Hip Hop -- Recently Added -- LP  

Soul Position hits the mark in a tried-and-true hip hop style a lot more, well, soulfully, than a lot of the Def Jux and Rhymesayers stuff that comes across our turntables. RJD2 brings the deep pumping bass sound, heavy scratches and pounding beats. Kinda menacing, but still really funky. A nice ...

Another great little left coast leftfield nusoul effort from Dudley Declaime Perkins, who we like to think of as the ODB of neo classic soul. Just as you might hope, Dudley leans a little more heavily on a healthy dose of rhyme vocalese rather than smooth crooning on this crispy little album that ...

16 tracks in all, including "4th Chamber" and "Cold World (RZA mix)" by the Genius, "Wu Gambinos" by Raekwon, "Tragedy" by the RZA, "Black Trump" by the Cocoa Brovaz, "Hip Hop Drunkies" by the Alkoholiks, "Gunz N Onez" by Heltah ...

A fine effort from Kaze and 9th Wonder -- a producer so hot he gets above-the-credits-billing along with the MC -- and deservedly so! It's a strong record, one we originally put in the racks on the same day as the much more high profile BE album from Common, which has a similar attitude and ...

Tommy Boy includes a little bit of everything on each volume of it's Greatest Beats series -- from the early Soul Sonic Force classics and dance tracks up through the latest hits. We'll admit there's a few filler tracks (why'd they include the K7 trash??) but there's still a lot of hard-to-obtain ...

The second album of heavy east coast funk and slow rolling rhymes from the brothers from Brentwood. Nice, fat trunk rattling production and Eric and Parrish's trademark back and forth rhymes keep this set fresh,even today. Loaded with classics: "So What Cha Sayin'", "Get the ...

When Mos Def came out swinging with Black On Both Sides and we were all left both hot and cold, it seemed maybe Black Star should've never went their separate ways. But then, out came this burning set of dope joints, we all found out Talib could stand solid on his own, with the help of Hi-Tek's ...

5th volume in this set of production tools, featuring drums solo-ed up, all the way through, with tight rhythms for you to work with. This one's called the "Hard Rock" set, so ithe beats are pretty stripped down, but suprisingly the production doesn't make the drums pop like you might ...

4th volume in this set of production tools, featuring drums solo-ed up, all the way through, with tight rhythms for you to work with. This one's called the "Light Rock" set, so it has some more mellow and slower bits, and while the really downtempo tracks don't have much character, there ...

12 tracks in all: Quannum MCs & Jurassic 5 "Concentration", Latyrx "Storm Warning" and "Lookin' Over A City" with El-P, Divine Styler & DJ Shadow "Divine Intervention", Maroons "Golden Rule", Quannum MCs & Souls Of Mischief "The ...

Mr Lif is back -- with production by El-P and appearances by Aesop Rock, Akrobatik, Blueprint and Murs. Tracks include "Collapse", "Ultra Mega", "Brothaz", "The Fries", "Take, Hold, Fire!", "Murs Iz My Manager", "Washitup!", ...

An incredible new project from Carlos Nino -- a hip hop effort, but one that's got the same deeply spiritual vibe as his jazz productions! Lyrics and vocals are by Lil Sci, who appears to be a great companion for Nino on this unique musical journey -- and the music is from Carlos and other members ...

If Paul's Boutique was the Beasties heavily mind-blown Dust Brothers dusted psychedelic hip hop Sgt Peppers, then Check Your Head is their down and dirty back to basics raw funk run at something like Never Mind The Bollocks. Their first outing without the guidance of an outside producer, though ...

A neo-electro/drug rap/crossover hip hop masterpiece produced by the Neptunes, and the debut LP on their own Star Trak label. Malice and Pusha T are smooth, confident rhymers with some stand-out moments, but the Neptunes are driving this train, much in the way Prince Paul commandeered early De La ...

Timbaland's first solo LP, with his signature syncopated beat style keeping things moving nicely. Whether you can get down with the commercial nature of his tracks or not, you have to admit Timbaland has been one of the driving forces in hip hop for the 90s and 00s. Guest rhymes by Jay Z, Mad ...

Mos Def's first for Downtown after a weird few years on Geffen that saw many a bumped street date, the hit & miss New Danger, and finally, the semi aborted release of the controversial True Magic -- back with a top shelf, excellent album in 2009's The Ecstatic! It may not be Black Star or ...

