Various - Yo! Boombox: Early Independent Hip Hop, Electro And Disco Rap 1979-83 3xLP

Label: Soul Jazz

Yo! Boombox is the new instalment of Soul Jazz Records’ Boombox series on the early days of hip-hop on vinyl, featuring some of the many innovative underground first-wave of early rap and disco rap records made in the USA between 1979-83. The album includes the first releases of seminal groups such as Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and The Funky Four Plus One More, through to rarities and little-known obscurities such as the Carver Area High School band’s ‘Get Live 83’, an awesome record made at a Chicago high school. The deluxe triple LP comes with 3x inner sleeves of extensive sleeve notes, exclusive photography and original label artwork. It features the stunning photography of Sophie Bramly, one of a very select group of photographers who were allowed full access to document the exciting early days of hip-hop in NYC. These first exuberant wave of innocent, upbeat, party-on-the-block rap records were the first to try and create the sounds heard in community centres, block parties and street jams that took place in the Bronx in the mid-1970s. Where the first DJs – Flash, Kool Herc and Bambaataa – were back-spinning, mixing and scratching together now classic breakbeat records like The Incredible Bongo Band’s Apache or Babe Ruth’s The Mexican, these first pre-sampling rap records were all made using live bands, often replaying then current disco tunes. As Chic’s ‘Good Times’ was to ‘Rappers’ Delight’, the songs here feature then-current dancefloor hits such as the Tom Tom Club’s ‘Genius of Love’ or Cheryl Lynn’s ‘To Be Real’ while MCs rapped over the top, creating a unique new sound. This new Soul Jazz Records collection celebrates these first old-school rap records, bringing together rare, classic and obscure tracks released in the early days of rap.