The Message

He went to the hat store, and he bought himself a hat HA HA. HA HA.

The hip hop songs It's Nasty, It's a Shames and, especially, The Message are the main event. It's great to hear a rapper dealing with substantive matters rather than rapping about getting more ass than a bedpan. A friend introduced me to funk in high school so the first track works well. Scorpio sounds dated but was it original in 1982? The distorted vocals are the same as talk box sounds that were around long before 1982. Digging a little deeper, the song does have some really cool synth rinsed percussion but the synth created laser sounds were done previously on Rock the Casbah (The King called up his jet fighters . . .). I could live without the "romantic" songs ("Dreamin" and "You Are") but I understand others like such songs. The cover photo is a work of art. I remember having a boom box that I would carry with me when I walked / took the bus to the beach.

WOOHOO! Let's party! I can deal with life, yes! I'm gonna create an agenda for this meeting, and it's gonna be awesome. I'm not going to just deal with life, naw man, i'm gonna CELEBRATE IT! My party is started ya'll, and it ain't slowin down. Rock the meeting, rock the minutes, record the zoom, you know i'm in it! What you say about no email? I sent that mail, but I'll send it again! I don't even need to forward the orig, I love you all, without a hitch! Yo! What's that now? You want to zoom again about what I just sent? Who's that there that doesn't to read? Is it an impulsive boss with more time than me? I ain't even mad you let's chit chat! You wanna rehash yo I'm good with that! But now the party's chillin', things are slowin down, it's getting weird in here but I know why now. We gotta take a break so we can get close. It's time to find love, it's time to organize notes. It's boring, true, but there's peace in here, I gotta push through just to keep you near. CELEBRATE! I got those notes collated! Details revised, tasks designated! I'm checking off boxes, I'm setting the course, I'm takin over this project with no remorse!

I feel like this had to be one of the most underrated rap albums from the 80s. When most people talk about rap from the 80s, I feel like the only ones that they bring up are the members from N.W.A. I can understand why, but they're not the holy grail of rap music. Most people only give a shit about two tracks they've made, and they certainly don't give a shit about their second album. This is not to downgrade their legacy since I love Dre and Ice Cube, but I think that they got better inte 90s. Here, this album is less of a gangsta-rap album and more of a jazz-rap album. Gangsta-rap is cool as shit, but I just love jazz-rap so much. This might be because I've listened to To Pimp A Butterfly so many times lately, but hearing a saxophone in a rap-track makes me cum. That's one of the best things about the album, the production is fucking amazing. On one track you either get a jazzy feel, but on the other you get a track that sounds like something that Daft Punk would make. It's just so damn refreshing hearing it, since it makes this album less dull. The signing that they do is beautiful, and it shows that the guys are super fucking talented at what they do 10/10

"Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five" despite there clearly being SEVEN PEOPLE on the album art. Which one is it, huh?! They are clearly trying to hide something from us. I will not stand for it.

Stellar album - funky, lucid, soulful. In the past ‘The Message’ felt like a novelty song - good but a one off showcase of the Furious Five - but it’s just the facade to a much more three dimensional album. Loved every song.

This is similar in a lot of ways to the Pharcyde album. Love the beats, although they sound a bit dated, and the lyrics are at times tragic. But the big difference is their lyrics are so plain vanilla. I mean, even songs called She's Fresh or It's Nasty are incredibly tame. Dreamin was too cheesy of an ode to Stevie Wonder although You Are got it right. But I guess all of it is better than inappropriate stuff. I just wish the album had more edge and made you think. The title track does - and that's why it is a classic - and It's a Shame too, but other tracks could do more. Scorpio was a bit too electronic at times but it might have been my favorite. All in all, I enjoyed it but it could have been 5-star if it consistently had more depth.

It's a fun album, it's significant but far from great. A lot of inspiration for the future of hip hop here. The Message is an amazing track.

I am a big fan of Doug Wimbish, so naturally I was looking forward to finally hearing his bass in this. It's nice to finally get the context of the other songs besides the famous song "The Message". Yeah, some of the songs are a bit dated, but they still work. The album is 40 years old, and it definitely feels it. It's not one that transgresses its years. The synths I think really hold it back, really. Still, it's a good album, one I will come back to (except them meeting Stevie Wonder, that seems kinda stalker-ish...)

Not bad, more varied than I would have guessed due to the two somewhat incongruous soul numbers in the middle, one of which is either a weird love song to Stevie Wonder or a Rutles-level sarcastic parody. The highlights you know and can be found on any Sugarhill compliation.

