QUESTLOVE'S MUSIC IS HISTORY: THE ALBUM VERSION

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: 1989 Label: Mercury Records Side 1 1. Rhythm is the Master 2. No D.J. Like Chuck 3. Gimme Minze 4. Roll Call: Bronxwood Productions 5. The Mic I Grip Side 2 1. I'm Large* 2. That's Life 3. No Holding Back 4. Time to Rhyme 5. Son of a Gun 6. Chuck Is Chillin' *-Questlove: "Any list of hip-hop deep cuts needs to include a shout-out to Salaam Remi, who produced this when he was still a teenager.  Like me, Salaam was a second-generation music-business kid--his father was Van Gibbs, who started as a musician, worked at various record labels, and produced artists like The Fat Boys and Kurtis Blow--in fact, years before Salaam produced this record, he was playing keyboards on Kurtis's Kingdom Blow album.  If you're old enough, like me, to remember when cable was still a new concept, you'll remember Video Jukebox , which aired on HBO from 1981 to 1986 or so.  It was a half-hour showcase of videos that was more eclectic and in...