Customer Reviews

Whodini - Greatest Hits

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Whodini has long been deprived of their rightful place in hip-hop's gloried and often fabled past. Many people of today's generation are completely unaware of Whodini's legacy or indifferent all together. This group produced top quality, timeless music that has influenced a multitude of prominent rap & hip-hop superstars. Songs like "Friends," "One Love," "The Freaks Come Out At Night," "Funky Beat," and "Five Minutes Of Funk" show their masterfulness, artistry, incredible lyricism and an ability to make a hit song. Their rhymes weren't mindless, they spoke of universal themes and the problems of the times. They never did hestitate to make you dance either. Whodini should not be forgotten, they are one of the true pioneers of rap & hip-hop.

Whodini was one of the best of the early hip-hop
trios and they had quite a following and string of hits
as this collection will attest!
I remember seeing them back in summer 1984 with
the then new Run DMC fresh off the success of
"It's Like That", "Hard Times" & "Sucka MC's"!!

Whodini had "Haunted House Of Rock", "Freinds",
"The Freaks Come Out At Night" and the classic
"5 Minutes of Funk" out then and
they really stopped the show!
Later came the other jams like "One Love",
"I'm A Ho!!" and others that left their mark
with early hip-hoppers.
I hope that they will get their just due and be honored
on VH-1's Hip-Hop Honors for 2007.
I always wanted a leather hat just like the one that guy who
was the lead MC (Ecstacy) use to rock!! (LOL!!)
They were just as crucial as Kurtis Blow, Sugarhill,
Run DMC, LL COOL J and all the others who we think of
now as icons of the game!---Much Love & Respect!!

**ADDENDUM!!---(09/06/07)
I am so happy to announce that WHODINI will
be finally getting their props at this year's Hip-Hop Honors!!
Congratulations guys!--You sure deserve it!
I'll be watching and reminiscing! (-:

Quite simply, this is one of the best records, hip-hop or otherwise, ever.

This album has songs that to this very day will pick me up or inspire me when I'm bummed out.

For example, a few verses from the outstanding track called "Escape." After stressed out verses describing some of the problems we all face in daily life, the song doesn't end like you might expect at first. There comes a powerful reply right away -- which is empowering and simple --

"So you want to quit your job, but you don't have the funds?
Take a sick day off, and find a new one,

...and the song continues:

"You don't owe noone a thing, but you owe yourself!"

Self-empowering and truthful, WHODINNI were honest, introspective. Like on the track "FRIENDS," where the group is striving to define what makes for true friendship--

"...and if you ask me, you know I couldn't be much help,
because a friend is somebody you judge for yourself."

But don't get it twisted, because most of these songs are wicked party jams that can still rock the house. These tracks aren't nerdy, boring or overly intellectual in any way!

Get this record -- it serves as the perfect 100%-effective antidote to the substandard negativity of today's fantasy-ridden rap!

Just had the blessing of checking out Whodini in Cleveland at the Allen theater. They did all their timeless hits. Friends , Freaks come out, I'm a ho , one love , funky beat , big mouth , and Five minutes of funk! Just like their Greatest hits cd , it was classic hip hop. Crisp production , sharp lyrics that you can understand! It is amazing how they still rock a crowd 20 plus years after their debut. Just being there in the 3rd row blew my mind. These jams on the greatest hits cd are true old school. Leaving Cleveland I was on the same flight with Grandmaster Dee back to New Jersey. We got to hang out in the terminal and take pictures and talk. Same with Big Daddy Kane , who was also on the show along with UTFO , Kurtis Blow , and Sugarhill Gang. Thanks for a great show you all! It just does not get any better than this! Old school Hip Hop Forever!

Boy, the memories. I remember being 8 years old and hearing "Freaks Come Out At Night" on a pirate radio station that me and my brother used to listen to. I remember thinking to myself "these guys are special". I still feel the same way today. This is one of the few greatest hits albums that actually has all of their biggest hits on the album. Because of the direction rap music is taking nowadays, I find myself dusting off old joints like this in order to hear some good music. There are some good joints out there today, but unlike the golden era of rap, the good rap albums of this era are the minority now. Whodini is probably one of the most overlooked groups in rap history. They stayed in the business for 14 years and have put together an impressive catalogue. When people talk about the history of rap music and hip hop culture, they always manage to leave out Jalil, Ecstacy, and Grandmaster Dee. But if you want an idea of how big these guys were, get this album. Their first album is out of print I think, and their other albums are classics that are hard to come by. Starting with this album will give you the most memorable joints from the Whodini catalogue. Do yourself a favor and pick this up if you don't have these songs already.

