Various Artists: Giant Single: The Profile Records Rap Anthology

Rating: 4.5/5  

The best record label retrospectives are the ones that let the music speak for itself. In this nostalgia-heavy age with a struggling music industry, a certain revisionism has plagued these releases in favor of making something more likely to sell. Hip-hop has arguably suffered from this the worst as its relative youth leaves most rap academia to focus on anything but the music, as well as its standing as a youth culture not interested in reliving the past. With the bar so low, calling the Profile Records collection the absolute best rap label retrospective would be damning it with faint praise. Rather, it’s one of the most satisfying pieces of rap history ever assembled.

While Profile was most famous for being the label Run-D.M.C. signed to instead of Def Jam, the track listing here keeps the Kings from Hollis relegated to three tracks (each of historical relevance and high artistic achievement). While this could have easily been the “Run-D.M.C. and Friends Show,” the diversity of these releases in their complete original versions is precisely what rap dreams are made of.

The first disc begins with the label’s now 30-year-old first single, “Genius Rap” by Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. From there we get an entire disc of hip-hop’s pre-album formative years. I have to say, as someone who spent a good chunk of his time scouring the depths of Kazaa and Limewire for MP3s of beat-up vinyl rips of a lot of these songs, hearing them in this dazzling quality is nothing short of euphoric. With many of these tracks previously being issued on CD only as one-offs on random fly-by-night bargain bin rap compilations, getting them all in one place is an absolute blessing from the hip-hop higher powers.

The second disc begins with Run-D.M.C.’s “Walk This Way,” which is made fun again thanks to the context of this collection. What’s special here is realizing how many memorable singles from rap’s golden age and and into the late ‘90s were under the Profile banner. From DJ Quik’s “Born and Raised in Compton” through Smoothe da Hustler’s essential ‘90s New York club staple “Broken Language” and beloved classics like Camp Lo’s “Luchini” and Nine’s “Whutcha Want?” you get a great taste for how diverse and relevant the label’s catalog was well into its second decade.

With absolutely no filler, Giant Single: The Profile Records Rap Anthology is quintessential for anyone looking to hear how far rap’s come. Along with the well known hits like Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock’s “It Takes Two” and Poor Righteous Teachers’ “Rock Dis Funky Joint,” we get the influential Jean-Michel Basquiat-produced Rammellzee and K-Rob cut “Beat Bop” as well as “Drag Rap” by The Showboys, a song that single-handedly became the nucleus of both Memphis and New Orleans’ entire hip-hop legacy. After numerous listens, Giant Single acts as something of an It’s A Wonderful Life for Profile. Without these songs, rap as we know it would be entirely unrecognizable. Also, like It’s A Wonderful Life, it’s a classic that will delight for years to come.