Hip Hop — CDs  

Why these guys never got over bigger is beyond us! Between A Rock And A Hard Place is filled with dope rhymes, timeless beats, and a mellow, tuneful vibe that's as strong as just about anything we can think of from that fertile early-to-mid 80s scene. Titles include "Lower Da Boom", "Cummin' Thru Ya F**kin Block" feat Redman, "Drama", "Dynamite Soul", "C'Mon Wit Da Git Down" (plus the remix feat Busta Rhymes), "What Goes On?", and "Wrong Side Of Da Tracks". A couple of bonus tracks on this 2013 CD version: "Dynamic Soul II (Lip Service Remix)" feat Mad Skillz and "It's Gettin Hot (Remix)".

Big Boi's got plenty of help this time around – a huge array of guest talents that includes Sleepy Brown, Phantogram, TI, Ludacris, Kelly Rowland, Killer Mike, Bosko, and many others – but there's still a nicely unified feel to the set – a strength of vision that holds on even in the more commercially-tuned numbers, of which there are definitely a few that should push this one over the top! Titles include "Shoes For Running", "Apple Of My Eye", "CPU", "In The A", "The Thickets", "Lines", "Tremendous Damage", and "Descending". Deluxe edition features 3 bonus songs!

A Native Tongues (more or less) hip hop classic from 1991! We hardly need tell you about this one, but in case you can't remember, this is the LP with "Flavor Of The Month", "Similak Child", "Pass The 40", "To Whom It May Concern", "Butt In The Meantime", "Strobelite Honey", and more! CD includes the bonus tracks "The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)" and "Yes".

The classic Scott La Rock tribute album – with BDP classics and remixes – originally issued as a 2LP set that was put together following the South Bronx-repping hip hop pioneer's shooting death. Alternate versions, remixes and BDP medley's from their most classic late 80s period. 15 tracks in all: "Advance", "D Nice Rocks The House", "Red Alert (Criminal Minded)", 'Doc Mix (Criminal Minded)", "Super Hoe #4", "Word From Our Sponsor #8", "BDP Medley #5", "Poetry" (#s 1, 2 & 3)" and lots more!

NuHop? Common newcomers who buy Electric Circus for the single with Mary J Blige are going to be left with some head scratching – but if you like the spiritual/psychedelic Com that was hinted at on Like Water For Chocolate, this may be the follow up you were waiting for! This is still hip hop – with production by the Neptunes, Jay Dee, ?uestlove and others, but it's definitely a boundary stretcher. The mood runs from Roots style soul bumpers to Hendrix and Eugene McDaniels style feedback heavy freakouts. There's a guest on nearly every track, mostly from the Okayplayer camp and NuSoul titans, including Bilal, Omar, Pharrell Williams, Cee-Lo, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab and others. We won't lie to you, we miss the Chicago hip hop Common that kicked insight over raw and soulful productions, but you can't fault the guy for being an artist, and he really has crafted something original here. A great cover – a kind of rainbow drenched cut and paste photo collage of the contributors and inspirations with Com out front, sort of reminding us of Tribe's Midnight Maurauders, and even Sgt. Pepper. Tracks include "Ferris Wheel", "Soul Power", "The Hustle", the first single "Come Close", "New Wave", "Star *69", "Jimi Was A Rock Star" and more.

The lyrically focused set in the 2 Stepping Stones compilations from DJ Krush – part remix album, part retrospective – featuring Company Flow, Black Thought & Malik B of the Roots, Mos Def, Aesop Rock, Zap Mama and others! Lyricism kind of finds Krush in his most hip hop reverent game, naturally – but he runs the gamut of possibilities within the genre. Krush never battles the MCs for track supremacy as many of the superstar producers of the day do. He's laying proper groundwork for the mic styles, yet still laying down his experimental funk signature – and the wide variety of vocalists gives him ample opportunity to show his unrivaled breadth! Tracks include "Only The Strong Survive (Bon mix)" feat CL Smooth, "Vision Of Art (Vib mix)" feat Company Flow, "Zen Approach (Cradle mix)" feat Black Thought, "Kill Switch (Beep mix)" feat Aesop Rock, "Song For John Walker (Sticky mix)" feat Anticon, "Danger Of Love (Gray-Sky mix)" feat Zap Mama, "Shinjiro (Harsh mix)" feat Mos Def and more.

The stellar remix version of DJ Shadow's early 00s masterpiece Private Press – made for the Japanese market and never released in the US – featuring remixes, b-sides and more – with mixes or appearances by Unkle, Roots Manuva, Mos Def, Z Trip and others! 14 tracks in all: "Six Days (Soulwax mix)", "GDMFSOB" (Unkle Undcensored) feat Roots Manuva, "Walkie Talkie" (extended radio edit), "Six Days" (rmx) feat Mos Def, "Mashin On The Motorway" (radio edit), "Right Thing" (Z-Trip 'Get The Party Off Mix' In Three Parts) and more. CD is enhanced, featuring videos for "Walkie Talkie" and "Six Days".

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)".

Gritty underground hip hop from Lil Fame & Termanology – working to together as Fizzyology! Fizzyology the album has production by Lil Fame (as Fizzy Womack), DJ Premier , Alchemist, Statik Selektah and J-Waxx – and appearances by Busta Rhymes, Freeway, Bun B and others. Strong stuff – with tracks that roll from tense and ominous to raw funk – and with sharp rhymes all the way. Includes "After Midnight", "Fizzyology", "Hustler's Ringtone" feat Bun B, "From The Streets" feat Freeway, "Play Dirty" feat Busta Rhymes & Styles P, "It's Easy", "Too Tough For TV", "Pray For Me" feat Kira, "Lil Ghetto Boy" feat Lee Wilson and more. 2CD bonus tracks: "Crazy" feat MOP and "Thuggaton".

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.