A wild set of boundlessly spraying lyrics from Busdriver -- who can pack 3 minutes with more wordplay than just about any MC we can think of -- the man is phenomenally talented in this area, which you have to acknowledge whether unfiltered, surrealistic indie hip hop is your cup of tea or not! The ...

A Stones Throw sci-fi masterpiece -- one that was destined for greatness from conception, but we're still pretty well blown away by the final product! Madlib brings nothing but the best sci-fi sound collages, scratches, and titanically driving funky beats -- the grooved out 70s side of 'Lib's ...

A mad funky suite from the Beat Konducta -- Vol 5 in the evolving, unpredictable series of deep, crackling beatcraft -- this one a tribute to Dilla! Dil Cosby Suite is as solid as any of the volumes to date, compellingly funky and in more of Madlib's heady hip hop mode than some of the more ...

Revisions, reworked and re-imagined material from the mighty Madvillain! The original Madvillain LP is arguably one of the best Stones Throw album ever, held up by many as one of the best indie hip hop albums of the decade if not all time -- so Madlib is wise to take a freewheeling, fairly loose ...

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 ladder, we'r ...

DJ Cam doing his thing live in France at the Transmusicales de Rennes in 1995 -- captured not too long after his benchmark Underground Vibes LP -- really finding Cam in peak excellence! Underground Live features numbers from above mentioned mid 90s classic and more -- really towing the line ...

The Bling 47 camp brings the heat with the War LP -- featuring standout Detroit beats by Waajeed -- and appearances by Bling 47 compatriots and confidants J Dilla, Tiombe Lockhart and Platinum Pied Pipers! War brings a more pronounced, proper hip hop feel than Waajeed's work with Platinum Pied ...

Common returns with a lean, filler free full length in Finding Forever -- a set that's definitely the thematic follow up to the BE LP -- and a solid one, with highpoints that equal Com's best work of the decade! The set is largely produced by Kanye, with some terse, harder hitting moments, some ...

The indefatigable Atmosphere returns with its sixth proper album (and 198th if you include their always worthwhile vinyl only, web only, and otherwise underground releases -- what's in that lemonade, anyway?) -- and the dynamic duo is as hard hitting and cathartic as ever! Beatmaker Ant gets more ...

J Dilla at his grittiest, most rugged & raw -- in both the production and rhyme realm -- with all beats and rhymes by the Dilla himself! This set originally opened our ears to a different side of Dilla, a harder hitting aesthetic, with beats and grooves from out of leftfield that draw you in ...

Probably the heaviest TI LP yet -- with production by Just Blaze, DJ Toomp, Kanye and Drumma Boy -- plus guest appearances by the biggest names in the game. Tracks include "I'm Illy" "Ready For Whatever", "On Top Of The World", feat Ludacris and BOB, "No Matter ...

Warner and Atlantic hip hop classics? You bet -- don't forget that during the late 80s and early 90s Cold Chillin' and First Priority fell under the WEA distribution umbrella, not to mention some great early releases by Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and Brand Nubian that ...

While we did like the Bush Babees first LP, it veered a bit further into the commercial realm than we care for on some cuts, probably due to Jermaine Dupri's involvement. This second effort, available only as a promo on vinyl, is the one to check for. There's less of the ragga style here, and ...

Includes "More Gansta Music" feat Juelz Santana, "Get Down", "Killa Cam", "Down And Out" feat Kanye West & Syleena Johnson, "Harlem Streets", "Soap Opera", "Bubble Music", "Get 'Em Girls" and more. ...

The classic self-titled LP that changed hip hop (and much of modern pop) forever! There's little we can add to the canon for this record. Run DMC ushered in a new era in contemporary urban culture, a harder hitting style of rap the bust out of the inner cities and into consciousness of an entire ...

Ghostface's follow up to Supreme Clientele -- a tough predecessor to live up, no doubt about that -- but Bulletproof Wallets is still a cut or 10 above some of the Wu work of the later 90s and early 00s! The single "Ghost Showers" is a great track, and "Never Be The Same Again" ...

Second LP from the Boogie Monsters, with the same chill vibe as their first. 16 tracks in all, including "Beginning Of The End", "Say Word" featuring Bahamadia, "God Sound", "And Then What?", "Mark Of The Beast II (R.S.V.)", "Hot Water In The ...

Classic Nolia bounce from the heyday of the Cash Money empire, consisting of BG, Juvenile, Lil Wayne, and Turk over Mannie Fresh production. 14 tracks in all, including: "We On Fire", "Ridin", "Clear The Set", "Boys At War", "I Need A Hot Girl", ...

