1983-1988 was released by Stones Throw on vinyl, compact disc and as an MP3 on April 15, 2016.

[2][1] The record was initially supposed to be a 30th anniversary release, but was held back to figure out which songs should be on the album.

[3] AllMusic suggested that "a more accurate title for this anthology might be 1983–1987, as none of the selections are drawn from the 1988 album Filthy" while noting that it includes music from 1994 such as his cover of "Sexual Harassment's "I Need a Freak".

[1] The review concluded that the compilation was "fit for a pharaoh", praising it as "sharply" designed and illustrated with "amusing" commentary from Broussard.

[1] Pitchfork stated the album was "smartly sequenced" and that the music "'80s 808-driven, Parliament- and Kraftwerk-inspired, breakbeats-referencing, futuristic-yet-analog pastiche that laid the foundation for everything from g-funk to techno to Miami bass that followed.