Steve Gordon & The Kosher Five - Take My Rap... Please flac mp3 download

Fascinating record. This is very likely the first Jewish rap record, and before you dismiss it as mere novelty, don't forget that ALL rap records in '79 were novelty records. This is one of three 1979 rap records on Reflection that all used the same backing track, and this is also one of the few rap 12"s from 1979 with a picture cover. Self-referential Jewish humor (ala Borscht-belt) is the order of the day here, with the rapping lead character in heavy Yiddish accent detailing his troubles before ending up in the Catskills. At one of the famed hotels, he hears some DJ playing records with rhymes over them, and then ends up on the mic himself. This is the beginning of a tradition in rap (like it or not) that threads through Mel Brooks' records, Rodney Dangerfield's "Rappin Rodney", the 2 Live Jews, MOT, even The Beastie Boys, Justin Warfield, and other rap acts with a deliberate tendency towards self-pointing Jewish humor.