''Ego Trip's The Big Playback'' is a 2000 compilation album released by the American record label Rawkus Records on April 11, 2000. The album was released with the collaboration of the writers for '' Ego Trip'' magazine and made as a companion piece for ''Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists''. The album consists of rare and obscure tracks by hip hop artists and groups made between 1983 and 1989.

Composition and release

The album was released with the collaboration of the writers for '' Ego Trip'' magazine and made as a companion piece for ''Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists''. The album consists of rare and obscure tracks from hip hop artists and groups originally released between 1983 and 1989 with many tracks that had previously not been released on compact disc. Many of the tracks have been described historically important with many tracks being sampled by more famous hip hop artists on tracks like "Holy War (Live)" by Divine Force (used by DJ Premier on a

Jeru the Damaja Kendrick Jeru Davis (born February 14, 1972), known as Jeru the Damaja, is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for his 1993 single " Come Clean" from his debut album, ''The Sun Rises in the East'', ranked as one of the 100 great ...

song) and "Get Retarded" by MC EZ & Troup (used by

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

on "

Zoom Zoom may refer to: Technology Computing * Zoom (software), videoconferencing application * Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display * Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...

" from the ''Bulworth'' soundtrack). ''Ego Trip's The Big Playback'' was released by Rawkus Records on April 11, 2000. The album was released on vinyl, cassette and compact disc.

Reception

From contemporary reviews,

Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin (; born April 24, 1976) is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for ''The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.

of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' noted that the album "offers ample evidence that there's more to '80s hip-hop than you'll find on most old-school compilations. Perhaps the old school's greatest virtue was its artistic freedom: Unencumbered by convention, hip-hop's pioneers made up the rules as they went along, giving their music an unpredictable, exuberant, spontaneous quality that ''The Big Playback'' captures for posterity.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the album four and a half stars as "required listening for readers of the book" and "Even for fans who aren't interested in a book of rap lists, ''Ego Trip's The Big Playback'' is a stellar compilation". Sasha Frere-Jones of ''

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'' noted that "as the organising principle is rarity, not quality" and the tracks by Lord Shafiyq and MC Mitchski will "only be manna for ageing B-boys." but that overall praised the album, stating that it was "proof that the current indie boom isn't the first time hip-hop was local, weird or free."

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the album. # Divine Force – "Holy War (Live)" (Sir Ibu) # Lord Shaifiyq – "My Mic is on Fire" (G. Parks) # Marley Marl featuring MC Shan – "Marley Marl Scratch" (M. Williams, S. Moltke) # MC EZ & Troup – "Get Retarded" ( C. Mack) #

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– "Get Down Grandmaster" (C. Fisher, C. Miller) # Positive K – Step Up Front (D. Gibson) # Latee – "This Cut's Got Flavor" (D. French, M. James) # The Bizzie Boyz – "Droppin' It" (D. Mitchell, A. Heard, D. Willis) # Ultimate Force – "I'm Not Playing" (J. Kirkland, R. Raymon) # The Alliance – "Do It! Do It!" (F. Byrd) # MC Mitchski – "Brooklyn Blew Up the Bridge" (M. Dudley, J. Dudley) # Rammelzee vs. K-Rob – " Beat Bop" (S. Bunch, A. Diaz, M. Johnson, S. Piccarello)

References

{{Rawkus Records 2000 compilation albums Rawkus Records compilation albums Hip hop compilation albums