TKA

In the 1980s and early '90s, TKA was the top male group in the genre termed "freestyle" and "Latin hip-hop." The latter is a definite misnomer, for this type of music isn't hip-hop per se, but rather dance music with hip-hop and Latin elements. Boasting such club smashes as "One Way Love," "Tears May Fall," "Scars of Love" and "Come Get My Love," this is the best TKA CD to own. While the New Yorkers' singing was never great, many of these high-tech songs (which use salsa and Afro-Cuban elements advantageously) are infectious and highly addictive. Much of the freestyle music that independent dance-oriented labels have flooded the market with has been mechanical and homogenized, but this CD illustrates that TKA -- whatever their limitations as singers -- often had heart as well as beats and grooves. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide