MANTRONIX - NEEDLE TO THE GROOVE Kurtis Mantronik and MC Tee formed the group Mantronix In the early 80s. Their Sleeping Bag Records debut - Mantronix: The Album shot to commercial success with the wildly futuristic sound that is summed up perfectly with the 2 songs featured on this 7. Side A features Needle To The Groove which is classic Mantronik production; pounding 808, pulsing bass, lots of scratching all accompanied by MC Tees signature voice. Side B features the equally amazing (and the first single from the group) Fresh Is The Word. While encompassing the same trademark style of Needle.., Fresh Is The Word is a little more stripped down putting more focus on the beats and rhymes. Both these songs are essential to the foundation of Hip Hop which was starting to push the envelope of technology and sampling during this time putting Mantronik at the forefront of this movement. JUST-ICE - COLD GETTING DUMB Cold Gettin Dumb remains one of the most exhilarating tracks from an era when hip-hop was inventing itself day by day. Mantroniks production was so ahead of its time, and when coupled with Just Ice the combination was pure fire. This song still to this day might be one of the hardest beats ever made in Hip Hop. 10 years after its release Redman tried to recreate the beat for his single Its Like That (My Big Brother) but the fact that Mantronik had programmed and sequenced Cold Gettin Dumb live you can hear the difference which makes the original beat unmatched.
