Planet Rock: The Album

I've noticed that the 1001 albums list seems to comprise of two different types of albums. The first type are those that are those that are timeless, regardless of when they were released and can be enjoyed by multiple generations of music listeners. The other type are those that are historically significant but may not stand the test of time. I feel like this album is in the second category. It might be important to the development of hip-hop and I'm sure that if I grew up with it, the album would hold a special place for me. Listening to it the first time decades after it was released, it only sounds dated. There are some decent ideas on here and it's a pretty upbeat album from start to finish but there's other 80s rap that is far stronger.

Wow. That's legitimately bad. I get that they were going for a "ground-breaking" and "genre-defining" album experience and maybe they achieved it for the time. But it aged very poorly. To a modern listener it just sounds like amateur hour at the college radio station. None of the songs go anywhere or say anything of note. It's an exceptionally empty and repetitive album.

This stuff has been sampled and mapped over so many times, it's hard to think of what this must've felt like, hearing it for the first time. Great party energy, though it did fall into the background. Thought that's probably because of repetition - it alll already sounds so familiar. I'll give it an extra star since, when I was a kid, I thought Afrika Bambaataa and Mr. T were the same person and that seems wrong.

-Renegades of Funk is a banger, but RATM did a better version -Turns out this guy has been accused of sexually assaulting a bunch of boys, so 0/5, I guess.

In historical context this album is very important for electro and hip-hop, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's still interesting to actually listen to today. One of the problems of being the genre-definer is that once everything you do has been imitated, you end up looking pretty generic. A higher rating for significance, but for my personal enjoyment I can't go above a 2.

Honestly if I were rating purely off enjoyment I might not give it 5 stars, but it's impossible to separate this music from how hugely important and influential it was to the early years of hip hop.

Even if I heard this album many years ago, listening to it today was a total discovery. As I checked the site and was about to play it I was readying myself for an old school rap record. To my surprise I was met by something much more rewarding.  First of, all the songs here kind of sound like Rockit by Herbie Hancock, which is not a bad thing at all. They also have a lively feeling to them, as if they were actually played and not sampled. Further research revealed that indeed, many parts were re-recorded rather than sampled from the original recordings Then I am reading that this is the first electro album ever made, a genre I am not really familiar with and that I will explore in the next few days.  And that's exactly what is interesting in this process: either you get a chance to discover something that you had never heard about, or you get a chance to listen again to some classics you hadn't heard in a while. And then there is the possibility of experiencing an album you already knew as if it were your first time ever, rediscovering aspects that weren't there before. Because we too are like musical instruments: the more you listen, with curiosity and open mind, the more you are fine tuned into a better understanding. 

I'm starting to really enjoy the feeling that not only am I aware of my crusty ol bias but it's going away. Or at least I'm able to navigate around it better. This is an album that I would not have given a second thought or dismissed. But this 1001 Albums project is teaching me to take more time. There's a whole world here. It's objectively kick ass what a busy intersection of influence and innovation this album is. Apparently it's possible to like and not like a thing, haha. More and more it feels pointless to rate the art. 2.5

I don't want to live on this planet any more.

Intergalactic paedo-ing. Hyperspace kiddy fiddling. Absolute nonce-sense.

Cool to see the proto-Chicago house AND proto-hip hop here all mixed together. This album rules. Definitely a bit dated feeling but in a "Seinfeld is unfunny" way to a degree.

Dudes talking over lame instrumentals. I had to do push-ups to keep myself invested.

Absolute genius. One of the best to ever do it, and also one of the first. Anyone who claims to love hip-hop, but doesn't know of the founders, is missing out massively. This album in particular makes me want to set up a class teaching the youngsters about the early days and the golden age!

The album name and cover had me real worried, not gunna lie. I had a HUGE gut reaction assumption that this record was going to be a major pile of crap. But it's actually FUCKING AMAZING!! I love it. Socially conscious, inspired, unabashedly oddball and cool at the same time; all the elements I like blended up into one funky non-stop party groove. And Renegades of Funk... omg that has been one of my favourite RATM songs for decades!! I love hearing the original track, it's so good too! I'm so happy my extremely unfair bias has been proven resoundingly wrong this morning. Zulu nation!!!

Delicious Afro-synth music from the 80s.

