Planet Rock: The Album

Planet Rock seems like a scenic destination but the consent laws there are more than disconcerting... Good thing I don't even have to suffer the temptation of vacationing there because this album might've been an inspiration to the future of Hip Hop to come, but nowadays it sounds like a manifestation of the most dated-sounding music that could physically possibly be conceived by a human Still sounds decent. Some variety. Don't touch. Ick

Good stuff.

quasi am ursprung von hip hop

Old-school hip-hop, der Name sagt schon alles. Ganz gut für die vorhandenen Mittel .

Fun album, funk + some old school hip hop vibes. Some details in the songs and instruments were genius

It was interesting to here renegades of funk (which I didn't realise was the original) and the title track, but the rest fell away.

Just hasn’t aged that well. A slightly mean 2

Not for me. Aged badly.

There might be some mid-1980s context that I’m missing that makes sense of Planet Rock, but I struggle to find anything redeeming about it. It is compositionally poor, never managing to coalesce around a pleasing melody. The vocals and samples are frequently at odds with each other. It’s zany, rambling music which never gets to the point. It grates and frustrates from beginning to end.

Afrika Bambaataa was a lot of fun and clearly ahead of its time and massively influential, a few too many silly noises and a bit too much repition of vocals for me though, i can appreciate it but i doubt i’ll return, solid 3

Nice old school hip-hop with dance and electronica. This was great to blast loud. It’s got a great energy. This album cover is great too.

Awesome soul funk album. Lots of people don't realize that "Renegades of Funk" isn't originally a Rage Against The Machine song. "All the kings horses and all the kings men will never want to funk with us again". Love this line. It really encapsulates the attitude of the whole album. I listened to this mainly between 3-4pm on a Friday, as I wrapped up some work and got ready for the weekend. It was perfect.

Even though it was repetitive, I liked it.

Every day is an old school day.

something between weird and cool

Old skool block rockers right enough: sounds very dated now but still quite a lot of fun.

Really putting that drum machine through some work

This was fun. Never new Renegades of Funk was a cover..

I loved this one. Psychadelic, funky, incredible synths, one of the pioneering old school hip hop sounds. The Kraftwerks inspirations clear but moving into new sounds and beats. The cover art is also just so fucking cool. Loved this one.

The bass eats, the rest feels repetitious. Favourite track: Who You Funkin' With?

I really wanted to enjoy this more, but the other reviews pretty much sum it up. It's amazing for its time, but doesn't really age well. Still, it's enjoyable to hear some of the OG work that's so often referenced and covered nowadays.

Apparently this Afrika Bambaataa dude is a pedophile rapist. Good thing his music sucks too or I'd have a harder time giving this 1 star.

I know it all began here- nothing that came after it would be the same..def a compilation and not an album where it feels disconnected and outlet meant for DJs. Until the second half of the album where it really picks up.

ja nein die child molesting sachen

One of my favorite old school hip hop albums. Funkier than most; incorporating 80s German synthpop with badass bass is brilliant.

This was a legitimately fun listen. Short and to the point.

This might be the worst thing I’ve ever heard. I’d rather go def than have to finish this album. I’ve heard wet farts in elevator that sounded like Caruso compared to this.

Planet Rock - 3/5 Looking for the Perfect Beat - 3/5 Renegades of Funk - 3/5 Frantic Situation - 2.5/5 Who You Funkin' With - 3.5/5 Go Go Pop - 3/5 They Made a Mistake - 2.5/5 I have a problem rating this. It no doubt deserves to be on here, influencing the hip hop and rap genres with its mixing of funk and early electronic music. I have to hold back the rating because #1 it sounds incredibly of its time (in a bad way) and #2 this guy liked to diddle kids. Can't rate it any higher than a 3. Overall: 3/5 Favorites: Who You Funkin' With

Kraftwerk meets 80’s hiphop. Very goofy soms, maar vaak ook wat boring

suprised hier, nog wel funky

3,5 heel leuk ma kwni

don’t really like this old hip hop style, feels like raising hell but less good

A lot of fun, but maybe too much fun for before 8am on a Saturday. Grinned throughout. Favourite track: Planet Rock

The beats are funky and it’s a pretty fun vibe but I can’t pretend it doesn’t sound like a “how to rap 101” introductory video, some horrendous lyricism. Still pretty fun though

More a compilation I suppose. Not quite my genre but I can appreciate the songs on here. Funky

I know it's gonna be early early hip hop which is just electronic music in my ear, essentially. The music does have energy and the funk despite being kinda sparse. I know for a fact there's no reason for these songs to be 7 minutes long unless you're on a dance floor. I get that without this I don't eventually get my favorites of BDP, all of Native Tongues etc, and it isn't a bad listen at all. In fact, of the albums on this list that are here for being influential/historically relevant/groundbreaking and not necessarily phenomenal by a modern sensibility, it's one of the better ones on my run so far. I wanna give it a 3 but boy I'm trying to distance what I learned on the wiki from the art itself and I am struggling. Melle Mel couldn't even say whether or not he knew? Damn. They got your mans.

Wow, this is outstanding and right up my street. It's dripping with influence and alignment to lots of my favourites and I've never listened to it before. That's what I love about this challenge. What I don't like is the run of wrong uns I'm on. Between this guy, Clapton, Kanye and MJ. I can't get away from the art and artist debate... This is a tough one as I understand the severity of the accusations, but also love the music and it's influence. Death of the author or moral culpability?

80s hip hop was so important for so many reasons and the onwards influence it has had on all aspects of modern life cannot be understated. But it sounds terrible

This is technically a collection of singles, but Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force were instrumental in pioneering hip-hop into the mainstream, so I guess I'll let it slide. I think most will say that this hasn't particularly aged well upon listening for the first time. I'd be inclined to partially agree. Most of these albums fall under a "you had to be there" bucket. I most definitely wasn't "there" for Afrika Bambaataa, but after simply hearing the electro-beat, hip-hop style that they brought; I can only assume that many thought he & the group were literally out of this world. This is very much alien music when you compare to what else was on the radio in the early 80's. This was experimental, yet made you want to move (or even breakdance!) This also comes at an interesting time as when I listened to this (4/16/26), news of Afrika Bambaataa's death had come just a week prior. The man also made some pretty awful choices outside of his musical career, for those unaware. Yet another "separate the art from the artist" situation... But to get back on track, this is an important album in hip-hop's history that pretty much exists as a relic now.

Influential and would be fun as party music but not really good as an album just to listen to.

feels historically important but this one was a real slog to get through. I was bored halfway through the first song. At least it was short

I’m sure this was important then but doesn’t do it for me now

Fun album.

Old school hip hop that, unfortunately, just isn't my thing. Cool to see one of the albums where the genre started, and cool to hear the original Renegades of Funk (Rage Against the Machine did an amazing cover of it), but yeah. Way too dated for my tastes.

I’ve heard of this guy. He rocks.

I did not enjoy this one very much. I understand how revolutionary and "genre-defining" it was. There are definitely some really cool artistic choices and styles that influenced hip-hop. However, I wouldn't listen to it again.

