1988. Critical Beatdown. Four cats out of South Bronx put together a futuristic soundscape of raw breaks, sonic noises and scientifically constructed verses. With a name like Ultramagnetic MC’s, these kids were way ahead of their time, and the best part is that they knew it. Kool Keith and Ced Gee, along with their DJs Moe Love & TR Love, create a battlerap anthems that take on the whole game. Each song crushes competition with groundbreaking rhythms and flows, furthering the already progressing boundaries of late 80’s hip hop. In this song, “Ego Trippin”, the group direct their blows to “nursery rhyme rappers” (mainly referring to Run DMC), chastising these sucka mc’s for not putting enough effort into their work. Ced Gee’s revolutionary use of the E-mu SP 1200 would forever change how rap song were created by introducing a true sampler into the art. Melvin Bliss’s classic break “Synthetic Substitution” loops though this track, laying the foundation for the MC’s to flip the script. The Ultramagnetic MC’s proved that the future started in ‘88, and ever since we’ve been living in their bizarre musical world.