Pioneers of rap. Some of this is really good and fun. Other stuff is unbearable.

Das ist unglaublich scheiße

Early rap has a pioneer thrill to it. It feels like a hot summer day in New York City in the early 80’s and everything is about to explode into the biggest party you’ll ever see. It’s all in front of you. This album in particular feels thoroughly groundbreaking with its cool Soul, early Rap, 80’s synth manipulations and use of samples like Genius Of Love and Another One Bites The Dust. On Dreamin’ when he said “this one goes out to Stevie Wonder…because he’s the greatest” I said out loud YES! He IS!! I mean it’s such a simple and sincere sentiment to express their love for that legendary musician. The world needs more love fests like it. After repeated listens, this record holds way the hell up. 5 stars!

Alright couple of songs but aint feeling it as whole

The Message saves this album

Started out really strong, got a little weird, then finished pretty good but fresh was the real banger of a song

Rating: 5/10 Mixed bag album. This album is great when it's funky, dance-y, and when there's rapping. The rapping and production during these three songs was great and a lot of fun to listen to. The other five songs are incredibly underwhelming, sounds like the group's attempt to appeal to a wider audience by incorporating more R&B elements, which sound very derivative and boring. Favorite songs: She's Fresh, It's Nasty, The Message. Worst songs: Scorpio, You Are.

This album is super fun. It's a nice mix of celebrating their music and themselves, addressing societal/cultural issues, and even honoring women (and also Stevie Wonder)! All in a funky fresh, totally early 80s way, and every song sounded different. Great listen!

Cet album a parfaitement accompagné mon trajet jusqu'à la gare où mon train m'attendait dimanche dernier. Comme vous le savez probablement, Robert Dimery, fondateur de la communauté des 1001 albums, m'a chargé d'enquêter sur mon compagnon d'écoute eldiocèse qu'il souçonnait d'avoir lancé plusieurs générateurs clandestins. Ses soupçons se sont avérés puisque j'ai bel et bien réussi à infiltrer l'un d'eux appelé "Pop/Rnb/FR". Robert en a été informé et une milice est actuellement en route vers le domicile d'eldiocèse.

I was surprised to find out that the album had such saccharine ballads, let alone any ballads at all, that are seemingly RnB influenced and remind me of something in the vein of the '70s Isley Brothers.

So I found “The Message” to be an incredibly odd album, but it was an interesting journey to be sure… Had heard a few songs from this album, but was not aware they were from this one – so it was all new to me until those tracks came on… First thought was how exceptional the audio quality of the recording was – as that is not a given in the world of rap, especially in the early 80’s… Second thought was, the top vocalist delivered some awesome vocals, and I really appreciated his style – as he was head and shoulders above the other singers on the album… “She’s Fresh” opened the album just fine, nothing exceptional – but fairly well done for what I thought was going to be the 80’s version of a late 70’s funk album… Then “It’s Nasty” came on, and the familiar keyboard riff that I always thought was created by the Tom Tom Club comes on… Nice touch, and really helped the track – but turns out – they Grandmaster Flash just lifted from the Tom Tom Club’s 1980 track “Genius Of Love”… C’est la vie, but rap sorta does that – and it is a great riff, but would have been more impressed if Grandmaster had created it… “Scorpio” & “It’s A Shame” were fine, though pretty dull – but I guess the synthesized lyrics must have been inventive for 1982… Maybe not – but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt… Then it was as if someone scratched their fingers across a chalkboard, and the decent vibe of the album came to an abrupt stop… “Dreamin” was apparently a song they felt they needed to record as an homage to Stevie Wonder… Sure Stevie probably deserves some love – but NOT like this, and I doubt that Mr. Wonder appreciated this dreadful excuse of a song… Words cannot even begin to describe how truly horrific this actually is… As my good friend Keith is fond of saying, “…That is fucking terrible…” That was followed by another miserable effort called “You Are” – which was some sort of religious dirge… Not like some old-time church experience, just an awful preachy, “…do you accept Jesus Christ as your savior…” sort of experience… I didn’t need that experience… It was clear on those two truly awful tracks, that the artist felt REALLY compelled to record them… Sorry – but this little detour came pretty close to totally ruining the entire album for me… And then we got to “The Message” – which I have always held in high regard, just don’t think I even knew the exact title… Love the vocals, love the backing track, love the lyrics – and overall, it’s just a magical song… Also really appreciated the genuineness of the lyrics…. Just describing the experience, no bragging about how “fire” their rhymes were, no glamorizing “thug life” – just authentic portrayals of a unique life experience… So well done all-the-way around… The last track “The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel” was just a fun a way to close the album… Enjoyed all the snippets of tracks that mentioned “Flash”, as well as the Queen backing track for a good portion of the song… Probably would have given this an easy 3 if it weren’t for the dreadful tracks in the middle, so that bumps it down to a 2.50… However, “The Message” seems like it was such an incredibly influential track – I’ll go with a 3…

