The Best Of Del Tha Funkee Homosapien [The Elektra Years] : The B-Boy Handbook (Explicit)

With this "Best of" collection, Elektra has done what I wish every record label would have the guts/brains to do: it opened the vaults to give us access to the infamous glut of "previously unavailable on CD" hip-hop tracks. Over half of the songs on this Del retrospective are remixes, b-sides, or soundtrack cuts that are difficult or impossible to find anywhere else on CD. I have many of these old remixes & b-sides on cassette singles, and I am very happy to finally have crisp, clean digital copies to play, rip, and burn. You might fault the selection of songs dubbed "the best," but you can't fault the inclusion of so many rare and elusive treats. "The Undisputed Champs," "Catch a Bad One (Remix)," and "Burnt" are stand-outs, but there's really not a bad song on the whole disc. Yes, some of the remixes are disappointing--but, really, how could a remixer top the original versions of bonafide classics like "Mistadobalina" and "Dr. Bombay?" Impossible. Just be thankful that some doors have been opened to some previously lost and forgotten tracks. And let's hope that the trend continues. (Are you listening, Jive? Let's get a similar compilation of Souls of Mischief vaulted gems, okay?)