Tracks include "Ms Fat Booty", "Hip Hop", "Know That" featuring Talib Kweli, "Mr Nigga" featuring Q-Tip, "Mathematics", "Brooklyn", "Umi Says", "Do It Now" featuring Busta Rhymes, "Fear Not Of Man", "Habit ...

Trademark Mannie Fresh production on this Cash Money outing, with guest spots from BG, Juvenile, the Hot Boys, and the Big Tymers. 16 tracks in all, including "Drop It Like It's Hot", "Tha Block Is Hot", "Whatcha Wanna Do""High Beamin", "Lights Off" ...

Really a Roc A Fella posse album as much as a Jay Z LP, with Memphis Bleek and Beanie Siegal all over the place. 16 tracks in all, with "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" which he did with R Kelly and the hit "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)". Also includes "The ROC", ...

Maybe you won't rate this one as timeless as Radio, but it still has an energy missing so much of the hip hop that would follow it. Besides, the raw drum machine and cuts approach to production holds up so many years later, and James' rhymes, brags and delivery represent a bygone era of hip hop ...

Not the same thing as the Wild Style soundtrack, but still not a bad one, and with a good assortment of popular hip hop cuts. Features tracks like Beastie Boys "She's On It", LL Cool J "I Can't Live Without My Radio", Kurtis Blow "If I Ruled The World" (with the ...

A Stones Throw sci-fi masterpiece -- one that was destined for greatness from conception, but we're still pretty well blown away by the final product! MC Doom and beatmaster Madlib couldn't be better suited for a collaboration. As much as we've dug the best of Doom's material of the last couple ...

A nice mix of club & dancefloor funk and hip hop from the Thunderheist duo of Isis & Grahm Zilla! GZ's bass, handclaps and electro atmosphere in the mix get it going nicely, and the production really has no agenda beyond dancefloor ready beatcraft -- and it succeeds! Isis both sings and ...

A darkness tinged departure for Kanye West -- his electro hip hop soul tome 808s & Heartbreak! Kanye's albums are always newsworthy, but this one divides opinions as sharply as any major release of 2008. That said, we'll go on the record with some real love for this sometimes confounding, ...

Double vinyl instrumental version of all the tracks from the LP, provided by the Diesel Truckers (bka Kutmasta Kurt and Kool Keith), including "No Chorus", "Neighbors Next Door", "I Run Rap", "You Live At Home With Your Mom", "Housing Authority", ...

We don't really know much about DJ Moar -- but if this funky uptempo instrumental beatcraft is any indication, we'd be more than happy to hear more -- and this will do nicely until then! There's pretty great vibe to to it, nice and hard grooving, with big bass lines, hard hitting drums & ...

Solid, soulful duo hip hop from Retro & Suhns, aka The Tones! The have a classic schooled sound, with beats by Retro that range from the soul beats and keys backed sound that feels a bit more east coast or midwest than the Tones native Bay Area -- and it's just straight up good stuff. ...

Sharp stuff from Providence MC Shawn Jackson -- rhyme centric, but not lacking in murky funk beatcraft. Another winner for Tres Records! Tracks include "First Of All", "Fix Ya Face", "Traveling Salesmen" feat Comel of Time Machine, "Backstage", "Strate ...

J Dilla's brother Illa J collaborates with Dilla for the Yancey Boys album -- produced with a batch of Dilla's beats! This album could have gone wrong in a number of ways for a number of reasons -- but truth be told it's a quality record that's actually worth checking out! Most importantly, ...

A greatest hits package with ""World Famous", "Watch Out Now", "No Escapin'", "Off The Books", "However Whenever", "We Got The Funk", "Reign Of The Tec", "Props Over Here", "Beatnuts', "Get Funky" ...

Beatmaker Newman of Giant Panda teams up with MC Shawn Jackson for New Jack Hustle -- from laidback, hazed out hip hop, to some bigger, more soulful and uplifting beats & rhymes, to straight up funky boom bap. Tres Records rarely steers us wrong, and this another strong set for the label -- as ...

A fantastic tribute to the Fly Girls of hip hop -- a filler free collection of some of the funkiest female fronted singles of the 80s -- included a few genesis cuts from the 70s and a couple of important 90s numbers -- blueprint rap from JJ Fad, Sweet Tee, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Bahamadia, Sparky ...