Happy funky throwback sounds from another time and space. It's amazing to me this sounds so much better to me now than when it came out.

Pretty cool album! Nothing really stood out to me, but I enjoyed the energy and the funkiness.

Cool to learn that this album is one of the main origins of the famous Roland 808 bass. Also the origins of Renegades of Funk! Some pretty big historical significance coming out of this album

I surprisingly knew one of the songs on this one from a reel of the sesame characters animated dancing in the club. That being the 6th song on the album, and the only one worth listening to in my opinion. The rest of the album I found sounded dated and not great... That last song though... so catchy... Makes me want to get down n dirty with some sick robot dance moves. 5.5/10 lol

Really funky old school hip hop, that has a lot of familiar beats. One of the few exceptions to me not liking hip hop.

This is the kind of early hip hop where I can appreciate it because of where it leads, but I don't really like it much. Beats are okay to good, but repeating the same lyrics over and over becomes tedious to listen to.

"The song "Planet Rock" was one of the earliest hits of the hip hop music genre and remains one of its pioneering recordings. " - meget funky og hygge, men også ret ensformigt

This is definitely an old-school hiphop album, as the Wikipedia article says, but it's great to hear beats like these again. Who You Funkin' With? is a JAM.

Would have be one star but it's definitely creative.

Pladder

Most likely an influential group in its day. It’s fun and happy, but unfortunately not very good in light of today’s hiphop. RATM do a considerably better version of Renegades of Funk and the album is rather drawn out

certains sons sont cool mais pas mon style pas fou

Listens: 3 Standout Tracks: Planet Rock, Renegades of Funk This album is a "missing link" discovery for me. It bridges the gap between the genres that came before modern hip-hop: soul/funk/rhythm and bass/jazz and the golden age of hip-hop that emerged in the late 80s/early 90s. I really enjoyed hearing Renegades of Funk. I honestly though that was an original Rage Against The Machine song, and so it was pretty cool and refreshing to hear what is clearly the original version The album cover is outrageously bad; its so bad its almost good.

Dance party! So fun!

Sure it’s very important and groundbreaking for its time, but so are the Beatles, whose music I do enjoy today. Hasn’t aged very well 2/5

Kinda expected more

Really not all that good. Also probably overstated how influential it was. I mean it came out in 1986, and the lead single came in '82 after plenty of hip-hop was already out.

*1986. *The first two songs ("Planet Rock" and "Looking for the Perfect Beat") were sampled by Girl Talk! (From 2008's Feed the Animals animal.) This has happened several times over the past 20 years where I finally realize where some of the songs are coming from.*1986. *The first two songs ("Planet Rock" and "Looking for the Perfect Beat") were sampled by Girl Talk! (From 2008's Feed the Animals animal.) This has happened several times over the past 20 years where I finally realize where some of the songs are coming from. *OMG I had no idea that Renegades of Funk was a cover and not an original RATM song. I feel dumb. *This is a fun album. Lots going on. RATING - 7.5/10 *OMG I had no idea that Renegades of Funk was a cover and not an original RATM song. I feel dumb.

humm ok

not for me

Very interesting not horrible but wouldn't ljsten

im not the fan of the like robotic alien space hippity hop

super fun album

Wakanda forever.

This was decent, albeit a bit dated. I find the drum machines that they always seemed to use in 80s hip-hop a bit tinny and annoying, once I start noticing it I struggle to ignore it for a while. But most of the music I thought was enjoyable, bit of a mix between funk and dance. The rapping itself didn't really grab me but can see why it's influential in the genre's development

I adore early breakbeat, but this was just far too dull. Someone rapping over an electro beat that never really goes anywhere. Looks like this album was some sort of compilation from back before hip hop "got good". It reminds me of just how bad hip-hop was before it underwent a transformation and came back strong in the "golden age". Two stars.

All one song

+1 for importance to music in general, but man this aged like milk in the desert sun

They kinda take a PFunk approach to the music with the gang vocals and high energy music. “Renegades of Funk” as a song title feels like an accurate descriptor for this project aa a whole. It was a pretty rough first half, admittedly. But I really really liked “Who You Funkin With?”, and in general the second half of the record was a good time. Except the closing “They Made A Mistake”, which sounded oddly like it belonged on a previous record. The recording and mix was all strange. 3/5, if you can get past the clunky nature of some of the late 80’s soundfonts, it’s a vibe

