Customer Reviews

All Meat No Filler: Best of Fat Boys

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4 star:		(2)
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The Fat Boys are one of my favorite old school hip hop groups. Their first cd is a classic. I am only giving this cd 2 stars because the songs FAT BOYS, CAN YOU FEEL IT, JAIL HOUSE RAP and a couple of other songs are not the full version, they are the cut short version. I bought this cd thinking all the songs was the full version. I feel i was ripped off. So true Fat Boys fans beaware, STAY AWAY. Buy the vinyl version of the Fat Boys first cd to get the full versions.

Like Austin Powers, Freddie and the Dreamers, and the Three Stooges (with Curly), do not rate this CD by normal, serious critical standards. This is all about FUN and LAUGHS from something so OUTRAGEOUSLY bad that it's GOOD! The Human Beat Box, for those of us who remember, had a wild sound that defies written description. The HBB, along with Kool Rock Ski and Prince Markie Dee (I can't believe I remember these names!) use this to great effect in songs like "Can You Feel It," "Fat Boys," my favorite "Don't Be Stupid," and "Wipe Out!" This is rap strictly for the sake of having a good time, something that is rarely heard these days. Yes folks, this music is good and stupid as it was meant to be, so don't rate this with the same standards as you would with Natalie Cole.

Don't believe for a second that the FAT BOYS were just a gimmick or a "one hit wonder" due to their hit "WIPEOUT".

The FAT BOYS were so much more -- mentored by Kurtis Blow and centered around Buff the Human Beat Box, the FAT BOYS:

1) Represented a time when it was okay for hip hop to be about having fun and accepting yourself;

2) Are credited with creating the art of Beatboxing (yes this is definitely disputible!);

3) Were talented rappers who always came off with great rhymes, quality songs, and were so seriously underrated that most people these days don't even know what they are missing.

You should really not hesitate to get this release if you in any way, shape or form, consider yourself a fan of REAL hip-hop.

The Fat Boys are THE underated group of all time. Kool Roc Ski and Prince Markie Dee are two of the top 30 MC's of all time and compliment each other perfectly.Beatbox wizard Buff (2nd beatboxer ever after the Doug E Fresh) who can hold a beat better than Rahzel is amazing in lots of tracks, but most notably in 'The Human Beat Box' and 'Jail House Rap'. Buff, aka Darrylin Robinson tragicly died of cancer in 1995 of cancer aged 28 just as The Fat Boys where preparing a renunion album. The first 7 tracks proves that the Fat Boys made some of the best music of all time. The next 8 tracks are also or superb quality but there are 3 or 4 tracks on this album which sound a bit R & B ish. I hope they re release The Fat Boys early Cd's as thet are classics. They would make alot of money re releasing them and I'm sure Prince Markie and Kool Roc would be delighted if Rhino decided to re release them. In the mean time, pick this album up as it as 14 to 15 classic tracks that should be sampled. So spread the word about the Fat Boys and remember 'BUFF'. R.I.P.

u gotta buy this cd its got all the good fat boys songs the only bad part is that the cut some of the songs short.

R.I.P. Buffy The Human BeatBox

Fat Boys

All Meat, No Filler - The Best of the Fat Boys

Rhino
As of 2003, despite there being over 20 years of recorded hip-hop and rap music, the genre still has a relative dearth of archival collections. Part of the problem is most rap acts have not sustained careers beyond one or two albums.

Another is that many early rap acts recorded for independent - and now defunct - labels, which make it that much harder to assemble a proper compilation.

Rhino Records' All Meat, No Filler - The Best of the Fat Boys hopes to satisfy hip-hop aficionados with a jones for Reagan-era rap. The disc covers all the bases, from "Jailhouse Rap" to "Falling in Love" and more.

In 1984, Mark Morales, Darren Robinson and Damon Wimbley were all still in high school in Brooklyn, NY, when a local rap talent show was announced.

The contest featured a first prize of a recording contract with the indie label, Sutra. The young trio, calling themselves the Disco Three, joined the competition, but their eyes were on a different prize - second prize was a home stereo.

Morales (Prince Markie Dee) and Wimbley (Kool Rock-Ski) would do the rap vocals, while Robinson (Buffy) did vocal percussion as "The Human Beatbox." They got the top response and the top prize.