Standout Tracks: Funky Beat, Five Minutes Of Funk, Magic's Wand (My Favorite), One Love, Freaks Come Out At Night, Friends, and Big Mouth

This is a pretty good "Greatest Hits" compilation. The audio quality is solid, if not spectacular, on this CD. I wish "Fugitive" and "Echo Scratch" were included here, but Whodini's "greatest" are certainly included.

This review only deals with a bunch of the songs on this as I only have 45s of Whodini's and they are all included. These are Friends, Five Minutes Of Funk, and Freaks Come Out At Night.

At the time of its release, I became a big fan of "If I Ruled The World" by Nas feat. Lauryn Hill, mostly because I felt an electroshock every time I heard that electronic sample, in the background of the verses. Well, that was Whodini's "Friends" and their trademark electronic sound that fits just right into the Hip Hop frame as far as melodies goes, even today.

Whodini managed to appeal to wider audiences than other first generation Hip Hop, girls in particular probably because of their more melodic sound, occasionaly involving singing. Anyway, to set the record straight with the review by Little Rich Kid and anyone else who might have the same misconceptions about Whodini. This is what is properly known as old school hip hop, that is Hip Hop in the early 80s. And yes, hip hop was originally based on rather Disco cuts than funk/soul. Good Times anyone?

The other artists Lil Rich Kid listed as fake rap are Kool Moe D (former Treacherous Three) and Kurtis Blow, namely a pick of the very first artist to put out Hip Hop albums at the time (along with GrandMaster Flash) as opposed to just singles. Without the input from these guys, Hip Hop just would not be as we know it today.

What he lists as Good Rap are all artists from the next generations of hip hop. In other words, he just does not like old school hip hop to start with, so his review falls pretty short of meaning. I would not find it constructive to go criticize a metal album because I don't like metal. This would not help metalheads to decide what to buy and what to avoid.

As for the review goes, Whodini's stuff is pretty tight on production, using loads of electronics and drum machines in a pretty successful way, that will allways fit well in an old school mix or an electro one in my opinion. The rappin is old school but pretty good, keeping a good balance between the music and the lyrics. Nice elctro breaks to be used in mixes or just to dig on your iPod.

I'll just give it four stars as I do not know the rest of the compilation, it is still worht getting for these three tunes.

This collection span from 1982 to 1990 is a good career and a did well for this Greatest Hits of Whodini. Majority of these song you can hear being sampled in today's music like "One Love," "Friends" and "I'm A Ho". The duo rap team of Jalil and Ecstacy brought a realism home with their lyrics. Speaking of love, friend, or just being in the music business, they had a broad range of subjects. My other favoriates are "Funky Beat," "Freaks Come Out At Night" and "Five Minutes Of Funk." Hip Hop fans who enjoy old school or just good songs this is a must for your collection.

I liked this album by Whodini. They made some fun party songs, yet also had songs with positive messages. Many of these songs I still remember, especially Friends, Freaks Come out At Night, Haunted House of Rock, One Love (smart merging of rap and R&B sounds on that song, even industrial sounding for 1986), and many others. Although they ran out of hits after 1987, these songs are still addictive and still hold up. One omission--Growing Up, something that should be applied to some of today's young people and their out of control lifestyles. Whodini should be commended for their contributions to the rap genre.

As I am sitting here I am listening to DJ Icey's remix of "Five Minutes of Funk" Memories. I graduated from High School in '85 and Whodini was the shiznit, as was Run DMC. Friends. Freaks Come Out At Night.

Friends, how many of us have them
Friends, ones we can depend on
Friends, before we go any further, lets be

Friends, the word we use every day
Most the time we use it in the wrong way
Now you can look the word up
Again and again
But the dictionary doesn't know the meaning of friends
. . .

The song still spills of my tongue almost 20 years later.

Timeless