Special Ed: Youngest In Charge Vinyl LP

Debut album from Special Ed first time vinyl reissue! Hip Hop had already existed for a decade by 1989 yet the young genre still had a lot of walking to do before it started running. Though only 16 at the time, Special Ed was a gifted kid with some of the swaggiest raps well before the term even existed. His braggadocio rhymes with impeccable delivery hit at the right time and place. After acts like Run DMC, Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy had broken nationwide, it was only a matter of time before another New Yorker made it big. Teaming up with fellow Brooklynite Howie Tee, whom produced rap classics Get Tough by CDIII, Treat Em Right by Chubb Rock, and I Wanna Sex You Up by Color Me Badd, they set out for greatness and together they reached it. ‘I Got It Made’ not only spoke to the youth of NY but also made headway across the radio waves of the world. Followed by ‘Think About It’, the times were all about skills and both Howie and Ed were masters in the arts.

• Get On Down 2015

reviewed by Klondike Bars 9/2015