Critical Beatdown

Untitled

Critical Beatdown is the debut full-length LP by hip hop collective Ultramagnetic MCs.

Released in 1988, it was the first full-length example of the influential style of the MCs: the bizarre, lyrical imagery, the unexpected and unpredictable polysyllabic rhymes and the innovative sampling.

Critical Beatdown was re-released in 2004, with additional tracks (see below).

Background

It has since been lauded as an underground classic, despite its failure to compare in unit sales with contemporary releases. Kool Keith is usually regarded the driving force behind the vocal style of the record, but most songs featured group members Ced-Gee ("Delta Force One") and Moe Love as well. (Although he appears on the album cover, member TR Love did not vocally contribute on this record. At this point in time, TR had only rapped on Feelin' It, the B-side of the Watch Me Now 12" single.)

Produced by Ced Gee, the album features audio sampling techniques which had rarely, if ever, been used previously. In particular, Ced's syncopated drops of chopped, out-of-context samples (building on the E-mu SP-12, the E-mu SP-1200 predecessor), along with his production work on the majority of Boogie Down Productions' seminal Criminal Minded, have led some to credit Ced Gee, and Critical Beatdown, as among the critical sources of the "golden age" of sampling. As it samples many other albums, so has Beatdown been sampled many times since in other hip-hop and electronic records. While it wasn't a sample (Kool Keith re-recorded the lyrics ), the song Give the Drummer Some is notable for providing the lyrics for the controversial 1997 hit "Smack My Bitch Up" by The Prodigy.

Reception

In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums.

Melody Maker (10/18/97, p.53) - "...full of scratch-tastic heavy beat, gold plated hip hop which manages to combine the minimalist ground-breaking Sugar Hill sounds with the show-no-mercy aural assault of the then-emerging Public Enemy."

NME (10/4/97, p.55) - 9 (out of 10) - "Kool Keith is The Prodigy's favourite rapper, and this relic of his time in the Ultramagnetic MC's...is why....they knew what they were doing, and everyone's been playing catch-up since. A bona fide classic."

The title track is featured on the soundtrack of the hit game Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas.

Track listing

All songs produced by Ced Gee & the Ultramagnetic MCs unless stated otherwise.

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Watch Me Now"	4:47
2.	"Ease Back"	3:24
3.	"Ego Trippin' (Original 12" Version)"	5:26
4.	"Moe Luv's Theme"	2:14
5.	"Kool Keith Housin' Things"	3:15
6.	"Travelling at the Speed of Thought (Remix)"	1:51
7.	"Feelin' It"	3:31
8.	"One Minute Less"	1:58

Side two

No.	Title	Length
9.	"Ain't It Good to You"	3:33
10.	"Funky (Remix)"	3:40
11.	"Give the Drummer Some" (Produced by Paul C)	3:43
12.	"Break North"	3:24
13.	"Critical Beatdown"	3:42
14.	"When I Burn"	2:32
15.	"Ced-Gee (Delta Force One)"	2:49

2004 Edition Bonus Tracks

No.	Title	Length
16.	"Funky (Original 12" Version)"	4:47
17.	"Bait (Original 12" Version)"	4:26
18.	"A Chorus Line (Original 12" Version)" (Featuring Tim Dog)	6:04
19.	"Traveling at the Speed of Thought (Hip House Club Mix)" (Produced by Paul C)	4:22
20.	"Ego Trippin' (Bonus Beats)"	1:11
21.	"Mentally Mad (Original 12" Version)"	5:05

Samples used

• "Watch Me Now" contains a sample from "It's Just Begun" by Jimmy Castor Bunch .
• "Ease Back" contains samples from "The Grunt" by the The J.B.'s (as sampled in Public Enemy's "Terminator X to the Edge of Panic") and "Ease Back" and "Little Old Money Maker" by The Meters (as well as former US President Ronald Reagan saying "Thirty seconds to respond...")
• "Ego Trippin'" contains a sample from "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss.
• "Moe Luv's Theme" contains samples from "Pussyfooter" by Jackie Robinson and "Give it to You" by UPP.
• "Kool Keith Housin' Things" contains samples from "Ride Sally Ride" by Dennis Coffey and "Givin' up Food for Funk" by The J.B.'s.
• "Travelling at the Speed of Thought" (Remix) contains a sample from "See You Later" by Fresh and Louie Louie by The Kingsmen.
• "Feelin' It" contains samples from "Ride Sally Ride" by Dennis Coffey, "Uphill Peace of Mind" by Kid Dynamite and "Cold Sweat" by Mongo Santamaria.
• "Give the Drummer Some" contains samples from "There Was a Time" by James Brown with the Dee Felice Trio, "Funky Drummer" and "Give it up or Turnit a Loose" by James Brown, and "The Grunt" by The J.B.'s.
• "Critical Beatdown" contains samples from "If You Don't Get It The First Time, Back Up" by Fred Wesley & The J.B.'s
• "When I Burn" contains samples from "Cookies" by Brother Soul, "Rock Creek Park" by the Blackbyrds, and "Funky" by Ultramagnetic MCs.
• "Ced-Gee (Delta Force One)" contains samples from "Nautilus" by Bob James and "Feelin' It" by Ultramagnetic MCs
• "Funky" (original 12" version) contains samples from "Woman to Woman" by Joe Cocker and "Boogie Back" by Roy Ayers
• "Bait" (original 12" version) contains samples from "Rocket in the Pocket" by Cerrone, "Long Red" by Mountain, and "Nautilus" by Bob James
• "A Chorus Line" (featuring Tim Dog) (original 12" version) contains samples from "The Payback" (Intro) and "Can I Get Some Help" by James Brown.
• "Travelling at the Speed of Thought" (Hip-House Club Mix) contains samples from "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins, "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaata & the Soulsonic Force, and "Numbers" by Kraftwerk
• "Mentally Mad" (original 12" version) contains samples from "Blues and Pants" by James Brown and "Boogie Back" by Roy Ayers
• "Break North" contains samples from Star Wars

Album singles

Single information
"Travelling At The Speed Of Thought" Released: 1987 B-side:
"Ease Back" Released: 1988 B-side: "Kool Keith Housing Things"
"Watch Me Now" Released: 1988 B-side: "Feelin' It"
"Give The Drummer Some" Released: 1989 B-side: "Moe Luv's Theme"

Album Chart Positions

Year	Album	Chart positions
		Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums
1988	Critical Beatdown	#57

Later samples

• "Ease Back"
  • "Take It in Blood" by Nas from the album It Was Written
• "Give The Drummer Some"
  • "Smack My Bitch Up" by The Prodigy from the album The Fat of the Land

Notes

• Weisbard, Eric (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0679755748. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)