YO! BOOMBOX – Early Independent Hip Hop, Electro And Disco Rap 1979-83 (3xLP) Various Artists

Yo! Boombox is the new instalment of Soul Jazz Records’ Boombox series on the early days of hip-hop on vinyl, featuring some of the many innovative underground first-wave of early rap and disco rap records made in the USA between 1979-83.

The album includes the first releases of seminal groups such as Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and The Funky Four Plus One More, through to rarities and little-known obscurities such as the Carver Area High School band’s ‘Get Live 83’, an awesome record made at a Chicago high school.

These first exuberant wave of innocent, upbeat, party-on-the-block rap records were the first to try and create the sounds heard in community centres, block parties and street jams that took place in the Bronx in the mid-1970s. Where the first DJs – Flash, Kool Herc and Bambaataa – were back-spinning, mixing and scratching together now classic breakbeat records like The Incredible Bongo Band’s Apache or Babe Ruth’s The Mexican, these first pre-sampling rap records were all made using live bands, often replaying then current disco tunes. As Chic’s ‘Good Times’ was to ‘Rappers’ Delight’, the songs here feature then-current dancefloor hits such as the Tom Tom Club’s ‘Genius of Love’ or Cheryl Lynn’s ‘To Be Real’ while MCs rapped over the top, creating a unique new sound. 

Tracklist:

A1 The Carver Area High School Seniors– Get Live ’83 
A2 Mike T– Do It Any Way You Wanna 
B1 Chapter III– Real Rocking Groove (Rap & Breaks) 
B2 Sinister Two– Rock It, Don’t Stop It 
C1 Sangria– To The Beat Y’All 
C2 Funky Four Plus One More– Rappin’ And Rocking The House 
C3 The Just Four- Girls Of The World (Genius Rap & Breaks) 
D1 Eye Beta Rock– Super Rock Body Shock 
D2 Funky Constellation– Street Talk (Madam Rapper) 
E1 Kool Kyle The Starchild– Do You Like That Funky Beat (Ahh Beat, Beat) 
E2 The Just Four– Jam To Remember 
F1 Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five*– Super Rappin’ No.2 
F2 Silver Star– Eei Eei O 
G1 Magic’s Trick– Magic’s Rap (Mono Mix) 
G2 Magic’s Trick– Magic’s Rap (Stereo Mix)