Not for me

wtf is this pos

1001 Albums Vol. 0026: Planet Rock: The Album ============================================================ Introduction: Twenty-five albums completed. I haven't even made a dent on this project as of yet, but I'm still proud of myself nonetheless. I've decided that I will be making one change with the achievement of listening to twenty-five albums. I'm no longer going to be putting the word "Score" after each song. I think that one using this site should be smart and knowledgeable enough in music to know what I mean when I put "3/10" or "10/10" next to a song. It's a simple change, but still convenient nonetheless. Anyway, that aside, what grand album awaits me for hitting the milestone of twenty-five? Well...um...I actually have no idea. What the hell does Planet Rock even mean? Is this going to be some Gustav Holst inspired project? Is this going to be some huge concept album that tries to portray each of the planets but in the form of rock music? Well...this is actually a hip-hop album. What the hell? Oh...I get it...the artist, Afrika Bambaataa released an extremely popular and well-regarded song by the name of Planet Rock and decided to feature the name of that song in an album. Of course...that isn't misleading in the slightest. I mean, for a second I thought I was about to listen to a whole goddamn movie soundtrack or something. Anyway, that said, this album, released by Afrika Bambaataa in 1986, is apparently considered to be an extremely influential hip-hop album. Why? I don't know yet. Seriously, who the actual hell is this guy? You cannot tell me you've heard of this man's name before this point....Anyway, um...apparently this is actually a compilation album as well? Now, now, now, hold on. I think that we can all agree on the fact that a compilation album making this list is kinda crazy, right? I mean, I've seen people who have had problems with live albums being included on the list. I myself really don't have any problem with live albums. They can be extremely influential and have great material in their own rights. But a compilation album? I mean, that's like if The Beatles were to put every single song that people consider to be their best into one compilation album and the list were to include only that. No Abbey Road, no White Album, no Revolver. Point is, a compilation album is kinda ridiculous...actually it's really ridiculous....Alright, anyway, I'm getting very off topic. I'll just put my negative feelings aside towards this album for now. Now, I will say, I have actually never heard any hip-hop related material from the 80's. The earliest hip-hop material that I've heard were all released around the early to mid-90's, so hearing material released nearly a decade earlier should be pretty interesting...actually really interesting. I'm curious if there's going to be any form of 80's-like pop present on this album. Will there be anything that gives off the vibe of Rock, Disco? Let's just get into it and see, I guess. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Track 1: Planet Rock: 9/10 Track 2: Looking For The Perfect Beat: 7/10 Track 3: Renegades Of Funk: 7/10 Track 4: Frantic Situation Score: 5/10 Track 5: Who You Funkin' With?: 6/10 Track 6: Go Go Pop: 4/10 Track 7: They Made A Mistake: 4/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conclusion: Well...this was quite the album....Sorry, compilation album. Yeah, this was quite the compilation album. The first song was pretty great and the two that followed weren't all that bad. but the second half of the album was just a complete atrocity. This was seriously a compilation album too? Are those not supposed to like...feature some of the best material that a band has put out? Well, there are plenty of compilation albums that don't do that, but you can clearly tell that this one was trying to. I mean, the literal title of the album is the group's best and most famous song. How the hell can a band genuinely be this bad? Okay, anyway, what about the actual album itself? Well, like I said in the intro, this is a hip-hop album. It's an 80s hip-hop album too which seemed pretty interesting since I had literally never heard hip-hop from the 80s before. That being said, there's a pretty good reason as to why. At least, if this album were to speak for all of 80s hip-hop, then there's a pretty good reason as to why I've never heard it before. That reason being...this is literally the most dated thing I have ever heard in my entire life. Everything here: the instrumentation, the lyrics, the vocals, all sound so incredibly dated to the point that it actually kinda blew me away while listening. Just everything about this album and its sound screams 80s. Hell, even the album cover screams something you would see in the 80s. This entire album is so dated to the point where it's almost comical. Seriously, I'd recommend giving this thing a listen just to hear how unbelievably dated this album is. Now, with that major critique out of the way, what about the album's music? It's dated....Okay seriously though...there's a lot of usage of typical hip-hop sounds, synths, alternating vocals...synths, drum machines...synths, and so on. This fact stays pretty consistent across the entire album. The instrumentation really doesn't change up all that much, just the various melodies that each song provides. There are some undoubtedly good uses of this instrumentation across the album, such as the sonic wall that is Looking For The Perfect Beat, but there's a lot of bad, bland, and boring usage of it too. Again, a lot of that may have to do with the datedness of the album, but I digress. Overall, the best way to describe the music of this album is as if 80s synths, drum-machines, and hip-hop collided into one to create this mess that just doesn't feel right. I will say, the music did have a very futuristic vibe to it at certain points. You know, you're walking in a city at night with flying cars over your head and streets lit by neon signs, that sorta vibe. That vibe that it gave off was unique and cool, but that vibe is also undoubtedly something that screams 80s as well. It's honestly kinda crazy to think how far hip-hop has come since this album's release...Anyway, there is some kinda cool blending between genres like funk and techno as well, yet hip-hop is obviously the most prominent genre of music you'll find on this album. Um...I guess the instrumentation itself is pretty well-produced and well-performed by the band....I have to give compliments to this album where I can....Well, I guess the only other thing to really mention regarding this album's music is that it's...pretty poorly written at times. There are some songs where the music is well written, such as Planet Rock and the progressive vibe it gives off, but majority of the time the music simply feels directionless and becomes boring by the end of a song. This overall feel may be due to a lack of additional instrumentation, random vocals that alternate between left and right channels, or even simply switching up the melody mid-song as is seen on the closing track. Yeah, this album is not looking good, is it? Now, with the dated as hell music aside, what about the lyrics and general themes that the album presents? Hip-hop is known for pretty poetic lyrics comparable to that of folk. Surely this album must have some great messages, right? Well...it's pretty mixed. The album has this overall theme of serving almost as a "party album". A lot of songs on here attempt to either be or simulate the type of music one would hear at a late-night party or something of the like. This, of course, leads to lyrics that feel...pretty odd to listen to in a critical sense. Like, some of these songs would serve as great things to play at a party, especially the title track, but it doesn't feel as if the lyrics were written with any intention other than that. Now, on top of that, there are some songs on this album as well that just feel...either stupid or self-indulgent when regarding their lyrics. Looking For The Perfect Beat literally talks about what it describes...except it claims that the song itself is the perfect beat. I mean, there is literally a line in that song that goes like this: "Afrika Bambaataa, I possess the perfect beat." ...Come on....The song isn't even that good too...besides the point. There are also a lot of self-inserts into each song as well which just feels a bit weird to hear across the entire album. Anyway, overall, the lyrics of this album are absolutely not its strongest point. What is this album's strongest point? Well, the vocals are actually pretty damn good. The rapping is simply just so tight, the way it works around with the beat of the songs works as well, and the singer's voice is simply pretty good as well. I mean, the rapping is just...pretty good. There's not that much more to say about it other than what I just did. Now, can the same thing be said about the entire album? Well, no, absolutely not. The production and writing is dated as hell, the lyrics are alright at best, and I personally don't ever want to listen to most of this album ever again. That being said...I can...unfortunately understand why this album is considered to be extremely influential both in the hip-hop and electro music scenes. There was undoubtedly a lot of creativity, such as the blending of various genres, that went behind this album at the time even if they can't entirely be heard nowadays. That being said, this status of being influential doesn't save this album from being bad. That factor does save this album from being my lowest rated yet, but that factor also doesn't save it from being tied with my lowest yet. (Reevaluated and have decided to move this album up from a 5/10 to a 6/10. I've warmed to it slightly) ============================================================ Planet Rock: The Album: 6/10 Song Average: 6/10

Flashback to middle school and the early days of hip hop and boom boxes. Planet Rock combined EDM with hip hop and gave it a memorable, if repetitive, beat. It laid the foundation for DJ-led music of the 80s into 90s.

I enjoyed this a high 3

Well that was fun

not for me... muy de fondo va ok.

Perhaps this album was a true pioneer in the hip hop genre, but I found it to be a bit of a mixed bag musically. Being a clear product of the 80s, there are some fun mixes of beats with synths, and I can imagine some of the songs being a good fit for parties (e.g. Who You Funkin' With). But too many of the songs aren't all that well constructed, particularly on the first side of the album. The lyrics are pretty inane, the songs go on far too long without much good reason, and there are some pretty bad production lapses where one or two of the rappers sound like they are several feet away from the mic. Altogether, this feels like a snapshot of a genre in its incubation phase. It's cool to look back on, kind of like the early mass-market cameras, but has clearly been surpassed and doesn't make for the best listening experience now.

Classic

This is really dated. It's also average at best and a little annoying. The title track wasn't bad, but the rest gets old fast.

It's amazing to listen the origins of hip-hop. If you listen this record expecting contemporary or modern sounds you'll not get it, but if you want to really understand the root of the genre this is your album

hell yeah.

One of the quintessential 80's hip-hop albums, and it lives up to the hype. Even though he's a Bad Person, I still have to judge the music on its own. 4.5 bumped up to 5.

