Roots of Rap

The Roots Of Rap was one of the most significant events of its time, bringing together two-dozen of the leading original artists of the genre, who put Hip Hop on the map. The live concert was recorded simultaneously at the legendary Apollo Theater in New York, and the Palace in Los Angeles, closing with the greatest rap session of all time, as Grandmaster Flash, Melle MelL, and a host of others come together for the night s final slammin recital. This album contains highlights from the dual concert, featuring fist-pumping, hip-grinding, head-bobbin classic performances by an all-star cast. Roots Of Rap also includes Winter In America, an ultra-rare live bonus track performed by Gil Scott Heron, produced by Freddy Coussaert (the same who harboured Marvin Gaye in Ostend, Belgium, when he was on the lam from drugs and the taxman). Renowned as the Minister Of Information, Heron was one of the most perceptive political artists of the 70s and early 80s, a voice of - and for - humanity, whose prose dissects the ills of the world with scalpel-sharp precision.