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Trumpety genius from Herb Alpert -- a cut that gave him one massive hit to close out the 70s, and a tune that crossed over big into clubs, radio, and plenty of shag-carpeted rec rooms too! And hey, it worked for BIG, right?... read more

Great boogie from Amuzement Park -- a group that should have lasted longer than they did! "Groove Your Blues Away" is a snapping little jammer that builds up wonderfully -- bass hooking you in, snippets of horn adding soul, and ensemble vocals that really send the tune over the top! A... read more

The old school Attica, with a sound that mixed Nu Soul, Nu Jazz, hip hop, breakbeat and even a bit of jungle into a Headz-y downtempo brew. Some of the best the "trip hop" scene had to offer.... read more

Doobie-doo doobie-doo! One of the catchiest Roy Ayers dancefloor tracks ever -- a bassy bumping thumper that wonderfully skirts the line between clubby and funky! The track's got female vocals singing along with the hook -- all in a mode that's quite similar to the most uptempo work by Ramp --... read more

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Late 90s Beasties remixes featuring Prince Paul's take on "Root Down", Ad Rock's remix of "Countdown" and the drum & base remix of "Intergalactic" -- plus "Smoke The Pipe" and"Scratching Battle".... read more

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Many years after his huge club hit "Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me?", but still a nice club groover, with more of an 80s jazzy feel and some nice production assistance from Jellybean Benitez.... read more

While it's easy to write off any funk group once they hit the mainstream, these two totally excellent mid 80s tracks from Larry Blackmon and Cameo are proof positive that you can hitthe commercial mainstream and still come up with interesting grooves that stand out from the everyday radio fodder!... read more

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An excellent early 80s groover -- and a cover of the Police hit, no less! The track takes the original song, and turns it into a space-infused club track -- mostly instrumental on both sides, with the vocal chorus just floating around in the background.... read more

Second generation high energy Chicago house.... read more

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Late 90s underground weirdness from Crazy Wisdom Masters, aka the Jungle Brothers and collaborators, heady and tripped out sounds mixed with some more standard funky boom bap, random lyrical fast rap, and splintering, unpredictable beats. Titles include Battle Show", "Ra Ra Kid",... read more

2 of the better tracks from Cut Chemist's Audience's Listening LP -- one an instrumental tapestry of Brazil-influenced moods -- one featuring a duo of underground MCs! "Garden" is built around an Astrud Gilberto sample, but that's just a starting point for some really great production... read more

A great one, if only for the seminal electro cut "Clear" -- laid down by a young Juan Atkins, with a groove that inspired the Detroit Techno scene in a huge way! The original mix is here, and the Troy Pierce mix isn't bad either -- as stark, dark, and simple as the original!... read more

Club jazz with a funky edge and a spiritual soul twist from Dalindeo! "Willpower" has a quite a bit of funk in the drums & percussion, which really draws you in from the kickoff -- with some spacey electric piano, trumpet, flute and sax giving it a nice feel -- and vocals by Bajka... read more

With Redman & Method Man.... read more

Some of our favorite tracks off the I Wish My Brother George Was Here LP, including a nice remix from the Stimulated Dummies and the non-LP track "Eye Examination".... read more

What can we say? The classic single from Doug E Fresh that introduced the world to Slick Rick and has been sampled and quoted more times than we can count!... read more

Since the day this single came out, it's been a favorite for MC's to freestyle over -- with just a simple drum line combined with a killer, killer koto sample, a big beat precursor to the Asian string fetish Timbaland and others used a full seven years later! The vocals are at least as dope as the... read more

Nice early stuff from El Coco -- with more of a funky sound than later work! "Let's Get it Together" is a nice club groover, stretched out to 6 minutes here -- with some great keyboards drifting in and out of midtempo beats -- almost in a P&P sort of mode, but a bit more classy... read more

Original pressing of this early Eric B & Rakim 12", with the Cold Cut remix of "Paid in Full" that everyone used to think was so cool because it had Ofra Haza in it.... read more

A killer groover from the early 80s -- recorded by Leroy Burgess after he left Black Ivory, and featuring a great electro sound that just won't quit! This original 12" single offers up 2 long versions of the track, and it's a lot harder to find than it should be. We sometimes come up with... read more

