Classic 45's Week - Old School Funky Friday

Today's tunes come from a freebie 7" given away with the Record Mirror in 1988. It's a Rhythm King versus Jive Records split, and it showcases the two different labels pretty well - edgier, more experimental fare on from Rhythm King and pop rap from Jive.

Side A kicks off with Bomb The Bass' Megablast in it's original rap version, featuring Merlin on vocals. It's five minutes of beats and scratching with a great rap about the track's fierceness - not much melody or even a tune, but still rocks hard. Track A2 is S'Xpress' Coma, "specially written and produced" for this EP. Essentially it's 2 minutes and 40 seconds of measured breathing and a diagnostic machine beep. It's art, man.

Side B starts off with The Wee Papa Girl Rappers' You Got The Beat - new jack swing beats, the squealing horn sample, and another rap about how fresh their tune is. This is followed by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's Here We Go Again, which is totally goofy and self promoting, but then most of their tunes were. The music is ace - great keys and bass samples. Guaranteed to make you smile (or turn it off!).