Nick the Record has compiled a quite awesome follow-up to the original Disco
Juice compilation, showcasing the very best of Harlem’s very, very funky P&P
records.
Most of the tracks on Disco Juice Volume 2 are, as you would expect,
exceptionally funky disco tracks - although the likes of Cloud One’s Dust To
Dust is a slow, soulful burner, and Florence Miller’s breathtaking The
Groove I’m In has to be one of the all-time classic northern soul tracks.
However, for me, there are three tracks that make Disco Juice Volume 2 an
absolutely essential compilation. They are the three early hip-hop gems
which easily outshine some of The Sugarhill Gang’s early efforts.
Margo’s Kool Out Crew’s Death Rap is six minutes of raw, old skool hip-hop
funk. The rappers just rhyme non-stop over a disco track and some of the
funkiest bass ever to feature on a hip-hop record. This is a genuine
classic.
Willie Wood & Willie Wood Crew is next up with the infectious funk of Willie
Rap. There are shades of Rapper’s Delight on this track, but Willie Wood
goes it alone for over five minutes, dropping verse after verse of excellent
old skool rhymes.
Game of Life by Lavaba & E. Mallison is the final hip-hop track and has a
harder edge than the others, although the customary P&P killer bass line is
still there. What makes this track even more interesting is that it
features what must have been one of the earliest female raps - by an
excellent emcee who sounds very like The Juice Crew’s Roxanne Shante.
Worth picking up for these three hip-hop gems which I can guarantee will not
be available elsewhere, but the other nine tracks certainly don’t
disappoint. An excellent compilation.
www.counterpointrecords.co.uk
Reviewed
by Fraser Syme
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