Music : Critical Beatdown

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by: Ultramagnetic MC's

: Critical Beatdown




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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0018344101321
Label: Next Plateau / Red
Manufacturer: Next Plateau / Red
Publisher: Next Plateau / Red
Release Date: September 19, 1991
Sales Rank: 548203
Studio: Next Plateau / Red



Disc 1:
  1. Watch Me Now - Ultramagnetic MC's, Kool Keith
  2. Ease Back
  3. Ego Trippin'
  4. Moe Luv's Theme
  5. Kool Keith Housing Things
  6. Travelling at the Speed of Thought - Ultramagnetic MC's, Miller
  7. Feelin' It
  8. One Minute Less
  9. Ain't It Good to You
  10. Funky
  11. Give the Drummer Some
  12. Break North
  13. Critical Beatdown
  14. When I Burn
  15. Ced-Gee (Delta Force One)
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Editorial Review:

Amazon.com:
Part B-Boys and part Bad Boys, the Ultramagnetic MC's took a series of mind-blowing singles, including "Ease Back" and "Funky," wrapped them around at least as many new tracks, and released Critical Beatdown, one of the greatest new-school albums. Combining seriously dog-eared samples (James Brown's "Funky Drummer" appears out of tradition, more than necessity, on "Give the Drummer Some," and the Meters' "Look-Ka Py Py" provides the backbone for "Ease Back") with very clipped rhyme patterns from the Kool Moe Dee/Big Daddy Kane school of linguistics, Ultra's style lives on in everyone from 2Pac to Company Flow. Production is tight, and the two-headed leadership of Ced-Gee and lunatic genius Kool Keith (just try to decode his astral cipher on "Ain't It Good to You") makes this album shoulders above other new-school heads. --Todd Levin



Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Kool Keith's start; but much more than that
It's an interesting thought to entertain, but true; the two most insane emcees today, and arguably, the two illest emcees to come from the game, Kool Keith and MF DOOM both came from classic groups, who each released classic debut albums. However, while MF DOOM's time in KMD as Zev Luv X is only known amongst his hardcore fans, Kool Keith's time as part of Ultramagnetic MC's is much more recognized. This isn't a DOOM or KMD review, though; I just thought I'd entertain that thought for a moment. The facts can't be overlooked though, and when this album came out, Keith and Ced-Gee blew away other emcees lyrically.

Nearly two decades ago, the Ultramagnetic MC's dropped Critical Beatdown; a seminal classic that would go onto inspire generations of emcees. From the Wu-Tang Clan to Mobb Deep, Ultramagnetic MC's had a huge influence on the culture, and the music; they even had a huge influence on their contemporaries, as both N.W.A. and Public Enemy went onto borrow samples from this album. Much like Kool Keith himself, Ultramagnetic MC's are often overlooked when it comes to golden-aged legends, and on this album, the Ultramagnetic MC's were just as dope as any of their rivals, if not more-so.

While I admittedly show favortism towards Keith, as he's one of my all-time favorite emcees, in no way can his partner in rhyme, Ced-Gee, be overlooked. Though he doesn't get nearly as much time on this release, the spots he does get, he ripped up with fierce lyrics. Both emcees have wicked flows; Ced-Gee with his gruff, and tumble rhymes, and Kool Keith with the flow he's possessed for 18 years. That's by no means a bad thing, as Keith was far ahead of his time on this release, and to be completely honest, still far ahead of the game two decades later - that's what happens when you live in the year 3000, though.

For fans new to Ultramagnetic MC's as a group, but familiar with Keith as an individual, this definitely won't be difficult to get into. Though Keith isn't nearly as bugged-out lyrically as he is today, he was still spitting complex verbals, with his nasally, some would even say slightly nerdy(and get slapped for it), flow. He also shows, even if he was firmer rooted in reality back in '88, he was still out of this world. Ced-Gee is a braggadocious street rapper, but he's so skilled at his craft, you can't be mad at him.

Speaking of Ced, he's also the producer of this album; and what a fine job he does. Although the production may seem a teeny(and I do mean teeny) bit aged today, it still holds up as an album anyone can throw on, and just vibe to, no matter the age; the signs of a timeless classic. Great samples are chosen, and wicked beats are crafted; musically, just like lyrically, Ultramagnetic MC's were ahead of their time.

I would include stand-out tracks, but there isn't a single track that you even want to imagine skipping; each track is as dope as the next, and I prefer that consistancy to one standout, and a bunch of great tracks. This is an entire album streaming with platinum, even if it didn't come close to that in sales; the first true definition of an underground classic, Ultramagnetic MC's Critical Beatdown is a must for any hip-hop head.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Ego Trippin
Any hip hop fan will tell you that this record is nothin less than amazing! I was really into this CD awhile back and was listening to some of the tracks the other day and re-discovered what a great and complete listen it was. Every MC is NICE and the production was ahead of its time. A must own!!! A+++


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - (10 out of 10 rating) One Of My Favorite Albums from The 1980's
Yes it is true, "Critical Beatdown" by Ultramagnetic MC's is one of my favorite albums I've heard. The Ultramagnetic MC's consisted of Kool Keith, Ced Gee, Moe Luv, and TR Love. Kool Keith and Ced Gee would be the vocalists in the group, Moe Luv was the primary DJ and TR Love was the their back up DJ. Funky production was curteosy of Ced Gee.

At a time in 1988 when rap was being surfaced with political views like Public Enemy, and the dawn of gangsta rap like N.W.A. were making an impact in its culture, Ultramagnetic MC's were down in the Ultra Lab, creating an album to let listeners know that rap wasn't just for that concept. They wern't trying to sound like gangsta rappers or getting involved in movements many movents that were going on at the time. This group were just out to show off their skills and make a name for themselves. With banging singles like "Ego Trippin", and "Funky (remix)", Ultramagnetic MC's proved to listeners they were just as good as any other rap group out there.