3.5 Just absolutely classic DJing and samples. A couple awful songs in the middle (wth is Dreamin?) but worth a listen for sure.

Grandmaster Flash is a weird inclusion here as he's definitely not an album artist. This feels like a "very infulencial, one very important track, so on it goes" pick.

Weak sauce. 2

Its fresh is a really cool opener, love the bass and the horns. Scorpio is plain irritating. The rest of the album is ahead of its time production wise, but the songs seem to never end.

Det känns inte som den nyaste funken direkt. Fag är väl inte helt 100 att använda idag. Det svänger helt klart men en hel skiva blir lite enformigt. The Message står ut som den bästa låten.

Shes fresh är nog lite bättre än the message, som är en klassiker. Men mer en gimmick än bra musik. Nåt som är roligt att sätta på tillsammans med andra. Inget man drar på i lurarna själv och lyssnar på. Fresh har mer den kvaliteten. Scorpio var mest jobbig med robotrösten Väldigt långa låtar överlag. De flesta har sisådär nivå. Kul att det är blandat dock. Men det nåt inte så högt. För många låtar som är meh.

I think I might give this 4.5 stars, because I do think one or two of the R&B numbers are not quite up to the level of other parts, but there is a lot more variety to this album than I thought, and the funk and at least som of the R&B songs are good and make for a nice flow throughout the album. And, of course, "The Message" still holds up as an amazing song. It's a solid beat, and even though the rhymes are primitive compared to today's hip-hop, they hold up better than some other stuff from that time and genre.

Seminal work that laid the groundwork for so much that came after.

I was surprised by this album, but it was vital and funky and energetic. I loved it.

It feels weird that there was stuff on this album that I didn't expect. It's like, come on: this is old school hip hop. One of the first hip hop albums ever released, I'm sure. I knew what I was gonna get here: a bunch of "My name is [x] and I'm here to say"-flow partytime MC raps, followed by a strongly political song at the end — not "Public Enemy political," but still. I wasn't gonna old this up to the standard of Kendrick Lamar, or even Run-DMC. I knew what I was gonna get! Or at least I figured, anyway. So you can imagine my surprise when I pop on the first song and it's, like... Basically New Jack Swing? Which, yeah, has a lot of rapping and hip hop influence in it, but... Hm. Then a few minutes later "Scorpio" hits and, goodness, this is hard-boppin' electro. Which, OK, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON ended with a little of that — and this is **leagues** better than that was — but... Hm. And then we get to the two songs right before the title track, and, goodness, is this The Jacksons? Did The Jacksons pop by to sing a couple of songs? Like, this is full-on piano R&B. This owes more, by its own shout out, to Stevie Wonder than it does to DJ Kool Herc. What **is** this? It sure is strange to hear these styles thrown in there. After all, the most R&B I'd expect to hear on any hip hop album is, like, the hook, at most. It threw me for a bit of a loop to hear these come up. And yet, despite how my "Hm"s and "What **is** this?" would make me sound, I actually really liked all of this. I mean, go back to the top and take a snippet out of what I expected: "partytime." That's what this is all is: party music. A hip hop groove to get funky to, an electro beat to get loose to, and some R&B to really get your moves on to. Like, seriously, give these guys credit; they can do a damn fine Jacksons. And seriously, "Scorpio" bops **so hard**. If I were Arabian Prince, I'd be embarrassed that I couldn't make "Something 2 Dance 2" as good as this. Top it all off with "The Message", not only one of the first rap songs with something to say (as far as I'm aware), but with some of the catchiest and most iconic lines of early hip hop... Seriously: "DON'T PUSH ME 'COZ I'M CLOSE TO THE EDGE" and "It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from going under." Excellent, excellent. The worst thing I can say about it is that it reuses the "Genius Of Love" sample from earlier, but, hey, it's a good sample — like I'm gonna complain. So, shucks, in general I really ain't got nothing to complain about. I suppose there's the fact that this album isn't on Spotify, and that's hardly the album's fault, now is it? I mean, I wanted a good time, and I got a good time. Like I'm gonna go too hard on 'em when they've done that much for me.

