When discussing the pioneers of rap music, Kurtis Blow often isn't mentioned as often as Grandmaster Flash, The Sugarhill Gang, and Run-DMC. This is unfortunate because he truly is one of the forefathers of hip-hop and unlike Grandmaster Flash and the Sugarhill Gang, he was no one trick pony. Although many music fans may only know him for his now classic track "The Breaks", The Best of Kurtis Blow shows that he had much more to offer.
Nearly everything here is great and still sounds fresh today. Unlike much of the rap music back then and even today, Kurtis Blow, at least for most of his career, created his music with live musicians rather than solely relying on sampling and production. Although "The Breaks" is now a hip-hop classic, many of the tracks here such as "Tough", "Hard Times", "Party Time", and his highest charting hit "Basketball" are just as strong. Listening to the old school references on "Tough" and "Basketball" over 20 years after they were recorded are still a joy to hear. But while the lyrics are strong on all of these tracks, it's the music that puts these songs over the top whether it's the funky bass lines on "Hard Times" and "Tough", the heavy percussion on "Party Time" and the Midnight Star-soundalike "I'm Chillin" or the combination of both on "The Breaks." The excellent musicianship also shines on the more lightweight tracks "Daydreamin'" and "Starlife." Other excellent tracks here include "Christmas Rappin'", which uses the guitar line rather than the oft-used bass line of Chic's "Good Times", his duet with Run-DMC, "8 Million Stories", and "One-Two-Three (Main Street, Harlem, USA)." The tracks here are listed chronologically thus the weaker tracks are on the album's second half. But while these songs are less memorable musically and lyrically and rely more on stellar production, the tracks "America" and "If I Ruled The World" are also pretty decent. Simply put, if you love old school rap, The Best of Kurtis Blow should be in your music collection. Newer fans will appreciate this too as most of the songs here have aged well and the best tracks are great party songs. Highly recommended. June 19, 2004
 |  | "ONE OF THE BEST PIONEERS IN HIP HOP" |  |
THIS MAN IS AL OF THAT ALL HAIL REIGN THE KING!!!I LOVE THIS ALBUM IT CONTAINS SOME OF MY FAVORITES BY K.BLOW. IT DOESN'T CONTAIN "KRUSH GROOVIN" I LOVE THAT SONG AND HE IS FEATURED ON IT W/ THE KRUSH GROOVE ALL STARS. HE HAS DONE SO MUCH IN THE HIP HOP INDUSTRY. HE SHOULD BE INDUCTED INTO THE HIPHOP HALL OF FAME BECAUSE HE DEFINITELY DESERVES THE HONOR. HE IS INCREDIBLE AS A PRODUCER, AND AN ARTIST. THIS ALBUM CONTAINS SOME OF MY FAVORITES : THE BREAKS, PARTY TIME, AJ SCRATCH, BASKETBALL, AND MANY OTHERS THIS CD BRINGS BACK MEMORIES!!!!
June 7, 2004| | | Nice collection from the King of Rap | |
Kurtis Blow is known throughout the hip hop world as the original "King of Rap." This CD is a nice collection of some of his more popular songs. However, many of Kurtis Blow's best efforts were not released as individual singles and, thus, did not make it to this compilation. That fact aside, this CD is very good.
Everyone has heard the classic "The Breaks" as well as "Christmas Rappin" both of which stand true to Kurtis Blow form on this cd. Kurtis Blow also had classics with Basketball, 8 Million Stories and I'm Chillin. AJ Scratch is a nice ode to his dj and "Tough" has an awesome bass delivery.
Kurtis Blow was than man, and this CD certainly reflects his great vocal talents and classic hits. May 4, 2004
I bought the CD and only recorded the songs that I liked and remembered listening to back in the day. The others songs I never heard of, I listened to and really wasn't impressed. I can see why radio stations didn't play those songs. That isn't to say that Kurtis Blow is a bad musician. He has talent in his profession, but the CD wasn't all that it was meant to be. For only fourteen songs, I recorded about five or six. I wouldn't rate it any lower or higher than three stars.
March 24, 2002A nice package, good selection, but somewhat less interesting overall than the "turning-point-in-history" appeal of his "Kurtis Blow" CD. The two biggest hits here ("The Breaks" and "Christmas Rappin'") are also available on that CD, although the sort-of-novelty "Basketball" included here is not. Blow's style changed little over the years, so the tracks fit together seemlessly, but the effect can wear a bit by late in the disk. I'd go with the "Kurtis Blow" CD unless one or more of the tracks on this CD not duplicated there are of strong appeal to you.
July 19, 2001More reviews at Amazon.com ...
(11 reviews)
