The Beat Junkies Albums (3)
'The World Famous Beat Junkies, Vol. 3'
Release Date 11/9/1999
Tracks 17
Label Blackberry
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Volume three in the World Famous Beat Junkies series throws the spotlight onto Melo-D, who handles the majority of the mixing and scratching work here. It's only a single-disc collection this time out, featuring a healthy blend of underground favorites (mostly from the West Coast) and lesser-known up-and-comers. Quasimoto, Defari, Rasco, Xzibit, Dilated Peoples, the Lootpack, and Saukrates are all present, and there are some exclusives and freestyle cuts as well. True to the Beat Junkies' name, though, the real focus is on the DJ's rhythm tracks, and Melo-D shows that he's more than up to snuff with the rest of his mates. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
'The World Famous Beat Junkies, Vol. 2'
Release Date 8/10/1998
Tracks 32
Label Promo
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The World Famous Beat Junkies, Vol. 2 is another double-disc mix album, this time spotlighting the skills of Beat Junkie DJ Rhettmatic instead of Babu. Naturally, there are appearances from other key members as well, and a couple of archival pieces of interest: Rhettmatic's award-winning routine at the 1996 DMC competition, and the four-man routine featuring Rhettmatic, J-Rocc, Melo-D, and Babu that won the 1997 ITF team championship. Disc one is mostly a collection of underground favorites, with work by Dilated Peoples, Mos Def, Jurassic 5, the Lootpack, Defari, Slum Village, and Rasco, among others. Disc two features a few more freestyles and exclusive tracks, all enlivened by excellent scratching and mixing. Die-hard turntable aficionados will find all of the Beat Junkies' compilations necessary, but thanks to strong track selection, this one might just be the pick of the litter. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
'The World Famous Beat Junkies, Vol. 1'
Release Date 6/3/1997
Tracks 21
Label PR
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Turntablism: at times, extraordinary. At others, kind of like watching a musical circus act. Luckily, the first mix album put out by the Beat Junkies collective gives the reigns to International Turntablist Federation world-champion (and Dilated Peoples member) DJ Babu with very few moments of stylistic silliness. This turntablist mix simply knows when to let the actual tunes take center stage. So, while there is more than enough deck trickery, Babu lets songs such as Kool Keith's "Lovely Lady" or the De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and Jungle Brothers collaboration "How Ya Want It" play out with little overbearing technical wizardry. Which isn't to say the mix is lacking in skills. He also consistently adds unobtrusive layers of background scratches and beats as he lets Beat Junkies founder J-Rocc chime in every once awhile to praise the laid-back party. Babu even takes a segment in the middle of the mix to show off a drunken, sultry flurry of fantastic beat-juggling that should impress even the most trainspottery of turntablism fans. If his style could be described, it would include the fact that he uses a much more soulful and collaborative effort with the original recordings instead of a reliance on lightning deck-blaze aesthetics, which can only be good. Because this first volume in the World Famous Beat Junkies series proudly shows off skills that adhere just to the grooves themselves -- and even the biggest opponents to "style over substance" would have to applaud that. ~ Dean Carlson, All Music Guide
