| Critical Beatdown | |
|---|---|
 Studio album by Ultramagnetic MC's | |
|
Released |
4 October 1988 |
|
Recorded |
1986-1988 at Studio 1212 and The Ultra-Lab |
|
Genre |
|
|
Length |
47:08 |
|
Label |
Next Plateau |
|
Producer |
Ced-Gee, Andre Harrell (exec.), Paul C, Ultramagnetic MC's |
| Ultramagnetic MC's chronology | |
|---|---|
|
Next |
Funk Your Head Up (1992) |
Critical Beatdown is the debut album by American hip hop group Ultramagnetic MC's, released in 1988 on Next Plateau Records. Production for the album was handled primarily by the group member Ced-Gee, who employed the E-mu SP-1200 as his main sampler. Music journalists have noted the album for its innovative production, funk-based samples, self-assertive themes, ingenious lyricism, and complex rhyme schemes. Kool Keith's and Ced-Gee's lyrics on the album are characterised by abstract braggadocio, stream-of-consciousness narrative style, and pseudoscientific terminology.
Although it charted modestly upon its release, Critical Beatdown has since been acclaimed by critics as a classic album of hip hop's golden age and new school aesthetic. The album's abstract rhymes in strange syncopations laid on top of sampling experiments proved widely influential, from Public Enemy and The Bomb Squad to gangsta rap to several generations of underground hip hop artists.
Track listing[]
| No. | Title | Performer(s) | Producer(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Watch Me Now" | Kool Keith, Ced-Gee | Ced-Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's | 4:50 |
| 2. | "Ease Back" | Kool Keith, Ced-Gee | Ced-Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's | 3:25 |
| 3. | "Ego Trippin' (MC's Ultra Remix)" | Kool Keith, Ced-Gee | Ced-Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's | 2:32 |
| 4. | "Moe Luv's Theme" | Kool Keith | Ced-Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's | 2:21 |
| 5. | "Kool Keith Housing Things" | Kool Keith | Ced-Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's | 3:16 |
| 6. | "Travelling at the Speed of Thought (Remix)" | Kool Keith, Ced-Gee | Ced-Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's | 1:52 |
| 7. | "Feelin' It" | Kool Keith, Ced-Gee | Ced-Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's | 3:32 |
| 8. | "One Minute Less" | Ced-Gee | Ced-Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's | 1:59 |
| 9. | "Ain't It Good to You" | Kool Keith, Ced-Gee | Ced-Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's | 3:33 |
| 10. | "Funky (Remix)" | Kool Keith, Ced-Gee | Ced-Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's | 3:42 |
| 11. | "Give the Drummer Some" | Kool Keith, Ced-Gee | Paul C | 3:43 |
| 12. | "Break North" | Kool Keith, Ced-Gee | Ced-Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's | 3:24 |
| 13. | "Critical Beatdown" | Kool Keith, Ced-Gee | Ced-Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's | 3:44 |
| 14. | "When I Burn" | Kool Keith | Ced-Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's | 2:34 |
| 15. | "Ced-Gee (Delta Force One)" | Ced-Gee | Ced-Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's | 2:48 |