Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force - Planet Rock
Grand Master Flash & The Furious Five Featuring Melle Mel & Duke Bootee - The Message
Run D.M.C. - Sucker M.C.'S (Krush-Groove 1)
UTFO - Roxanne Roxanne
Roxanne Shante - Roxanne's Revenge
Salt-N-Pepa - Push It
Too $hort - Freaky Tales
Kool Moe Dee - Wild Wild West
Track Listings (12) - Disc #2
Eric B. & Rakim - Follow The Leader
Boogie Down Productions - My Philosophy
Ice-T - I'm Your Pusher
M.C. Hammer - Turn This Mutha Out
Public Enemy - Fight The Power
The 2 Live Crew - Me So Horny
Biz Markie - Just A Friend
De La Soul (featuring Jungle Brothers, Q-Tip, Phife, Queen Latifah & Monie Love) - Buddy
3rd Bass - The Gas Face
A Tribe Called Quest - I Left My Wallet In El Segundo
Main Source - Looking At The Front Door
Chubb Rock- Treat 'Em Right
Track Listings (14) - Disc #3
Naughty By Nature - O.P.P.
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Summertime
DJ Quik - Tonite
Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)
Arrested Development - Tennessee
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)
Digable Planets - Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)
The Pharcyde - Passin' Me By
Onyx - Slam
Queen latifah - U.N.I.T.Y.
Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M.
Warren G. & Nate Dogg - Regulate
Craig Mack - Flava In Ya Ear
Method Man Featuring Mary J. Blige - I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By
Track Listings (14) - Disc #4
Redman & Method Man - How High (Remix)
Junior M.A.F.I.A (Featuring Little Caesar, Lil Kim & The Notorious B.I.G.) - Gettin' Money
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Tha Crossroads
Sacrface Featuring 2Pac & Johnny P. - Smile
Busta Rhymes - Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See
Timbaland & Magoo - Luv 2 Luv U
Gang Starr - You Know My Steez
DMX (Featuring Sheek Of The Lox) - Get At Me Dog
Noreaga - Superthug
The Roots Featuring Jill Scott - You Got Me
Common - The Light
2Pac - Until The End Of Time
50 Cent Featuring Nate Dogg - 21 Questions
Dr. Dre Featuring Snoop Dogg - The Next Episode
Who knew that "Rapper's Delight" would kick-start the most thorough alteration of pop culture since rock & roll itself? Marking 25 years of commercial hip-hop recording, this four-CD set gathers dozens of key tracks fo... more »r connoisseurs of every age. In fascinating fashion, it brings together early strains of party rap, gangsta styles, and socially conscious lyrics from a time when they happily coexisted, while showing a convincing grasp of later developments as far afield as Timbaland & Magoo and 50 Cent. (A lack of permissions no doubt accounts for the absence of Eminem, Missy, the Beasties, and Slick Rick.) Every fan, of course, will have his or her own list of must-hear tracks, but this set will earn its place in many an SUV's disc changer. --Rickey Wright« less
Who knew that "Rapper's Delight" would kick-start the most thorough alteration of pop culture since rock & roll itself? Marking 25 years of commercial hip-hop recording, this four-CD set gathers dozens of key tracks for connoisseurs of every age. In fascinating fashion, it brings together early strains of party rap, gangsta styles, and socially conscious lyrics from a time when they happily coexisted, while showing a convincing grasp of later developments as far afield as Timbaland & Magoo and 50 Cent. (A lack of permissions no doubt accounts for the absence of Eminem, Missy, the Beasties, and Slick Rick.) Every fan, of course, will have his or her own list of must-hear tracks, but this set will earn its place in many an SUV's disc changer. --Rickey Wright
CD Reviews
And ya don't stop...
M. Casarino | Wilmington, DE United States | 05/16/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Any 30-something person like me who heard "Rapper's Delight" almost 25 years ago (!) isn't surprised to find that one track started a hip-hop revolution. The Hip Hop Box is an excellent compendium of tunes that trace the evolution (devolution?) of crucial rap music, as it moved from underground social commentaries to slick commercialism. Not every song is killa, and obviously everyone will be disappointed with the songs that got left out. But if the inclusion of hits as diverse as "The Message" and "Slam" and "Rebirth of Cool" and "Just a Friend" doesn't make you smile and nod ya head, well, maybe hip hop isn't for you. Some of the songs will get under your skin, some will annoy you (I have a low tolerance for Craig Mack), but all of them shimmer with the beats of the streets.Taste is taste, and as Chris Rock once rightly pointed out, hip hop isn't for everyone. But anyone hearing the Hip Hop Box has to recognize the incredible diversity of the music and those who make it. And they'll have to acknowledge that while rock and roll is struggling to breathe these days, hip hop is here to stay."
