Big Apple Rappin' (subtitled: The Early Days of Hip-Hop Culture in New York City 1979–1982) is a 2006 compilation album released on Soul Jazz Records.

Big Apple Rappin' was compiled by Johan Kugelberg, a Swedish-born New York-based music collector and historian who spent the 1990s working at various record labels.

[3] Kugelberg's collection of early hip hop material was made with the focus to "create a substantial archive to place at an academic institution, to do a great book, and some really good reissues.

[1][9] Some tracks expand into broader topics such as Spyder D's "Big Apple Rappin'" which celebrates the New York hip hop scene and several crews and blocks in the area.

"[1] Kellman commented that some songs "might sound archaic and practically novelty-like" while noting that "the infectious exuberance on display through the whole thing, along with the knowledge of how this culture would continue to develop, more than makes up for whatever misgivings you might have toward the simplicity of it all.

"[1] Jeff Chang of The Village Voice declared the album "A fine new two-CD compilation lovingly curated and annotated by Swedish transplant Johan Kugelberg captures what happened after the unexpected success of "Rapper's Delight.

[16] Andy Beta of The Stranger gave the album a three out of four rating, noting the musics "nascent art form is here in all its endearing early quirks: endless disco loops tether the rambling rhymes" praising the sets highlight as Brother D & Collective Effort's "How We Gonna Make the Black Nation Rise"[6] Jim Carroll writing for The Irish Times found that compared to contemporary hip hop music, the artists on Big Apple Rappin' sounded more innocent and that on playing them side by side, the artists on this album were having more fun.

noted that the style of hip hop from the period on compilation "does grow a little tiresome once you get to the second disc" but stated that there were "some definite classics to be heard" specifically pointing out "How We Gonna Make a Black Nation Rise?

[9] Dix concluded that Big Apple Rappin serves well as a history lesson and one or two of these jams will get the crowd bugging out on the dance floor, but the repetitiveness and long-windedness might make it a hard pill to swallow all at once.