Timbaland goes straight for the mainstream on this disc full of pop crossover numbers, though his signature percolating beats keep the whole affair bubbling. 17 tracks in all, with more than a few you'll be hearing al over the radio, including "Oh Timbaland", "Give It To Me",... read more
The crossover rap classic from Tone-Loc! Temporary pop phenom this is not – the biggest couple of hits are still ubiquitous decades later – and Loc himself, with that raspy voice and smooth charisma, still stands as one of more unique voices of late 80s hip hop. On top of those... read more
Too Short's third LP on Jive, the last one before he started becoming a parody of himself. A few tracks have the same humor as his first two Jive LPs, and it includes the hit "The Ghetto" using the classic Donny Hathaway melody, and "Ain't Nuthin But A Word To Me" with Ice Cube... read more
Ok, so Tribe Called Quest broke up since they ran out of new ideas. But to us, their first single from the "The Love Movement" LP sounded like they're back on track after the last LP. "Find A Way" is a dope mellow groove and "Steppin It Up" does just that with guest... read more
A little harder than your usual Quest track, we're not sure why this never made it to an LP. Also includes yet another Scenario remix (not the Kid Hood one.)... read more
Tribe Called Quest —
Low End Theory ... LP
Jive,
1991. New Copy 2LP (reissue)....
$16.99Just Sold Out!
The second album from the immortal Tribe Called Quest – one of the absolute essential hip hop LPs, and a record that should be an anyone's shortlist of the best albums in several subsections of hip hop – just a straight up masterpiece anyway you cut it. The album is so high up on the... read more
A masterpiece from prime era Tribe Called Quest! Midnight Maurauders was Tribe's third LP, and even though there were no tracks yet credited to the Ummah, this is pretty much the beginning of Tribe's transition to that sound – with the same mellow, laid back vibe as their best early material... read more
Trinity (Sadat X, AG, DJ Lab) —
20 In ... CD
Fat Beats,
2013. New Copy ....
$11.99
Triple strength Trinity – featuring Sadat X, AG and DJ Lab – delivering a full scale attack on Fat Beats! Guests include Eternia, Janelle Collins, Ill Bill, Roc Marciano, Slug and Immortal Technique – with beats and production by J Dilla, Kixnare, DJ Jab and more. Includes "... read more
Pac's breakout LP, if you ask us. Just before he got too hot for Jive and jumped to Death Row, this is the album where Pac moves above the Thug Life image he worked so hard to craft and delivered the lyrical goods with both his street stories and more introspective rhymes. Includes "If I Die... read more
Includes "Holler If Ya Hear Me", "Keep Ya Head Up", "I Get Around", "Strictly 4 My NIGGAZ", "Point The Finga", "Last Wordz", "Souljah's Revenge", "Peep Game", "Strugglin", "Guess Who's Back", "Re... read more
Another nice breaks record from Stones Throw. Ten tracks, all heavy on the drums. Most of the tracks are straight beat tracks, some original, and some from Gang Starr, MC Lyte, T La Rock, etc. A couple tracks have added vocal samples.... read more
10 clean edited tracks from UGK's third LP: "One Day", "Murder", "Pinky Ring", "You Don't Know Me Fool", "Diamonds & Wood", "3 In The Mornin'", "Touched", "Ride My Car", "Good Stuff" and "Ridin'... read more
We didn't know what to expect from a U-God solo single, but "Bizarre", from the smoother side of the Wu sound, and using with an amazing Marvin Gaye sample, both musically and lyrically, is our favorite Wu side project tracks..... read more
Ultramagnetic MCs —
Critical Beatdown ... LP
Next Plateau,
1988. New Copy (reissue)....
$14.9916.98
The classic, finally back in print on LP! The roots of Kool Keith's abstract poetical style are in evidence here in all it's brilliant glory, properly displayed without the smug hipster irony that makes so much of his latter day projects so off putting. Plus, the Ultramags had that amazing... read more
The first single off the "Funk Your Head Up" LP. Almost Bomb Squad-style production by Ced Gee. "Chorus Line Pt 2" has a nice cut'n'paste break type track.... read more
Solid DC hip hop from Uptown XO – produced entirely by AB The Pro for a nicely cohesive vibe all the way – with appearances by Messiah, Doe Gicapom & Benjui, Sanni & U St Face. Includes "Grey Poupon" feat Messiah, "Spread Love", "Everyday" feat AB... read more
Remix features Z-Ro, Bun B, Earl Hayze, Slim Thug, TI, & Hot Wright. The B-side's pretty nice too, with one of them "abstract" southern beats a la "White Tee's".... read more
Marc Mac takes it back, way back – with some great 70s styled sounds mixed in with Marc's 21st Century vibe – a timeless mix of tightly grooving soul jazz with a live hip hop backdrop! In his work with 4 Hero, Marc could proudly pay tribute to his influences while innovating with... read more
Spacey, club ready remixes of ascending hip hop-gospel-soul spirits Washington Projects – plus the full Light Up The Dark album as a bonus disc! Washington Projects blend modern hip hop and R&B singing and rhymes beautifully well, with inspirational songs that are, well, genuinely... read more
Tape that linoleum to the sidewalk and start poppin' your shoulders – "Break Dance" is one of those tunes that never fails to groove! The cut's a monstrous bit of street soul from the old school – served up with lots of great turntable work, monster Bongo Band beats, and even... read more
