The initial rush of rap hits by the Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow, and others were usually just boasting to beats - charming but simple. Afrika Bambaataa helped change all that with his futuristic "electro" sound on the nascent Tommy Boy label. No doubt to some ears, "electro" sounds dated now, but it's influence on rap and electronica cannot be overstated. With songs like "Planet Rock," "Looking For The Perfect Beat," and "Unity" (with James Brown), Bambaataa changed not only the way kids danced but they way people thought about hip hop. At this late date, however, most of Bambaataa's original LP's - including the legendary Planet Rock album, recorded with his crew the Soulsonic Force - have fallen out-of-print, though most can be found on the used market.

Happily, the first-ever high quality collection of Bambaataa's groundbreaking work was released in 2001. Looking for the Perfect Beat 1980-1985 is, in fact, nearly perfect, containing all the classic Tommy Boy jams in their original, full-length mixes. In my view, all that's missing is Time Zone's "World Destruction," a cataclysmic track Bambaataa recorded with John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten) and Bill Laswell; it was released on a different label (Celluloid), which explains its absence.

Tommy Boy's Greatest Hits, a landmark late 80's collection prominently featuring Afrika Bambaataa's work, has fallen out-of-print, but a variety of discs have stepped into the void. A 5-CD box (quaintly packaged in a miniature fascimile of an LP crate) called Tommy Boy's Greatest Beats 1981-1996 (1998), is highly recommended, with each disc also released separately for the budget-conscious consumer. Or, try Rhino's single-disc sampler, It's Still Workin': Tommy Boys Classic Cuts (2003). If you got da green, however, consider Rhino's Street Jams series, which runs to eleven volumes; its extensive survey of early rap and electro-funk encompasses Afrika Bambaataa's productions and much, much more.