The keys on the opening tracks are immaculate; Could have been recorded today; Give me Sun Ra via funk. There's less musical material in the songs here, so it's a listen best left in context: Hip-hop has other realms to explore nowadays. The rest of the scratching and posse-cutting is about what one would expect, adding up to an essential listen with a little filler.

Genre: Electro 3/5 An interesting exploration in electro instrumentals with the addition of hip hop vocals, with the song Planet Rock being one of the first singles to truly synthesize the two sounds, this compilation based around that single is a time capsule, showcasing some of the earliest rap singles around. The unfortunate context behind this album, that Afrika Bambaataa (Lance Taylor) is an all-but-jailed, quite prolific sexual offender, does sour some of what's going on. It's always difficult to look beyond sex crimes in art, especially when it deals with minors, so unfortunately this project is stained. However, the music that lies within is some of the most influential and important hip hop music ever produced, and is an essential listen in that regard. Planet Rock, the aforementioned, very important song, is now viewed and listened to as an "old-school hip hop" track, but that does it a disservice. It's essentially one of the earliest songs that set the instrumental template for what would be a whole decade's worth of rap music. The rest of the songs play out pretty much as you'd expect, break beats with the occasional verse and hook, with nothing from the back half sounding particularly exciting. What was exciting, though, was listening to the OG Renegades of Funk, and becoming more and more impressed with Rage Against the Machine's near perfect cover of it. Other than those two big tracks, this album is rather forgettable, unfortunately tainted with nonce behavior, but it's not offensive sonically. This will probably do wonders for those who truly love instrumental hip hop and are interested in its earliest fossils.

When it comes to this album one thing is certain: the influence this had is imense. Like Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa was a cornerstone in early to mid-60's Hip-Hop. Instead of sampling old Soul and Funk records he used Electronic records from artists like Kraftwerk to create a mix of Electronic music, Hip-Hop and Funk that pushed the sound of especially Hip-Hop like no other album in that time. Does that mean that it is a good album and important to understand todays music? Yes! Is it holding up to what it maybe once was? No, absolutely not! The album opens with the title track: 'Planet Rock'. Already you are hit with a very recognisible sound that in the lead synth that has been used and sample from this many times. The "instrumental chorus" is taken from 'Trans Europa Express' by Kraftwerk. It is a very funky intro to the album and it already shows that the focus isn't lyrical rapping but more the Electro beats that are topped off with a rhytmic vocal structure. And the cover also looks exactly like the album sounds even from this first track. I just feel like, and this is my main criticism with the album, the song is too long. After a while the instrumental just cannot carry the whole thing, I would've needed some actually working verses with substance. Follow up song 'Looking for the Perfect Beat' has a similar problem. It should've been cut down to the half. You do not have that much important stuff to say to stretch the song to 7 minutes, if 3 or 4 would've been enough. I do like the goofy ad-libs in the middle that go: "doodle-doo-doo" or something and the chorus, as well as the overall Funk of this song. And while they might not have found the perfect beat, they at least found the best one on the album. Side A closes with 'Renegades of Funk' that most know because of the Rage Against the Machine cover. It has a nice variety of influences and sound all throughout the song. I think this is the most forward-thinking and influential song on the album although it lacks on certain parts that don't make it entertaining and consistent the whole way through. 'Frantic Situation' opens the second side is the shortest song on the album. The problem is that if the good songs are made over 6 minutes long, the 3 minute songs will likely not have the impact or strength the longer ones have. The song just flies over you without anything really sticking with you. It is pretty much very boring and basic in both beat and rapping. In comparison 'Who You Funkin' With' is a much stronger song. But it sadly cannot live up to anything on Side A. 'Go Go Pop' is probably my favourite on this second half. It is groovy and the beat is really nice although it doesn't achieve the highs from the start. The closing track 'They Made a Mistake' sadly cannot do much either. It gets annoying very fast and even the parts that are interesting do not hold that for long. favourites: Planet Rock, Looking for the Perfect Beat least favourites: Frantic Situation, They Made a Mistake, Who You Funkin' With Rating: light 6 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

I enjoyed this one. The hip hop and electronica fusion works. Of interest is that I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it in 1986. I'll say my music taste has progressed although some might say the opposite.

Good stuff. One star removed for being a nonce

Not funky enough or hip hop enough for me, somewhere in the bland middle. Some interesting samples and ideas but not a very engaging listen. Another reason why Ronald Reagan's America sucked.

