Critical Beatdown

Ultramagnetic MC's

Product Details

• Vinyl (July 23, 1996)
• Original Release Date: 1988
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Roadrunner Records
• ASIN: B000003RRL
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #409,211 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #9 in	Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > Vinyl Records > Old School
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Part B-Boys and part Bad Boys, the Ultramagnetic MC's took a series of mind-blowing singles, including "Ease Back" and "Funky," wrapped them around at least as many new tracks, and released Critical Beatdown, one of the greatest new-school albums. Combining seriously dog-eared samples (James Brown's "Funky Drummer" appears out of tradition, more than necessity, on "Give the Drummer Some," and the Meters' "Look-Ka Py Py" provides the backbone for "Ease Back") with very clipped rhyme patterns from the Kool Moe Dee/Big Daddy Kane school of linguistics, Ultra's style lives on in everyone from 2Pac to Company Flow. Production is tight, and the two-headed leadership of Ced-Gee and lunatic genius Kool Keith (just try to decode his astral cipher on "Ain't It Good to You") makes this album shoulders above other new-school heads. --Todd Levin

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't SLEEP! KOOL KEITH, CED GEE, MOE LOVE, TR, March 27, 2000

By	HIP HOP FANATIC, SOME SAY AN ADDICT (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Critical Beatdown (Audio CD)

THIS IS THE GREATEST HIP-HOP ALBUM OF ALL-TIME! I repeat ALL-TIME! First of all, recognize that this album was followed within months by De La's "Three Feet High and Rising", so when everyone was falling over themselves praising De LA's innovation (really Prince Paul's)Ultra's album was pushed to the side by the "critics". But the hardcore hiphop heads were still getting eargasms from Ultramagnetic. Not only were Kool Keith's rhymes light years of anybody on the mike at the time, (yes, including the god KRS) Ced Gee was doing a Dr. Dre on the production and rhyme flow tip. This was by far a quantum leap ahead for hip-hop production and beat programming(extensive 808 use was a big deal back then). The album is so strong that the only way to listen to it is front to back. The change in pacing of the rhyme flow and the tracks throughout the album is pure hip-hop at its best. Anyone who doesn't give props to this album either wasn't around when it dropped or doesn't understand that when an album this old can still sound this good YOU ARE LISTENING TO A CLASSIC!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something like George Jetson in Bedrock., June 17, 2003

By	Cre8tive Critic (Winston Salem NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Critical Beatdown (Audio CD)

If you thought the likes of Canibus, Chino XL, or Pharoahe Monch were the summit of the "ahead of their time" hip-hop mountain, then you obviously missed out on the Ultramagnetic MC's and their early rap contributions.

The Ultramagnetic MC's highly respected world-shattering classic Critical Beatdown, was THE first official new-school hip-hop album, in an old-school era. With Ced-Gee's revolutionary use of the drum machine, and of course Kool Keith's off-beat rhyme style, fully equipped with lyrics that clearly proclaim Kool Keith the one truly ahead of their time if there ever was one.

From beginning to end, Critical Beatdown freezes all other early rap classics, and anything afterwards. A classic of classics. Truly, a masterpiece, among masterpieces. If you thought Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, or even the hip-hop philosopher himself, KRS-One, deserve more acclaim than Kool Keith and the Ultramagnetic MC's for their early hip-hop achievements, do yourself a favor, buy Critical Beatdown, and think again.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the reasons why '88 was hip-hop's greatest year, July 7, 2002

By	"marc83" (Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Critical Beatdown (Audio CD)

If you love old skool '80s hip-hop you need to own this.Kool Keith proves himself to be one of the all time great MCs with this album.If you're getting into Keith then you should start with Critical Beatdown,then move onto Dr.Octagon,Dr.Dooom,Sex Style and Black Elvis.Ced Gee is a great producer and he does a lot of innovative tracks throughout this album,especially 'Ego Trippin',which disses Run DMC for their dismissal of underground hip-hop.Keith's freestyling on that track is incredible.

This album is underrated as hell but as you listen to it you realise how influential it is.Dr. Dre utilised the beat from 'Funky' on 'California Love',Public Enemy swiped the beat from 'Ease Back' on 'Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic" and the awesome 'Give The Drummer Some' was sampled by the Prodigy on 'Smack My B!tch Up'
This album is a must own and as Keith says on'Ease Back';"Ain't that somethin'/I'm the best MC in the whole wide world".Not the best maybe but damn close.