Rolling Stone (12/14/95, p.81) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...a sound on the New York streets...the driving force behind the most musically influential--and financially succesful--new record label of the '80s....its initial breakthrough, its stormy maturation and, finally, its establishment as a major industry player..." Spin (12/95, p.120) - 7 - Flawed Yet Worthy - "...the stable that introduced hip-hop's new-school generation...presenting brash artists with trademark personae, 'round the way allegiances, and prodigious enough rhyme skills to last an entire album....Get this to hear hip-hop's conquest of pop play out on your stereo..." Q (1/96, p.157) - 5 Stars - Indispensable - "It's almost trite to say, but Def Jam is the most important black music label since Atlantic and Motown....The other astonishing thing about this wholly remarkable label is that it has continued to be vital and innovative throughout its 11-year history..." Melody Maker (12/2/95, p.31) - Bloody Essential - "...you can crash in here at random and...hear something that pipes more feeling, open intelligence, wild imagination and a simple sonic appeal into a couple of minutes than the whole of this week's...charts....The only real recommendation is capital letters saying LISTEN..." Musician (2/96, p.93) - "...Def Jam's courtship of major label music...helped create a pop-culture juggernaut, one that shredded conventions on television rather than on the indie circuit...not only captures the highlights of rap's premier label, but shows how hip-hop grew up before our eyes..." Village Voice (2/20/96) - Tied for #7 on the Reissues list of Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll. NME (Magazine) (12/23-30/95, p.23) - Ranked #2 on NME's `Compilations Of The Year' list for 1995. NME (Magazine) (11/25/95, p.46) - 10 (out of 10) - "...Def Jam...is probably the only record label in history that can truly claim to have altered the musical landscape both dramatically and permanently....this awesome collection...[is] an absolute must-steal for anyone with an interest in uncompromising, insurrectionary music....This, in short, is the shit..."

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