Bad Boy Joe

The Best of Freestyle Megamix, Vol. 4 is a two-disc set, the first disc is a mix of old-school freestyle, the second a mix of contemporary freestyle sounds. Disc One is the better of the two by far. It kicks off with a very cheesy megamix that jams all the tracks on the disc into a five-minute Stars on 45-type song by the compiler and mixer of the disc, Bad Boy Joe. Once you get past that, there are a bunch of excellent songs to be found, including freestyle classics like Shannon's "Let the Music Play," Newcleus' "Jam On It," Afrika Bambaataa's "Looking for the Perfect Beat," Planet Patrol's "Play at Your Own Risk," and Hashim's "Al-Naayafish." The songs flow together nicely, and the mix would work well at any retro dance party. Disc Two is less exciting if only because the tracks will generate no nostalgia, and they just don't sound as good as the older tracks. They sound very similar; the producer's must have spent quite some time trying to recreate the classic freestyle sound, but they are missing that spark of originality. Still, Disc One makes this set worth picking up. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide