UK Hip Hop: Artists & Discographies www.low-life.fsnet.co.uk
www.low-life.fsnet.co.uk
Intro Early Doors:
1979-1985
False Dawn:
1985-1990
Underground Years:
1990-1995
The Renaissance:
1995- 2000
The Future:
2000 & Beyond
Artists &
Discographies
Artists and Discographies index
Kiss Presents: Hip Hop Classics - Various Artists [Universal Music TV]
Kiss Presents: Hip Hop Classics
It seems to me as though Kiss are steadily taking over the world. After starting off as a pirate in London Gordon Mac's company has now expanded to include several FM stations in major UK cites, is available nationally on non-standard TV, and has a TV channel now. After releasing several successful compilations in other genres they have now turned their attention towards Hip Hop and have compiled a reasonable double CD that contains many of the chart toppers of the last few years. 35 cuts are included on here, the first disc containing the more recent tracks and the second containing a fair smattering of classic tracks, some of which go way back. I feel the people doing the selection of tracks have been rather conservative and played it safe. Having said that, being that many of the tracks have previously been popular there is a level of quality and quite a lot of more clubby tracks.

As if working to a formula the whole thing kicks off with Eminem, followed by Nelly, hitting you with two of the biggest artists of recent times. This get a bit harder when the Wu-Tang come on, and one of the better Fugees tracks Fu-Gee-La continues the vibe. Meaningful lyrics are not shyed away from with the inclusion of Outcast's Ms Jackson. The hits keep rolling from the likes of LL Cool J Blackstreet and Eve. Low points may be the Missy Eliott Beep Me 911, D12's diabolical Purple Hills, all the Ja Rule and Mystikal. 

CD2 features a few classics of all time. All the major names starting from Grandmater Flash and the Sugarhill Gang through the original Nu Skool artists Public Enemy (two tracks), Run DMC, KRS One, LL Cool J and Eric B & Rakim. The West coast is represented by 2Pac, Dre, Snoop, Warren G and Tone Loc. All of these tracks have proven themselves to be stayers and are still hot tracks even now. Absolutely no surprises though, all the tracks have been chosen for maximum appeal and minimal effort from the listener. There is no attempt to insert different styles or experiment and one thing I didn't like is that there wasn't even one token UK track. Roots Manuva or Black Twang could have held down a single appearance and repped for us.

The CD is most definitely on the more commercial pop tip choosing to fill the CD with tunes that are probably pretty well known to both Hip Hop fans and people who just check the charts. This does mean that there are some tracks that don't overly appeal to me, but as a representation of a certain aspect of Hip Hop the CD hits the spot. Infact, the actual listening experience is much better than you might imagine from the names on the tracklist. The CD is most likely going to appeal to either people who are not regular record purchasers and who want to catch up on some of the stuff they may have missed out on, or music fans who may not have checked for too much Hip Hop in the past, but having noticed certain acts want to get a larger sampling of the stuff. I guess it is also good to have a varied selection like this for the walkman or car as well. So if you fall into the above categories I think you should give it a chance. If however you are a hardcore underground fan you probably either have most of the tracks, or they won't appeal. Also Kiss are offing you rigtones of any of the tracks on the CD. All the details are there ad each one will cost you £2.
http://www.hiphopclassics.com
http://www.kiss100.com
http://www.umtv.co.uk
Universal Music Operations Ltd,
PO Box 1420
1 Sussex Place,
Hammersmith,
London
W6 9XS
Intro Early Doors:
1979-1985
False Dawn:
1985-1990
Underground Years:
1990-1995
The Renaissance:
1995- 2000
The Future:
2000 & Beyond
Artists &
Discographies

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