Looking for the Perfect Beat: 1980-1985 (CD - 2001)

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.

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. minimize