Despite a random veer into more piano-focused tunes in the later half of the record, this is still some hella good old-school hiphop. 4.5 bumped up to 5.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5. Going into this, I only knew the title track, so imagine my surprise when this album kicked off with a sort of Jackson 5-esque R&B/soul cut. It’s hard to classify this as a rap album, because it does feel like more of a R&B album where Grandmaster Flash & friends happen to rap on some of the tracks, some of the time. It is definitely old-school hip-hop though, and I’m very glad the album does enough to stay fresh & energetic; I really did expect this to be 35 minutes of stuff similar to “The Message”, with some rather minimal production & less of the established blending of funk & rap that would come to define the genre. Hell, the “Genius of Love” sample on “It’s Nasty” immediately threw me for a loop – that might be one of the earliest examples of sampling in hip-hop ever, given that the original track only came out a year earlier. Super fun track, too. Scorpio is cool as shit; a bit long, sure, and a little bit of “human” presence would’ve done wonders to break up the monotony of the modulation, but it’s a remarkably unique blend of electronica and talkbox work for 1982. “It’s a Shame” has a few awkward production tricks, and the vocal intensity feels a little high compared to the lyrical content, to the point where it almost feels a little condescending, but I’ll give it a pass for 1982. Dreamin’ is a little awkward, given that we’re not THAT far removed from “Songs in The Key of Life” at this point in time, & “Hotter Than July” had come out 2 years before. He was (& still very much is) alive, so the tribute feels a bit strange. In a way, I’m almost reminded of all the LeBron parody songs trending online right now, but this is far more earnest. Is it glazing? Yeah, probably – you don’t write the lyric “I dream about you Stevie, you make me wonder” unless you’re going for remarkably cheesy praise. I think it’s a bit long for what it is, but I adore Stevie Wonder, so I think it’s fair enough to shoot your shot on wanting to meet the guy like this. I do think though, that if you’re gonna do a Stevie Wonder tribute, you have to have a harmonica solo. Sort of criminal that there wasn’t one; felt more like an Earth, Wind & Fire cut at the end of all that. “You Are” is painfully fine – for my ears, lots of vocal & instrumental flash instead of lyrical substance for a gospel track like that, though that opening piano is beautiful. I might be a bit hypocritical given that one track on the Christina Aguilera album we got recently, I do think it just sort of circles the platitudinal bases, with the spoken word interlude there as a sort of anchor. “The Message” solidified its place as a rap classic for me here – I’ve never fully given the lyrics their due on that track, but they’re excellent, & the skit at the end is a very direct snowball trail to get to “Fuck Tha Police” just 6 years later. I now have a way better understanding of this album’s place as an influence on hip-hop, & there is a pretty direct throughline to get from this album to the rest of 80s rap to come. There’s also a lot of R&B standards that would come into vogue the more the genres overlapped; it wouldn’t surprise me if the usage of “Genius of Love” here inspired Mariah Carey’s usage of it on “Fantasy”. Overall, it’s a pretty good 37 minutes, and any shortcomings I have with it can be sort of wiped away by “it’s 1982” – at worst, I think this is a 3, bare minimum. It’s a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5 because I sort of admire it for what it is, and some of the cheesier stuff on this sort of won me over.

Not sure if I'm giving it 5 stars because it's that good or because it's so much better and varies than almost all the hip-hop that had followed.

What an absolute joy this was.

FUNK

Truly pretty great. Sometimes early hip hop can sound a bit cheesy but this still slaps as the kids say. I do think having 2 slow jams back to back interrupts the flow of the record, but they’re still good songs. Definitely a list highlight

Hey, I’m surprised too. This was great. The energy, the messages, everything. So good.

Groundbreaking artists. "White Lines" is probably their best track, but they didn't really release albums...

Wow, this album slaps but it's also sort of heartbreaking that a lot of the topics these guys rap about are still so prevalent in today's world 40+ years later. Every song has such a weight to it but man they groove.

jammin

Heavily enjoyed this. Great samples, great writing, super funky, just awesome. The release date of 1982 makes it clear that this was super fresh at the time of release, and surely served as a big influence for future hip-hop and R&B acts. Fave tracks: She's Fresh, It's Nasty, Scorpio, The Message

There is so much here. It was the culmination of a lot of things and the beginning of a new era. On top of that, it’s a great listen. I’m giving it 4 stars for the album itself, and an additional star for influence.

