Customer Reviews

Rawkus Records Best Of Decade I, 1995-2005

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

 

 

I totally agree with the comments from mjxm and Norfeest below, so I won't bother repeat their excellent criticisms. The only point I'd like to expand on is this comp's lack of rare, unreleased and/or "previously unavailable on CD" material.

Rawkus certainly had enough recognizable hits and other gems from their catalog to easily fill a two-disc collection, so it's somewhat understandable that they chose only to include their best-known songs on this single disc comp. But as a fan and collector of music, I'm always looking for a little extra effort when it comes to a "Greatest Hits" release. I expect more than just the same versions of the same songs that I probably already have. Give me some rare remixes. Throw in a vinyl-only non-album b-side. Tack on a demo version or song that was shelved after the final album sequencing.

Rawkus must have at least a few of those types of rarities in the vaults. The exclusion of that kind of material demonstrates the laziness of Geffen and yet another level of disregard for the history and legacy of Rawkus.

Perhaps there is a Volume II in the works that will explore the lesser-known and rare tracks in the Rawkus library. I'm saving my hard-earned dollars for that disc.

anyone who knows rawkus and its history as perhaps the greatest underground hip-hop label of the last 15 years knows that this compilation is not an acceptable representation of what rawkus brought to the table.

are the songs on this CD good? for the most part, yeah . . . if you're looking for a mos def greatest hits record. but that's not what this is being marketed as.

this release is clearly little more than a despicable money grab by geffen--the label that, by the way, took over rawkus and then discontinued it all together. this album is relevant only to the extent that it's an affront to a once-great label that reached spectacular heights during an era when mainstream hip-hop was all puffy and no passion.

do yourself a favor and hit up your local record store for any old rawkus 12-inch singles you can find. pick up soundbombing I. listen to the blackstar album at the moment when you are most frustrated with the current state of hip-hop. bask in the talent and in the real, official glory of rawkus circa 1997 or 1998.

but, whatever you do, don't buy this lazy, disrespectful compilation.

MJXM hit the nail on the head. Geffen records (the label that swallowed up Rawkus) is simply trying to cash in on Rawkus' great past. The problem is this album is nothing more than a glorified Mos Def's Greatest Hits album. Are the songs on this album great? No question about it. But Rawkus' history is way deeper than Mos Def, Talib Kweli, & Common -- these are the artists being headlined on this album if you read the sticker on the front(and Common was never even on Rawkus). Where's Shabaam Sahdeeq or Company Flow? How about some cuts from Soundbombing I & II as well as Lyricists Lounge I & II? Do they mean to tell me that Pharoahe Monche's "Simon Says" wasn't worthy of an appearance? Hi Teknology had some bangers on it as well. And then the the few songs they have from the albums I mentioned aren't even the best songs from their respective albums. There are so many great songs in Rawkus' catalogue and this is just lazy and pitiful. This album should be viewed as an insult to a great legacy and a testament to the greed of major labels. No one wants to make good music (or at least a decent compilation), they just want to make money.

I do understand that this is the first installment, but this album simply lacks variety. There shouldn't be any problem mixing things up with the catalogue that Rawkus has. A good 80% of these songs feature Mos Def. I love Mos as much as the next Joe, but this is simply overkill. If you were a fan that bought the albums and singles when they were coming out then there's no need to pick this one up. If you don't have these songs, you're probably not a big Rawkus fan anyway. Let's just hope they even things up with the second installment instead of throwing their most popular astists on the album in hopes of moving units.

Ok... The reviewers who give this one star for "not having anything new" on it are friggin retarded. No offense REALLY intended, but this IS a GREATEST HITS album, not a poorly thought out "b-sides and rarities" album. The point of the album is NOT to show you rare and unknown Rawkus tracks, it's to show you the "greatest hits". I would agree that Simon Says is painfully missing, but then again, there's like... 5 tracks on that same Pharoahe CD that should be on here, so I think it's just a matter of Rawkus having WAY more material available than JUST one greatest hits album. Christ, I'd just be happy if they'd re-press Internal Affairs and maybe even just press it together with something like Reflection Eternal or Black Star and you've got the epitome of what Rawkus stood for...

