This came out in 1998 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
With 56 tracks containing over four hours of music spread across four CDs, this ambitious project from New York’s Tommy Boy label is practically an aural history of hip-hop.
Afrika Bambaataa‘s seminal track Planet Rock and Coolio‘s breakthrough hit Gangsta’s Paradise serve as the bookends here. Between them you get to hear from a veritable who’s who of artists, including OGs like Digital Underground and Stetsasonic, along with fresher princes like Apache and Paris. And with hit tracks like OPP, Supermodel, Jump Around and The Humpty Dance in the mix, Greatest Beats more than lives up to its handle.
