Various Artists - Old School Rap, Vol. 7 - Music & Performance - CD

The seventh volume of Thump's Old School Rap playfully balances the hits with the underground favorites, spanning the entirety of the '80s. It stays truer to its goal than some of the other installments of the series -- such as the one that made the horrible decisions to include both Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" and N2Deep's "Back to the Hotel" -- by including a clutch of artists that ranges from True Mathematics ("For the Money") to Chubb Rock ("Ya Bad Chubbs"), and from Malcolm McLaren ("Buffalo Gals") to De La Soul ("Ring Ring Ring [Ha Ha Hey]"). Other tracks featured include Kurtis Blow's "If I Ruled the World," Mantronix's "Fresh Is the Word," Disco 4's "We're at the Party," Word of Mouth's "King Kut," and Young MC's "Let 'Em Know." This is a fun and very worthwhile addition to the series. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide