Big Apple Rappin'
Big Apple Rappin' | |
---|---|
Compilation album by Various artists | |
Released | 2006 |
Genre | Hip hop |
Length | 110:58[1] |
Label | Soul Jazz |
Compiler | Johan Kugelberg |
Big Apple Rappin' (subtitled: The Early Days of Hip-Hop Culture in New York City 1979–1982) is a 2006 compilation album released on Soul Jazz Records. The album is a compilation of the early days of New York hip hop by Johan Kugelberg, who had collected early hip hop material, specifically records flyers and fanzines and other memorabilia with the idea to donate them to an academic institution. The music Kugelberg gathered for the compilation surrounded hip hop music released around the period "Rapper's Delight" became a hit song. The music is predominantly hip hop with a disco backing tracks which Kugelberg described as "the first great records."[2] Along with the music, photography and flyers were compiled from the era, as well as interviews with DJs and rappers such as Grandmaster Caz and Glen Adams.
Reviews of the album complimented the in-depth research and compiling of the compilation album, with some critics noting the dated or repetitive nature of the music and long length of the individual tracks as drawbacks. Jon Dolan of Spin gave the album a five-star rating and later included it in the magazines best reissues of 2006 list in 2007. Along with Kugelberg's collected records, a copy of the album is included in Cornell University's Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections.
Background and development
Big Apple Rappin' was compiled by Johan Kugelberg, a Swedish-born New York-based music collector and historian who spent the 1990s working at various record labels.[3] In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Kugelberg began focusing on specific areas of pop culture history, collecting related material from the eras: specifically punk music and early hip hop records, fanzines, flyers and other memorabilia of the period.[3] Kugelberg's collection of early hip hop material was made with the focus to "create a substantial archive to place at an academic institution, to do a great book, and some really good reissues."[4] Kugelberg found trying to organize the history of the genre as "staggeringly difficult", noting that "histories of specific firsts: First MC, first scratcher on record, first live jam, first indoor jam, and naturally the first hip hop record? Small record companies run by independent entrepreneurs hustling to make a buck, don't keep detailed documentation on the records they release."[2]
The material Kugelberg collected was later included in the Born in the Bronx book and exhibit which included 500 flyers, unreleased hip bop battle tapes, photographs, magazines, posters, all of which were donated to Cornell University's Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections.[4] The album Big Apple Rappin' was included in the Cornell University collection.[5]
Music and content
Discussing the music on the compilation, Kugelberg stated that following the release of "Rapper's Delight" and in some cases, before that track, hip hop music was treated to "a lot of shitty rap records, and against all odds, some truly great ones" stating that this compilation was about "the first great records."[2] The music on the album features predominantly disco and R&B-backed tracks that Bret McCabe of The New York Sun described as being structured more like dance music than contemporary hip hop, being over five minutes in length.[6][7] Some songs used as backing tracks include Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and Cheryl Lynn's "Got to Be Real".[7] Only one song features a drum machine: Masterdon Committee's "Funk Box Party".[1][8]
The rappers on the album contain both male and female performers.
