Early Non-Hop
Among the first people in Britain to latch on to Hip-Hop were the UK's musical Avant-Garde. Mark Stewart and Bristol's Wild Bunch were caning mixtapes of the New York Underground just as Malcom McClaren was fixating on the early Rap. Adrian Sherwood deserves kudos for going right to the source and hiring Skip McDonald, Doug Wimbush and Keith Leblanc, the Sugarhill Records rhythm section.
The Akabu record is fascinating for a number of reasons. It's on Tommy Boy Records, is a joint On-U/Tommy Boy production (rekindling the NY/London relationship that Y records and 99 records enjoyed) and it also features not only improv refugee musician Steve Beresford, but also Steinski on the edit.