From rags to raps, the companion box set to VH1'sfive-part miniseries (premiering 10 p.m. today) lives up to its title. It covers African-American recordings with six CDs that span 1916-1994, opening with Scott Joplin's “Maple Leaf Rag” and closing with with Coolio's “Fantastic Voyage” and Dr. Dre's “The Next Episode.”

        In between, Say It Loud! says it loud and long with a dizzying array of music icons and styles.

NEW & NOTED

Say It Loud!: A History of Black Music in America     Various artists    Rhino; 4 stars    $89.98 CDs only

        Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Paul Robeson, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Robert Johnson, Charley Patton and Son House — and that's just the first disc.

        There's also bebop with Charlie Parker, Nat Cole's suavely swinging trio, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, T-Bone Walker and R&B pioneers Louis Jordan and Professor Longhair, plus early rockers Ruth Brown and Jackie Brenston.

        Miles Davis, Little Richard, Howlin' Wolf, Johnny Mathis and the version of the Soul Stirrers gospel quartet that featured Sam Cooke are also present and accounted for, giving an idea of the impressive scope of the box.

        Where else can you find John Coltrane's monumental “Giant Steps” and Quincy Jones' nostalgic TV theme for Sanford and Son in the same box?

        There's also Al Green and Jimi Hendrix, Charley Pride and B.B. King, Mahalia Jackson and the Jackson 5, Isaac Hayes' Academy Award-winning “Theme From Shaft” (the first Oscar won by an African-American composer) and Cincinnati's own Isley Brothers' “Fight the Power Part 1.”

        Historic soundbites throughout the six CDs give the set an even more epic feel. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, Malcolm X, Booker T. Washington and Joe Louis all make appearances.

        Taking its name from James Brown's King Records hit (featured on Disc 5), the set succeeds in showcasing the all-encompassing impact of African-American recording artists, from blues to jazz to pop and even country. To a surprising extent, American popular music is African-American music, and Say It Loud! provides ample proof.

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