Name: Rammellzee vs. K-Rob - Beat Bop (VLS) Label: Profile Records/Tartown Genre: Old School Hip-Hop Release Date: 1983 Format: mp3 Quality: 128 Kbps Size: 17,8 Mb Duration: 00:19:30 Description: "Beat Bop" is a hip hop single by American rappers Rammellzee and K-Rob, originally released in 1983 by record label Tartown. Initially distributed merely as a test pressing, it is notable for being theme of hip hop culture documentary film Style Wars and having a cover designed by famed New York graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. The result of a disagreement between Rammellzee and Basquiat, the track has been cited as having an influence on artists such as Beastie Boys and many modern experimental hip hop artists due to its chaotic, abstract sound, and, due to the rarity of its original pressing, has been called the Holy Grail of rap records.
The track was initially intended as a battle rap between Rammellzee and Basquiat, following heated arguments between the two. Rammellzee, an influential graffiti artist himself, accused Basquiat of being a fraud. In turn, Basquiat claimed he could out-rap, out-dance, and out-paint anybody. The duo eventually settled on "Beat Bop" acting as an outlet for this tension. In 1983, with strong links to Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat was the toast of the New York art world (Rammellzee, on the other hand, describes himself as being an "up-and-coming con artist"). Basquiat therefore agreed to pay for the entirety of the single's recording, pressing and eventual release. Despite this, both Rammellzee and K-Rob had the power to overrule Basquiat on the record's content:
"He wanted [to] say his own verses... me and K-Rob read them and started laughing, and we crushed up his paper with the words he had written down and we threw it back at him face first."
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