Melody Maker (10/18/97, p.53) - "...full of scratch-tastic heavy beat, gold plated hip hop which manages to combine the minimalist ground-breaking Sugar Hill sounds with the show-no-mercy aural assault of the then-emerging Public Enemy."
NME (Magazine) (10/4/97, p.55) - 9 (out of 10) - "Kool Keith is the Prodigy's favourite rapper, and this relic of his time in the Ultramagnetic MC's...is why....they knew what they were doing, and everyone's been playing catch-up since. A bona fide classic."
Ultramagnetic MC's: Kool Keith, Ced-Gee, TR Love (vocals); Moe Love (turntables).
Producers include: Ultramagnetic MC's.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
When discussing albums that helped to redefine rap music in the late 1980s, it would be impossible not to mention CRITICAL BEATDOWN. The debut album from the Ultramagnetic MC's is one of the pinnacle releases of 1988's "new school" movement. Over frenetic, self-produced tracks that sound like the Bomb Squad beaming down from outer space, rappers Kool Keith and Ced-Gee deliver esoteric and often comical lyrics that somehow manage to retain a street attitude. It is this truly original blend that makes CRITICAL BEATDOWN such a timeless listening experience. Standout tracks include "Ease Back" and the bona fide classic "Ego Trippin'," though every song is memorable. Why CRITICAL BEATDOWN never found a mainstream audience is anyone's guess, but its influence on hip-hop cannot be understated.