Bleep

As a DJ then producer then impromptu scene biographer, the man has been around since the very advent of turntablism, so who better to catalogue the fertile early period of beats? Arthur Baker presents Breaker’s Revenge - Original B-Boy and B-Girl Breakdance Classics 1974-1980 then is something akin to an encyclopaedia of funk, soul, and early electronica, and a neat rundown of records every DJ worth rocking a party simply had to have in their bag. These cuts work both as an introduction sounds that inspired the first breakdance crews and a functional guide to the building blocks (read: samples) of what became known as hip hop. Classics from James Brown, The Jackson 5, and Baker’s own collaborator Afrika Bambaataa rub elbows with deeper cuts and long-forgotten regional stars to form a comprehensive view of this explosive cultural phenomenon.