On to the "Critical Beatdown" album. Listening to Kool Keith on tracks like "Kool Keith Housing Things", I have a feeling that he was confortable with the way he was rhyming, as he rode each beat with ease. It seemed like there was not one time I was scratching my head wondering what in the world he was saying. Each rhyme he said was making perfect sense. Ced Gee was just as good as Kool Keith when it came to him behind the mic. A good example would be the chance he gets to shine on his solo "Ced Gee (Delta Force One)". His production was great also. Ced claimed that BDP's Scott La Rock helped with his production skills, teaching him how to use the SP-12 (for those that don't know, thats a machine that makes drum beats), and tought him how to chop up samples. Obviously Ced Gee got the hang real quickly, because it would greatly show inside of his production. DJ Moe Luv scratches would play a part in this album also. There are a lot of times when Moe Love would get his chance to shine, like in the middle "Ego Trippin" as he would get some cuts in, as well as "Moe Luv's Theme". TR Love would DJ in the album also, but not as much, but he does get a verse in the song "A Chorus Line", which I will get into. All songs here shine in a unique way, which is why I enjoy this album.

Now I bought this around this time last year, and saw that it was remastered, and six bonus tracks were added. Tracks 1-15 were on the origonal, and 16-21 are the ones that were added in. The origonal 12" version of "Funky" is dope but I like the remix better that appears in the album. "Bait" was a promo that was used on the DJ Red Alert Show back in 1988. The beat to that song was sampled by EPMD on the song "Brothers On My Jock" and on Ghostface Killah's "Daytona 500" later on in time. "A Chorus Line" once again proved why Ultra was one of the greatest groups. This time they introduce an emcee named Tim Dog (you might recognize him from the notorious song "F**k Compton" which sparked the response from Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg back around 1991/'92) to do the first verse to make a name for himself. As I said earlier, TR gets a verse in the song also starting off with "Hold the beat, stop the beat, drop the beat...". My personal favorite is the "Traveling At The Speed Of Thought (Hip House Mix)", because it comes like a dance party track, but at the same time keeps it's hip hop style while sampling Afrika Bambatta's "Planet Rock".

To think, one day last year, a 19 year old teenager came across this album at a music store by accident. I really had no idea who Ultra or Kool Keith was or the way that it sounded, but I'm glad that I came across this, because it's now one of my top 10 favorite hip hop albums ever. Not often are classics like this are remastered and reissued, so if you're looking for some classic old school 80's hip hop albums, then this would be a perfect addition to your collection. As for Ultramagnetic, this album reached #1 in Rap's top 15, and #57 in Bilboard's top Rap and R&B charts back in '89, according to the booklet inside the album. They would go to realease 2 more albums: "Funk Your Head Up" in 1992, "The Four Horsemen" in 1993, and the "B-Side Companion" in 1997 that some remixed tracks appear on this album. I haven't heard "Funk Your Head Up" or "The B-Side Companion" just yet, but I believe that "The Four Horsemen" is another Ultramagnetic classic that should be heard. The group would split up and Kool Keith would do an album with Tim Dog called "Ultra: Big Time", and realease many albums under many aliases (Dr. Octagon, Dr. Dooom, Rev Tom, and many more) as well as his own name. Also there are a few bootleg Ultramagnetic mixtapes that Ced Gee released, showcasing some of the group's earlier work, before they became popular. But from what I heard Ultramagnetic reunited about a year ago, so thats some good news. As I said before this right here is a pure classic that should be heard by hip hop heads, old and young. Pick up your copy and enjoy.

Lyrics: A+
Production: A+
Musical Vibes: A+
Overall: A+

My Favorite Tracks: Ease Back, Ego Trippin, Kool Keith Housing Things, Feelin' It, Funky (both versions), Critical Beatdown, Ced-Gee (Delta Force One), A Chorus Line, Traveling At The Speed Of Thought (Hip House Club Mix), and Mentally Mad


Chandler Infamous, and I'm out y'all. Peace!



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Sorry but...
I would not consider critical beatdown as the best rap LP of all-time, it's not even the case if we're talkin about the golden age era. Though it appears easily in my top 5, you have to admit that the works of BDP, Eric B. & Rakim and PE surclassed it at that time, get over it. Still, Ultramagnetic MC's were hip-hop greatest innovators, Ced-Gee is a true 'genius-producer' and indeed, he contributed towards the success of BDP's Criminal Minded. Kool Keith is at his prime on some brilliant tracks like 'Ego Trippin', Critical Beatdown' or 'Traveling at The speed of thought'. But i noticed there's a kind of Kool-Keith-groupie-syndrom over here. Even if Kool Keith is a great lyricist and MC, and even if he has done some remarkable stuff (Dr. Octagon, Black Elvis) he's also responsible for dropping a bunch of wild crap that should never have seen the light of the day. But when he's truly inspired, he's still one of the most enjoyable rapper i've ever heard.

But anyway, Critical Beatdown is a must have, for sure.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Call yourself a hip-hop fan yet?
If you haven't listened to this yet, you either just got into hip-hop or just heard too many new jacks and ducks... and noticing all rates were 5 stars except that one guy.. it's obvious he's not a hip hop fan.

But right to the review, this album is a must have for any hip-hop fan or collector. This really proved how Kool Keith, Ced Gee, Moe Luv, and T.R. Love just hit it overall. If you wanna know more Ultramagnetic, check out Funk Your Head Up while you still can since it's rare and out of print. If you can't go there, there's alot more albums which all are still printing and fresh. Also you may wanna peep any of the individual members' albums.

An album which just made the decade.

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