I’m at a 3.5 that I’d like to keep there, but I’ll bump down to a 3, though I do think it could get up to a 4 if it hits a little nicer on another day. Off the gate, I’d be remiss to not mention Afrika Bambaataa’s sexual abuse allegations; they suck, he REALLY sucks, & the whole thing is sad & deeply disappointing. That said, I’m judging the music & not the man, and for as much as he sucks, this does feel like it probably introduced a lot of production tricks into hip-hop that would permeate & evolve throughout the decade & beyond, so as a piece of musical history of sorts, I can’t in good faith just slap this with a 1 because of one guy’s horrific stuff. Besides, he’s one of just 5 people on the album, so I’m willing to give the other 4 their due instead of him. As far as the album itself goes, this is sort of a time-traveling journey from 1982 to 1986 with the tracks that are on here, and a genuinely cool look at how production in the genre shifted over such a short time. If you listen to “Planet Rock”, for 1982, it’s probably kinda revolutionary. However, it feels very tame by modern standards, with party vibe lyrics, a solid drum beat & some 808s involved. There’s some really empty segments in there where the soundscape is JUST the percussion, and those moments of emptiness stick out when so much of rap is about filling the soundscape at all times. As the tracks move forward in time, those production quirks start to fill out & feel more modern, and by “Go-Go Pop”, there’s genuinely early elements of New Jack Swing being integrated into the mix. It’s just really cool to listen to. It’s also just not as compelling as I’m making it out to be; the novelty of the tracks here comes in hearing the production shift over time, and while there are some good tracks here (I think most of the first 5 tracks are pretty good, save for “Frantic Situation”), they overstay their welcome in ways where you’re kinda just left stranded with the beat & a sort of loop to the flow with a different flavor in the lyrics & vocals. They don’t really bother me, but the 5-7 minute runtimes on a lot of these tracks feel unnecessary, made to pad out the album. Obviously, I get it; I don’t think these were made for radio consumption if being played on a cassette or vinyl or a CD. They’re made for actually partying to, and that means making these the extended versions to fill time & fill the air. I do think it suffers as an album experience because of it, though. Hence, the bump down to a 3 – it’s really not a bad album, and for as much as I’m giving it, I do think it’s worth listening to just to hear some fun production shifts over time. I can understand people going as high as a 5 here, and while I don’t think I’ll get there, there’s a decent chance this album could hit a 4 for me someday if some of the later tracks click a bit more nicely.

may well have been genre 'influencing' and 'ground breaking' back in the day.....meh

CHIQUE E PIONEIRO

Não é minha geleia

Unfortunately, wasn't ready to funk it.

Спутал этот альбом с Lost Generation и влепил ему 5. Но потом осознал, что это не он, прослушал, и понял, что здесь песни не столь впечатляющи, а тексты привычно банальны для тех лет.

Renegades is an all time classic. The whole album is full of bangers. This is pure fun, and obviously a staple in the hip hop canon. Bambaataa is a piece of shit though which unfortunately sullies their legacy.

I can see why this is on here. I can hear the influences on later recordings, but not having heard it at the time it was made leaves it sounding extremely dated to my ears.

Solid interesting stuff here.

This sure in an historical record. Coming from disco music, stepping into funk and pioneering hip hop for one of the first times. It is not a well polished record, nor it is aging particularly well, but it's energetic, breathless, and fun.

bumpin!

Some good early hip hop

Terribly boring

01) Planet Rock - 7,0 02) Looking for the Perfect Beat - 6,5 03) Renegades of Funk - 6,0 04) Frantic Situation (Frantic Mix) - 5,5 05) Who You Funkin' With? - 5,0 06) Go-Go Pop - 5,5 07) They Made a Mistake - 5,0 TOTAL: 5,79 (58/100) Current ranking: 689/832

Not my vibe.

Hard for me to separate art from the artist in this one.

*Old school hip hop can sometimes sound repetitive and while this isn't immune from that, there is a nice variety and Planet Rock is an all time banger

Odd but fun, feels enjoyably old

3.5 Feels like fake rap again. The songs are actually very fun and funky. The song Looking for the Perfect Beat sounds a little built like DFTBA, which is fun. I was bopping along, it’s just kinda hard to get over how it sounds like a parody. But it’s so fun that I think I could if I kept listening

Hér er önnur sem er ekki að reyna vera neitt annað en hún er. Og hún er líka alveg í lagi og verðskuldar ekki tvist. En eins og Allman-bræðrablúsinn þá er þetta prótó-hiphop ekki mín tónlist og ég geymi því þessa til eftirlífsins, ef að verður.

Great example of early hip hop evolution, crisp beats, great riffs. A short sharp hit of 80’s electro / hip-hop excellence. 3.7

It's got a cool vibe and sound but songs are too long and it gets a bit samey after a while. Sounds like they were written for inclusion on 80s buddy cop films or something. No bad thing I suppose. Renegades of Funk is a banger.

funkiness of this album is off the charts.

- De liedjes duren veel te lang. - Ik vind het leuk hoe je de liedjes kunt horen die dit album hebben gesampled. - I understand the significance of the album and the impact that it had, but its not my style.

Nice baselines

Didn't enjoy this at all. Repetitive drum beats with annoying rap over the top. Not for me.

Well, one killer track that undoubtedly was a template for dance music of a generation, but the rest kind of pales in comparison.

A very interesting album that I thought was alright enjoyment wise. I like the atypical choices for samples and funk is basically always cool. Standouts Renegades Of Funk Who You Funkin' With 3/5

Quite liked this one. Some cool hip hop

I understand the historical importance of this album for the hip-hop movement, but it's just a bunch of people rapping over samples taken from Kraftwerk. Just listen to the seminal electronic albums made by that german group, instead.

It's alright. Funky with some nice playing of instruments but I don't think I'll be listening to it more than once.

Wasn't sure what to expect going in. This genre is outside of my normal listening habits but I really enjoyed the album.

niente di speciale ma non l’ho ascoltato benissimo, però interessante per la denuncia sociale

Aged horribly

Ah man, I reeeeally hoped that this album would live up to the sensational album cover. There were moments in the first track, particularly with those cool synths where I thought it matched well - but then it just goes on waaay too long. Then the following tracks tend to go on way too long as well. It becomes so repetitive within each individual track, and you end up feeling bored - which really does feel like a betrayal on what's seemingly promised with the album cover. Like others, I had no idea Renegades of Funk was a cover by RATM. It goes to show what a cover can be when you do something completely different, but have it still in keeping with the spirit of it. 2/5. It really has aged poorly.

Early rap and undoubtedly integral to the movements roots. Lots of fun songs but none I could see making into my permanent collections

Culturally relevant and important, if a tad repetitive.

This is another album that I found really dated, and didn’t enjoy that much. A lot of the background sounded like a video game or soundtrack, which was kind of interesting- but not my favourite. The rapping- similar to DMC- felt so slow to me!

This album felt really dated. Was so campy and I couldn’t get into it. Some of these older albums have timelessness… this wasn’t one of them. I stuck it through but mostly wanted it to end.

Old school HipHop with now we'll known samples. Yeah

Not sure who this is for, but it's not for me...

"Who You Funkin' With?" Me, apparently.

I suppose this album is historically significant and may have influenced later artists but it’s not that great. Interesting that Kraftwerk collaborated on some of the tracks.

Super fun at first but got bored pretty quickly. Maybe more a sign of the times and my mentality, but I feel how I feel.

6.5/10

Time did not treat this one kindly. Sooo 80's, cheesy rapping, awful drum machine. I get these guys were pioneers but its very repetitive and boring.

I appreciate that this album is what essentially began Hip-Hop albums, but it's basically the same bass beat on every track, and it became stale quickly. Favorite Track: "Looking For The Perfect Beat".

1.8

5 minutes is more than enough of that goofy shit

Im sorry i dont usually do this but this sucks and i cant, nay, i wont finish this album. These drum machines are making me go f$&@!ng crazy I hate this side of the 80’s

Decent grooves, but the same thing for too long.

Interesting. A 3?

I can see how this helped shape hip hop but this aged incredibly poorly to me. It would be nice if they have any lyrical depth besides “we’re the funkiest guys in town and we’re gonna party with some tunes”

File under: they don’t make albums like this anymore. It’s also so specific and weird that it felt kind of refreshing. Making this sounds like it was miles of fun.

Glad to experience this one - certainly anchored to a time and place. Would be proud to add this record to the collection.

good weird cardio music

One of the most "product of its time" albums I've heard on this site...and no, in this case, it's not a good thing.

Why are these songs so long? They don't really say much but the same thing over & over. Do I need a 7 minute song about finding a perfect beat? Not really. Incredibly dated beats & flow. Renegades of Funk is the best song. Rage just did it better & rightfully trimmed it down. Frantic Situation is alright & Who You Funkin' With? Is fun. I like the Funk puns. This seems to have all the clichés of early hip-hop & rap. Having to introduce almost every rapper who shows up. Silly simplistic flow. It's kinda funny seeing the awkward years of this genre. All the genres have their awkward years. I'm giving this a 2 but I can't wait for it to end. It's painful how long some of these songs are.

Fun, old school hip hop but just not my thing

a fine formula that overstays its welcome

Funk 100% funk

< the Beatles I wanted to like this so much but it is the most cliche kind of hip hop that people make fun of. I was waiting for someone to say "my name is mc chill and I'm here to say" that said, it was cool to hear the original Renegades for the first time.

In contrast to some older albums on this list, Planet Rock sounds pretty dated to me. Nothing really stands out.

30/01/2026 I can't say I enjoyed this very much. Spotify listeners: Afrika Bambaataa: 571.5k The Soulsonic Force: 428.9k

Not really my dope but one or two songs are nice Song I like: Go go Pop

I assume that for the time period when this was made, this would be really impressive. And it is very catchy. There are some production things I don't love, but I think that's just a limitation of the technology at the time. I get what they were trying to go for. It would get a 3, however reading the other reviews talk about how he's a massive pedophile makes it lose a point.

I can appreciate what's happening here, but this was not my definition of a good time.

I'm gonna play this on my birthday this year hahaha. Real 80's house dancing music. I loved it.

I really quite liked this. The first track, and most of the album, is a complete mess. Weird vocals, inconsistent samples. But I love a complete mess. The second track Looking for the Perfect Beat had a great synth in it. And I realised I started to recognise so many samples - either used here or from here. Renegades of Funk I obviously knew from the (superior) Rage cover but this was enjoyable. Then I learned about the child abuse. But objectively I was going to give this a 4 before I learned that so I'll stick with it.

This was quite a lot to listen to. There was some great 80s sounds. Particularly the kraftwerk synths in the opening track (kraftwerk probably did that in the 70s, but whatever), plus the odd bit of wild hair rock guitar solo. But in the end they were long songs that meandered around a lot and that made them hard to follow. I think there are other examples of this style that sit easier on my ears. It's pretty interesting listening to renegades of funk and comparing it to the rage version, which I much prefer, but that's just my tastes. However it is also telling that the rage version has half the running time.

Nah.

This album reminds me of my Tio's backyard. The parties my parents would dance all night to the music bumping loud on speakers. The DJ scratching at the ones and twos and every adult in my family awkwardly moving their bodies to the groove. Personallu, this album drips with nostalgia. This record was the background to me playing with my cousins running around causing trouble while my parents we're toopreoccupied to take notice. It reminds me of good times; however, I am a person who cannot separate art from its artist or I suppose I simply refuse to. And therefore, for that reason and the allegations, this alb I m a nothing for me.

This album is still two years shy of Yo! MTV Raps with Fab 5 Freddy. Clearly created in the early to mid 80s, this album documents an important moment in time in early hip hop.

Early hip hop album that established the sound and culture of New York hip hop. Creative drum patterns and groove for the electronic music

ICHI NI SAN SHI -reaches levels of FUNK never before recorded

Bangin

Neat

Old skool hip hop - historically important but not great listening in my experience. Some good tracks on here though.

Holy unc shit. Das ist gealtert wie Milch in der Sonne 1/5

This was a great album to listen to, and it still somewhat feels from the future in some ways. However, there is also no denying its historical significance and influence. It is a great album with great music, hooks, and I think it holds up better than some hip-hop made several years later.

Oh man - never heard the original Renegades of Funk! But this sounds soooo dated.

I’m not the greatest lover of hip hop and this album to my ears was dreadful. Reading up on it I see that it was quite influential on later artists. I was familiar with ‘renegades of funk’ from RATM. I find the cover version much more enjoyable and biting… This did send me on a journey listening to RATM, so not all lost. Rating 1 star for the renegades. Best track - renegades of funk.

This didn't really do enough for me, the beats weren't funky enough

A compilation album on the list? A nice collection pulling together 4 years of Afrika Bambaataa 12" singles and showing us the best of early hip-hop. Arthur Baker is prominent on the early tracks using beats that he would use elsewhere (yes, I'm looking at you New Order).

Old hip hop album

This is one of the more unique albums on this list! Planet Rock is a catchy mix of electronic and hip hop. There is something about this album that makes it sound so fresh, even though it's 40 years old, but old school hip hop has a unique sound that allows it to remain unspoiled decades later. I mean, it helps that Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force are just having a fun time! Interestingly, the title song reminded me of Prince's Diamonds and Pearls album, released 5 years later in 1991.

I enjoyed the funky electronic mix going on here! In addition, the vocals were somewhere between 80s R&B and hip-hop, too. A bit of a hot take, but this kind of thing is far more interesting to me than most of Kraftwerk's discography that has been featured on this project.

Die Bewertung fiel mir schwer. Stellenweise hatte es echt Spaß gemacht, dann wiederum war es auch oft nervig.

Teilweise so cheesy, dass ich es schon wieder mochte. Und jetzt weiß ich endlich mal, von wem das Original zu "Renegades Of Funk" ist.

nah

picks: planet rock, looking for the perfect beat

3 stars

Really good. A lot of Inspo came from this project.

I see how it was very early to the hip-hop wave, but it's just not very good. Not a semblance of structure besides the annoyingly bland drum machine.

Owes as much to Arthur Baker as it does to Afrika. Hip hop from the dawn of time

Planet Rock - awesome

Not my vibe, but okay overall :>.

I think it is worth noting that these songs were recorded in 1982, not 1986. There is a lot to appreciate here - there's some genre bending, Afro Futurism, an effort to make rap more musical just to name a few. It is at the same time incredibly dated. Obviously it did not take hip hop much longer to evolve well past this, and it sounds quite dated. But I do want to recognize the important role this music played in the formation and elevation of the genre.

