Hip Hop — All Formats  

Paid In Full, indeed. Eric B & Rakim's seminal album still pays off in so many ways, and it was such a vital link between the party rockin' style of the old school and the terse, hard-hitting beats and rhymes of what was then the new school, we can't even come up with the words for the praise it's due! If you don't respect this album, you don't know a damn thing. Includes the immortal "I Ain't No Joke", "Eric B Is In The Cut", "I Know You Got Soul", "Move The Crowd", "Paid in Full", "Chinese Arithmetic", and "Eric B. Is President" plus 2 bonus tracks: "As The Rhyme Goes On (radio)" and "Paid In Full (mini madness – Coldcut rmx)".

"Insanity" has a nicely trippy groove – a bit of a head-nodder, but with vocals that bristle out from the back and keep things moving upward – especially when Jimetta Rose opens up! "In The Place To Be" is funkier, with some cool spacey breaking drums – and some cuts from DJ Ren!

Dilla beats and an allstar roster of guest Detroit MCs – and a strong debut full length from Ruff Draft Records! Posthumous releases by favorite departed figures can be a dicey proposition – and much to our relief, Rebirth Of Detroit delivers – with both high quality beats & rhymes, and positive mojo! Dilla didn't cop to current trends in his time on earth (except for the ones he started in the first place) so it stands to reason that the beats he had in the can before he departed would hold up strongly years later – and they do! The guests here bring their A-games, plus full respect and admiration for Dilla. Includes "The New Installment", "Detroit Madness" with Phat Kat, "Big Things" with Esham, "Let's Pray Together" with Amp Fiddler, "Requiem" with Allan Barnes of The Blackbyrds, "My Victory" with Boldy James, "Do It For Dilla Dog" with Illa J and Frank Nitt, "Jay Dee's Revenge" with Danny Brown and cuts by DJ Dez, "Houseshoes Was Spinnin'" with Quelle Chris and more.

A compilation of pivotal mid 90s Dilla productions and remixes – classics and rarities from the Pharcyde, N'Dea Davenport, and the Brand New Heavies with guest appearances by Q-Tip and Mos Def – great stuff from the prime Delicious Vinyl years! It's full of bedrock jazzy funk from Jay Dee – a 2CD set with vocal versions on the first disc and a second CD featuring instrumentals. This is a great refresher course on Jay Dee's golden age pedigree – especially if you came on board with Dilla in the later Stones Throw years – featuring his earlier genius productions plus a second disc featuring instrumental versions. Proceeds from the CD are to go to Ma Dukes. Titles include "Runnin'" (plus instrumental), "Somethin' That Means Somethin'" (plus instrumental), "Bullsh*t" (plus instrumental), Y? (remix)" (plus instrumental) by Pharcyde, "Sometimes (remix)" (plus remix instrumental) by Brand New Heavies feat Q-Tip, "Saturday Night (remix)" (plus remix instrumental) by Brand New Heavies feat Mos Def, "Whatever You Want (remix)" by N'Dea Davenport and more.