Release and reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Pitchfork Media | (7.0/10)[8] |
Rolling Stone | [12] |
Spin | [13] |
The Stranger | [6] |
Big Apple Rappin was released in 2006 by
McCabe contested that after several 1990s reissues, box sets and mix tapes of hip hop music this compilation "doesn't cover much new ground, but it makes for a fascinating piece of musical archaeology. The set's compiler, the tireless underground archivist Johan Kugelberg, gathered a number of previously hard-to-find tracks [...] Still, the set feels a little like a museum exhibition, trapped in glass." and that the liner notes "can't fill in the narrative holes surrounding the collected songs. The CDs as a whole would have been better served by expanded interviews with the people who were actually there."[7] Noel Dix of Exclaim! noted that the style of hip hop from the period on compilation "does grow a little tiresome once you get to the second disc" but stated that there were "some definite classics to be heard" specifically pointing out "How We Gonna Make a Black Nation Rise?", "Spoonin' Rap", and the tracks by Super 3 and Nice and Nasty 3".[9] Dix concluded that Big Apple Rappin serves well as a history lesson and one or two of these jams will get the crowd bugging out on the dance floor, but the repetitiveness and long-windedness might make it a hard pill to swallow all at once."[9]
Track listing
Track listing adapted from back of vinyl sleeve and sticker covers.[17][18]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Credited Performer | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Spoonin Rap" | Cold Crush Brothers | 5:35 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Credited Performer | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Big Apple Rappin’" | D. Hughes, E. Rice, P. Pierce, W. White, B. Motley | Spyder D | 10:18 |
2. | "D. J. Style" | Mr Q | 5:04 | |
3. | "Fly Guys Rap" | Peter Brown | The Fly Guys | 7:41 |
4. | "Get the Party Jumpin'" | Solo Sound | Solo Sound | 6:17 |
5. | "Rock the Beat" | Reid, R. Miller | The Jamaica Girls | 6:23 |
6. | "When You're Standing On Top" | L. Douglas, D. Reid, D. Robinson | Super 3 | 6:52 |
7. | "Are You Ready?" | TJ Swann, Peewee Mel & Barry B | 7:31 | |
8. | "The Ultimate Rap" | T. Simmon, C. Sherrod | Nice & Nasty 3 | 9:17 |
Credits
Credits adapted from the vinyl liner notes.[10]
- Johan Kugelberg – compiler, sleeve notes, interviewer, photography, flyer collection,
- Adrian Self – sleeve, interviewer
- Fly Paper – sleeve
- Angela Scott – licensing
- Joe Conzo – photography
- Pete Reilly – mastering
- Duncan Cowell – mastering
- Pierece Smith – reproduction
- Glen Adams – interviewee
- Grandmaster Caz – interviewee
- Buddy Esquire – interviewee
- Lister Hewan-Lowe – interviewee
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kellman.
- ^ a b c Kugelberg, Johan. Big Apple Rappin': The Early Days of Hip-Hop Culture in New York City 1979–1982 (Media notes). Soul Jazz Records. SJR LP125 VOL1.
- ^ a b Reynolds 2011, p. 16.
- ^ a b Reynolds 2011, p. 16-17.
- ^ "Johan Kugelberg hip hop collection, 1975–2008". Cornell University. Archived from the original on July 14, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ a b c Beta 2006.
- ^ a b c d McCabe 2006.
- ^ a b c d e Macia 2006.
- ^ a b c Dix 2006.
- ^ a b Big Apple Rappin': The Early Days of Hip-Hop Culture in New York City 1979–1982 (Media notes). Johan Kugelberg. Soul Jazz Records. p. 4. SJR LP125 VOL2.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b Carroll 2006.
- ^ Kenis 2006, p. 60.
- ^ a b Dolan 2006.
- ^ "Big Apple Rappin'". Soul Jazz Records. Archived from the original on September 4, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
- ^ Chang 2006.
- ^ Dolan 2007.
- ^ Big Apple Rappin': The Early Days of Hip-Hop Culture in New York City 1979–1982 (Media notes). Johan Kugelberg. Soul Jazz Records. SJR LP125 VOL1.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Big Apple Rappin': The Early Days of Hip-Hop Culture in New York City 1979–1982 (Media notes). Johan Kugelberg. Soul Jazz Records. SJR LP125 VOL2.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
Sources
- Beta, Andy (April 20, 2006). "CD Reviews". The Stranger. Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- Carroll, Jim (March 17, 2006). "Hip-Hop". Irish Times. Archived from the originalon December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
- Chang, Jeff (March 28, 2006). "Future Troubles". Village Voice. Archived from the originalon September 15, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
- Dix, Noel (April 1, 2006). "Big Apple Rappin'v". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- Dolan, Jon (July 2006). "Reissues". Spin. Vol. 22, no. 7. SPIN Media LLC. p. 87.
- Dolan, Jon (January 2007). "10 Best Reissues". Spin. Vol. 23, no. 1. SPIN Media LLC. p. 58.
- Kellman, Andy. "Big Apple Rappin'". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
- Kenis, Peter (May 4, 2006). "Big Apple Rappin': The Early Days of Hip-Hop Culture in New York City, 1979-1982". .
- Macia, Peter (March 2, 2006). "Various Artists Big Apple Rappin'". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the originalon April 27, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
- McCabe, Bret (March 20, 2006). "Funky Rhymes & All Night Block Parties". The New York Sun. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-86547-994-4.