Customer Reviews

Critical Beatdown

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Oh,don't get me wrong. I love the 1988 edition of CRITICAL BEATDOWN with the shorten version of "Ego Trippin'",the fake remix of "Funky" and the lowly recorded CED-GEE solos "One Minute Less" & "Ced-Gee (Delta Force One)". It was 45 minutes of ULTRAmadness but it needed more,always needed more.

Now that more is here,somewhat. The tracks "Watch Me Now","Ease Back","Feelin' It","Kool Keith Housing Things","Ain't It Good To Ya","Give The Drummer Some","Break North" & the title track make the album unbelievably awesome and out there,but the added tracks throws ULTRA into super orbit,again!

Wow "Bait" is here,a song that was a promo for DJ RED ALERT,a New York City legendary DJ,this selection kicks this new edition to another phase completely. "Mentally Mad",a B-SIDE to the "Funky" 12"-the 808 grabs while the words are vaguely heard,"A Chorus Line" introducing TIM DOG,freestyle rhyming with KOOL KEITH rhyming last,now that's a first (go figure) which includes T.R. LOVE's famous quote 'hold the beat,stop the beat,drop the beat...'. Now those who know the 12" singles by ULTRAMAGNETIC will realize these 12" versions on the new edition have been tampered with. There's no 808-kick drum in the 12" vinyl of "Ego Trippin'" plus DJ MOE LOVE's scratching has been edited,the vocals are original. "Funky",on the 12" vinyl you can bearly hear them talking on the record between verses on the new edition,you can hear it clearer but the sample has been also messed with. KOOL KEITH's starting vocals to '...while I break off with ease' has been done over (sorry someone has to tattletale 'round here). Originals? Not quite but it still makes the album more refreshing though. "Traveling..." (Hip-House Club Mix) was not needed here. The remix radio version (the video version) was a better choice. It sample KRAFTWERK and AFRIKA BAMBAATAA & THE SOUL SONIC FORCE but I guess samples were not cleared. Bummer!

Overall,it's better than the 1988 release although we are missing joints like "M.C.'s Ultra (Part II)","Funky Potion" and the original "Traveling At The Speed Of Thought (1987)". Maybe in another 16 light years away there will be another edition. When the ULTRAMAGNETIC reunion is predicted (psyche).

Damn! Took them long enough to do this one. It's still the same album, just simply adjusted for the Ultra fans. Nice touch replacing the earlier short version of "Ego Trippin'" (which cut originally into "Moe Love's Theme") with the full 12" mix. This album still kills a lot of the so-called standard Hip Hop records of today (hell, the crap they play on the radio nowadays is so filtered, all I listen to is Old-School...) These brothers came up from nothing and put their hearts into everything here. They didn't talk about sellin' crack or pimpin' hoes or money and bling-bling all over their albums. Ultra mixes reality with imagination and makes joints crazy enough to keep the listeners interested. My favorite part of the album is when they kick it into high gear on track 9, "Ain't It Good To You," but to this day I can't stop playing, "When I Burn," one of two solo joints for Kool Keith. The most impressive of this collection are the bonus tracks using the digital masters (who'd thought these tracks would be preserved so well after 16 years?!) Well, I have the same problem as the others, but slightly different. Why the Hip House remix of "Travelling...?" I wish they would have used the Extended Hip Hop remix at least, if not the 1986 version of that track! For the most part, You can't satisfy everybody. They still did heckerfresh work to this classic and, hopefully, Ced Gee stop bulls***in' and get back into production because the industry is in desparate need of his space-age groceries. Next mission: Funk Your Head Up: Remastered w/ 2 bonus tracks first time on CD! (Yeah, Right...)

This is the "RE-MASTERED" edtion of the ultimate, groundbreaking classic "CRITICAL BEATDOWN". This is one of the top 5, best Rap albums ever made in the history of Hip-Hop music. Very few come close, or can be put in the same category. Ultramagnetic is so ill, I can't find words to describe their dopeness and uniqueness. The production by Ced-Gee (producer of the classic "CRIMINAL MINDED") is flawless! Kool Kieth kills it with his trademark outer-space, mad scientifical flow. The beats are incredible! And this CD edit. is loaded with extra tracks not found on the original release. A Hip-Hop masterpiece!! No self respecting Hip-Hop head would be caught with out this CD in his collecton!

