ape
14 De La Soul - Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey).ape
Vol. 3
01 Naughty By Nature - O.P.P..ape
02 Stetsasonic - Go Stetsa 1 (12'' Remix).ape
03 De La Soul - Me, Myself And I.ape
04 House Of Pain - Shamrocks And Shenanigans (Boom Shalock Lock Boom) (Butch Vig Remix).ape
05 Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force - Looking For The Perfect Beat (12'' Version).ape
06 Information Society - What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy Mix).ape
07 TKA - Maria (12'' Vocal).ape
08 Coldcut Feat. Lisa Stansfield - People Hold On.ape
09 Coolio - Fantastic Voyage (Timber Mix).ape
10 Club Nouveau - Why You Treat Me So Bad.ape
11 Digital Underground - Same Song.ape
12 Paris - Break The Grip Of Shame.ape
13 Queen Latifah - Latifah's Had It Up To Here.ape
14 Force M.D.'s - Here I Go Again.ape
Vol. 4
01 Apache - Gangsta Bitch.ape
02 Naughty By Nature - Hip Hop Hooray.ape
03 De La Soul - Potholes In My Lawn (12'' Version).ape
04 Jonzun Crew - Pack Jam (Look Out For The OVC) (7'' Version).ape
05 TKA - Louder Than Love.ape
06 Information Society - Running (12'' Version).ape
07 RuPaul - Supermodel (You Better Work).ape
08 Digital Underground - Kiss You Back.ape
09 Pressure Drop - Rock The House (You'll Never Be).ape
10 Stetsasonic - Talkin' All That Jazz.ape
11 Sweet Trio - Non Stop.ape
12 G.L.O.B.E. & Whiz Kid - Play That Beat Mr. DJ.ape
13 Force M.D.'s - Tender Love.ape
14 Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise.ape
The Remixes
01 House Of Pain - Jump Around (Jasin Nevins 2000 Mix).ape
02 Queen Latifah - Wrath Of My Madness (DJ Premier Remix).ape
03 Stetsasonic - Talkin' All That Jazz (Dimitri From Paris Remix).ape
04 De La Soul - Me, Myself And I (Badmarsh + Shri Remix).ape
05 Afrika Bambaata & Soulsonic Force - Looking For The Perfect Beat (Brutal Bill Extended Mix).ape
06 Jonzun Crew - Pack Jam (Look Out For The OVC) (Grooverider Remix).ape
07 Planet Patrol - Play At Your Own Risk (Lil' Jon Remix Featuring Lathun).ape
08 Afrika Bambaata & Soulsonic Force - Planet Rock (Westbam Remix).ape
09 Force M.D.'s - Tender Love (Dee Jay Punk Roc Mash Up Mix).ape
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