Def Jam 25: DJ Bring That Back [PA]

Performer: Various Artists
Artist: Vita; Jermaine Dupri; Dru Hill; Method Man; Papa Juggy
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: A two-volume, 25-track survey of Def Jam's storied discography, DJ BRING THAT BACK ought to satisfy both nostalgic purists and breathless fans of the contemporary scene. The first volume sticks to the `00s and late `90s, and includes tracks by Rihanna, Rick Ross, and a host of others, while the second focuses on the label's mid-`80s heyday, with hard hitting numbers from 3rd Bass, Nice & Smooth, Slick Rick, and LL Cool J. Though some listeners might be distracted by the sharp contrast between the New York-centric boom-bap of the second disc and the slick, nation-spanning club hits featured on the first, the two together offer a more or less accurate account of the history of one of hip-hop's most influential labels. Available six months prior to the two-CD version as a quadruple vinyl set -- evidently the label still takes "Servicing DJs since 1984" seriously -- Def Jam 25: Bring That Beat Back is designed like a sampler, not a definitive overview of hip-hop's greatest label. At least five more volumes of this size, if well-chosen, would be as strong as this. Just over half the tracks overlap with the five-disc 25th Anniversary box, released the same year, so it is not quite complementary to the mother ship release of the label's 2009 celebration, but it should be useful to relatively casual followers of rap and R&B who need to plug some gaps in their collections. Running in (mostly) reverse chronological order, it does not play favorites with any one faction or era of the label's existence; the contrasting presence of Oran "Juice" Jones and Rihanna, Public Enemy and Rick Ross, and Ashanti and Boss says plenty about the range of the back catalog. With its otherwise generalist approach, the compilation's inclusion of three LL Cool J songs ("I Need a Beat," "I Need Love," and "I Can't Live Without My Radio"), at the expense of unrepresented Def Jam artists like EPMD, Warren G, Scarface, and Ghostface Killah, is its biggest flaw. ~ Andy Kellman

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