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. Every track on this album is great, and the extra songs are just as great as the original songs. If you like rap at all, you must buy this (if you don't already own it).

This band was on the great hiphop group for the late 1980s. They pretty much did everything that was innovative fifteen years ago. Public Enemy and NWA got more attention at the time. They paved the way for other innovators like Beastie Boys and De La Soul. Ten years later they would influence The Prodigy's The Fat of The Land. Kool Keith would continue and make great records later. But this was back in the day of the fade haircut. That was the hype thing to do. Each song on this record is a hit. "Ego Trippin" is some of the hardest hitting slamming music of all time. "Traveling At The Speed Of Thought" is an example how advanced they were lyrically. Public Enemy was more political and NWA was more gangster. Ultramagnetic MCs were like poetry in a way that Tupac Shakar isn't. "Give The Drummer Some" is one of their best songs. Like Public Enemy, they were influenced by the beats of James Brown. Critical Beatdown is one of the great albums of all time. It needs to be recognized. This album also contains six extra tracks like "A Chorus Line." This is where things started. The 1980s were a harder time for hiphop to get known. This record reminds me of Mike Daley. We used to listen to hiphop and play video games.

Yes it is true, "Critical Beatdown" by Ultramagnetic MC's is one of my favorite albums I've heard. The Ultramagnetic MC's consisted of Kool Keith, Ced Gee, Moe Luv, and TR Love. Kool Keith and Ced Gee would be the vocalists in the group, Moe Luv was the primary DJ and TR Love was the their back up DJ. Funky production was curteosy of Ced Gee.

At a time in 1988 when rap was being surfaced with political views like Public Enemy, and the dawn of gangsta rap like N.W.A. were making an impact in its culture, Ultramagnetic MC's were down in the Ultra Lab, creating an album to let listeners know that rap wasn't just for that concept. They wern't trying to sound like gangsta rappers or getting involved in movements many movents that were going on at the time. This group were just out to show off their skills and make a name for themselves. With banging singles like "Ego Trippin", and "Funky (remix)", Ultramagnetic MC's proved to listeners they were just as good as any other rap group out there.

On to the "Critical Beatdown" album. Listening to Kool Keith on tracks like "Kool Keith Housing Things", I have a feeling that he was confortable with the way he was rhyming, as he rode each beat with ease. It seemed like there was not one time I was scratching my head wondering what in the world he was saying. Each rhyme he said was making perfect sense. Ced Gee was just as good as Kool Keith when it came to him behind the mic. A good example would be the chance he gets to shine on his solo "Ced Gee (Delta Force One)". His production was great also. Ced claimed that BDP's Scott La Rock helped with his production skills, teaching him how to use the SP-12 (for those that don't know, thats a machine that makes drum beats), and tought him how to chop up samples. Obviously Ced Gee got the hang real quickly, because it would greatly show inside of his production. DJ Moe Luv scratches would play a part in this album also. There are a lot of times when Moe Love would get his chance to shine, like in the middle "Ego Trippin" as he would get some cuts in, as well as "Moe Luv's Theme". TR Love would DJ in the album also, but not as much, but he does get a verse in the song "A Chorus Line", which I will get into. All songs here shine in a unique way, which is why I enjoy this album.

Now I bought this around this time last year, and saw that it was remastered, and six bonus tracks were added. Tracks 1-15 were on the origonal, and 16-21 are the ones that were added in. The origonal 12" version of "Funky" is dope but I like the remix better that appears in the album. "Bait" was a promo that was used on the DJ Red Alert Show back in 1988. The beat to that song was sampled by EPMD on the song "Brothers On My Jock" and on Ghostface Killah's "Daytona 500" later on in time. "A Chorus Line" once again proved why Ultra was one of the greatest groups. This time they introduce an emcee named Tim Dog (you might recognize him from the notorious song "F**k Compton" which sparked the response from Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg back around 1991/'92) to do the first verse to make a name for himself. As I said earlier, TR gets a verse in the song also starting off with "Hold the beat, stop the beat, drop the beat...". My personal favorite is the "Traveling At The Speed Of Thought (Hip House Mix)", because it comes like a dance party track, but at the same time keeps it's hip hop style while sampling Afrika Bambatta's "Planet Rock".