Let's be honest, it's a little shit. With how I've rated previous albums and how long it has been since I've given an album anything below 3, I tried to find good reason to give this a 2. But I couldn't help liking it, or parts of it, at least a little bit. Maybe I'm just a changed man. I'll give it 3

well that was fun futuristic funky

Classic

Found the first half decent background music. Solid beats but nothing over the top. Turned it off when I learned of allegations against the artist.

5/10

It was technically alright, but not to my tastes.

J'adore le hip hop old school c'est trop dar

Such a classic, love that album since i was a little boy! thanks for that remind!

I already knew the "Renegades Of Funk" cover by Rage Against The Machine. This version did not sound even close to the same. I don't know if the non-12" mixes are better versions or not. The 12" versions are a bit long and the remixes are possibly not as good? This album as a whole was ok.

Litt gøy, litt uvørent, på en måte, æ vet ikke, det gjorde ikke varig inntrykk, men va på ingen måte kjedelig og kjipt? (Nu når æ har hørt over 200 album innser æ kor mange av dem æ ikke egentlig bryr mæ om, som sådan? Så mange av dem kor det e vanskelig å si nokka særlig fordi æ ikke e utprega positiv eller negativ.)

Not at all my thing. Really boring. 2 stars.

80’s rap

It was, I know because I was there. No longer.

Before listening: never heard of this one, wiki is different than what I was expecting based on the cover art. During Listening: OH SO THIS IS THE BLUEPRINT. After Listening: that was fun, my head was bopping along. Love the out of world sounds while staying true to the funky, rock, hip hop sound. Before listening: 0/7 songs saved After listening: 0/7 songs saved (I can appreciate the album but don’t care to add it to my daily rotation.)

Listened to the entire album. Definitely knew the first track. Had no idea who this was, definite influencers in the hip hop scene. Prefer RATM version of Renegades.

I love the cover of Rage Against the Machine’s “Renegades of Funk” 😝

Not something I’d listen to on a regular basis. I have listened to this many times in the past. Very influential and you can tell. Listen to Renegades of Funk by Rage if you haven’t heard that before.

Not an unenjoyable listen but seemed to be pretty basic. I can't speak towards the impact that this album had on rap as I wasn't alive when it came out.

Full of classic hip hop beats and the classic sound of the TR-808. You can hear so many artists that are both contemporary and influenced by this sound. Definitely Herbie Hancock vibes. But Beastie Boys, Run DMC and even a bit of Nena Cherry. I wasnt sure I was going to, but I really enjoyed this album.

What a crazy album. I love this scifi thriller in the middle of the 80s. It's well-executed in the old school rap way and fun sound effects. Quite novel for the time, I think.

Man, the album cover made promises it couldn't keep but it was totally fine. I really wanted to like this more but sounds like they forgot what bass was lol.

Even my love of the song Planet Rock cannot redeem this album. I definitely do not see the influence this had on anything else. The beats are boring, the raps' cadence monotonous and the lyrics were trite. Easy 1/5

Beastie boy vibes

I spent most of this one checking to see how long was left to go which probably isn’t a good sign.

Fun, solid album

Pretty great classic hip hop DJ set but nothing really else to say about it

Historically significant, but not good.

So, this was goofy as fuck. But it grew on me. Even though by today's standards, it has kind of a "Ross Geller with a Casio" vibe, I just know it was massive back in '86. This is by no means hard-hitting hip-hop, and not something you'd throw on just for fun-sies. But it's absolutely something you should listen to before you die. I lost count of the number of moments I've heard other rappers quote from this thing, or even just from pop culture in general. Fave tracks: - Renegades Of Funk - Frantic Situation - Who You Funkin' With? - They Made A Mistake

I like a bit of this, but then they beat the hell out of it. I understand it's because this is primarily dance music. But I'm n not listening to it on the dance floor. I'm at a desk or in a car or something, and this gets old fast. I really like some of this early hip-hop that was still positive and fun. I like Newcleus much more than this, still dance-y and fun, but a bit more listenable for longer times. same time/era. I gotta give this a 2. It's not terrible, but each track overstays its welcome and 40 minutes is too long to listen to this sober.

I thought I would like it more than I did but wasn't bad.

Kinda fun

Nope, sounds like kids making noise with pots and pans

🌟🌟 everything sounds the same, listening high must be a flash jdjsjsj

80s hip-hop often sounds very dated to me, but I enjoyed this despite the slightly cheesy production.

Very mid 80s rap. You can just tell immediately what era this is from.

It's hard to describe Afrika Bambaataa without using the word 'seminal'. More artists than you can shake a stick at cite him as an influence or the reason they got into hip-hop and rap in the first place, and he's one of the most sampled artists in the genre. This album takes you back to practically when it all started, with more rap collabs, horns, electro, beats and funk than you can picture. But it never feels *too* much; AB lets it flow like a mighty river. Check it out.

RATM reference?

First listen around I wasn't impressed, but this time around I really enjoyed it more by taking it for what it is. It's rough and the beats are comparatively basic to what we have now, but once you get past that it's a really fun album. Equal parts Parliament and Run-DMC, I really dig the Afrofuturism vibe going on here. Dope album cover and some simple and hard beats here. Other artists took this style and massively improved it, but this isn't a bad album by any means. Point extra to compensate for it's low rating here.

Clubs must have gone crazy to this

Hmmm. Not really my thing. It’s ok - maybe of it’s time! Flight of the Concords inspired by this?

Again, influential but it's not pulling up trees now

Almost started break dancing

it has its place, i guess

This album gets "decades of child molestation" out of 5

Kraftwerk was just fine without being extended to 8 minutes and having people yell over it, thank you very much

Dated

The house kept rocking for me

This was as expected. Planet Rock itself is one of the greatest records ever made, and the rest of this album sounds like Planet Rock. So...job done, but I didn't feel like I was hearing anything new or challenging.

The perfect beat, so to speak. This sounded like the future in 1983, and still feels the same now. the beats are so crisp. There's also some half decent rhythms behind all the pulsating electronica. All good groups need a persona. The Soul Sonic Universe added to the mystery by building comic book characters around the music. Recent years have sadly soiled the legacy.

Loved this. Brought me back to my youth and the Streetsounds Electro compilations (which should be reissued and made widely available!). Familiar with Bambaata through those comps, but never heard an album until now. Definitely of its time but very enjoyable!

Слушал, но не очень запало.

Still holds up pretty well honestly, lots of cool shit going on sonically I would love to hear this on a big surround sound system, legitimately cool as fuck. Only giving it a 3 because I’m not sure I’ll revisit it any time soon but glad I heard it

Banger. Old school at it's finest. It's almost 40 years old, of course it sounds dated. Extra stars for the Kraftwerk music.

Musically significant but does sound dated now

cool erstes lied is bisschen tbk 7/10

In the category of “more like a neat historical document than a good listen”, but I’d much rather have that every day than a different English electronic duo every day.

nogal eentonig

I mean... this is the sort of music you make with two buddies in your room when you get high. It's stupid fun, but I don't see why it's on this list. Heard worse.

3.7

As a historical and influential album on the Electro and Hip Hop genres this is an important one. Obviously, now, it sounds so dated but it's a pioneering album, and you have to start somewhere. Some interesting sounds and beats for 1986.