2 great numbers from Ronnie's Love Satellite LP. "Midnight Plane"s a great slow-building tune from Ronnie -- one that's a bit more soul-oriented than some of his jazzier tunes from the Columbia years, but in a great way! The tune begins with a lyric over most of the rhythm -- but then... read more

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The follow up to "The Message", and another classic early 80s number from Grandmaster Flash and crew. Once again, the theme is the trials of city life, and once again, they come up with another winning message cut.... read more

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Fantastic 70s soul! This excellent 12" single features 4 of the best cuts ever from the Lamont Dozier years on Invictus -- all handled by the Holland Dozier Holland team, with vocals by Lamont. "Don't Leave Me" is a killer track from Lamont's Love & Beauty album -- with a hook... read more

Raw early Chicago house with an almost techno feel, from the days before those sort of labels even existed.... read more

4 mixes of this classic bit of Detroit Techno -- going over the top, into the mainstream, thanks to the lasting genius of Kevin Saunderson!... read more

The original indie label pressing of this crossover house classic from Kevin Saunderson and crew -- served up in 4 different mixes, and featuring vocals by Paris Grey!... read more

Fresh cuts from DJ J Rocc of the World Famous Beat Junkies -- his first (we think) effort for Stones Throw! "Play This (One)" is the kind of record that made DJs like Shadow and Cut Chemist saints of the sampler -- capital F Funky drums all over the track, plus a nice vocal sample from... read more

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Jay Dee kicks a hard, furious street bumper -- and fares just as exceptionally well as he does with mellow soul beats. Is there anything he can't do? Jay Dee for president!... read more

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One of Ronny's first singles, and a jazz/hip hop number that features vocals by IG Culture. Louie Vega remixed both the cool and rugged mixes -- and "Flat Out" is a sweet mellow jazz stepper with some great guitar riffing!... read more

Kenny Dope takes on the Jungle Brothers -- with very funky results! Back in the day, we all thought there was a rock-solid wall between hip hop and house -- except for some mistaken moments on the Chicago scene, where hip hoppers had little outlets for their rhymes. Then along came "I'll... read more

This "special disco mix" is a nice nice groover for the dancefloor. It's got cool electronics, with a great moogy solo, and a very tight groove! Nice breakdown in the middle, too.... read more

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Have yourself a very old school Christmas with Kurtis Blow reminding you what Christmas is really all about! Actually, this is just "Rappin' Blow" with a small holiday intro edited onto the front end.... read more

Promo only single featuring Rick James on "Standing On The Top".... read more

Two of the doper tracks from the "TIME" LP -- two that still have the classic Leaders' sound from the "Future Without..." LP. To our ears, Busta's solo material has still never sounded nicer than these tracks with Charlie Brown and Dinco D. The Large Professor gives "What'... read more

A dancefloor anthem if there ever was one -- and produced by August Darnell, pre Kid Creole. Strong female vocals in unison -- and a hook that just won't quit for the west village clubs!... read more

Original pic sleeve version of this one -- super rare! Includes the great b-side "Watch Roger Do His Thing", which is as dope as anything on the Breaking Atoms LP.... read more

Smooth niceness from Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite -- served up here on a pic sleeve single with a bunch of nice mixes!... read more

The stepper's mid 90's retro-classic that helped establish this "new classic soul" movement, served up here in 5 mixes, including the super-chilled "Mellosmoothe". One of the best tracks off the Urban Hang Suite LP -- spare funky soul, with lots of warm classic touches, a funky... read more

Straight up hip hop from MED -- dropping no nonsense rhymes over Madlib's heavy, heady beatcraft! Madlib seems to relish the opportunities to sideline his some of his more abstract tendencies once in a while when producing solid, hard hitting hip hop for cats like Guilty Simpson & MED -- still... read more

2 great numbers off of one of the funkiest of Sergio Mendes' 70s albums, Sergio Mendes & The New Brasil '77. Side A's a perennial favorite here in Chicago -- "The Real Thing" is a funky cover of the Stevie Wonder tune by the same name, done in a tight smooth 70s jazz funk mode, a... read more

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Some first round RZA joints, back when everyone was feeling the Wu, still sounding fresh and menacing today.... read more

Split single, not a collaboration.... read more

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An excellent remake of Bill Withers' classic! Me'Shell does a great job with the track -- keeping the solid 70s groove, but adding in some nice contemporary inflection to spice the track up!... read more

