Hip Hop And Rapping In The House (Stylus Music, 1988)

Review
“Bran Flakes, Bran Buds, All Bran, Sultana Bran – buy two, get one free”
As the summer of 1988 approached, I was racking up the hours in my part-time job at the local L&N supermarket. A non-exam year (5th – doss central) meant that I worked as often as possible. The music in the shop was played over a PA system which was located in the manager’s office. Cassettes were the format of choice and one day I brought in a taped copy of the latest Stylus Music CD, Hip Hop And Rapping In The House. “20 Non Stop Hip Hop House & House Hits” was a real treat for the shoppers and amazingly, around 45 or 50 minutes of it aired before the stop button was unceremoniously pressed. While the compilation played, I swept floors and unloaded pallets with a previously unseen energy.

The compilation was advertised on television with the accompanying VHS tape making the local video libraries, most notably Whitty’s in Mary Street. Only four of its 14 tracks are included on the audio releases – check it out and be treated to long-forgotten anomalies like Stetsasonic’s A.F.R.I.C.A and Surf MCs Surf Or Die. CDs were still somewhat of an afterthought and the booklet reflects this – containing no photographs – unlike the rather lavish gatefold sleeve of the vinyl version. Sleeve notes are by James Horrocks who would later be involved with React. The Hip Hop & House Speak section is very informative:
Chillin: Relaxing
Illin: Having a party
Bussing: Pumping up the volume
Dissing: Cussing and insulting
“1988 is on course to witness the rap ‘n’ house revolution – a dance floor domination of the mundane British music scene. Already the def beats, tuff rhymes, pumping bass and insistent rhythms of house ‘n’ hip hop have filtered on to the nation’s airwaves, creating an aural assault on the top 40 chart.”

The tunes: the big spring hits are here: Coldcut featuring Yazz & The Plastic Population – Doctorin’ The House, Bomb The Bass – Beat Dis, Beatmasters featuring Cookie Crew – Rok Da House, Fat Boys & Beach Boys – Wipeout. Beat Dis and Rok Da House appear in long form, which is most welcome especially Extended Dis. We get two from Paid In Full, the hip hop album of the year and still one of my desert island discs. Move The Crowd is immense, a rap like no other, freeform ecstasy while Eric B Is President is still storming even when drastically shorn at 2:40. There’s also the welcome return of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five on Gold. Little Gee says “This is when Flash got more interesting as he was learning new scratches such as the Transformer. He used a device called Flashformer which gave his cuts a unique sound. In practice it was tricky to use but allowed cleaner and faster cuts compared to the crossfaders at the time.”

“Two big things like basket balls, down below was like Niagara Falls.”
The genius that is Get Down, the first single by the late, great Derek B. We go across the Atlantic for Dane Dane’s crucial Cinderella Dane Dane and Kool Moo Dee’s hilarious Go See The Doctor. The staying power of the Class of ’86 is demonstrated by the inclusion of The Real Roxanne with Hitman Howie Tee – Bang Zoom (Let’s Go Go), Whistle – (Not Serious) Just Buggin’, Doug E Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew – The Show, Club Nouveau – Lean On Me (Edit). Going even further back is Unity (Part 1), the smoking collaboration between Afrika Bambaataa and James Brown. To the present, a top jam: Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock’s frantic It Takes Two, all time party classic. Teddy Riley, uncredited producer.

Toi Jackson is currently the assistant director at Samaritan Village, a drug treatment program located in Jamaica Queens NY. In 1987 she was known as Sweet Tee and signed to Profile Records. The catchy I Got Da Feelin’ reached #31 on the UK charts, a rocking and rolling slice of freshly delivered hip hop. Another rap attack on the same label is Spyder-D’s class action How Ya Like Me Now, with DJ Doc. Get on up and pile up with The Cookie Crew and their superbly empowering Females, funky to the max. Scratches by DJ Dazzle and Mastermix. “I liked this song. Ut reminds me of being at school in the cafeteria and kids would have a dance off or a rap off. This was a tight jam.” (Carolyn)

Favourite tracks
Eric B. & Rakim – Move The Crowd

Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock – It Takes Two

Cookie Crew – Females

Lest we forget
Sweet Tee – I Got Da Feelin’

House Hits ’88 (Telstar, 1988)

Review
Now That’s What I Call Music 11 showed us the way. The last quarter is what makes it extraordinary – the utterly amazing house side. Beginning with Beat Dis and running through House Arrest, The Jack That House Built, Rok Da House and ending with the hip hop remix of Climie Fisher’s Rise To The Occasion. It was time for other labels to step up and get in on the scene. Telstar’s House Hits ’88 was marketed as “The House Album Of The Year” and threw down S-Express, The Wee Papa Girl Rappers, Royal House and the Jungle Brothers. Get in touch! Write to 130 Slaney Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 11.

Can You Party is an appropriate scene-setter, tearing up the warehouse. It’s followed by MC Duke’s Miracles. More about him: the big break came when the MC who had won the DMC MC Battle got on stage at the World Championships after party and announced that he would battle anybody in the house. MC Duke got up and won. Derek B bore witness and as he had just signed to Music Of Life asked Duke to meet him at the label the next day. While waiting for Derek B, Duke met the owner Simon Harris, and rapped live as he didn’t have a demo. The tune is cut down to 3:11 and samples The Jackson Sisters. And then Christopher x 2, Reid and Martin or Kid ‘N’ Play. This edited UK Remix of Gettin’ Funky is extremely hard-edged and slips inside the Faith groove of the Wee Papa Girl Rappers. The beat, the rhythm, the noise. File under early new jack swing.