Afrika Bambaataa. Zulu Nation. Touching little boys since the early 80s. I know, separate the artist from the art, but the artist is so vile... "Renegades of Funk" now belongs to Rage Against The Machine, listen to that version instead.

Arent we all just looking for the perfect beat? Edit: I just read the wiki and now I dont know how to grade this album. I didnt know that afrika bambaataa was a child molester which makes it difficult to give the album the 5 star rating I originally made. I'm revising my score to a 2 of 5, keeping a star for being a groundbreaking and powerful work but losing 3 stars for being led by a garbage human. 5/5 - revised to 2/5

2.5/5

Weird record, def not rock

disregarding any allegations brought towards afrika, this album is monstrously boring it reeks of all the boring 80s sounds that make me want to fall asleep. i have much better music to listen to instead.

Oh man. I respect the old school hip hop pioneering here, but I am torn by the stories of dude's offending against the young. No, actually in not torn. Once you know, your know. Would've been four, but knocked down to one star. Not for Afrika, but for the survivors.

Was initially given Afrika Bambaataa but decided against listening after seeing his numerous child molestation charges. Instead, I chose another random album and was given Gorillaz 2001 self-titled debut album. I was surprised by how forgettable this was outside of Clint Eastwood. It turns out that almost all of the songs I enjoy are from Demon Days or Plastic Beach. 2.5/5

This record will make your dick bleed so much, that it will force you to tear it off and feed it to a baby chimpanzee for supper.

FUCK YES!!!!!!!! The sound of my childhood. 10000 stars!

cool

afrikaaaaaaa

A retro futuristic concept of a Zulu Nation out in space with an avant garde sound that is both funky and techno, with some of the most memorable early hip hop tunes to booth? This album is a masterpiece and it’s also super fun.

This is where it all began. Prior to listening I had not realised how ingrained in our collective consciousness, this album was. You may not know or like that genre but the chances are you are already familiar with the work.

Irrespective of what happened with him later, this album from a musical point of view is amazing.

Nice

One of the originals and one of the best

An incredibly important collection of songs not just for hip hop but for electronic music as a whole. It's still a great listen today and those calling this dated should separate the sounds from their own association with the 80s. These sounds are still used and celebrated by djs and producers today so it's not the music that is dated it's the people listening to it! 5/5

Brilliantly fun— an exhilarating first listen and a groovy second

é bronca

Iconic, elemental

Perfect!

Almost 50 years old and this sounds as good as it did back then. An amazing piece of work.

Wow! They brought the funk with this album. I heard a lot of familiar beats, used by Kanye, Rage (had no idea Renegade was a cover!!), and I heard a lot of lyrics mimiced by other hip hop/rap artists. This album must’ve been a heavy influence on the hip hop seen. I think I have to give this 5 starts do all that.

HAIKU REVIEW Old school MCs serve Kraftwerk and break beats making Something much bigger

I rather enjoyed listening to this. Clearly a source of a lot of beats and samples.

This is certainly not my favourite electro album from the 80s (would prefer for example Newcleus: Jam on Revenge or Egyptian Lover: On The Nile or Whodini: Escape) and it is a collection of singles from mainly 82-83 ..does it count an album? But these singles were highly influential so I can the point, and it is good that there is at least one electro album in the list. score: 9/10

Last year I bought a cheap Sanyo music centre, and unexpectedly it came with a few recorded cassettes. One of the cassettes was a recording of a radio show from 1984. It was an interesting blast from the past, especially some of the news reports throughout the radio show. One of the things I thought interesting was a claim from some scientist about how breakdancing could contribute to hair loss. Yeah honestly, if this was the sort of thing that people were breakdancing to back in the mid 80s, I can see it. I thought this was a really fun album, and judging by when it came out I can imagine this had an influence on both hip hop and house music going into the late 80s and 90s, while interpolating and drawing influence from Kraftwerk. It's undeniably aged, but I don't care. This was just a really fun and groovy album. Favourite: Planet Rock

Revolutionary release.

So funky. So many samples.

I get it. Fantastic

It sounds like typical 80's early rap; I thought of Cherry Hill Gang immediately on the first track (Planet Rock). Reading the history of Bambaata, I was charmed to learn he's amongst the true godfathers of hip-hop with influences and collabs as diverse as Kraftwerk and Johnny Rotten! So many party chants are here; I had no idea where they came from before (Party People! Say we like to body rock the parties!) Honestly this is super cool and I'm happy to have listened.

