SPECIAL ED
In 1989, Hip-Hop was truly bona fide. It had shed the “just a gimmick” tag years before, as it showed not only artistic growth, but serious sales numbers. In short, it was here to stay. After the explosion of Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy in New York and the rise of the West Coast seen in multi-platinum successes by N.W.A. and Ice-T, the music started to truly expand, letting new voices and approaches join the party and make their own waves. One of those was a young man from Brooklyn who went by the name Special Ed. Only 16 when his debut hit shelves (and then quickly flew off them), his age was indeed just a number. Beyond any gimmicks, Ed had serious skills.
Fortunately, Ed found his way into the recording studio with fellow Brooklynite, Hitman Howie Tee. Howie had seen some success as part of the group CD III earlier in the 80s, and also did uncredited production on the worldwide smash “Roxanne, Roxanne” by UTFO in 1984. With skills and experience under his belt, he was waiting for his true “big moment.” Ed was the MC that Howie had been waiting for, and together they made history. Once it hit, Howie’s instincts were proved correct – Youngest In Charge was a smash, rocked on radio, in clubs and on boom-boxes around the world. It shot up the Billboard 100 and Rap / R&B album charts with ease, and hit Gold status by the late ‘90s, proving the album’s staying power.
Even considering the novelty of Ed’s youth, the Youngest In Charge album stands very firmly on its own as a hip-hop classic, the ultimate in late ‘80s New York brag swagger, with hit singles “I Got It Made” and “Think About It,” both which showed off Ed’s battle stances and Howie Tee’s masterful, never-endingly catchy productions. Add to it deeper album cuts that still resonate like “Taxing,” “Fly M.C.” and “I’m The Magnificent” (a later single, in 1990), and it brings you back to a time when hip-hop was all about skills and chemistry. Special Ed and Howie Tee certainly had both, with dopeness to spare.
Get On Down now presents the album, reissued on vinyl for the first time in 26 years. The audio has been remastered and revitalized, and comes housed in a gatefold jacket, bundled with liner notes by hip-hop journalist Brian Coleman, and interviews from Howie Tee and Special Ed himself. Now shipping from Traffic Entertainment Group.
PRESS FOR YOUNGEST IN CHARGE
“…For Special Ed, MC stands for master of cleverness, and Youngest in Charge is replete with it…Youngest in Charge is a delightful release from a young hip-hop pioneer, a demonstration of the Edenic age of hip-hop when youthful exuberance and expression were highly valued.”
“…Special Ed seemed a prodigy, a 16-year-old with a natural grasp of language. His comfortable, laid-back delivery balanced his expansive vocabulary with a veneer of casual-ness…The album as a whole was strong, though, and helped the Flatbush native transcend humble surroundings, to make the dream of “I Got It Made” a reality.”
– Complex, 50 Greatest Rap Albums of the 1980s
“…The recent reissue of Special Ed’s Youngest in Charge will certainly keep the Brooklynite’s enduringly striking wordplay in the discussion…for vinyl collecting fans of old-school hip-hop Special Ed’s Youngest in Charge is simply a must acquisition.”
“This is what Youngest in Charge is all about. Brooklyn’s own Special Ed, as seen through his charming self-aggrandizement. Produced at Howie’s Crib in Flatbush by the oft-forgotten Hitman Howie Tee, it is an effortless piece of work, marrying colorful, sample-based, yet simultaneously stripped-down compositions (with percussion in an essential supporting role) and the agreeable rulership of the self-acclaimed Lord of the Rhyme.”
“Youngest In Charge is one of those albums that often gets overlooked in the discussion of best hip-hop albums from the 80’s. Ed spits articulately crafted rhymes with the confidence of a seasoned veteran, and in case you missed it, dude was only 16. While most of the subject matter doesn’t move beyond boasting, his talent makes that heavily treaded ground an enjoyable listen.”
