Tommy Boy Presents: The Hip Hop Essentials Limited Edition Box Set

(www.TommyBoy.com) - Concluding it's 25th anniversary, Tommy Boy announces the December 5th release of the limited edition HIP HOP ESSENTIALS box set. Each set is numbered and features black velvet and gold foil stamp packaging. Spanning the years of 1979 through 1991, this foundational 12 volume CD collection features 144 extremely diverse tracks which have contributed to the groundwork of classic Hip Hop music.

Executive producers Tom Silverman (founder and CEO of Tommy Boy) and Stu Fine (founder of Wild Pitch Records) arranged the compilation and invited the many of the top journalists in Hip Hop to write liner notes for each volume. Nelson George wrote the introduction to the entire collection while Jeff Chang, Dan Charnas, Raquel Cepeda, Bill Adler, Brian Coleman, Toure, Harry Allen, Davey D, Greg Tate, Cheo Hodari Coker, Sacha Jenkins and Cristina Veran cover one of the 12 volumes. Bringing a true school polish to the collection, each CD features a classic image from legendary photographer, Martha Cooper.

Tommy Boy's HIP HOP ESSENTIALS box set encompasses a magical era when party dances were practically made up daily, shouting out your zodiac sign was flavor and Afrika Bambaataa was pushing his message of "peace, love, unity and having fun" to the universe. Some tracks may also re-educate young and old alike to the dangers of cocaine, unprotected sex, racism, skeezer women, tramp men and police brutality. The collection will take you back to a time when Hip Hop was not mainstream and wasn't always easy to find outside of NYC. HIP HOP ESSENTIALS clocks out just before the era of Gangsta Rap explodes and just touches on its beginnings with Schoolly D, Ice-T, N.W.A. and just a few others.