Hip Hop — LPs  

Thumpingly playful, spacey and funky beatcraft from the J Dilla archives – a packed couple sides of short, instantaneously addictive material – great stuff that does the Dilla legacy proud! Lost Tapes, Reels & More is Dilla at his most insistent – with one memorable beat heavy blast after another. There's a lot of sampled vocal bits on this one, too, but beyond that, this is Dilla as beatmaker and producer – and in peak form! A very worthy release on Moodymann's Mahagoni label. 20 short(ish) tracks on 2 sides: "I'm Back Nick", "Dilla Beats II", "Token Jazz Hour", ""3 Round The Corner", "Here We Go Again", "Sessions 4", "73 Soundtrack", "Videogame 1", Clap 4 Me", "Aahhh", "Licking", "Still Laffin", "Go Get Em" and more.

The follow up to Herbie's groundbreaking hit album Future Shock. There's some rehashing of themes here, with the remake of "Rockit" called "Hardrock" here – basically the same number with some heavy guitar added and a few different solos – plus similar numbers that continue the electro feel, but also add in a peppering of Bill Laswell's world music interest. The album's worth it alone for the presence of D St on a few tracks – and titles include "Hardrock", "Metal Beat", "Karabali", "Junku", "People Are Changing" and "Sound System".

The Kurtis Blow-produced debut album by The Fat Boys! We'll say it: respect is due to The Fat Boys – so put the pop culture novelty status, fat comedy cliches and Disorderlies debacle aside. If you're a child of the early 80s, there's a reasonable chance that The Fat Boys were the first rap group you ever heard – and that alone makes them no joke if you ask us. Another thing: the best of their cuts are pretty damn nice, holding up as well some of the best rap circa '84 – and this debut album indeed features some of their best cuts! Includes "Stick 'Em", Fat Boys", "The Place To Be""Human Beat Box", "Can You Feel It?", "Stick 'Em" & "Jailhouse Rap". Limited 2012 vinyl version is remastered – in comes in a pizza box! Limited 2012 picture disc vinyl version is remastered – in comes in a pizza box!

Sweet beats from this cool French duo – a pair who've got that same sort of genre-jumping quality we've loved in French grooves since the days of MC Solaar! The approach here is mostly hip hop, but there's strains of Neo Soul, jazzy funk, and more – shifting the vibe nicely from track to track, but always with a nicely cohesive feel. Some cuts – billed as "samba rap" or "rap bossa" – show a nice Brazilian influence – and titles include "Byrd", "Avolta", "Dance Me", "Kool Out", "Now That I Know You", "Oedeep", "One More Time", and "So Tired".

A glittering assortment of grooves from the always-great Melting Pot Music label – served up here in a special limited sampler that features a few different versions of tunes, some unreleased tracks, and forthcoming numbers too! As you'd guess from Melting Pot, there's plenty of funky nuggets in the set – in styles that range from straight deep funk to processed beats to hip hop instrumentalism – but always at a level that's far beyond the conventional! Titles include "Walk With Us" by Dexter, "Rollin" by Hade X Gutta, "Droptop" by Tbrck, "New Fun" by Brzzvll & Stijn, "Pass It On" by Funkommunity, "Giscar" by Suff Daddy, "My Bike" by Aischa Traida, and "Early Bird" by Uhuru Peak.

The stripped-down core of the Frank N Dank debut – and a lasting tribute to the studio genius of Dilla! The beats here are really bassy – the kind that almost make you want to replace the back seat of your car with bigger speakers – just to enjoy them fully! (Heck, even on an iPod's earbuds, you could still probably shake your neighbor's boots with this record!) There's some great raw electro touches mixed in with the stark beats – and while the setting is perfect for the rhymes of the vocal record, it's almost even more haunting on its own. Titles include "Marijuana", "Street Life", "Where The Parties At", "Y'All Don't Want It", "Sex On The Beach", "All Seasons", and "Ma Dukes".

A mostly instrumental Exhibit from the mighty K Def – and a top shelf slice of timelessly inventive, head nodding hip hop production! Great stuff with prominent beats that pull you right in, but there's a lot more going on in the mix – sinister bass lines, moody keys, bits of guitar and more. It kicks off a pair of strong tracks with guest MCs – "Exhibit 2A" featuring Seven Shawn of World Renown and "The Fundamentals" with Blu & Quartermaine – and the instrumentals include "Improvs From The Brain", "Mind Boggled", "Get Your Mustard", "Relay The Piece", "Lost My Thought Part 1", "Stay Thinking About Music", "Chord Tester", "Rock It", "Lost My Thought Part 2" and more. 17 tracks in all.