On a side note, I later learned that Simon Says (and it's remix) are the exact reason that Internal Affairs will likely never be re-pressed, and I'm sure the problems related will NEVER be resolved (the Godzilla sample was never properly cleared and it's my understanding that an injunction was filed to make sure the album is no longer available... In addition to that, Rawkus has historically had huge issues with not having enough money to actually do the projects they had on the table, which makes it VERY unlikely that they'll ever be able to afford that Godzilla Sample...)

In the tradition of great hip hop indie labels like Cold Chillin' and Wild Pitch Records, emerged Rwkus Records in the late 90's in reaction of the gangsterism and the cheesy pop rap that infested the genre in the same period. Though the label didn't achieve a large level of sucess, it played by its own rules and let it artists flourish on their own merits. Natrually this comlilation is heavy on Blackstar, Mos Def and Talib Kweli tracks, so newebies get this and go get the label's essentals, namely "Mos Def and Talib Kweli as Blackstar", Mos Def's "Black On Both Sides", Reflection Eternal's "Train Of Thought", Talib Kweli's "Quality" and the Soundbombing compilations.

Ok, first off Rawkus Records was one one of the top independent hip hop record labels of the late 90's. It got some mc's careers started like conscious rappers, Mos Def and Talib Kweli. The label also offered a lot of underground hip hop that went against the mainstream. This album is basically a showcase of the artists who made what Rawkus is today. But there are some songs missing that this greatest hits could have benefited from. Company Flow's 8 Steps to Perfection or perhaps The Fire in which you burn, Umi Says, Simon Says, I Try, Kool G Rap's My Life, Any Man, etc. But nonetheless, this is a good summary of what Rawkus did in 10 years and hopefully they will put some more underground hip hop after being shut down for awhile

While I don't neccesarily agree with the 1 star reviews, I can see where they're coming from. This collection wasn't very well thought out. I also didn't like the way Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Common were used to promote this album when they have plenty of great songs that don't feature any of those guys. But the guy below me completely missed the mark too. Not every song on this album is a radio hit. Maybe it's the region I live in, but I don't recall "Universal Magnetic" or "The Sun God" getting heavy spins on the radio. I think "Definition" was a bigger song than "Respiration" too. I think we all agree that "Simon Says" was a much bigger hit than half the songs on this album. So Greatest Hits doesn't translate into "radio hits". Not many underground labels -- which is what they were right before they closed -- aren't going to have many radio hits. You can count their "radio hits" on less than 10 fingers. The title says "Best Of...", not "Greatest Hits" anyway. These are only a few of the best Rawkus songs though. If you don't have them already, then picking this album up is a no brainer. But what would make a Rawkus enthusiast go out and buy this if they already have this material? I think that's where opening the vault comes into play. So all the points made here are good ones. The album is pretty good, but like I said before, if you already have these songs, I can't think of any reason to buy it. I give it 3 out of 5 for that very reason.

Peace

The only reason not to get this CD is if you own every single one of these albums already. Every song on this mix is a classic. Totally redic. Only thing better would be a new blackstar Cd...

I just couldnt believe it, here was a good comp of tunes off the rawkus catalouge and every so often you would have words cut out, but my cover says "EXPLICIT LYRICS"?

robbed. Now im listening to tunes with that annoying cut.

apart from that, I just have one other issue with this comp. It looks like a mos def resume of old stuff. Nothing by Eminem off this label (which was fat) or ra the rugged man, or even company flow!! Amazing artists that were just not represented for some other reason or the other.

less mos def, clean versions and this might have been a better.

shame on whoever thought this would be a big sale because rawkus had/has devoted fans.... just another major label failing at trying to come out with a legit catalouge.

i think you guys are being a little hard.. its a greatest hits cd, and maybe you forgot what a greatest hits cd is. The radio greatest hits. Even if it is from rawkus thats what a greatest hits cd is. it is not rarities and b-sides, thats a bsides cd. I dont think it deserves a 1 at all, expceially since all 3 of you like the songs on here, thats retarded.

With that being said i think they did an alright job.
Things they could of done to make it better?
-Wheres Simon Says?
-Wheres anything from the beatiful struggle
-cut a mos def song or 2
-wheres hi-tek? he deserves more than sun god
-big L - holdin it down, wasnt that a big enough hit?
-sound bombing at least throw in another cut

The main thing probably was the over usage of mos def. If they threw away 2 of those songs and put in simon says and big L, this would probably be 5 stars. so i'll give it 4 stars because theres enough to keep me happy on one disk without skipping around.