Two turntables and a microphone... it's Maaaaaaantronix!

I have spent the past few days dodging raindrops while listening to a playlist devoted to MANTRONIX, the electro pioneers who paired fully synthesized beats with rapping in the mid-1980s.
I loved "Mantronix: The Album" and "Music Madness" when I originally had the albums on cassette. Now, I can appreciate how far ahead of their time and prescient DJ/producer Kurtis "Mantronik" el Khaleel and Touré "MC Tee" Embden were when they crafted their catchy dance music.
Nate Patrin in Pitchfork agrees, writing:
"(the) first major release, 'Needle to the Groove,' personifies our current idea of how drum machine hip-hop sounds -- even if, upon its 1985 release, it sounded pretty damn out there compared to its peers."
I have really enjoyed re-acquainting myself with this great music during the past several days.