Greatest Hits: MC Shy-D

MC Shy-D is a key figure in the history of Atlanta hip-hop. Though he may not have been the first Atlanta MC to put his rhymes on wax, his early albums for Luke Campbell’s Skyywalker records are undisputed A-Town classics. Furthermore, Shy-D’s early records introduced the world to the prodigiously talented DJ Toomp, whose work with artists like MC Shy-D, Tony Rock, T.I., and Lil Jon would help define the sound of Atlanta hip-hop in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Greatest Hits serves as a simple but effective introduction to the music Toomp and Shy-D made together. It collects a few of Shy- D’s early independent releases as well as selections from his two Skyywalker full-lengths Gotta be Tough and Comin’ Correct. The spare bass- and drum-machine-centric production of this music is inextricably linked to Atlanta’s car culture, which is memorably celebrated on the brilliant “It’s Just My Caddy.” Elsewhere Toomp imitates the breakneck tempos and unmistakable 808 rumble of early Miami Bass to thrilling effect. A few cuts that Shy-D recorded in the late ‘90s with the group the Tha-Rhythum round out this collection.