Hip-O's Microphone Fiends has an odd selection of old-school cuts from the early '80s and classic rap from the late '80s. As a result, the album isn't necessarily coherent, but it does have some great singles -- including Boogie Down Productions' "My Philosophy," De La Soul's "Jenifa Taught Me," N.W.A's "Express Yourself," EPMD's "Let the Funk Flow," Mantronix's "Gangster Boogie (Walk Like Sex, Talk Like Sex)," Ice-T's "6 in the Mornin" and Eric B. & Rakim's title track. Those hits are reason enough to acquire the album, especially since a couple of songs aren't available on any other collection, but it's too brief and uneven to be considered an essential purchase. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi