QUESTLOVE'S MUSIC IS HISTORY: THE ALBUM VERSION

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: June 16, 1989 Recorded: 1988-1989 Label: Ruthless/Atlantic Records Side 1 1. It's Funky Enough 2. Mind Blowin' 3. Lend Me An Ear 4. Comm. Blues 5. Let the Bass Go 6. Beautiful But Deadly Side 2 1. The D.O.C. & The Doctor 2. No One Can Do It Better 3. Whirlwind Pyramid* 4. Comm. 2 5. The Formula 6. Portrait of a Masterpiece 7. The Grand Finale *-Questlove: "Dr. Dre's most traditional hip-hop production.  "Whirlwind Pyramid" was the B side to "The Formula," which was released as the third single from the album.  And then after "The Formula comes "Portrait of a Masterpiece," which also deserves a round of applause.  Toward the end, the D.O.C. pulls Dre short.  "Hold on, Dre," he says.  "Stop the beat.  Let me catch my breath."  Dre's nonplussed: "Ai-yo, man, why ya stopping? That was funky."  The D.O.C. reiterates: "To catch my breath." Now Dre gets

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: June 15, 1981 Label: Mercury Records Side 1 1. The Deuce 2. It's Getting Hot 3. Getaway Side 2 1. Starline 2. Take It to the Bridge 3. Do The Do* 4. Rockin' *-Questlove: "Kurtis had a big hit with "The Breaks" on his first album.  The follow-up didn't get as much love commercially, but it's a strong record with lots of the five-minute-plus rap songs that were the going rate in 1981 and a few shorter tracks, including this one.  I want to make a plea for Universal to remaster all these records.  I've heard a version straight from iTunes that sounds like it's 72-bit: so much digital distortion."

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: June 15, 1988 Label: Soo Deff/Warlock Records Side A 1. Smooth Momentum 2. Let It Rip 3. Feels So Good 4. Deuce Ace Housin' 5. My Part of Town* Side B 1. It's Mad 2. Bound To Ike 3. Open Field Attack 4. North Side 5. Detonator *-Questlove: "Another Philly classic: respect to Ice Dog, L.A. Kid, Tone Love and DJ Too Tuff.  The sample in the song is by the Blackbyrds: "Street Games," from their 1977 album Action .  When Ray Parker, Jr., was on Questlove Supreme , he told me that he played the guitar on that entire record.  He also told me that Stevie Wonder could drive.  (Though to be fair, he didn't say that Stevie could drive well.  "He didn't care about hitting the cars," Ray said.)

Photos courtesy of Discogs & Twitter Released: 1989 Label: Sure Delight Records Side A 1. To Be Real 2. Act Like You Know 3. Skrum, And Then Some 4. Small Time Hustler* 5. Act Like You Know (Dub) Side B 1. Keisha 2. Black and Proud 3. You Must Be Crazy (Brutus) 4. Keisha (Dub) 5. Brutapella *-Questlove: "Here's another hidden gem that should have made it.  Shortly after "Rebel Without a Pause" by Public Enemy came out, there was a slew of records with these shrill noises.  This was the second one I ever heard.  When I DJed it live online, Dante Ross told me that people used to get their chains snatched to this joint in the Latin Quarter.  "Small Time Hustler" has a section where the Dismasters rhyme triple-style, like they're Migos' fathers or something."

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: June 19, 1990 Recorded: 1989-1990 Label: MCA Records Side 1 1. Let the Rhytm Hit 'Em 2. No Omega* 3. In the Ghetto 4. Step Back 5. Eric B. Made My Day Side 2 1. Run For Cover 2. Untouchables 3. Mahogany 4. Keep 'Em Eager to Listen 5. Set 'Em Straight *-Questlove: "This is my favorite Rakim joint.  This is why you know that every hip-hop head subscribes to the Rakim-as-god-MC theory.  He bobs and weaves through all the verses, has little iambic pentameter moves, gets into his lines and out of them with speed and elegance.  "Next episode be smooth as a Persian"?  It already is."

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: 1980 Label: Ware Records Side A 1. This is a Party Side B 1. The "Micstro" * *-Questlove: Even though the MC RC La Rock (not to be confused with T LaRock or Scott LaRock) came from Brooklyn, this song is a Philly classic.  In my opinion, it's one of the greatest of the first wave of old school rhymes that came out between 1979 and 1982.  This was before hip-hop songs were treated as pop songs.  At first hip-hop was filled with these long songs, six or seven minutes at least, and as long as fifteen.  There were no breaks.  You had to keep the party going.  Full Force the moved toward the "Hip-Pop" format with the UTFO ("Roxanne, Roxanne," which was also the first time we heard a breakbeat sampled in hip-hop (Billy Squier's "The Big Beat").  Compact, catchy rap songs?  That was unthinkable just a few years earlier.  If you look on the credits of LL Cool J's debut album, Radio , back in 1985, it say