Hip Hop — All Formats  

Foreign Exchange and friends get some remix love! As impressive and eclectic as Nicolay and Phonte are as the flagship FE duo – and given the depth of their excellent +FE Music catalog – you probably expected them to attract the crème of the crop of cosmic soul remixers, and that they do! Reworks features top shelf tracks by FE – plus tracks led by Deborah Bond, Zo!, Sy Smith, Jeanne Jolly, Vikter Duplaix, solo Phonte and others – and remixes/works by 4Hero, Nicolay, Tall Black Guy, James Poyser's and ?uestlove's Randy Watson Experience and others. Tracks include "So What If It Is", "The Last Fall (Focus. . .+FE Experience Remix)", "Fight For Love (Nicky Mendes And Brasil '66 Remix)", "If She Breaks Your Heart (Randy Watson Experience Remix)" feat Yahzarah and more by Foreign Exchange, plus "Games You Can't Win (Nicolay Remix)" by RJD2 feat Kenna, "Flight Of The Blackbyrd (4Hero Remix)" by Zo feat Phonte, "Electric Love (Nicolay Remix)" by Vikter Duplaix, "The Art Of You (Nicolay Remix)" by Sy Smith, "Love Songs" by Phonte feat Focus & Sy Smith, "This Could Be The Night (Tall Black Guy Remix)" by Zo feat Eric Roberson, Darien Brockington & Phonte, "Acslater (Nicolay Remix)" by The Hot At Nights and more. 21 tracks on 2CDs.

Foreign Exchange and friends get some remix love! As impressive and eclectic as Nicolay and Phonte are as the flagship FE duo – and given the depth of their excellent +FE Music catalog – you probably expected them to attract the crème of the crop of cosmic soul remixers, and that they do! Reworks features top shelf tracks by FE – plus tracks led by Deborah Bond, Zo!, Sy Smith, Jeanne Jolly, Vikter Duplaix, solo Phonte and others – and remixes/works by 4Hero, Nicolay, Tall Black Guy, James Poyser's and ?uestlove's Randy Watson Experience and others. Tracks include "So What If It Is", "The Last Fall (Focus. . .+FE Experience Remix)", "Fight For Love (Nicky Mendes And Brasil '66 Remix)", "If She Breaks Your Heart (Randy Watson Experience Remix)" feat Yahzarah and more by Foreign Exchange, plus "Games You Can't Win (Nicolay Remix)" by RJD2 feat Kenna, "Flight Of The Blackbyrd (4Hero Remix)" by Zo feat Phonte, "Electric Love (Nicolay Remix)" by Vikter Duplaix, "The Art Of You (Nicolay Remix)" by Sy Smith, "Love Songs" by Phonte feat Focus & Sy Smith, "This Could Be The Night (Tall Black Guy Remix)" by Zo feat Eric Roberson, Darien Brockington & Phonte, "Acslater (Nicolay Remix)" by The Hot At Nights and more. 21 tracks on 2CDs.

Mos Def's first for Downtown after a weird few years on Geffen that saw many a bumped street date, the hit & miss New Danger, and finally, the semi aborted release of the controversial True Magic – back with a top shelf, excellent album in 2009's The Ecstatic! It may not be Black Star or Black On Both Sides, but The Ecstatic is absolutely strong stuff, and to be honest, much better than we would have expected – even if we knew he had great hip hop left in him! The beats are compelling, unpredictable, and steeped in abstract global funk that would sound at home on Stones Throw – some of the beats are literally Stones Throw, given Madlib's Beat Konducta and Oh No's Oxperimental sounds to be found. If we weren't already loving it, Slick Rick drops an unforgettable guest appearance on the the moody "Auditorium", Georgia Anne Muldrow does her inimitable thing on "Roses", and Talib Kweli rhymes on "History". Mos rhymes skillfully throughout, and with an infectious immediacy, as if he dropped records this tight all the time. Sadly, he doesn't, so this one's all the more rewarding! Other tracks include "Twilite Speedball", "Revelations", "Pretty Danger", "Quiet Dog", "The Embassy", "Wahid", "Priority" and more.

