Classic Material Bonus Mix #2: Hip House ‘89
“Back when Nick Armitage and I kicked off our Classic Material project back in 2011, my intention had been to compliment our monthly series of era specific mixes with a set of Bonus Mixes focussing on various Hip Hop sub-genres and spin off scenes that emerged during those eras. With good intention I put together one (mid 80s Electro-Rap and Electro-Funk), but beyond that it turned out that a mix a month in the main series was quite enough work on its own. I hate leaving things unfinished though so, years later, here’s another: Hip House ’89. Not every record on this mix was released in ’89 – there’s one or two from ’88 (Fast Eddie was ahead of the curve) and one from ’90 (Queen Latifah was behind it), but it’s fair to say ’89 was epicentre of this sound. I’ve got some mixed feelings about this collection – if truth be told I dismissed a lot of this material as a fad for a long time, but 30 years down the line I find an undeniable charm to these fun, dancefloor oriented records.”
The cover artwork is a pastiche of the interior gatefold of the 1988 Stylus Records compilation ‘Hip Hop & Rapping in the House’