VA – Soundbombing (1997) [CD] [FLAC] [Rawkus]

Genre: East Coast Hip-Hop
Codec: Flac (*.flac)
Rip: tracks+.cue
Quality: lossless
Size: 431 Mb
Info: Hitting stores in mid-1997, Soundbombing arrived at a crucial juncture for rap music, just as the deaths of 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G. forced hip-hop to re-examine its priorities, and the commercial dominance of Bad Boy necessitated a smart, socially conscious alternative to P. Diddy’s blatantly commercial brand of karaoke hip-pop.

An DJ Evil Dee-mixed collection of early Rawkus singles, many of them originally available only on vinyl (in keeping with the company’s hip-hop purism), Soundbombing announces Rawkus as the anti-Bad Boy, taking its cues from hip-hop iconoclasts like Ultramagnetic MCs and Brand Nubian rather than the commercial kings of the day. The influence of Kool Keith is felt most heavily early on, with artists like Company Flow and the Indelible MCs paying tribute to Keith’s unique brand of bizarre, stream of consciousness hip-hop before Keith himself pops up on “So Intelligent” alongside kindred spirit Sir Menelik. The second half of the disc is dominated by the soon to be famous trio of Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek) and Mos Def, who would soon team up with Kweli to form Black Star. Early Def solo tracks like “If You Can Huhh” and “Universal Magnetic” find the future superstar rocking over uncharacteristically spare, Jay Dee-inspired grooves, while “Fortified Live” and “Freestyle” show off Def and Kweli’s burgeoning chemistry. But Soundbombing doesn’t really hit its peak until its final track, “2000 Seasons,” a somber, melancholy, and unforgettable Reflection Eternal song that offers an early glimpse of the quiet, politically minded b-boy revolution Black Star, Reflection Eternal, Mos Def, and Rawkus would go on to lead over the course of the next few years.

Review by Nathan Rabin

01. Evil Dee Featuring Brick City Kids – Intro
02. RA Tha Rugged Man – Flipside
03. Indelible MCs – Fire In Which You Burn
04. Company Flow – Lune Tns
05. Sir Menelik AKA Cyclops 4000 – Night Work
06. Shabaam Shadeeq – Arabian Nights
07. Reflection Eternal Featuring Mos Def & Mr. Man – Fortified Live
08. L-Fudge – Show Me Your Gratitude
09. RA Tha Rugged Man Featuring 8-Off – Till My Heart Stops
10. Mos Def & Kweli – Freestyle
11. Sir Menelik Featuring Kool Keith – So Intelligent
12. B-One – Empire Staters
13. Mos Def – If You Can Huh…
14. Mos Def – Universal Magnetic
15. L-Fudge Featuring Mike Zoot, Kweli, Shabaam Shadeeq & Skam – What If
16. Black Attack – My Crown
17. Reflection Eternal – 2000 Seasons

VA – Soundbombing II (1999) FLAC

SOUNDBOMBING 1____ (Full album 1997)____Rawkus Records