To think, one day last year, a 19 year old teenager came across this album at a music store by accident. I really had no idea who Ultra or Kool Keith was or the way that it sounded, but I'm glad that I came across this, because it's now one of my top 10 favorite hip hop albums ever. Not often are classics like this are remastered and reissued, so if you're looking for some classic old school 80's hip hop albums, then this would be a perfect addition to your collection. As for Ultramagnetic, this album reached #1 in Rap's top 15, and #57 in Bilboard's top Rap and R&B charts back in '89, according to the booklet inside the album. They would go to realease 2 more albums: "Funk Your Head Up" in 1992, "The Four Horsemen" in 1993, and the "B-Side Companion" in 1997 that some remixed tracks appear on this album. I haven't heard "Funk Your Head Up" or "The B-Side Companion" just yet, but I believe that "The Four Horsemen" is another Ultramagnetic classic that should be heard. The group would split up and Kool Keith would do an album with Tim Dog called "Ultra: Big Time", and realease many albums under many aliases (Dr. Octagon, Dr. Dooom, Rev Tom, and many more) as well as his own name. Also there are a few bootleg Ultramagnetic mixtapes that Ced Gee released, showcasing some of the group's earlier work, before they became popular. But from what I heard Ultramagnetic reunited about a year ago, so thats some good news. As I said before this right here is a pure classic that should be heard by hip hop heads, old and young. Pick up your copy and enjoy.

Lyrics: A+
Production: A+
Musical Vibes: A+
Overall: A+

My Favorite Tracks: Ease Back, Ego Trippin, Kool Keith Housing Things, Feelin' It, Funky (both versions), Critical Beatdown, Ced-Gee (Delta Force One), A Chorus Line, Traveling At The Speed Of Thought (Hip House Club Mix), and Mentally Mad

Here is another classic from a year of classics ('88)! It might sound dated to some, but to any "head" this album with be a sure-fire replay-a-thon. It looks like no one can agree on Ultra's last couple of albums, but rest assured this is the undisputed classic!
The beats throughout seem dated but they are enjoyable and captivating at that. Plus you can appreciate what Ced Gee and Moe Love put together with limited equipment and budget. Kool Keith is the breakout star here, his ryhmes and flow are something to hear. It's a shame that his name doesn't get mentioned as often among the "heads," but I am looking forward to checking out some of his solo work.
Ced-Gee is no slouch either, he provides the other verses alongside Keith. His deep, biting voice is a perfect contrast to Keith's, but he never trys to come off as a hard-ass, just that he's got lots of rhymes that he can whip you with.
Most of the tracks are indistinguishable, in that they sound pretty similar, but this isn't a complaint. "Critical Beatdown" is one entertaining, coherent listen that doesn't let up. "Ain't It Good To You" and "Give The Drummer Some" will definitely stand out. In fact, tracks 8-13 (beginning with Ced-Gee's short solo "One Minute Less" and ending at the engaging title track) are the defining moments of this album. The six bonus tracks are all great and a welcome addition. This may not be quite ONE of my favorite albums, but it's a classic nontheless and highly recommended. "Critical Beatdown" showcases hiphop in one if it's most simplest, yet spectacular, forms.

Or I should say..classic HIP-HOP period. The masters of confusion the Ultramagnetic MC's spearheaded by the legendary MC Kool Keith, MC/and classic producer Ced-Gee, DJ Moe Love, and Hype Man/part time DJ, TR Love! This LP shows and proves that these guys were also pioneers for the new school at the time. The lyrics, and the production alone speaks for itself. I had to get this CD because of the extra 12'inch singles that was not on the original album, this is one of the albums that brings it to the essence!!!!!!!!! Get this album if you are into classic and real HIP-HOP!!!!!!!!!!!!

This album is great, KOOL KEITH's old group sounds ill, and you can see that they laid the blueprint for what would be 1990's east coast harcore hip hop. Artists like Wu Tang Clan, Nas, Notorious Big, Black Moon, Jay z were all inspired by Ultramagnetic. If you are going to buy one old school hip hop album this is the one to get, as it still sounds really good and not dated. The remastering is well done and makes the album sound great! Get this Hip Hop Classic!

Had the original on vinyl, then CD and now bought the re-issue. The only thing that spoils this set (very slightly - hence why I rate it 4/5) is that they should have dropped the original version of Travelling at the Speed of Thought and not the house version.