Hip Hop — CDs  

Finally a strong full-length from Nu-Mark – the myriad strengths of which were amply hinted up via the epic 10" series that led up to it – and an album that packs plenty of diverse, timeless beatcraft and stellar guests on the mic! Nu-Mark's got a sharp, crisp edge with his beats – one that really seems to set a new sort of fire without ever being too overly-aware of its own style – often with these soulful undercurrents that help his music reach way past the usual, too! Vocals and rhymes are by a great batch of A-list talents – including Aloe Blacc, Charles Bradley, Bumpy Knuckles, Ernie Hines, Large Professor, J-Live, and Tiron – and one cut even features some sweet funky touches from Quantic. This deluxe CD edition features the album Disc 1. Disc 2 is a CD-ROM – featuring the instrumentals and acapella versions of most tracks, plus some bonus beats – with 32t tracks in all! tour and in-studio photos, the cover images from the Broken Sunlight 10-inch series and more! Disc 3 is a DVD – featuring the mini-film/video Nu-Conduit with live and behind the scenes footage. Amazing! Titles include "Oya Indebure", "Tropicalifornia", "Tough Break", "Feel The Way About It", "Vengeance Is Mine", "Dumpin Em All", "Our Generation (re-edit)", "When You Sleep", "Never Be Wrong", "Times Is Rough", and "Tonight".

Solid work from one of the longest running players in the game – the mighty Edo G! Longtime hip hop fans surely know Edo's name, but his longevity and consistently strong output make him one of hip hop's more unsung careerists. Intelligence & Ingorance features production by Oh No, Microphono, Max Mostley & RMG – and the titles include "Done Talking", "What They Say", "Power", "Easy", "Love I Need" with Freestyle, "Bags & Shoes", "Give It To Me", "Can't Wait" and "Change" with Noel Gourdin and "Hold U".

Janeiro Jarel and MF Doom – united as JJ Doom – and it's one of the fresher Doom collaborative projects of the past couple years! As unique as MF Doom is on the production tip, we gotta say we dig his joint efforts more when he's on the rhymes and another producer is behind the beats. Of course, the reason is that Doom is even more distinct behind the mic than he is when he wears the production mask. JJ's spacey style pilots most of the tracks on Key To The Kuffs, so Doom is free to drop mad rhymes. There's an impressive guest list, too – which includes Beth Gibbons, Damon Albarn, Indigo, Khujo Goodie and others. Titles include "Waterlogged", "Guv'Nor", "Banished", "Bite The Thong", "Dawg Friendly", "Rhymin Slang", "Winter Blues", "Viberian Sun Pt. II", "Wash Your Hands" and more.

Sparely funky, yet heavily atmospheric hip hop productions from unsung titan Kankick – made up mostly of late 90s material – and it's right up with some of our favorite leftfield producers of the period! Kankicks was perhaps best known as a Lootpack affiliate around this time, and sure enough, it's the kind of thing that would have sounded right at home on Stones Throw in the label's infancy. This ain't baby stuff, though, and it's aging quite well! Raw beats laced by vinyl grit, occasional hazy vocals and trippy atmosphere to spare. Relatively little heard excellence from an unsung producer! Includes "The A-1 Sound", "Witness Truthful Mystics", "One Reason Why", "A Song For My Forefathers", "Look At That", "Amplified Dynastical", "Lady Slick" feat Unorthodox, "Unpredictable", "To All The Duck Rap Radio DJs", "FLS (Do You Like)", "Night Shine", "Oodles Of Ounces", "Aquarian Meditation", "The Blowfly" (Kancritic feat Medaphoar), "Dig The Transition", "Bread And A Rolls Royce" and more. Also includes 2 bonus tracks. 27 tracks in all!