Come on now.

Oh ja, so geil

Quintessential funk! Terrific music from the guys who allowed it to evolve.

Genius of love sample!! New York New York has some out of pocket lyrics

One of the most important albums... EVER! "The Message" is the amalgamation of everything, EVERYTHING that came before it -- the music, the meanings, the emotions, and the ideals. "The Message" is the turning -- when discovery became a science, and the science became the purpose, and the purpose fueled generations.

When featuring the mastery of the turntable as an instrument, this literal groundbreaking album sets all new levels for what would be come Hip Hop. You can almost forgive Flash for some of the dated, cringey soul-influenced songs that do not resinate any longer. 4.5/5

awesome

Old skool hip hop hitting hard still.

9.5/10. Early hip hop is so fun!!!!! The beats and vocals were both great. I would love to join the crew in the album cover. :)

One of the rare cases of innovative, historical landmark type of music on this list where the music is actually still enjoyable to listen to. It’s brilliant

Honestly, it's not the best album I listened to, nor the greatest hip-hop of all time. But few albums go beyond their music, and this one is one example.

A masterpiece of rhyme and rhythm. The beats are fresh and the flows are fantastic.

Perfect Album one of the greatest on this whole list definitely near the tippy top

А я наверно расщедрюсь и поставлю 5. Меня прям раскачало и удивило, что звучит модно даже для 2024

Täähän on paljon väkevämpi kun muistin! Ihan helkkarin hyvä! 5/5

Legendary album. I can see why this album has been sampled to hell and back by everyone since.

Classic~

Grandmaster Flash is one of those names that I know from being so important to hip hop, r&b, and electronic music; pioneering turntable techniques that allowed all of them to happen. Despite that I had never listened to his music. I find the 80's era hip hop charming and the samples recognizable and memorable. Scorpio was the only song that didn't land for me (too much disco?).

Classic. Feel-Good. Almost like listening to a Chuck Berry.

Cool

Wow, this album seriously blew me away. It's so cool, so many different pieces and genres and sounds that come together just perfectly.

Groovy

Everyone should listen to this at least once in their lives. Fantastic.

Great album, the energy in the opening tracks is infectious and the lyrics in "The Message" are moving.

Gotta give props to the Grandmaster for creating the genre of hip hop as we know it today through his sound manipulation of cutting and scratching vinyl. I also appreciate that the topics are of higher social consciousness and actually hold important messaging unlike most modern popular hip hop.

Solid early 80's rap album. I wonder if they could remix these albums without the cheesy electronic drum sounds.

Legendary and funky. You can't deny its significance on contemporary grooves.

hell yes

Definitive album

I've heard about this album in the history textbooks, but not sure I've heard it with my ears. It starts off a lot more funky than I expected with "She's Fresh" and that keeps on going into "It's Nasty" which features a sample I've definitely heard before--probably in several other places. A couple albums ago on the 1001 journey I had Ice Cube's the Predator, and I can't believe I had a thought that this album would be somewhat similar based on reputation. The Furious Five are so much more fun. The title track was a neat journey and kind of a surprise considering how much it is referenced later on. Overall I had a lot of fun with this album. Favorite track: "It's Nasty" 5/5

Starts and ends with cool hip hop, but the soul middle was unexpected. Great album.

epoch-making!!!

Fine old school rap music.

Iconic and still making waves today. Unabashedly silly at times, but that only works in its favor.

Ah, Scorpio Show no shame Shake it, baby He is DJ Flash and he came here to give you a blast And we are the Furious Five and we're rocking, shocking all the way live Show no shame Shake it Shake it, baby Ah, show no shame Don't be shy, girl Show no shame Higher baby Higher now Great album. The Message is the main thing, but the rest is solid. 5/5

Back when rap/hip hop was fun (before gangsta), plus bonus Stevie Wonder tribute. Great stuff!

10/10 one of my favorite hip hop albums

Iconic. Legendary. It really seemed like all of rap came from this album. How inventive and fresh sounding even still today. Just wow.

The song The Message is a classic. But I had no idea about the range on the rest of this album. It has classic hip hop club songs and also some soulful piano tracks too!

