''Soundbombing'' is a hip hop compilation album by

Rawkus Records Rawkus Records was an American hip hop record label known for starting the careers of many rappers. Rawkus started in 1995 with releases in hip-hop, drum and bass and fun-dustrial (Dystopia One). Label heads Brian Brater and Jarret Myer then s ...

, released on October 14, 1997. The album helped launch the careers of

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

and

Reflection Eternal Reflection Eternal is an American hip hop duo composed of emcee Talib Kweli and producer Hi-Tek. They released their first album, ''Train of Thought'', in 2000. They have since released a mixtape, ''The RE: Union'', in late December 2009, and t ...

(

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

and

Hi-Tek Tony Cottrell, better known as Hi-Tek (born May 5, 1976), is an American rapper and record producer from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli. His father is singer Willie Cottrell of the Willie Cottrell Band, whom Hi- ...

), 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 Company Flow was an American hip hop trio from Brooklyn, New York City, consisting of Bigg Jus, El-P and Mr. Len. The group was at one time associated with the independent record label Rawkus Records. Rapper/producer El-P and DJ/producer M ...

'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 Da Beatminerz are a hip-hop production crew from Bushwick, Brooklyn, and are known for their dark, gritty sound that is very popular with the underground hip-hop scene. History The crew, originally composed of brothers Mr. Walt (born June 2, 196 ...

, 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. It is subtitled "The Ultimate Guide to Underground Hip-Hop Mixed by Evil Dee".

Critical reception

''Soundbombing'' received mostly positive reviews from music critics.

Charles Aaron Charles Aaron is an American music journalist and editor, formerly for '' Spin'' magazine, where he worked for 23 years. Personal Charles Aaron was born in Rockingham, North Carolina, and raised in Asheboro, North Carolina and Rome, Georgia. He ...

of '' Spin'' noted that "you can hear the hints of a

Native Tongues The Native Tongues were a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and jazz-influenced beats. Its principal me ...

-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." In his consumer guide for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

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. Writing for

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 dat ...

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.

believed that the album "arrived at a crucial juncture for rap music, just as the deaths of

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

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 Pop rap (also known as pop hip-hop, hip pop, melodic hip-hop or melodic rap) is a genre of music fusing the rhythm-based lyricism of hip hop music with pop music's preference for melodious vocals and catchy tunes. This genre gained mainstrea ...

." 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." In the 5th edition of his ''

Encyclopedia of Popular Music ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the ''Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Know ...

'',

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...

hailed it as a "scene-defining" underground hip hop album.

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 1997 compilation albums Albums produced by DJ Spinna Albums produced by El-P Albums produced by Hi-Tek Hip hop compilation albums Rawkus Records compilation albums