Star Rating: 4 out of 5



Another Nordic sample CD, this time from Scandinavian Sampler Meisters E-Lab. Strictly Hip Hop is a 99 track audio CD which times out at over 71 minutes and is packed to the brim with tons of great Hip-Hop material.



The format couldn't be simpler or easier to use, just 97 tracks of break beat performances divided up as full mixes then stripped down to slimmer versions with each track lasting anything between 20 seconds to well over a minute. No construction kits, no instruments, no Europeans shouting into a microphone trying to sound like they are from South Central LA (believe me it has happened before now!) just drum loops. And what a fine and valuable collection this is.



With the focus fixed firmly on the rhythm tracks, producer DJ Toby is given free reign to explore a fantastically broad spectrum of styles within the Hip-Hop and R'n'B genres. From heavy 'Boom Tick' retro beats obviously inspired by Eighties pioneers like Run DMC and The Beastie Boys to the smooth and super-cool off beat R'n'B flavours that have been heard of late on tracks by Whitney Houston and Missy Elliot.



Without having to worry about leaving enough space for basses and keyboards, a good number of these loops are given time to breath and evolve across the length of a performance meaning that once you have found a loop you like there is generally loads of variation to work with. With tempos starting at around 79BPM and moving up to 100 by the end of the disk, there is also a good degree of variety both across genres and styles.



This is reflected in the sounds used drawing in equal amounts from standard Hip-Hop mainstays such as crunchy lo-fi hi-hats and punchy bass drums as well as daring to just occasionally stretch the boundaries of the percussive structure and sonic format. In use, these samples work very well imbuing enough authenticity to make your track sound tight and funky without ever getting too cluttered.



Of course no release is ever 100% perfect, and if I had to pick holes in Strictly Hip-Hop, it would probably be that despite touching on the occasional inspired sonic experimentation it feels at times as if this release says more about what Hip-Hop is rather than what it could be. Not that this is entirely a bad thing and indeed many programmers looking for an opening to the world of Hip-Hop and R'n'B could do a lot worse than check this one out.



Because when the sound quality and musicianship is of this high a standard it's exactly the kind of thing worth having in your sound arsenal just in case. All in all a quality product and one that will probably provide years of service for most users.