Fucking fire

Interesting listen.

Funktastic! 5 stars.

Good

Today's album is super early hip hop, like Grandmaster Flash or The Sugarhill Gang. This album is super important to the evolution of modern hip hop and rap. These songs have been sampled any times, and have influenced so many artists. Interesting side note: Planet Rock (the song) features samples of Kraftwerk's song Trans-Europe Express. These aren't traditional samples, however, as DJ and producer Arthur Baker met with Afrika Bambaataa and decided that instead of just playing a recording of the Kraftwerk tune, they would recreate it. This was done without Kraftwerk's permission, so the band approached the record label, and got royalties awarded to them for sales of the single. Afrika's version of the song (Planet Rock) was sampled and featured in an episode of Trailer Park Boys (I've Met Cats and Dogs Smarter Than Trevor and Cory). In the episode, the boys open an illegal night club in the park. Cory and Trevor are put in, charge of promoting the club around town, and hand out flyers at a gay bar called The Empty Closet. This leads to J-Roc's Crib being full of dudes on opening night. This song is being mixed in the background on opening night. Sampling another artist without asking for permission sounds like another episode of Trailer Park Boys called Who's the Microphone Assassin where J-Roc bootlegs songs of rap artist Detroit Velvet Smooth and calls it "cross promotion". It's also interesting that Rage Against The Machine's song Renegades of Funk is a cover of an Afrika Bambaataa song. I had no idea. This is a super solid album. Too bad Afrika Bambaataa is accused of sexually assaulting a bunch of kids. Favourite songs: Planet Rock, Renegades of Funk, Who You Funkin' With?, Looking for the Perfect Beat, Frantic Situation Least favourite songs: if forced to pick, They Made a Mistake 5/5

This album rocks

Cool.

Inventive, raw, and exciting. I think these tracks have aged very nicely.

Normally don’t care for rap but this had actual Music!! 🎶 loved it!!

Absolutely world class hip hop. So much going on! There isn’t a single weak track on the album 4.6

Peace, Unity, Love and Having Fun: the motto of the Universal Zulu Nation. Fun album, I can picture kids breakin' in Harlem project common areas to the new electronic and rap sounds of Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force circa 1979. Planet Rock and Looking for a Beat are great jams. A party album through and through.

nice блин я их откуда-то знаю, но откуда не могу вспомнить...

Fun

A little slow for my taste

This is an interesting band. Super funky and the album art is hilarious. Yo what the fuck they have a track on here called Renegades of Funk. Did Beastie Boys cover this track?? I thought that was their own original song. Well half way through that track now and I don't think it's anything like the beastie boys song. HAHAHA I'm retarded I meant Rage Against the Machine this whole time. lol Who You Funkin With. I like that title.

4.0

Yes. This^^^

Love old-school hip-hop.

Somehow simultaneously laid back and ready for a party

Afrika Bambaataa Oke, dit is even heel iets anders, hoor ik daar nu hiphop op elektrobeats? Uit welk jaar komt dit? 1986?! Dit kan ik zeker waarderen, al komt het nu wel licht gedateerd over. Een ervaring is het zeker. Het zijn niet de allerbeste bars (Zih Zih Zih Zih Zih), maar het werkt wel voor mij. De raps zijn bijna aandoenlijk, alsof het babys first rhymes zijn haha. Maar ooh jee, wat zijn sommige van die beats lekker zeg. Waar het in Planet Rock allemaal een beetje stereotiep en bijna als parodie voelt, zijn de andere nummers stukken beter. They Made a Mistake heeft wel de meest standaard beat, jammer, maar nog steeds erg funky Oh wacht, er zitten toch nog wat vreemde, spacende stukjes in, loev het Sommige nummers duren net wat lang, anders had dit zomaar 5 sterren kunnen zijn. Favo's: Looking for the Perfect Beat, Renegades of Funk, Who You Funkin' With?

Hip, elevating and totally DIY, with the bleeping Euro-Kraut-y action adding considerably to the pleasing vibes. Seems the genuine article and an authentic record of being present at the creation. The influence could not be more obvious; “Who You Funkin With?” makes Run DMC sound like an AB tribute act. They get plenty of mileage out of a pretty spare palette and toolset. See “Go Go Pop,” which grooves refreshingly and jazzily, and pleases fully, within a quite limited range, both sonically and lyrically. “They Made a Mistake” wins through some surprising hooks, bells and whistles.