The best music in years from RZA – the man who introduced styliized martial arts soundtrack funk to hardcore hip hop – and the soundtrack to his own damn stylized martial arts film, The Man With The Iron Fists! Musically, it's top notch! RZA's wise enough to contemporize his tried-and-true style rather than revisit it – with swelling soul strings and a crisper sound than the dusty Shaw Bros-sampling Wu Tang sound of past endeavors –and he's joined by a diverse roster of guests that includes Ghostface, Raekwon and other Wu veterans, Kanye, MOP, Pharoahe Monch, The Black Keys, Corrine Bailey Rae, Danny Brown and many more! Includes "The Baddest Man Alive" with The Black Keys, "Black Out" with Ghostface, MOP & Pharoahe Monch, "White Dress" with Kanye West, "Rivers Of Blood" with Wu Tang Clan and Kool G Rap, "Chains" with Corrine Bailey Rae, "The Archer" with Killa Sin, "Just Blowin' In The Wind" with RZA and Flatbush Zombies, "Your Good Thing Is About To End" by Mable John, "Built For This" with Method Man, Freddie Gibbs & Streetlife" and more.

An excellent full length set of beats & genius from J Dilla – put together by fellow beatmaker extraordinaire Pete Rock, with all Dilla beats – a surprising triumph! Call us jaded, but honestly, we weren't sure how deep the well could go of ready-to-go beats from Dilla, but this stuff is truly top shelf – nearly as strong as the instant classic Donuts from a few years back! Pete Rock crafts the set as if it's a radio show or mixtape, but his skill in so doing is well above and beyond the norm – neither Pete's interjections nor the guest rappers ever get in the way of the flow, it's as smooth as can be. Vocal guests include Ma Dukes (the album was made under Ma's auspices), plus Lil Fame & MOP, Black Thought, Frank Nitty of Frank N Dank, Doom, Illa J & Cue D, Blu, and others. Titles include "King", "I Told Yall", "Smoke" feat Blu, "CaDILLAc". "Fire Wood Drumstix" feat Doom, "Big Day", "24K Rap" feat Havoc of Mobb Deep & Raekwon, "Coming Back", "Mythsysizer" and more. 28 tracks in all, about an hour of unreleased Dilla!

A massive early 80s electro club groove, with great syn drum beats and some nice soulful vocals over top!

The idea here is sort of a battle on wax . In the blue corner is MC Irisciense of Dilated Peoples and DJ Babu of the Beat Junkies. In the red corner is MC Psycho of Insane Poetry and DJ Rip One of Innernational. Each MC/DJ pair is given the same topic and sample (from "I Put a Spell On You" that Premier used for Biggie's "Kick in the Door.") and whoever comes out with the dopest track wins.

Diverse beatcraft from a pioneer of beathead culture – the never predictable, still vital DJ Vadim! Spacey keys, funky bass, atmospheric synth and top notch turntable skills are, as always, the main tools of Vadim's trade – but the cross-cultural, globe-spanning styles he manages to cook up are as impressive as ever on Don't Be Scared. Glitchy funk and soul from around the world, echoey dancehall and more float in and out, with some sampled bits of vocal as well as some great guest singers on the mic. Another win for Vadim and BBE! Includes "Hide N' Seek", "Lemon Haze", "I'm Feeling U" with Gregory Blackman, "This DJ" feat J-Man, "Set Them Free" feat Sabira Jade, "Leader" with Yarah Bravo, "Vah Vaow" feat Heidi Vogel, "Take My Time" with Jazz Bailey and "Closed Eyes" feat Yarah Bravo, Pugs Atomz and Jazz Bailey.

Diverse beatcraft from a pioneer of beathead culture – the never predictable, still vital DJ Vadim! Spacey keys, funky bass, atmospheric synth and top notch turntable skills are, as always, the main tools of Vadim's trade – but the cross-cultural, globe-spanning styles he manages to cook up are as impressive as ever on Don't Be Scared. Glitchy funk and soul from around the world, echoey dancehall and more float in and out, with some sampled bits of vocal as well as some great guest singers on the mic. Another win for Vadim and BBE! Includes "Hide N' Seek", "Lemon Haze", "I'm Feeling U" with Gregory Blackman, "This DJ" feat J-Man, "Set Them Free" feat Sabira Jade, "Leader" with Yarah Bravo, "Vah Vaow" feat Heidi Vogel, "Take My Time" with Jazz Bailey and "Closed Eyes" feat Yarah Bravo, Pugs Atomz and Jazz Bailey.