Essential Hip Hop
STEVEN SMITH | GARDEN GROVE, CA USA | 05/21/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I wish I could express to the younger hip hop fans of today how important this work is. In 86/87 when these cuts were out, KRS One & Rakim elevated the hip hop game like Magic & Bird elevated basketball (although you probably wouldn't remember that either). "Poetry, South Bronx, P is Free,Bridge is Over, Criminal Minded" would be mandatory learning if there was a Hip Hop 101 in college. The relevance of " The Bridge is Over" and "South Bronx" as answers to MC Shan's "The Bridge" claims that Queens started hip hop cannot be understated. What followed was years of intense battles of radio allegiance between KISS-Fm & WBLS, both important role players in the legacy of hip hop. Although I have to rate Rakim as the greatest MC ever to date, KRS-One/BDP probably had a bigger overall impact. I love DMX,2Pac,Biggie, and the more recent MC's as much as anybody, but respect must be given to the foundation the pioneers laid down for those brothers to succeed. Buy this CD and get to know an important piece of hip hop history."