Oldest of old school back when it was all peace and good vibes. A bit tedious after awhile but I enjoyed it pretty much all the way through.

Loose collection of prior singles. Some great tunes, but didn’t really feel cohesive.

Does everything, and none of them well. A slop of sounds.

I did NOT know renegades of funk was originally made by this group, what a blast. bumps from front to back

It was cool to finally listen to one of the pioneers of hip hop. Had no idea RATM covered Afrika’s ‘Renegades of Funk’ but it totally makes sense.

Influential? Sure. Good? No. Best Song: Planet Rock Rating: 3/10 Stars: 2

хуй зна вроде репчик культовый, но мне прохладно от него становится в районе жопы

That was a fun experience on my new Super Bass headphones on the subway to work. Seeing as how I may call gangly old white guy that dresses like a goth the quizzical looks I got from the Black Folk was entertaining. It was interesting to hear the source material of samples and cover songs that I have not known the origin of

Ok. Very 80’s hip hop. The songs were too long and too repetitive though. I had heard Planet Rock before.

Love the first song, the next few are just ok. Then Go Go Pop is lit.

This was pretty solid.

I guess deep down, we are all renegades of our time and age. Poppinsockinrockinwithasideofhiphop!

This is fantastic - pretty sure I recognized every track from something - clearly influential!

fine but nothing special

Cool

or a record that basically helped redraw the map for hip-hop, electro, and club music, Planet Rock: The Album is a weird listen in 2025. You can hear the seismic impact in the DNA of everything that came after it, yet the album itself doesn’t quite land as a timeless experience. The innovations are obvious; the staying power is… patchier. The production feels tethered to its era in a way other pioneering albums somehow escape. The synthetic textures that once sounded like transmissions from the future now feel more like artifacts from a very specific, neon-lit past. And that mix? There are stretches where the vocals feel tucked so far back they might as well be calling from the next galaxy over. It’s tough to connect emotionally when the record keeps hiding the storytellers behind the circuitry. Still, credit where it’s due: this thing changed the landscape. You don’t have to love every minute of it to acknowledge you’re listening to a cornerstone. But historical importance and personal enjoyment are different scorecards, and this one just doesn’t hit with the same inevitability as the true heavyweights on this list. Verdict: A respectful nod, a solid listen once, but not remotely a timeless classic for your own rotation. Probably a 3-ish—impact: huge, replay value: limited.

I had It Takes A Nation Of Millions … yesterday, and this really does not compare at all well. Also, I was very confused why they were so obsessed with gloves until I checked out the band members. Quite shit, really.

Cool. Brings me back.

Dårligt, men ikke kedelige space hip hop. Sejt cover, men indpakningen snyder.

Det har uden tvivl været ekstremt betydningsfuldt for Hip-Hop (og Rap-metal). Men det lyder satme ikke godt. Niveau mæssigt vil jeg placere det lige omkring og måske lidt under MC Einar og Rockers By Choice. Det har ikke den charme som Rapper’s Delight har og rammer mig ikke som Grandmaster Flash’s The Message gør. Personligt syntes jeg Run-DMC holder langt bedre i dag end det her. Det er nok ikke helt uden årsag at Afrika Bambaataa ikke er det Old School Rap jeg har hørt.

I can really hear the sugar hill gang and run DMC in this album and can appreciate what it leads to but wouldn’t listen to it again

Familiar with several of the tracks, but never the album. Sweeeet.

More rap boys I've never heard of. Based on the era and album art, I can imagine what it sounds like. And that's exactly what it sounds like. It sounds rather silly, but I can see why people would have e enjoyed it in the 80s. It's supposed to have been influential, so I'll take your word for it. Still, it's a lot less remarkable than the rap music which I'm more familiar with from just a few years later. This makes me think of Police Academy 4, but without the funny bits.

This was ok. I know it’s groundbreaking. More fun than I expected but probably wouldn’t revisit?

I gave one track a listen. Yep. It’s dated. It may be sampled like crazy now, but it doesn’t hold up.

I feel like I've heard this album hundreds of times, although it's the first time I've ever sat and listened to the whole thing. A few times I broke into singing songs that were influenced by this. Gets repetitive, and most of the songs are long. Easy to let the songs fade into the background as there isn't much depth to the lyrics. Historically important, but not a terribly compelling listen. Would probably be a good album to use when I'm out walking.

A fun album to listen to with recognizable beats. Not sure why the average rating is so low on this one.

I understand the historical significance of Afrika Bambaataa, but a hip. hop. a hip hip hop. a hibby to the hop and ya just don't stop. My name is Lance Taylor and I'm here to say that it's time to rap in an old school way! 🤓 And I never stop being embarrassed.

Decent beats but the songs are too damn long

A couple absolute classics here - the first 2 tracks are excellent. That said, for only 7 tracks in total, it feels like a really long album due to the repetitive nature of the songs and sounds. Epic for the time it was released, however, at this point, just something that I value for the importance of it, but not because I want to give it a daily spin.

I always wondered why Rage Against the Machine had the audacity to claim they had anything whatsoever to do with funk, especially claim they were renegades of the genre. The riddle has been solved! The arrangement makes far more sense in this context. This is an excellent early hip hop album. I personally love old school hip hop and approach the later manifestations from a close distance. The original pioneers not only had a message, they wanted to party and have fun at the same time. This thing has been sampled to death, proving its influence simply in how ingratiated it’s become in musical culture. To those here saying they don’t like it because it sounds dated… well, everything will sound dated at some point. I like to come to music from the perspective that it’s new, if it’s new to me. How would people have heard this when it dropped? It would have sounded like the future. And simply, it was, hence the prevalence of rap in popular music over the last few decades. Then, there’s the issue about the sexual assault, the known secret from anyone with any connection to Afrika. Dude. I mean, Jesus, dude. This raises once again the eternal question about the separation between art and the artist. Can someone who’s watched and loved all of Woody Allen’s work still come unbiased to say, a viewing of Manhattan, knowing he’s done what he’s done? Can someone appreciate the great performance of OJ in Roots, knowing he’s a murderer? Do I even need to bring up Michael Jackson? Is the guy an immortal, or someone society should try to forget? Ughhh. You just don’t throw away gold like Thriller or Billie Jean. But, the victims were real, and one feels as if they’re participating in the suppression of the victims when they enjoy art made by any of these freaks. A big part of me cannot separate the art from the artist. If I could, I’d rate this as a four. If I were to stand by the victims, I wouldn’t rate this at all. Instead, I’ll default to a neutral three, which is what I do for absolute classics that are more ‘mandatory listens’ rather than albums I actually like, like say Fats Domino.

I actually enjoyed this a decent amount, even more than the Run DMC album. 3.5 rounded up

I was going to give this a five-star just for how funky this thing is, but it turns out Afrika Bambaataa has been credibly accused of trafficking children. So, that's not great.

These are some of the coolest hip hop beats I've ever heard. The problem is, as it is with a whole sub genre of hip hop albums on this list, is that the rapping is absolute trash. I know that it's from a different era and you can't compare this to something like Kendrick, but even for early stage rap this is garbage. I would love to hear this sampled by someone more modern who can actually flow. Really wanted to like this more, but I honestly found it annoying.