This album was awesome. Several iconic moments that have been endlessly sampled, this group had a monumental influence on the hip-hop scene of the last 40+ years. 5/5

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five were at the crossroads of funk, disco, and hip hop. Grandmaster Flash was a true innovator. Check out Wikipedia because he is credited as the inventor of the slipmat and techniques such as backspin, punch phrasing and scratching. This album was very cool to listen to as it was the birth of a whole new kind of music.

This album so over delivers that even the self sabotage of a love song to Stevie Wonder can't steal a star.

o g

cool

One of the first hip-hop albums I ever heard or owned. Soooooo good! Funk, rap, R&B, rock, dance, electronica...it's all woven together superbly well and delivered with punch and fun, yet also brings up the grit and rawness, too. I still catch myself singing "The Message" at times all the years later.

In 1982 I opened a second-hand record shop in Newtown. I spent a lot of time in the car, checking out op-shops, auction houses, junk shops, searching for stock. The title track of this album was a big part of that year’s soundtrack. By the 1990’s there was a fantastic mural painted on a wall in Enmore that included the words “It’s like a jungle sometimes”. That song has been so loved & so influential. And it still works for me every time I hear it. I’d never heard this album before, and I wasn’t familiar with most of the other tracks, although I well remember It’s Nasty (long before I realised it was a Tom Tom Club sample at the heart of the track). Scorpio is outstanding. Love the Stevie Wonder cover followed by the Stevie tribute. Just shows how loved & influential his music was for these guys. The vocals on this album are immaculate. A great, great record.

I'm half way through track 2 and I realise that my feet have been tapping. I'm gonna like this. After listening - I really did enjoy it. Not quite so keen on the slower, more luurve tracks, but they're not enough to put me off.

so funky!

THIS ALBUM IS AMAZING AND WEIRD.THE SECOND SONG HAS THE SAMPLE MARIAH CAREY WOULD USE FOR FANTASY LIKE A DECADE BEFORE.THE THIRD TRACK USES A WEIRD ROBOT FILTER AND IS GREAT.THE FOURTH TRACK IS A NICE SONG ABOUT HOW WE SHOULD BE NICE BECAUSE THERES A LOT OF BAD THINGS GOING ON IN THE WORLD BUT THE THING IS THAT ONE OF THE RAPPERS IS A MURDER SO THAT KINDA RUINS THE WHOLE SONG.THE FIFTH SONG IS A WEIRD SONG ABOUT HOW THEY DREAM TO MEET STEVIE WONDER?!?THE SIXTH SONG IS A RANDOM LOVE SONG WITH A RANDOM PART ABOUT HOW GREAT GOD IS?!?THE LAST SONG IS THE MESSAGE WHICH IS A CLASSIC I HAD HEARD BEFORE BUT NOT IN FULL.THE RAPS ARE SO PRIMITIVE I LOVE IT.THE BEATS ARE SO GOOD THOUGH ITS CRAZY.

this album is insanely frickin fun

Sweet album that shows some of the very first steps hip hop was about to undertake and grow to. There’s a great flow throughout the songs, some songs had me smiling, others gave me the stank face. Just great stuff! 8,5 out of 10

Iconic

Wasn’t able to find the entire album but the few songs I did were sooooo fun. Amaze. Legendary. I can’t believe how many things I’ve heard sampled before. This is the beginning!!!

This site just gets better & better!

That's a classic if I've ever heard one...

This was a delight. I knew it was good, but I forgot how much it was sampled in modern hip hop

Holy cow, this is a big one. Old school hip hop before old school hip hop, truly foundational stuff. These guys were pioneers, I think one of the original groups of guys who would perform and battle at parties. It's incredible how much this genre has grown from the early days. Somehow this album feels more alive and timely than a lot of other old school hip hip albums, namely stuff like Run DMC or some Beastie Boys work, and I think it's because of the presence of genuine funk and dance-y grooves. So even though the lyricism has been infinitely surpassed in the realm of hip hop, the tunes are still fantastic. There's the excellent sample on "It's Nasty," which would be sampled later by Mariah Carey for "Fantasy." Plus the final track is a medley of sorts, sampling songs like "Good Times," Rapture" and "Another One Bites the Dust." Very cool DJ showcase. And, of course, the title track is incredible. "It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder I keep from going under." Pretty conscious stuff from such an early group. Almost every song on here grabbed me in some way, and yeah I can't help but give this a five star, it's just so strong. Some great albums lately, let's keep it going. Favorite tracks: The Message, It's Nasty, Scorpio, honestly everything but "Dreamin" got saved. Album art: Pretty simple "band" photo, nothing crazy of note. The neon looking font is decent. 5/5