| Artist | Rawkus Records |
|---|---|
| Cover | Soundbombing.jpg |
| Released | October 14, 1997 |
| Genre | Hip-hop |
| Label | Rawkus |
| Producer | Ghetto Professionals · Dirtman · El-P · Bigg Jus · Nick Wiz · Hi-Tek · Rich Boogie · Sir Menelik · Chuckie Madness · Shawn J. Period · DJ Spinna |
| Next year | 1998 |
Soundbombing is a hip-hop compilation album by Rawkus Records, released on October 14, 1997. The album helped launch the careers of Mos Def and Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek), who later became Rawkus's most popular artists. Soundbombing is regarded as a "scene-defining" underground hip-hop album.
Background
After the critical success of Company Flow's Funcrusher Plus album, released a few months prior, Rawkus returned with a compilation that showcased their growing roster. Mixed by DJ Evil Dee of Da Beatminerz,[1] the album is sequenced like a mixtape, staying true to the label's underground roots. The album is mainly composed of 12" singles previously released by the label in 1997.[1] It is subtitled "The Ultimate Guide to Underground Hip-Hop Mixed by Evil Dee".[2]
Critical reception
Soundbombing received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Charles Aaron of Spin noted that "you can hear the hints of a Native Tongues-like posse feeding off of one another's smarts and enthusiasm, unworried about recreating 1988's magic or being welcomed into rap's gated fantasyland."[3] In his consumer guide for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave the album an A− rating and stated, "this singles-plus showcase is 'underground' hip hop's most convincing advertisement for itself", also praising the performances of Mos Def, Talib Kweli and R.A. the Rugged Man.[4]
Writing for AllMusic, Nathan Rabin believed that the album "arrived at a crucial juncture for rap music, just as the deaths of 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G. forced hip-hop to re-examine its priorities, and the commercial dominance of Bad Boy necessitated a smart, socially conscious alternative to P. Diddy's blatantly commercial brand of karaoke hip-pop."[1] Dana Scott of Ambrosia for Heads wrote that the album "was Hip-Hop seeking refuge to return to the culture's days of innocence. It worked, signaling a rebirth that spawned a new breed of MC legends—and a subsequent series that Heads could trust."[2] In the 5th edition of his Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Colin Larkin hailed it as a "scene-defining" underground hip-hop album.[5]
References
- ^ Rabin, Nathan. "Soundbombing – Various Artists". AllMusic. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ Scott, Dana (June 26, 2018). "Soundbombing Was Released 20 Years Ago & Launched A Generation Of Underground Hip-Hop". Ambrosia for Heads
- ^ Aaron, Charles (February 1998). "B-Boys From Outer Space". Spin
- ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Soundbombing". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Company Flow". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. 5th concise ed. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.