While Kraftwerk were recording Techno Pop that year,they managed to find time to re-record live at the studio melodies of Trans Europe Express and rhythmic beats from Numbers for Afrika Bambaataa's album.I want to believe as a fan of both, that they maybe influenced one another.Kraftwerk had acknowledged that the future in dance music was in hip hop and proto-house evolution.So this album is actually a bridge.That's why is on the list. Planet Rock has famously included Kraftwerk recording live ''Trans Europe Express''melody and rhythmic beat of ''Numbers'' on this,instead of just using samples.A historical moment of genius collaboration.Like a jam session that takes a bit too long though.Electro-Funk hip hop result. Looking for the Perfect Beat,has also Kraftwerk ''Trans Europe Express'' melody and some beat re-recorded for the album.And fits like a glove.Long version here again,was probably for club use but i quite enjoyed this one!Powerful and innovative. Renegades Of Funk (The Latin Rascals Remix),The Latin Rascals produced a remix of the original featuring restructured beats, added percussion layers, and extended mixes.Great thing is, that you can hear Kraftwerk influences only in this one but it fits perfectly with the two previous ones. Frantic Situation (Frantic Mix),you can actually hear some proper vocals at times in this one.Great arps. and groovy,funky bass. Who You Funkin' With? has hip hop beats in a more downtempoed fashion.No heavy electronic stuff.Guitar is great along with the scratching every now and then.Contains samples of "Holy Ghost" by Bar-Kays and "Bustin' Loose" by Chuck Brown and The Soul Searchers. Go Go Pop,proper oldschool with Trouble Funk and Tommy boy i think, with great vocals, cow bells and popish disco funk(extended)structure,Brilliant. They Made A Mistake has great electronic elements,beats,some sampled wah wah guitar and again funky bass. Though AB's rapping might sound silly especially with all this fx(it's the 80's though),this is a serious record for that time. 5/5

Super cool. Very live-concert vibe. Very unabashedly weird. How these ideas emerged from his brain amazing me.

1.9 I'm sorry, but this is terrible. It's aged so poorly, what might have once sounded quite futuristic hasn't quite cut through to today. Planet Rock just doesn't impress hearing it for the first time in 2025, unlike the Kraftwerk-esque backing.

Definitely old school. Definitely dated. He’s also a bad dude by all reports. Renegades of Funk was fine but Rage Against the Machine’s version is better.

Cool sounding album. Interesting to hear they wrote Renegades of Funk. I don't know if it's masterpiece but it had a good vibe.

This is fun. Maybe a little sloppy at times, but it's all about the energy. Big, influential album.

Die Aufnahmen für „Planet Rock – The Album“ entstanden in verschiedenen New Yorker Studios, darunter Intergalactic Studio und Unique Recording Studios. Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force stammen aus den USA und verbinden auf diesem Album Electro, frühen Hip-Hop und elektronische Club-Ästhetik. Prägend sind Stücke wie „Planet Rock“, „Looking for the Perfect Beat“ und „Renegades of Funk“, die den charakteristischen Synth-Sound und die rhythmische Strenge der Produktion tragen. Insgesamt wirkt das Album als konzentrierter Blick auf eine Phase, in der elektronische Klänge und Straßenszene eng zusammenfanden.

It was OK

It’s hard to listen to an album/ artist when they have been accused of something as awful as sex abuse of children. I was enjoying it a bit until I read that then I was put off it completely and felt bad for listening to it.

Absolutely key to understanding hip hop.

I was/am an 80s kid. Music shouldnt make you feel tired this fast. Harsh, jarring, tinny and remorslessly aggressive. Only listen out of curiosity to hear how far we've come in pop electronic hip hop. But if old scool hip hop was mid 70s to mid 80s, is this (1986) supposed to stand out as an examplary or seminal work form the period. I sspect its ill chosen. Or the genre is weaker and more discordant than I thought? a hit album apparently. doesnt work on me. But... makes me appreciate all the more other electronic / synth musis of the era . there was Jean Michelle Jarre, Vangelis, Kraftwerk, New Order, I know these are not hip hop. I dont really know hip hop. I dont htink I want to know any more. I think i might need to listen to Rhapsody in Blue as an antidote. Can someone suggest an antidote? I needs colour lyrcism and human warmth, music to tell a story, and move the soul.

This album skirts pretty close to the bone on Dimery's "no compilations" rule., but I don't mind that. Many innovative forms, and especially black innovators, work mostly in the singles medium and are underserved by the "albums only" format of this list. That is true of early hip hop, which was definitely a singles format, but you could also say of many black artists (see also Little Richard, James Brown, Chuck Berry, etc). I looked at the album and presumed this would be a few previously released singles, padded out with a few filler tracks. Not strictly a compilation, but a way for Afrika Bambaataa to squeak onto the list through a technicality, but I'm not upset by that. I was 16 in 1986 and living in Australia. We didn't get to hear a lot of hip hop, but I was entranced by what I did. I was aware of 'Planet Rock' and, if I had been able to source a copy of this album, I totally would have dug it at the time. I loved the heavy drum machine and electro sound that 'Planet Rock' established in 1982 and set the template for much of hip hop for the next five years or so. I listened to exactly this kind of music wherever I could get it around 1986, and this was right up my alley (although my tastes have progressed a bit since then). It was fun to revisit this sound, which I haven't really listened to in decades, but I got back into it. And I got halfway through the album and suddenly my ears pricked up; what the hell is that? it sounds like.... Tackhead. I _loved_ the industrial funk band Tackhead in the late 80s. I memorably saw them play at Base Nightclub in Sydney in 1989. I knew that some members had been in the Sugarhill label house band, but this sounds like Tackhead proper. And, checking the credits, sure enough 'Who You Funkin' With?' and 'They Made A Mistake' were produced and played by Fats Comet a.k.a. Tackhead! Well, what a joy to hear new tracks by one of my all-time favourite bands, otherwise unrepresented on this list. That pushes this album from a 3 to a solid 4. It's going on my want list.

I like how this one sounds - this one is a lot of fun. But you do start to wonder about halfway through if these songs are all so long because they ran out of ideas for a full album.

Couldn't get into this one. The rhythms weren't interesting enough, and each song overstayed its welcome.

Vilde beats og et af hip hops første album, meget god vibe. Kraftwerk sample!!!

- Ugh, sex trafficking & child molestation. So many creeps on this list. - I like breakbeats, and this has been sampled a ton. On the other hand, it’s really dated, and the songs go on too long and aren’t super memorable.

Surprisingly light with an up beat, nevertheless it did not ring my bell.

Hugely influential, but it doesn't stand the test of time. 3

Hip-hop pioneer he may be - and so much music from other artists clearly owes a debt to Bambaataa's work - but this collection has not aged well at all. Dated and dull, the allegations against Afrika only serve to sour any appreciation for this even music further.

Generally, I am not Hip Hop's biggest fan, even though I find old school Hip Hop generally much more agreeable. Still, this album leaves me shrugging. 2/5