Innovative Life: The Anthology, 1984–1989
Innovative Life: The Anthology 1984–1989 (often called "Innovative Life: The Anthology") is a compilation album released in 2008 by American recording artist Arabian Prince and his fifth album overall, off of Stones Throw Records. Innovative Life collects a handful of Arabian Prince productions originally released in the 12" format Rapsur, Street Kut, and Techno Kut, along with some cuts with N.W.A. Critical reception. Innovate Life received positive reviews, but had criticism toward its songwriting and flow. Andrew Martin of Pop Matters wrote "Arabian Prince isn’t too impressive in the booth."." Andy Kellman of All  Music stated that the first track "Strange Life" is a "limp curiosity, recorded with musicians who knew much more about Poco than P-Funk." The reviews highlighted him as a pioneer of electro-hop. Martin wrote "he was a trendsetter in the world of electro-hop." While, Steve Juon of RapReviews stated "His life reflects the ambition and innovation of the early West Coast hip-hop scene." On the songs of the album, Martin claimed "Arabian Prince does a fine job of commanding your attention." He commented on the song "Strange Life" "with its syrupy synths and simplistic beat, perfectly  captures the feel of ‘80s electro." On "Take You Home Girl", Martin wrote "Even though the track shows its age in spades, it could warrant some spins at a party where everyone has a slight buzz and... wants to dance. He then criticized Innovative Life for not having variety remarking "While the cohesion is appreciated, it can grow tiring." He however showed distinct praise for the last two tracks "Simple Planet and Beatdabeat." He asserted "Both of them sound like they crawled out of an ‘80s action film where you spent more of your time listening to the music than  watching the flick." Though the album received criticism of the writing and flow, Steve Juon of RapReviews noted "Innovative Life... not only compels the listener through sound, but through prose." Overall, the reviews of the album were positive as Martin stated "If you can get past those inefficiencies, however, what you are left with is a strong showing of an unfortunately overlooked era in hip-hop." Steve Juon wrote similar comments "Through Arabian Prince's music and life story, Stones Throw Records is proud to present a glimpse into an overlooked chapter in hip-hop's history." Kellman ended his  review stating "All the ingredients of classic electro are present... the bounding machine beats, synthesizers set to either "paranoid" or "assault," cyborg vocals."