This album was a lot of fun, some nice 80s electro hip-hop

An electronic funk spin on what feels like east coast rap to me

Didn't Mr. Bambaataa get Me-Too'd? Not that it would matter too much- Michael will never be dropped from GOAT status, so why not keep this on? This is pretty fun, but like a lot of early hip-hop, it doesn't have a whole lot of shelf life for me. I appreciate the beats and some of the production choices, but it's not one that I'll ever put on regularly. Still, when I do, it's terrific background noise. B-

Absolutely love the title track -- big fan -- was absolutely huge when I was a VJ back in the mid 1980s. Didn't find the "album" was really worthwhile, though. It's just an assemblage of singles in varying quality, none of them as good as Planet Rock.

Opener is an all time great. rest of the album doesn't hold that standard but some great musical journeys which have been so influential bringing genres together and still sounds fresh and modern despite being sampled to death. 3.9

1. Hip-hop isn't a favourite of mine. 2. Electronica isn't a favourite of mine. 3. It's dated. 4. Despite the three strikes I like this. It just sounds like they're having a whole bunch of fun and that means that the listener is having fun too. Who You Funkin' With has the funkiest bass and some of the funniest raps. I'm in the uncomfortable position of debating between 4 and 5 stars.

Damn, yeah, this was goood

Big banger

This is remains fantastic

The funky beginning to many great records

Me ha gustado más de lo que esperaba. Como hip hop rap africano, pero guay.

Here we come to yet another album with a complicated history. In terms of legacy, this album is titanic in hip-hop history, collecting a set of singles that were massively influential in developing the sound profile of early hip-hop and the electro subgenre. Afrika Bambaataa was huge in early hip-hop. Unfortunately, he was also a huge child molester, which is a sentiment that I wish I didn't have to express about so many artists on this list (seriously, what the fuck was wrong with rock stars in the 70s?). The music on the album is actually really cool given the technology that they were working with. For as much as 808s are discussed lovingly today, they often sound a bit thin on the track, but they fit in really well here, especially on Looking For the Perfect Beat. The synthesizers are similarly really cool, and the mix is really powerful. The rapping is...well it's early rap. Luckily, groups like Run DMC were about to come along and teach folks how to rap with style. Luckily, they tend to employ a lot of repetition and call and response, so the rapping generally doesn't weigh down the songs too much 4/5

funky funk that gets extra funky

This was exactly as good of a time as the album cover promised me. It's a shame the dude is a pest.

Uh oh another fun early rap album what are we to do? Uh oh more bitching cover art what are we to do?

Bizarrely, I was listening to the Swordfish soundtrack earlier today for the first time in absolute years - it has a version of Planet Rock on it, a song I am very familiar with. I was not however, familiar with any of the other songs on this album and it turned out to be startingly inventive, groovy and totally rocking in parts. Wish I could have gotten hold of this way back when I discovered electro for the first time.

interesting early hi-hop record. advanced for its period. 8/10.

A classic, but of course a little bit dated. I would say a high 4 though.

A really fun album. It is old school hip hop so it's great.

Another album that you can see throughout music and culture.

Very cool album. Enjoy every track. Wasn’t blown away or truly invested tho.

Highly influential early hip-hop.

Funky as hell. I loved the rhythms and beats of the record throughout. I was unprepared for how much I enjoyed this one.

It’s definitely a fun part album. I don’t know if I’d listen to it regularly but I can see myself coming back to it occasionally. I like how different their sound is. It can be a bit cheesy but I like that

Well this is nothing but entertaining

after the 12” songs > before the 12” songs

never ask a woman her age, a man his salary, Wikipedia why we don't hear about Afrika Bambaataa anymore If I'm going to be honest, this is pretty enjoyable 80's hip-hop for me (though I'd rank Paul's Boutique, It Takes A Nation of Millions, 3 Feet High & Rising, etc. all higher) Maybe it's just been a good day for me, or maybe it's the blend of rap, funk & electronica doing something to transcend its 80's-ness HL: title track, "Renegades of Funk", "Looking for the Perfect Beat", "Go Go Pop" December 18, 2023