Critical Beatdown

Description

The New York hip-hop revolutionaries Ced-Gee, Kool Keith, Moe Luv, and T.R. Love, known as Ultramagnetic Mc’s, released their first album Critical Beatdown in 1988. Immediately attracting attention and pushing the boundaries of hip-hop into new horizons, it was hailed as a masterpiece by the underground. The influential hip-hop magazines The Source and Hip Hop Connection both ranked Critical Beatdown in their Top 100, naming it one of the 100 greatest hip-hop albums of all time. The 1986 single "Ego Trippin" is one of the first tracks to use the SP1200 drum machine (programmed by producer Ced-Gee), and the SP1200 would later become the standard for many hip-hop producers. This expanded edition includes not only the original album with its 15 tracks but also 6 bonus tracks: the original 12" versions of "Funky," "Bait," "A Chorus Line" featuring Tim Dog, "Mentally Mad," plus "Travelling At The Speed Of Thought (Hip House Club Mix)" and "Ego Trippin (Bonus Beats)." It also contains a 4-page booklet with interviews, rare photos, and liner notes written by Angus Batey, the author of Rhyming and Stealing: A History Of The Beastie Boys and a writer for Hip Hop Connection and Mojo magazine.