The Roots of Rap: Classic Recordings from the 1920's and 30's

Various Artists - Blues

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 23, 1996)
• Original Release Date: 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Yazoo
• ASIN: B000000G8U
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #271,953 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. If I Had My Way I'd Tear the Building Down - Blind Willie Johnson

2. Cocaine Blues - Luke Jordan

3. Bow Wow Blues - Allen Brothers

4. Jive Man Blues - Frankie "Half-Pint" Jaxon

5. Jonah in the Wilderness - Henry Thomas

6. South Carolina Rag - Willie Walker

7. Whitewash Station - Memphis Jug Band

8. Automobile Ride Through Alabama

9. Dirty Dozen No. 2 - Speckled Red

10. Tain't None O' Your Business - Butterbeans & Susie

11. It's a Good Thing - The Beale Street Sheiks

12. She's a Hum Dum Dinger (From Dingersville) - Jimmie Davis

13. Papa's on the Housetop - Leroy Carr

14. Let That Liar Alone

15. Back in My Home Town - Frank Hutchison

16. Track Linin

17. Atlanta Strut - Blind Willie McTell

18. Arkansas Hard Luck Blues - Lonnie Glosson

19. How Can You Have the Blues? - Kansas City Kitty & Georgia Tom

20. Pickin' off Peanuts

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Roots of Rap pulls from rare 78 rpm records of the 1920s and '30s songs that fall into the rhythmic speech tradition of African-American folk and blues--a characteristic that would later manifest itself as rap music. Included are various strains of song commonly branded rap precursors, from church shouts, work hollers, and talking blues, to minstrel songs, novelty skits, and "the dozens," performed by greats like Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, Jimmie Davis, and Memphis Minnie. While anyone looking to find the missing link between a slave's lament and a "Rapper's Delight" on The Roots of Rap may be disappointed, with a little imagination tracks like Pine Top Smith's "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" and Speckled Red's "The Dirty Dozens No.2" come reasonably close. --Roni Sarig

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A highly misleading title..., October 27, 2000

By A Customer

Don't get me wrong. The music on this disc is excellent, but it doesn't have anything to do with rap. The rhythms are straightup country blues for the most part, with a few recitation pieces and country styled things. I like this kind of music, and I own a lot of discs like this one, but I also like rap music, and this ain't it! If it had been advertised as The Roots of the Talking Blues, I would have given it five stars.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hip Hop Jug Bands? Hard Core Blues? Gangsta' Hillbillies?, April 28, 2000

By	C. Cronk (Scatter Creek) - See all my reviews

not quite. but this cd has a lot to offer. if youre a big fan of rap, you wont neccesarily like this cd. if you like idiosyncratic early 20th century music, you probably will like a lot of it though. theres all kinds of great stuff you will never find anywhere else. Jive Talkin' Man, Cocaine Blues, Whitewash Station, When I stopped Running, Nobody Knows You and Automobile Ride Through Arkansas alone are worth the cost but each track has something special to offer. it does feature a lot of rap like conventions like similies( that girls got more ways of lovin' than wriggleys got gum), bragging, sexual allusions, drugs, drinking, fighting, tall tales mixed in with percusive singing styles. very enjoyable.

3.0 out of 5 stars talking blues, folk, and country, April 3, 1999

By A Customer

If you are looking for vintage styles and flows, you might be disappointed.