Like the other
Pureâ?¦ sets,
Pure... Hip-Hop is a cheaply priced four-disc box set that is heavy on hits, while there are plenty of deeper -- but smartly chosen -- cuts as well. This one spans the '80s, '90s, and 2000s. It's led by
Cypress Hill's "How I Could Just Kill a Man,"
Special Ed's "I Got It Made,"
Too Short's "Life Is Too Short,"
Goodie Mob's "Cell Therapy,"
OutKast's "So Fresh, So Clean," and
Clipse's "When the Last Time." There are a couple stylistic outliers, like
Ini Kamoze and
Zhane, but it still offers a useful, if somewhat random, assortment of rap singles. ~ Andy Kellman