The album consists of rare and obscure tracks by hip hop artists and groups made between 1983 and 1989.

Club noted that the album "offers ample evidence that there's more to '80s hip-hop than you'll find on most old-school compilations.

Perhaps the old school's greatest virtue was its artistic freedom: Unencumbered by convention, hip-hop's pioneers made up the rules as they went along, giving their music an unpredictable, exuberant, spontaneous quality that The Big Playback captures for posterity.

[1] Sasha Frere-Jones of Spin noted that "as the organising principle is rarity, not quality" and the tracks by Lord Shafiyq and MC Mitchski will "only be manna for ageing B-boys."

but that overall praised the album, stating that it was "proof that the current indie boom isn't the first time hip-hop was local, weird or free.