As promised, here’s the first part of the Eighties Edition. This period is a little trickier, as for much of it rap was still a ‘singles’ medium, so many artists never even got to release albums at all, which opens the playing field pretty wide. To keep it manageable, I’ve stuck to crews and soloists that put out at least one LP during their career and excluded b-sides that were tacked onto the CD versions of albums or second pressings (such as Jungle Brothers’ ‘The Promo’). I almost feel like doing a compilation of ‘Jive Records’ Most Disgraceful UK Remixes’ just to shame them, but nobody in their right mind would actually listen to that.
Download: A Salute To Non-Album B-Sides [80’s Edition, Volume 1]
Track listing:
01 ‘Wrath Of Kane’ – Big Daddy Kane
02 ‘Jack The Ripper’ – LL Cool J
03 ‘Your Arms Too Short To Box With God’ – Lakim Shabazz
04 ‘A Chorus Line’ – Ultramagnetic MCs feat. Tim Dog
05 ‘Puttin On The Hits’ – Latee feat. The 45 King
06 ‘B-Side Wins Again’ [Original Version] – Public Enemy1
07 ‘Together Forever (Krush Groove 2)’ – Run-DMC
08 ‘Take The Bait’ [12″ Version] – Craig G
09 ‘Playing For Keeps’ – Low Profile
10 ‘A Bitch Iz A Bitch’ – N.W.A.
11 ‘Ya Better Bring A Gun’ – King Tee feat. Mixmaster Spade
12 ‘Chillin” – Chill Rob G
13 ‘I’m Fly’ – Kool G Rap & DJ Polo
14 ‘Cocaine’ [Live Version] – MC Shan2
15 ‘Let’s Go’ – Kool Moe Dee
16 ‘P Is Free’ [Original Version] – Boogie Down Productions
17 ‘Fat Girl’ – Eazy-E feat. Ron-De-Vu
18 ‘La Di Da Di’ – Doug E Fresh and MC Ricky D
19 ‘Freedom Of Speak (We Got Three Minutes)’ – De La Soul
20 ‘In Time’ – Jungle Brothers feat. Q-Tip
Made my day.
Yo good looks on this robbie. How bout a salute to the hilltop hustlers, teddy riley, soul convention (prince markie Dee & corey rooney), easy mo bee,source unsigned hype.
I actually liked the B Side Wins Again LP Version better than the original Version.
Crucial.
@Wilizm: You may be the first person to say that in 25 years.
LL’s One Shot at Love went from a B-Side to an A -Side and sucked both times.
Volume 1. I like the sound of that.
Dope list. Take The Bait is my joint!
Eazy-E’s “Fat girl” is on the “NWA & The Posse” album.
Together Forever is Krush Groove 4.
@Dino: Technically that’s just a compilation thrown together by Macola Records.
@Turtle: Not on the version I have.
Great selection, thanks once again Robbie…
Great list. Take the Bait is in my all-time top 10 singles. A timeless classic. Thanks, Robbie.
A chorus line is still incredible, they played it before the bdk show in London this week and it still tears it up.
Nice list! One that wasn’t on there immediately came to mind: ‘Let’s Get It On’ by Smif-N-Wessun.
How about No Bones In Ice Cream by Nice and Smooth. It was on the b-side to Funky For You. I don’t think it was on any of their albums.
And doesn’t TLA Rock have a gang of songs that weren’t on his first album?
@The Grand: Great song, but it was on the CD and it came out in the 90s.
The UK Why? rmx of Bonita Applebum knocks the original out the box imo.
@Robbie okay I’m ready for vol 2 now.
A Christmas flavoured salute perhaps also?
Me too: Lp version > original
Re-upped.
@robbie: did you sleep on g rap’s “rhyme time” or do you prefer “i’m fly”?