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A full length bow for Detroit hip hop veteran House Shoes –a producer and proponent for some of the best hip hop that city has produced from the mid 90s onward – with an album on Tres that lives up to all of it! Let It Go features a mix of accessible single-worthy cuts with A-game rhymes, moody/hypnotic interludes and gritty beats. The head-nodding full length instrumentals on 2LPs: includes "Let It Go (The Beginning)", "Empire", "Dirt", "Crazy", "Sweet", "So Different", "Sunrise", "Cry Now", "Roller Coaster" and more.

Walter Bishop takes a trip back to his bop roots with this one – working in trio and quintet formation, and running through a host of mostly older bop standards! The quintet tracks are our favorites – as it's not often we hear Bishop in this stretch with a group larger than a trio – and the presence of Bill Harman and Junior Cook on trumpet and tenor, respectively, fleshes out the record with a nicely soulful sound. The rest of the group features Sam Jones on bass and Al Foster on drums – who also play on the trio tracks – and titles include "Dahoud", "Move", "My Little Suede Shoes", "All God's Children", and "Hot House".

Raw electro-steeped hip hop in the Mello Music Group 7" series from Quelle Chris. "Rappin' Ass" ifeatures Denmark Vessey and it's produced by House Shoes. "Rat Sh*t" features DK Groweyes and is produced by Quelle Chris.

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.

Top shelf Dilla beats from the archives – and a strong debut full length from Ruff Draft Records! Posthumous releases by favorite departed artists can be a dicey proposition – and much to our relief, Rebirth Of Detroit delivers – with both high quality beats 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 Includes "Detroit Madness", "Big Thangs", "My Victory", "Do It For Dilla Dawg", "Jay Dee's Revenge", "Houseshoes Was Spinnin'", "Dillatroit", "Center Of The Movement" and more.

Two very groovy 60s soundtracks – back to back, and both appearing on CD for the first time ever! First up is Divorce American Style – a nice little soundtrack written by Dave Grusin for this dark and depressing 60s comedy that starred Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds! Grusin's score is extremely well-written – as great on the mellow and sad moments as it is on the more upbeat ones – almost going into Neal Hefti territory with its rich array of blue notes and understated jazzy phrasing – really great sounds from the budding young jazz talent! And sure, there's still a few nice groovers on the set that have a kitschy 60s feel – it wouldn't be a Dick Van Dyke film without them – and titles include "The Other Woman", "Before The Storm", "The Judgement", "Sudden Bachelor Blues", "Financial Counterpoint", "Tacos Por Uno Por Favor Jose", "The Scheme", "Sunday Fathers", and "Social Suburbia". Art Of Love is one of Cy Coleman's best records from the 60s – a swinging little soundtrack that's awash in all his best jazzy tendencies – the modes first honed up at the Playboy Penthouse, and expanded even more on a range of 60s scores! The film's a bit forgotten – a goofy 60s comedy starring Dick Van Dyke, James Garner, Elke Sommer, and Angie Dickenson – but the music lives on wonderfully, and has a jazzy flourish with a bit of kitsch – somewhere in the Mancini style of the 60s, but with some wonderful floating piano lines by Cy himself! Orchestrations are by Bob Bain and Russ Garcia – both very groovy talents – and titles include "Nikki", "Parisian Women", "So Long Baby", "Kick Off Your Shoes", and "Inspector Revisited".