Best Of / 20th Century

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Best Of / 20th Century album cover
Album Information

Total Tracks: 12   Total Length: 75:07

eMusic Features

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Reggae’s Ba-Ba Boom Time

By Lenny Kaye, eMusic Contributor

Despite the fire and brimstone that characterized reggae's revolutionary emergence in the 1970s, I have always had an abiding affection for the evolutionary period that immediately preceded that breakthrough, when the music seemed caught between two worlds. The style is usually referred to as rocksteady - post-Ska, but still experimenting with and expanding the possibilities of that one-drop, loping afterbeat; and though Rastafarian ideology was already beginning to swiftly gospelize the music (anthemed most notably… more »

They Say All Music Guide

Some 20th Century Masters collections simply were not meant to be made. While there are some that most definitely deserve recognition and due diligence, there are others that are simply one-hit wonders padded with filler material. However, this is fortunately not one of those times, as Kurtis Blow’s brilliant but short career is accurately surveyed in this compact volume. Kicking off with the classic anthem “The Breaks” and ending with “If I Ruled the World,” every major hit Blow put out is on here; it is probably one of the most comprehensive collections of his work in print. It’s an amazing release that pays proper tribute to the boy from Harlem who became one of hip-hop’s first superstars. – Rob Theakston

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