Afrika Bambaataa Looking For The Perfect Beat 1980-1985 CD

Contains an untitled hidden track at the end of all the tracks.
Personnel includes: Afrika Bambaataa, James Brown, Melle Mel.
Producers include: Ninny, Kevin Donovan, Arthur Baker, Tom Silverman, Afrka Bambaataa.
Compilation producer: Steve Knutson.
Engineers include: Jay Burnett, Bob Rosa, Erc Calvi.
Digitally remastered by Tony Dawsey (Masterdisk).
This is part of Tommy Boy Records 20TH ANNIVERSARY series.
Audio Mixers: Tom Silverman; John Robie; Keith LeBlanc; Arthur Baker; Shep Pettibone.
Audio Remasterer: Tony Dawsey.
Recording information: A-One Studios, New York, NY (1980-1985).
Editor: Tom Silverman.
Arrangers: John Robie; Afrika Bambaataa; Arthur Baker; Shep Pettibone.
As a major architect of early hip-hop, Afrika Bambaataa is perhaps more deserving of a respectable compilation treatment than anyone. And while his considerable influence has largely been brushed aside by a rap world that sadly ignores far too many of its innovators, Looking for the Perfect Beat may help to change that. Whatever your opinion on the shelf life of his music, Bambaataa was an innovator of the highest order. While many rappers would be content to sample and name check James Brown ad nauseam, Bambaataa collaborated with the Godfather of Soul himself on the sharp "Unity Part 1 (The Third Coming)." The amazing double-punch of "Planet Rock" and "Looking for the Perfect Beat" serve as the centerpiece of this disc, while "Zulu Nation Throwdown" sits as a perfect opening track, in its time initiating a back-to-roots aesthetic that was years ahead of the Afrocentric rap explosion of the late '80s. Looking for the Perfect Beat also nicely augments the résumé of producer Arthur Baker, a trailblazing dance remixer of the early '80s. Sadly missing are any significant liner notes or photographs. Also available as a limited edition two-LP set. ~ John Duffy
One of the great pioneers of hip-hop and contemporary dance music, Afrika Bambaataa made a contribution to the evolution of urban music that cannot be overestimated. With his innovative blend of funk, European electronica, turntable wizardry, and party-style, tag-team rapping (Bambaataa often invited groups of MCs to grace his tracks, such as the Jazzy 5 ["Jazzy Sensation"] and Soul Sonic Force ["Zulu Nation Throwdown"]), Bambaataa's cutting edge sound has influenced contemporary rap, rock, and electronica. LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT BEAT 1980-1985 collects Bambaataa's most defining moments, including "Planet Rock" (with its synth line taken directly from Kraftwerk's "Trans Europe Express"), and his collaboration with James Brown, "Unity Pt. 1."
While some critics often accuse Bambaataa's music of sounding dated, his heady, danceable anthems--coming as they did at a time when hip-hop was still defining itself-- sound surprisingly fresh. In their ambition they manage to encompass Bronx block parties, tribal call-and-response, and space-age forays. Moreover, the genre-bending ethos and call to higher consciousness that drives these creations (an ethos later adopted by Native Tongue acts like De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest) is boldly affirmative and, like the music that contains it, inspiring.

Best Of;Many Tracks On CD For The 1st Time

Rolling Stone (6/7/01, pp.112,115) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Ably captures his dance-floor magnetism....combining funky drums, stinging clap slaps and vocoded chants into beats that truly don't stop..."
Q (6/01, p.126) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Afrika's PLANET ROCK - a shadowy trip into space built on stolen bits of Kraftwerk records - will always be a record of undying genius. Luckily, much of this collection sounds pretty much the same..."
The Wire (5/01, p.56) - "...Of HipHop's Old School pioneers, Bam's vision and ambition were unparalleled....the man's relentlessness, philosophy and eclectic back catalogue continue to inspire..."