These tracks, a combination of classics and obscurities, have all since become legendary to Breakdancers everywhere. First played at South Bronx block parties, community halls and park jams in the 1970s and 80s, spun endlessly by the first three major hip-hop DJs - Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa – and found in the record crates of any DJ of note ever since.

Seminal funk and soul tracks such as Dennis Coffey’s ‘Scorpio’, The Jimmy Castor Bunch’s ‘It’s Just Begun’, James Brown’s ‘Get on the Good Foot’, The Mohawks’ ‘Champ’ sit side-by-side here with the ground-breaking classic electro of Afrika Bambaataa’s ‘Planet Rock, and Arthur Baker’s own definitive ‘Breakers Revenge.’

Breakdancing has come a long way from its New York roots to its respected position as an art form today where, for the first time ever, it is to be featured in the Olympics held in Paris this August 2024.

The ‘breakbeat’ remains at the very heart of hip-hop, the mercurial funk, soul and disco tracks, always 100% guaranteed to get B-Boys, B-Girls and Breakdancers moving at any block party, with the percussive breakdown of each track the pinnacle soundtrack to any dance/battle between Breakdancers of any note.

Similarly these tracks have been sampled many 1000s of times over by every hip-hop artist and producer of note. KRS-ONE, Marley Marl, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Public Enemy, Eric B, The Fugees, Outkast, Mos Def, Main Source, Jungle Brothers, LL Cool J, De La Soul and, well, everyone!

Compiler Arthur Baker played a pivotal role in hip-hop history when in 1982 he produced Afrika Bambaataa’s seminal ‘Planet Rock’ (as featured here), introducing electronic instruments into hip-hop for the first time ever and in the process created electro. After ‘Planet Rock’, Arthur Baker went on to remix or produce every major artist of note – from New Order to the Rolling Stones, Al Green to the Pet Shop Boys.

This Soul Jazz Records vinyl release is presented as a deluxe gatefold double vinyl, with two bespoke inner sleeves and download code, the double CD comes in digi-case includes full notes and booklet. Both formats come complete with introduction by Arthur Baker, extensive sleevenotes, including track-by-track breakdown. by hip-hop historian JayQuan, and striking images from photographer Sophie Bramly.

“What I truly loved about early Hip-Hop was that the music thrown down by ‘Bam, Grandmaster Flash, Jazzy Jay and Kool DJ Herc was genre-less, multi-cultural, music from all ends of the world. This is the definitive collection, including all the classics (other than a couple that alas we couldn’t get the rights too), and some real hard to find obscurities.” Arthur Baker