The Showdown: The Sugarhill Gang Vs. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
With the exception of one new track--the cynically titled "One for the $," by the Sugarhill Gang and Melle Mel--and some commentary by Ice-T and Public Enemy's Chuck D, there's nothing onThe Showdownthat can't be found on other collections.The Showdownalso skips some important classics--"The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" and Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five's "Beat Street" among them. Those quibbles aside, this collectiondoesachieve its goals: by showcasing the Sugarhill Gang--who emphasized the party groove from which rap came--and the extended Grandmaster Flash family--who saw themselves as social messengers (pun intended)--side by side, the album brings to light the pair's differences and groundbreaking creativity. Looking back on them decades after the fact with ears accustomed to production gymnastics, we can occasionally--and criminally--miss this.(For a more complete look at the two pioneers of rap and how they fit in with their contemporaries, check outThe Sugar Hill Records Story.)--Randy Silver