Hip-Hop's Golden Age

Every genre has its golden age, and hip-hop is no exception. With its spare beats, old-soul samples, and hardcore rhymes, the era located between Run-D.M.C.'s 1984 debut and Dr. Dre's The Chronic (1992) pushed a young genre onto the world stage . . . and front and centre was Public Enemy, who sent shock waves through 1989 with "Fight the Power," along with Erik B. & Rakim, laying down the template for lyrical flow with "Paid in Full," and West Coast gangsta-pioneers, N.W.A. ("Straight Outta Compton"). Ice-T tells it straight, and the Beastie Boys get brassy, in Next Steps.

From the streets of New York to the core of society and out across the globe, these cuts continue to reside in our collective culture. A Tribe Called Quest kept it chilled and called for a response with "Can I Kick It?," borrowing a sample from Lou Reed's "Walk On the Wild Side" to create "rock 'n' roll to the beat of the funk fuzz" (as Q-Tip phrased it); Ice-T spoke for the criminal underclass, taking us with him on the tightrope between nightmare and American dream, on "New Jack Hustler (Nino's Theme)"; and the Beastie Boys got us all bouncin' with "Brass Monkey." The golden age is tapped to its root, in Deep Cuts.

Everyone acts like they were down back in the day, so here are the tracks that will separate the scholars from the posers. Sure, you'll have no problem ID-ing Salt-N-Pepa's "Spinderella's Not a Fella (But a Girl DJ)" — a shout-out to the woman drivin' their decks — but can you claim to have spotted Sha Rock from Funky Four Plus One first time around? She paved the way for the strong, independent hip-hop women who followed and, what's more, "That's the Joint" (way ahead of its time in 1981) would end up sampled by the Beastie Boys. Respect.

What made the Golden Age of Hip-Hop so great? Well, consider this — in the late-'80s everything was up for grabs and nothing felt stale or second-hand. The horizon of creativity had yet to be breached, the corporate raiders had yet to syphon off their share, anything was possible, and every new track was both a fresh challenge and a statement of originality. Samples were plundered at will — the Beastie Boys picked up over 200 of them for Paul's Boutique (try that today and the royalties would kill ya) — and previously silenced voices were heard for the very first time. All of which makes this collection a crucial slice of history, let alone a great excuse for an old-school party. The peerless verbal gymnastics of Eric B. & Rakim and LL Cool J; the club-friendly dance-pop of Salt-N-Pepa and Tone Loc; the political TNT of Public Enemy . . . it's all here, so bask in the glow of hip-hop gold.