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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WHEN HIP-HOP REFLECTED THE URBAN SPIRIT OF ITS CREATORS, April 3, 2002
... But in urban music, it was the first year that Suge Knight's Death Row Records had finally met its musical match, in the form of Puffy's Bad Boy Records. 1995 was also the first time that the Source Awards were ever televised, and it was during that ceremony that the East Coast/West Coast feud turned unmistakably real. In the summer of 1995, I was even lucky enough to see the late (great) Notorious B.I.G. live in performance at 106.1 KMEL's "Summer Jam". CA. But more than anything else, in 1995, urban music just seemed to keep getting better, and better (Nas, Keith Murray, Brandy, Soul 4 Real, Faith, LL Cool J, O.D.B, Groove Theory, I could go on...) 1995 was the year that Russell Simmons' rapumentary, "The Show" hit theatres. Featuring performances, interviews, and insights on the state of Hip-Hop from its roots to the present day, it was an exciting and refreshing take on an artform that was quickly replacing rock'n'roll as the new sound of the "youth". This accompanying soundtrack reflects the amazingly vibrant spirit that lived within Hip-Hop during this explosive time period. Although everyone will have their favorites (and there is something for everyone), I'll only highlight the tracks that I found to be a cut above the rest: Easy Mo Bee, a producer best known for his work on the Notorious B.I.G.'s classic `Ready To Die' album, provided the sonic backdrop for the late (great) 2Pac's contribution to this album, "My Block". The beat and lyrics of "My Block" are tight, and totally capture the spirit of the artistic integrity that urban music (in general) was evoking around that time. This was the era when folks were talking about "keepin' it real". Makes you wanna smile, doesn't it? Especially if you can remember those days... Moving on, "Live" by Onyx was probably the group's last decent hit. It sounds like Onyx: rowdy and raucous. Method Man and Redman get together on "How High", the song that started it all for their super-collaborations. "How High" sounds just as good to my ears now as it did when I first heard it. Maybe even better. "Everyday", a joint by Mary J. Blige and produced by Puff Daddy, Nashiem Myrick ("Can't Nobody Hold Me Down"), Chucky Thompson (the man!), features great background vocals by Faith Evans. "Everyday" also has the same beat as the "One More Chance" Hip-Hop remix ("biggie, gimme one more chance, biggie, biggie, gimme one more chance...'check it out, uh') Other standouts in my humble opinion is the ultra-smooth "Papa Luv It" by LL Cool J, which reminds me of something we might have heard on a show like New York Undercover. "Glamour and Glitz" is tight, and has that classic boom-bap style that the Tribe was known for. "Kill Them All" by dancehall reggae artist Kali Ranks never fails to energize, and the Computer-Love remix of Biggie's "Me & My B....." recorded live at the Philadelphia Armory gives me flashbacks of B.I.G's show-stopping set at KMEL's "Summer Jam". There are other cuts I'll mention briefly -- "Old Skool" by Isaac 2 Isaac, "Summertime In The LBC" by the Dove Shack (classic actually), "Everyday Thang" by Bone Thugs N Harmony, and cool quotes sprinkled throughout the entire CD by Dr. Dre, Russell Simmons, and Naughty By Nature among others. So all in all, this is a piece of Hip-Hop History -- perhaps the last period in time when Hip-Hop music universally reflected the authentically "urban" spirit of its creators.
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~ Various Artists - Soundtracks - 1996
~ Various Artists - Soundtracks - 1993
~ Various Artists - Soundtracks - 1992
DVD ~ Craig Mack
See all 27 tracks on this disc
is quite Hip-Hop, with hints of Fusion”