With Scarface and Lil Wayne on the a-side.... read more
Willie Isz (Jneiro Jarel & Khujo Goodie) —
Georgiavania ... CD
Lex,
2009. Used ....
$3.99
Funky psychedelic hip hop from Willie Isz – aka cosmic hip hop beatmaker and Khujo Goodie of the legendary Goodie Mob – a set that manages to be both hazy and tripped out, but pretty hard hitting, too! It was hard to get around a Stankonia-or-later Outkast or Gnarls Barkley comparison... read more
The World Famous Tony Williams comes with an ambitious package for Redefinition – his King Or The Fool full length CD – a 7" featuring guest rhymes by Kanye West! Production by BINK!, Haskel Jackson, Kanye West, Devo Springsteen and others. The CD includes the tracks "Club... read more
The classic first LP with Method Man, Ghost Face Killer, Raekwon, Ol' Dirty Bastard, and The Genius. The start of a generation, and of the hip hop enterprise that overshadowed a lot of the mid 90s! 12 tracks, including "Can It All Be So Simple", "Method Man", "Da Mystery... read more
Double LP of underground hip hop from the Northwest, mostly Seattle, we think. While a good bit of it isn't all that memorable, there are a few stand out tracks, and all by groups who we just haven't heard from elsewhere. Sinsemilla drops a hyped track with a nice KRS-One-sample hook called "... read more
Ta'Raach mixes up a diverse ode to most influential sounds of the Motor City – bridging musical styles and eras – in a mix for Mochilla! Ta'Raach manages to mix bits and pieces of classic and underground Detroit sounds into a unique mold with his own inventive vibe – fusing 60s... read more
The funky foundations of rap – and one of the best, most focused compilations of its kind we've ever stocked! You can truthfully call the treasure trove of funk singles here "pre-rap". Every track is a direct precursor. We mean that on the vocal tip – and also for the... read more
The funky foundations of rap – and one of the best, most focused compilations of its kind we've ever stocked! You can truthfully call the treasure trove of funk singles here "pre-rap". Every track is a direct precursor. We mean that on the vocal tip – and also for the... read more
Nice one! 14 tight independent hip hop joints all with the crisp, soulful vibe that's Spinna's hallmark, even if he didn't produce all of them, though he was responsible for many. As with some other popular compilation/mix series you get one disc of the tracks in their full versions, unmixed, and... read more
Classics from the mid 80s east coast hip hop master class – BDP, Just-Ice, T La Rock, Skinny Boys, Tricky Tee and Mantronix – benchmark singles, circa '86! This compilation was put together by Five Day Weekend as a soundtrack inspired by Big Fun In The Big Town – the little seen... read more
Classics from the mid 80s east coast hip hop master class – BDP, Just-Ice, T La Rock, Skinny Boys, Tricky Tee and Mantronix – benchmark singles, circa '86! This compilation was put together by Five Day Weekend as a soundtrack inspired by Big Fun In The Big Town – the little seen... read more
This sequel to Breakin was pretty bad, with an even more tenuous relationship to hip hop, but the soundtrack was saved from total ruin by George Kranz "Din Daa Daa", that has gone on to be subsequently sampled, and is a pretty fat 80s dance track on its own. The rest of the LP has that... read more
Hip hop, street soul, and lots lots more – a really revolutionary selection of music from the legendary Celluloid Records – a label that was virtually a genre unto itself! Celluloid was a key force tying together the New York downtown scene at the start of the 80s, and the postcolonial... read more
Tracks include "Hell Is Getting Hotter (radio)" by Loose Cannons, "Sweve On" by Menace, "She Tale" by Kinetic Non Million, "I Miss You Baby" by Nadire, "Can We Hook It Up (radio edit)" by C-Note & Kamal Supreme, and "Hot Mama (reggae mini-mi... read more
DJ Spinna takes on P&P Records – and the results are sublime! Spinna's one of the most soulful talents to ever hit the decks – an artist we can always rely on for his crucial ear for older sounds – a really unique sense of taste that always has Spinna picking some of the best... read more
Sample funk spun from records rescued by The Numero Group – edited by white label production crew Shoes without Numero's consent – which was then seized by Numero at the pressing plant, they bootlegged the bootleg, and release it here legitimately as Eccentric Breaks & Beats! The... read more
Various —
Electro 5 ... LP
Streetsounds (UK),
Early 80s. Very Good+ (reissue)....
