Larry Blackmon and his Cameo mates ruled funk's domain for over a decade. Cameo evolved from its origins as a horn-based and dominated ensemble into a synthesizer-oriented group that still featured sturdy basslines and exuberant vocals, but was in tune with urban and black America's new sensibility. These 14 selections range from the formative cuts "Rigor Mortis," "Shake Your Pants," and "It's Over" to the definitive "Word Up," "Candy," and "Back and Forth." Blackmon's alternately sneering, defiant, and aggressive vocals were the constant from Cameo's beginnings in the 1970s to their emergence as funk's reigning champions in the 1980s.

Most soundtracks simply feature the film's incidental music or songs that were heard in the background throughout the movie. Not Natural Born Killers. Assembled by Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), the soundtrack to Oliver Stone's brutally warped serial killer saga recreates the hallucinatory feeling of the film…

Returning to Def Jam after more than two decades, Public Enemy is back and louder than ever! What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down is the revitalized social justice anthem of 2020 and the body of work is a call to action, inciting justice for the black community. The album features artists such as DJ Premier, Mike D, Ice-T, PMD, Run DMC, and Jahi.

Flash was the DJ and the Furious Five were the best multiple rappers around, moving from the music's low-rent dance origins (it was Flash who began cutting in repeated portions of other records) and party spirit to the "message" approach that took over in the mid 80s, prefigured in "The Message." Much of what came later, started here.