"ultimate, essential and definitive HIP HOP compilation"
J. Lovins | Missouri-USA | 04/25/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Much like Rock 'N' Roll, Hip Hop is not going away and is
getting stronger every day ~ just when you thought this was just a fad "Hip Hop Box", celebrating 25 years (1979-2003) ~ sends a message to all the fans that this is here and now, and is going to stick around for a long time.With a forward from Chuck D (Public Enemy), loads of photographs (some of them rare), chuck full of bios and detailed information on each track ~ fills in the gaps for many fans curiosity ~ this tasty tidbit of a genre is a history lesson featuring eighteen number one Rap hits.Entire fifty one cues is a collectors gold mine, with selected rap pioneers stepping up and spreading the gems that we have noted through the airwaves of the streets ~ most diehard fans will want more of the same, but for many of us, this is as good as it gets ~ remember, this could have been a two or three disc collection ~ enjoy the four disc classic lineup from some living legends in the world of HIP HOP! ~ gotta love it!Total Time: 4-CD-Set ~ Hip-O Records 69588 ~ (4/20/2004)"
No ll cool j, beastie boys, or jay-z, but 50 cent made it he
J. Lovins | 03/19/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"this collection is obviously very incomplete, "but" is very refreshing compared to what is out today(4-cd's can/will never do the job so take it for what it's worth. i tell myself that everyday). so with that said, what is 50 cent doing in this set. at the time this set came out(5/2004) 50 had'nt contributed enough to "real-hip-hop" to deserve a cut on here(and still has'nt). look at him now and compare him to the rest of the greats/legends in this set. also each disc had extra time/space left for extra cuts(a disc can hold 80 minutes). each disc had "at least" 10 min left(so at least 2-3 more cuts per disc). could of been 60 tracks instead of 51. besides all that this is very essential, and so much better than this sorry fake hip-hop being put out now(mike jones, paul wall, 50 cent just to name a few). for real. this along with def jam's 10th anniversary 4-cd boxed set, and tommy boy's greatest beats 1981-1996 4-cd boxed set, as a reviewer said awhile back, is pretty much all you need to remember what "real hip-hop" was and is all about. and to all you rap/hip-hop haters, don't blame hip-hop or even rap, blame those who make it look bad(mike jones, paul wall, 50 cent, and others). rap/hip-hop is very positive(when used correctly). some people just don't understand it(there fault), but don't blame hip-hop(as a whole). it's history. haters... learn about it, study it, listen to it(espeacially the 80's/early-mid 90's)and you'll see hip-hop was and still is positive. please, just don't judge if you don't know. LONG LIVE GOOD REAL HIP HOP!!!!!!!!!"
Great Compilation, Despite Lack Of Critical Songs
J. Lovins | 07/26/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Any hip-hop fan should purchase this collection of rap songs spanning about 30 years. Starting back at the Sugarhill Gang/Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5 era, progressing to the Ice-T/Public Enemy era, on to the DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince/Wu-Tang Clan era, and finally to the DMX/50 Cent era, this CD obviously covers a lot of ground. Unfortunately some key artists are left out of the album including Nas, N.W.A., Jay- Z, 8Ball and MJG, Outkast, UGK, Ultramagnetic MCs, Ice Cube and more. They could have taken out the Method Man/ Mary J. Blige track and the 50 Cent/Nate Dogg track to make room for more highly regarded ones. Just because these may have been popular during their time of release does not mean that they have contributed greatly to the evolution of hip - hop.. Some priorities need to be set. However, this CD does have many excellent songs vital to the hip-hop genre and I must admit that I think it would be hard to incorporate every exceptional hip-hop song ever made on to one CD. So, I commend the creators of this CD. 4.5 stars."
A Must-Have For Fans of Hip-Hop
Jeffrey M. Zinn | Charlotte, NC USA | 12/23/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Wow. I remember hearing "Rapper's Delight" for the first time when I was in junior high. I knew I loved rap right there and then. But I never, ever though it would grow into the body of work that it is today. So many people over the years faded rap and hip-hop calling it a fad; they were and still are, thankfully, wrong.
This collection does an imperfect but important job of trying to capture this wonderful form of musical expression invented on the streets. I am so impressed with how this collection covers the breadth of rap that I strongly recommend you buy this album.
What did they do right here ? They added artists that would perhaps be forgotten, but are nonetheless important to the history of rap. MC Hammer! Yeah he's wack - but guess what - he was important to rap. OPP ? It's as played out as the jerry-curl, but we need to know it was here - because its part of the context of rap. So I don't diss this collection for adding these songs - in fact I pay the producers my respect.
I must say, there are some hot hot tracks on here - my favorite being the live piece by the Roots. So hot, so musical. So important. Of course, It would be so irresponsible for me not to mention and give props to tracks like "Roxanne's Revenege" - think about the girl rappers that heard that and decided to grab the mic (salt-n-pepa? tlc?)
I think Afrika Bambaattaa's piece "Planet Rock" in retrospect is a very important piece of music and I am glad they included it. I think historically rap could have gone the way of guitar-based, band-backed music....ie Kurtis Blow, Blondie sound etc. Afrika Bambaataa brought the electronic sound to Rap (ok, write me if you disagree!) Perhaps rap would be different with out this. I don't know but I'm 'rockin' no stoppin' and I love this cut.
The big error and it must have been an error was the omission of LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys and and Jay-Z. I can understand the Beasties being left off - sorta - but LL? And Jay-Z...I simply can't believe they left him off. I'm sure there are fans who will also be upset to see no eminem. Nothing is perfect, but I think they should have had an NWA cut on there - simply because they gave birth to so much of what is rap today. But oh well. And now I will diss one artist - Ice T. In the rap I think he's a cul-de-sac. Sorry, T, I'm just not down wit your lyricals.
In conclusion, this is a must have. A great gift. And a wonderful way to capture the magic of this art form.
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1