An obscure modern soul track from St Louis -- sung by Nicole, with a mellow stepping groove that's a lot nicer than you'd expect, given the smallness of the label. The flipside features the "guitar serenade" version -- a tasty instrumental, with a smooth Craig T Cooper kind of sound.... read more

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A Hot Mix 5 classic!... read more

Like CL Smooth says in Take You There, "It ain't hard to the core, it ain't sex on the beach, just another plateau brothers have to reach ", on the surface there's nothing spectacular about the straightforward style of CL's rhyming or Pete Rock's production, but the combination will still... read more

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A great 12" of Philly disco numbers for your holiday party! Vince Montana heads this little Christmas and New Year's disco project -- pushing the Salsoul Orchestra with that great full sound he had at the time -- a blend of strings and soul that could be kitschy, but comes off great on these... read more

Two numbers pulled from the second Salsoul Orchestra Christmas album -- produced and arranged by the mighty Patrick Adams! Both tracks are nice and long, and we're especially partial to the "Christmas Suite", which is a syncopated romp through Holiday themes that runs for almost 8... read more

Jack Ashford handled this obscure little record of Christmas disco tracks -- and the sound is similar to some of his own work on the Magic Disc label, although with the requisite Christmas touches!... read more

One of a handful of "lost" singles that Larry Heard produced, when he was still putting out an occasional jazzy house single here and there in the early 90s, for this side label of Gherkin records. As you'd expect, nice piano dances over a smooth house track.... read more

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A classic early 80s groover by Nick Straker -- not really as jazzy as you'd expect, but with some nice piano work that hints at use of the instrument in later house singles. "Space Age" is more of an electro track -- with vocoded vocals and lots of keyboards.... read more

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A huge early moment for Hammond hero James Taylor -- and a key moment in both the deep funk and acid jazz worlds as well! Taylor's take on the theme to "Starsky & Hutch" brought back 70s funk at a time when nobody was expecting it -- and in a pretty darn great way too! Lots of sweet... read more

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An excellent early 80s funk single -- with a party funk sound, and some sweetly compressed grooves! "Whip" is a great cut -- with a spare knocking break in a few spots, almost in an old school street party mode, for a full 7 minutes!... read more

A mini disco symphony from Norman Whitfield and Undisputed Truth -- just the kind of track to make us get up and go down to the clubs! The tune is a great extension of the righteous Whitfield sound forged back at Motown -- deepened here a bit and extended into the disco years, but still plenty... read more

Another winning jam from Patrick Adams and Greg Carmichael! The cut snaps along nicely in a dancefloor friendly mode with the duo's well known production flourishes: nice moog splashes, a crisply stepping bassline and four on the floor drums, plus an irresistible hook in the chorus!... read more

The killer funk anthem "Roof Off" from Laura Vane & The Vipertones -- the raw and heavy original, an extended version, and a remix by Diesler -- plus Part Time Heroes remix of "Mean Lover". The originals are neo classic funky stormers of the first order, while Diesler... read more

A funky funky thumper from Barry White -- and one of his last truly genius tracks! "Ecstasy" is presented here in a long long version that lets the tune's initial bass and drum interplay stretch out magnificently -- sliding and slinking along in a classic White-styled groove, as strings... read more

One of more magical moments of Brian Wilson's mid aughties Smile revival -- the soaring vocal arrangement flavored psychedelic doo wop of "Our Prayer" acapella number -- remixed by and streched out with some synth atmospherics by Freeform Five!... read more

Jah Wobble brings some moody heavyweight grooves to Roy Budd's theme from "Get Carter" -- and quite a bit of own personal stamp in the ominous rumble of the bass and reggae steeped rhythms! There's actually a diverse bed of influences laid underneath, from spare global percussion ,... read more

A disco cover of the Led Zeppelin classic -- served up with soaring strings, rumbling percussion, and some fuzzy guitars in the middle -- plus female vocals that try surprisingly to hit the same nasty edge as the original!... read more

A wonderful tribute to the genius of the late Weldon Irvine -- one of the greatest keyboard players in jazz funk history, and a masterfully cosmic talent who's touched our life for years! Weldon tragically took his own life in 2002, stunning any of us who'd met him, and who'd been touched by his... read more

A great groover from the early 90s -- crossover party sounds, served up here in lots of mixes!... read more