King Of Beat

Issued in 1983 on Profile Records as Pumpkin’s debut solo 12-inch. The release is credited to Pumpkin, with producer credit to Pumpkin and engineering associated with Dave Ogrin; the record also includes an instrumental version and has been linked to Pumpkin’s work at Quadrasonic Studios. The single established Pumpkin as a solo artist after years of behind-the-scenes work for early hip-hop and electro records. It circulated as a Profile Records club/12-inch title and became one of the records that helped define the sound of early 1980s rap and electro. "King of the Beat" remains a recognized early electro-rap touchstone and has been sampled or referenced by later artists, including Rodney O and Joe Cooley and T-Ski Valley. It also appears on later compilations of essential electro and hip-hop records.