Come on in, do your thing. The epic Double Trouble remix of I Know You Got Soul. Shame it’s only three minutes. Next comes BVSMP’s slow jam hotness I Need You and Salt ‘N’ Pepa’s pulsating Tramp, the original A-Side of Push It. Raise your hands for Simon Harris who drops the timeless Bass (How Low Can You Go), a key tune of my 16th year. Megamix time! In the hot seat are Mirror Image who, aside from the single release, seem to solely exist here. Jack It Up + Jingo + Criticize + House Arrest + Love Can’t Turn Around + Rok Da House + Play It Again Jack + Always On My Mind + I Want To Be Your Property + Beat Dis = an enjoyable three minutes. Out come the heavy hitters – Beat Dis and Theme From S-Express, two #1s that have been well-covered here in the past. Jump higher? It’s a hip house treat from Richie Rich who teams up with the Jungle Brothers. Insane fusion.

Amnesia time; look back at Jack E Makossa’s wonderfully banging Jack The Opera. A bleary late night treat from the post-Crosbie’s days. Unbelievable bassline and piano. Intro based on La Donna E Mobile, from the opera Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi (1851). Afterwards come Nitro Deluxe’s wicked Let’s Get Brutal, Derek B’s superb Bad Young Brother and the evergreen Doctorin’ The House. Blink and you’ll miss ’em: truncated cuts of Jack ‘N’ Chill’s House along with Jellybean’s Jingo. Get off! The sublime L.A. Mix and Check This Out, sample and hold – listen out for the Pump Up The Volume snippet. The video features Claire King before she became Emmerdale’s Kim Tate. I think they got a hit record. Last orders for The Beatmasters and Cookie Crew, a 3:06 mix of Rok Da House.
“We don’t run rhymes from the top of our head
We write ’em down, pick ’em up and then they stick in our head”

Favourite tracks
Richie Rich meets Jungle Brothers – I’ll House You (Gee St Reconstruction)

L.A. Mix – Check This Out

Jack E Makossa – Jack The Opera

Lest we forget
Kid ‘N’ Play – Gettin’ Funky (UK Remix)

Best Dance ’99 (Telstar, 1999)

Review
Telstar’s annual Best Of Dance compilation underwent a slight name change in 1999. The layout is somewhat confusing with the front cover designed like a back inlay with the tracklist and barcode sitting on the booklet. Best Dance ’99 contains “40 huge dance hits.” You’ll have already read my thoughts on many of these tunes in previous reviews.
Now That’s What I Call Music 36: Sash! – Encore Une Fois.
Now That’s What I Call Music 40: David Morales presents The Face – Needin’ U.
Now Dance ’98: Vengaboys – Up And Down.
Hits ’99: Spacedust – Gym & Tonic, Jay-Z – Hard Knock Life
The Best Of Dance ’98: Ruff Driverz presents Arrola -Dreaming.
The 1999 Brit Awards: Fatboy Slim – Praise You.
New Hits ’99: Underworld – Push Upstairs, Cevin Fisher featuring Loleatta Holloway – (You Got Me) Burning Up, Soulsearcher – Can’t Get Enough, Supercar – Tonite, Mirrorball – Given Up, Steps – Better Best Forgotten, Blockster – You Should Be, Inner City – Good Life, Garbage – When I Grow Up.
Now That’s What I Call Music 42: Armand Van Helden featuring Duane Harden – You Don’t Know Me, Sash! – Colour The World, Tina Cousins – Killin’ Time.
Smash Hits Summer ’99: Phats & Small – Turn Around, Ruff Driverz & Arrola – La Musica.
Big Hits ’99: Moloko – Sing It Back.

The E-17 resurrection continues: Betcha Can’t Wait is a more uptempo tune than the rather sedate Each Time and all the better for it. It’s followed by the dark and poisonous Give A Little Love, an epic clubbing memory courtesy of The Invisible Man or Jerry Dickens. For funky house with an uplifting edge, look no further than Capriccio’s joyous Everybody Get Up and Blackout’s euphoric melter Gotta Have Hope. 2001 samples at the ready – still the future back then. Take yourself to another universe with What U Do from Colours ably assisted by Stephen Emmanuel and Eska. Big on Kiss FM. Next: DJ Eric’s Hall & Oates-sampling We Are Love; seems to be the FunkForce Faithful Mix. Do not pass go: Bus Stop let us down on Jump. Garage days revisited: Da Click bringing their Good Rhymes to Top Of The Pops. Ruff Driverz inject James Brown’s Funk On Ah Roll with some spacey deep funk sounds.

When trance was trance: bow down to Push’s cosmic Universal Nation and the amazing melodies of Three Drives’ Greece 2000. Zoom in on Mike Koglin’s full-on emotional cover of Enjoy The Silence. One of the most intense tracks of 98/99 was Up To Tha Wildstyle with its daring rooftop video. Roll back the years as Grooverider remolds the Stone Roses’ Fools Gold into a breakbeat banger – remix and additional production for RUN courtesy of Prototype Recordings. More oldies: gotta get up for Bizarre Inc and a brand new update of the slamming Playing With Knives. And then Inner City’s Good Life. Still crazy after all these years. Listen to Twilight’s take on I Want Your Love with Roger Sanchez at the helm. And then Juliet Roberts giving Donna Summer a run for her dosh on Bad Girls. We end with Nancy’s torch song from Oliver!, As Long As He Needs Me covered by Barbara Windsor. Boy George & Kinky Roland Right Royal Radio Edit! Absolutely fabulous.

“You developed late
Weren’t the nineties great?”

Favourite tracks
Push – Universal Nation

Porn Kings vs DJ Supreme – Up To Tha Wildstyle

Blackout – Gotta Have Hope

Three Drives – Greece 2000

Mike Koglin – The Silence

Lest we forget
The Stone Roses – Fools Gold (Grooverider’s Mix – Edit)