Cold Crush Brothers - Live in 82 (CD)

All Music Guide

This live album is low quality by most sonic standards, but it is one of the only ways one can hear hip-hop as it was originally performed before DAT machines rendered the DJ a mere ornament who occasionally "scratched" over pre-recorded tapes during live performances. Further, it captures a moment in time when hip-hop was party music, before Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" opened up the possibilities for more reality-based raps. One can feel the energy in the interaction between the MCs and the audience who chanted to the looped beat created by the DJ spinning two of the same records, alternately returning each record to the beginning of the breakbeat in a seamless fashion.

- Kembrew McLeod, All Music Guide