Early rap personality Kurtis Blow took them on as a mentor and producer. The trio would soon abandon the Disco Three name when, according to their manager,they ran up a $300 bill in room service at a hotel, prompting him to complain, "You fat boys! You making me broke!"

Produced by Blow, their self-titled 1984 debut sold over 500,000 copies, making it one of the first rap albums to be certified gold. Their follow-up albums, Fat Boys are Back and Big & Beautiful, continued the hit streak.

Despite earning three gold albums in a row, the group left Sutra Records. Subsequently, they signed with Mercury Records, making them one of the first rap acts to sign with a major industry label. The year 1987's Crushin' paired the band with the Beach Boys for the unlikely collaboration, "Wipeout". It was a pop smash, and it propelled the group to double-platinum heights.

"The Disorderlies" was a film comedy built around the Fat Boys, where the industry promoted them as "the Three Stooges of Rap." It didn't do great at the box office that summer, but the soundtrack did feature the Boys' cover of the Beatles' "Baby You're a Rich Man."

1988's Coming Back Hard Again featured hit covers of "The Twist" and "Louie Louie". They would perform at that year's MTV awards with Chubby Checker.

They also did a song for that year's "Nightmare on Elm Street 4" soundtrack, featuring a rap by Robert Englund.

But the Boys had become weary of reworking oldies for material. Rap's street audience had started moving on to heavier stuff, and pop radio was catching on to newer faces like the Fresh Prince and Young MC.

"On N On" in 1989 arrived with little fanfare, and was their least-selling album. By this time, the Boys had launched a lawsuit against Sutra over alleged unpaid royalties, that was finally settled out of court. In a 1990 press conference, they announced plans to take some time off, but essentially, it would be their last group appearance as a trio.

Since then, Wimbley and Robinson recorded an album as a duo, and Morales has recorded two solo albums, working intermittently as a producer for artists like Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey. In 1995, Robinson died from heart-related problems, scuttling tentative reunion plans.

As of 2007, Morales is an on-air personality at a Miami, Florida radio station. The catalog for the Fat Boys has morphed even further since the release of this compilation: In the late 90's, BMG Special Products (now Sony/BMG Special Products) purchased the Buddah/Kama Sutra Recordings catalog, from which their first three LPs belong; also, in the late 90's, Universal Recordings purchased Polygram Entertainment, where the masters of their three albums recorded for Tin Pan Apple/Polydor lie. Rhino Recordings, a subsidiary of Warner Music, apparently allowed this compilation to go out of print.

Any new compilation will have to license the songs from two distinct recording catalogs: Sony/BMG and Universal- never an easy task. Currently, the first three albums from the group have seen limited re-release on CD in Europe. Hopefully, a proper stateside re-release will follow from Sony/BMG, which would include the first three albums and bonus material on each CD, and maybe a bonus DVD with the music videos. Though the Tin Pan Apple recordings are not considered as vital, Universal could do the same, though, at least re-releasing the "Crushin'" and "Coming Back Hard Again" albums.

Back in the mid-80s I was caught up in the breakdancing craze, showing my skillz at the skating rink every Friday night. :) While they may seem like a joke now, I assure you that the Fat Boys were a serious hit in that time frame. People all over my junior high school were rapping Fat Boy lyrics or, more often, imitating the Human Beat Box. Listening to the first half of this disc really takes me back to the days when I was perfecting that new variant on the backspin or the worm so I could wow the crowds next Friday, and for that alone it's worth the price. :)

The Fat Boys are back

And you know they can never be Whackk.

Let's hear it for the men who made it cool to be overweight! Well, not really, but let's face it: there's only so much a couple of dudes can do in that department. Nope, for the most part they focused on rappin', which is respectable and all, as this greatest hits collection well conveys. Unfortunately, when you call yourself such a name, your appearance will always stand at the fore of your image as an artist. And ladies and gentlemen, that's no way to conduct a career, let alone to establish positive, durable mental health. I mean, look at that one poor Fat Boy - he died! (I think.) On the serious tip though, it's folks like these who bring in the fun and usher out the "bling-bling" "playa" "whassup" and "I'm chillin'" aesthetic from rap, at least while you're listening to them. The rest of the time it's still there though. Does that sadden me? Little bit.

Hadn't heard "Falling in Love" for ten years or so, it made me shiver of emotions, bringing back some serious memories from before. One of the best experiences I've had in a loooong time!