$5.99
Number in the excellent Electro series of compilations on the UK Street Sounds imprint, a great batch of prototypical hip hop and beeping electronic funk from the days when this stuff looked like the sound of the future, and for all intents and purposes practically was! Nothing but classic early... read more
Odd six track promo sampler from Epic. The best track here is "Rock On" from Funkdoobiest with a good combination of hyped vocals over mellow production. Also includes a short un-named verse from Kool G Rap. Other tracks: Mystidious Misfits "I Be", Vicious feat. Shyheim "... read more
17 full-length tracks produced by Domingo and DJ Rob. Ok, maybe not the strongest compilation all the way through but still a couple nice tracks not available on any other LP or single, including a nice remix of the Cocoa Brovas' "Super Brooklyn" featuring Mista Cheeks, Eminem/J... read more
With "Monster Jam" by Spoonie G & Sequence, "Freedom" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, "That's the Joint" by Funky 4 + One, "Birthday Party" by Grandmaster Flash, "8th Wonder" by Sugarhill Gang, and the amazing "Adventures of... read more
A strong, well-assembled History Of Queensbridge – featuring rarities and freestyles from breakout hip hip superstars, blueprint era legends and longtime underground heavies alike – include Nas, Mobb Deep, Kool G Rap, Noreaga, Tragedi Khadafi, Cormega and more! Features MCs from... read more
Street and clean versions of four tracks from Guru's independent label, Ill Kid – including "Total Wreck" by Bahamadiah, "Tres Pound God" by Operation Radification, "Beware" by Stikken Moov, and "Put You On Lockdown" by HL Rock (The Sly Fox), all with... read more
Tracks include dirty and clean mixes of "Black Summa", "Da Floods" by Blackwatuz, "Life's Too Short" by Raggedy Man, and "Money N Power" by Nocturnal.... read more
Includes "Funkorama" by Redman, "Beez Like That (Sometimes)" by Jamal & Calif, "It's That Hit" by Keith Murray, "Ferar" by Tommy Gunn "Up Jump The Boogie" by the Wixtons and "Reign" by Erick Sermon. 11 tracks plus 2 interludes.... read more
A 7 track EP of contemporary Arab hip hop from the Middle East – with timeless, funk-steeped beats, evocative regional samples and atmosphere – and clearly passionate rhymes, whether you speak the language or not! A remarkable testament to the global reach of strong, conciousness... read more
First volume in this series from WBLS jock Mr Magic. All the big early Profile hits from 1981-84, 12 tracks in all: Word of Mouth "King Kut", with the Profile big beat sound, Disco 4 " We're At The Party", Pebblee-Poo "A Fly Guy" (an answer to the Boogie Boys "Fl... read more
Double LP collection from 1987-88. Public Enemy "Don't Believe The Hype", EPMD "Strictly Business" (club mix), De La Soul "Plug Tunin", Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock "It Takes Two", Kool Moe Dee "Wild Wild West" (extended remix), Salt-N-Pepa "Push... read more
A sweet batch of thumping hip hop, bubbling electronica, and funky anime grooves from Fat Jon & others – the musical backdrop the anime series Samurai Champloo – on Fat Jon's Ample Soul label! The set makes for a great listen if you're unfamiliar with the program, as we are –... read more
Dope female posse record with Bahamadia, Heather B, Rah Digga, Nicki D, Precious P, and Paula Perry over and aggresive underground beat. Another one of those overlooked singles from Franchise/Buds that are still nice all the way through.... read more
The dopest six songs off the Streetfighter soundtrack. As far as we know, the only unedited version of LL Cool J's banger "Life As...", plus an early track from Golden Staters Ahmad/Ras Kas/Saafir "Come Widdit". Also includes Nas "One On One", Pharcyde "Pandemoniu... read more
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... read more
Includes "Destroy All Masters" by Son Slawta Melquan, "Out For Just Us" by 5ive-O, "Runbo N Da Jungo" by Wreck League, "Mind Deep" by Public Enemy, "Dweeb" by Bonne N Clyde, and "Hooptie Car" by Punk Barbarians.... read more