Hip Hop — All Formats  

Hell, Boots, it's not a bother – we actually dig Sorry To Bother You as much as any Coup music since Steal This Album! There's a great vibe on Sorry To Bother you – with rebellious, progressive lyricism, of course – but musically, this one surpasses the preceding Coup album, in our opinion. It's got an organic feel – lots of live drums and funky handclaps, bass, guitars and keys – and kind of a party funk vibe overall – which pairs very nicely with the strident Coup lyricism. Includes "The Magic Clap", "Your Parents' Cocaine", "The Gods Of Science", "My Murder, My Love", "You Are Not A Riot (An RSVP From David Siqueiros To Andy Warhol)", "Land Of 7 Billion Dances", "Violet", "This Year", "Long Island Iced Tea, Neat", "Wavip" and more.

Hell, Boots, it's not a bother – we actually dig Sorry To Bother You as much as any Coup music since Steal This Album! There's a great vibe on Sorry To Bother you – with rebellious, progressive lyricism, of course – but musically, this one surpasses the preceding Coup album, in our opinion. It's got an organic feel – lots of live drums and funky handclaps, bass, guitars and keys – and kind of a party funk vibe overall – which pairs very nicely with the strident Coup lyricism. Includes "The Magic Clap", "Your Parents' Cocaine", "The Gods Of Science", "My Murder, My Love", "You Are Not A Riot (An RSVP From David Siqueiros To Andy Warhol)", "Land Of 7 Billion Dances", "Violet", "This Year", "Long Island Iced Tea, Neat", "Wavip" and more.

Cali mic veteran Planet Asia – paired up producer Gensu Dean! A tight, purposefully trend-skirting collaborative effort from a duo concerned with making high quality music that'll stand the test of time. Tracks include "Thoroughest", "Bar Mitzvah", "Chochise", "Faces O The Dollar", "Chuck Berry" feat Shawn Pen, "Listen", "Reflections", "Thyself" with David Banner & Tragedy Khadafi, "Do What I Want" with Larina & Washey Choir and more.

A great little record – all drumbreaks all the way through! The record is a set of drum-only tracks performed by David Crigger, with the intention of making spare, straight drum tracks available for those that need them. Unlike other records of the type, these tracks are acoustic drums – not electric – and they're also all pretty long, with most numbers over 2 minutes in length. Joey D Vieira does a pretty nice spoken introduction to the record, and then Crigger takes over on drum tracks called "Funk Rock", "Straight Rock", "Rock Ballad", "Latin Rock", "Slow Disco", and "Fast Disco". Some of the genres aren't as good as others, but there are some nice bits on here!

A fresh serving of genius from Madlib – served up here in yet another manifestation of the Yesterday's New Quintet combo! Sound Directions have a groove that's quite similar to YNQ, but which focuses a bit more on the skittish percussion of Otis Jackson and "Sloppy" Joe Johnson – a live but spacey approach to rhythm, and one that often has the drums recorded in this gritty way that's nice and crunchy – and which is a perfect "bottom" to the tighter horns and electric keyboards of the set! Madlib's got help from guest players who vary from track to track – fleshing out his unique musical vision that includes new takes on Billy Brooks' "40 Days", Marcos Valle's "Wanda Vidal", Oliver Sain's "On The Hill", Lesiman's "Play Car", and David Axelrod's "A Divine Image" – as well as the original tunes "Theme For Ivory Black", Directions", and "Dice Game". Great stuff all around – with a groove that's as wild as Madlib's trip into the Blue Note vaults!

A solid Big KRIT mix CD gets a worthy release on 2LPs of wax! Features appearances by Big Sant, David Banner, Chamillionaire, Raheem Devaughn and more. Includes "Rise & Shine", "Rotation", "My Sub", "American Rapstar", "Kings Blues", "Amtrack", "Free My Soul", "The Vent" and many more – plus the bonus track "Shake Junt".

Strong Arm Steady's second full length for Stones Throw – this time featuring production by Statik Slektah – and it's among the best of the veteran unit's records to date! Strong Arm Steady seem to have really hit a strong stride when working as a core trio – and the tight Statik Selektah production gives them a cohesive vibe that's sorely lacking in too many contemporary hip hop albums. Solid stuff from veterans – who are coming off with the energy of hungry upstarts. Includes "Truth Of The Truth", "Premium", "Forever" feat Chace Infinite, "On My Job" feat Skeme, "LA Blues" feat Planet Asia and Tri-State, "Classic", "Through The Motions" feat David Banner and Fiend, "Back On Up", "Outta Control" with Reks, "Smoke On" with Dom Kennedy and Baby D and more.