Various Artists
Fat Beats & Brastraps
(Rhino)
This three disc series is a long overdue summation of women in hip-hop. In ascending order of greatness, there's New MCs (strong and consistent but lacking a certain irreverence), Classics (which starts off with such milestones as The Real Roxanne's "Bang Zoom - Let's Go-Go" and Roxanne Shanté's "Have A Nice Day"; but the fun seeps out towards the end with cuts by The Conscious Daughters and Ice Cream Tee) and Battle Rhymes & Posse Cuts. Most of the reason for the latter's success revolves around the inimitable Roxanne Shanté - the greatest rapper of all time (yes, this is true). You get her debut, "Roxanne's Revenge," the inexhaustibly scandalous "Big Mama" and two Shanté disses from Sparky `D' and J.J. Fad. But the jewel in the crown is the ultra-rare "Round 1 (Uncensored)", where Shanté comes to verbal blows with Sparky Dee -- the wit is so boundless on both sides of the ring that it's impossible to tell who comes out winning.
Kevin John