Rawkus/Def Jam, 1999. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
Mos Def's landmark late 90s solo debut – a rock solid classic that stands up today as one of the best hip hop albums of its decade – and for all the dizzying creative highs and lows of his career to follow, it stands strongly among his best work ever. His preceding duo work with Talib ...
Elektra/Get On Down, 1993. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
The incredible follow-up to I Wish My Brother George Was Here – and a record that was initially underappreciated, mostly because it was such a radical departure from the George – but one that's finally gotten the same sort of appreciation all these years later! Whereas I Wish My ...
Next Plateau/Mercury, 1993. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
A massive hit and creative triumph for Salt N Pepa – a record that was both maybe their biggest ever, and which had the duo working with Spinderella at a level that also bridged both hip hop and R&B! Although there were some younger up-and-comers on the scene at the time, Salt N Pepa had ...
Tommy Boy, 2001. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
A rock-solid effort from De La Soul at the start of the 21st Century – a record that really has the group coming back into their own! On previous records, it had been a little difficult to tell if De La Soul has been trying harder to please their critics, or simply finally being true to ...
Jive, 1996. New Copy 2LP
Beats, Rhymes & Life – crucial aspects of Tribe Called Quest and hip hop in general – and the fourth album by the inimitable Tribe! After a couple or three years of down time following Midnight Marauders, the Tribe returned with this extra stripped down sound, collaborating with ...
Tuff City, 1980s. New Copy
An assortment of rare female hip hop tracks from the old school – including a few by MCs we're not sure we've ever heard before! Tuff City must have dug deep in the vaults for this one – as we're not sure these all were issued on the label at the time – and titles include "Th ...
P-Vine (Japan), Early 90s. New Copy
The never-issued second album from Main Source – and a set that's a very worthy successor to their classic Breaking Atoms! As with that record, the production here is superb – Large Professor at his best, with all the right sort of early 90s jazz influence in the samples, balanced with ...
Warp, 2024. New Copy
Maybe the deepest, darkest album ever recorded by Danny Brown – a set done at a time when the rapper was at a personal crossroads, and responded to some changes in his life with some incredibly powerful tracks! The production feels more textured and layered than some of Danny's other albums ...
Roc Nation, 2023. New Copy 2LP Gatefold
Vic Mensa's a very different artist than on his previous record – a rapper who's taken the long years between the two sets to undergo a personal and spiritual rebirth, with results that come through instantly on the tracks on this set! There's an urgency that Vic never had before – ...
Native Rebel (UK), 2022. New Copy 2LP
A record that bristles with all the best energy of the London scene in recent years – as Confucius MC provides lyrics over a mix of jazzy elements cooked up by Kwake Bass – not straight jazz at all, but music that mixes drums, piano, bass, and reeds in a mighty nice blend that echoes ...
Pay Jay, Early 2000s. New Copy (reissue)
The original mix of Ruff Draft from J Dilla – a set cut back when he was still going by the name of Jay Dee, as one of the most powerful voices to emerge from the new scene in Detroit – working here alone in the studio, and with a raw power that's really wonderful! The record is ...
Columbia, Early 90s. New Copy
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Smokers Club, 2023. New Copy
A set that's got Flying Lotus working in his best old school mode – that sharp yet sophisticated style that's opened so many doors for him in recent years on other projects – very nicely fitted here to deft lyrical contributions from Smoke DZA! The record's a short one, but not out of ...
Wreck/P-Vine (Japan), 1993. New Copy
The legendary debut of Black Moon – one of those records that was slept on by the mainstream at the time, but which has gone on to be an undeniable part of hip hop history as the years moved on! The group are part of that great second wave of young east coast talent who really set this edge, ...
Universal (France), 2023. New Copy
A record as powerful as the image on the cover – and a set that strongly continues the personal and political legacy of British rapper VV Brown! The set works very strongly as a whole, to examine issues of race in contemporary England – and Brown mixes hip hop lyrics with sung vocals, ...
Loma Vista, 2021. New Copy
A beautiful revolution from Common – a set that's maybe got more of a message than most of his music of the past decade – but which also comes across with a more interesting musical palette as well! Part of the album's sound comes from heavy contributions from PJ – singer Paris ...
BBE (UK), 2001. New Copy
A mad bit of funk from the great Pete Rock! Pete's easily one of the best hip hop producers of the past decade – and this album's a sublime batch of instrumental tracks that focuses on his talent for remaking an older groove. The set's one of the first on BBE's groundbreaking Beat ...
BBE (UK), 2001. New Copy
A classic masterpiece from J Dilla – a record that set the tone for countless hip hop releases in years to come – but which still shows Jay Dee as one of the smartest, sharpest, most forward-thinking producers to rule the roost! The set's got some incredible live instrumentation – ...
B-Boy/Traffic, 1987. New Copy
The instrumental/dub versions of all the tracks from the Criminal Minded LP – one of the most important albums in the history of hip hop – the first full LP from KRS One, and a landmark batch of tracks recorded with the late Scott La Rock! The track list alone is a full chapter in the ...
Columbia, 2022. New Copy 2LP Gatefold
Grammy-winning work from Tyler The Creator – a record that's got a darker, moodier vibe than some of his previous work – very much the journey in sound that you might guess from the title – complete with narration from DJ Drama that does a great job of holding the whole thing ...
P-Vine (Japan), 2007. New Copy
You gotta love a hip hop album that begins with an Alice Coltrane sample – and The Specifics follow suit with plenty more other jazzy bits too – almost evoking an old Tribe Called Quest generation with they way they use key samples, but also doing so at a level that's very understated ...
Animal/Mr Bongo (UK), 1982. New Copy (reissue)
A really great record, and maybe one of the few hip hop soundtracks to get at the real feel of the music on the streets – maybe no surprise, as the film for which it was created did the same thing! This isn't a fluffed-up Hollywood take on hip hop, with mainstream soul thrown into the mix ...
Interscope, 2015. New Copy 2LP Gatefold
Kendrick Lamar takes wider creative left turns than ever before on To Pimp A Butterfly – with a funk steeped production style that filters tried-and-true P Funk influences through leftfield modern beatcraft styles, inspired by cats like Madlib to Thundercat, the latter of whom is an official ...
Def Jam, 1986. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)
The game changing Def Jam classic – and possibly the greatest album by the Beastie Boys – even though they'd grow up a whole lot after this! Profane party anthems galore, and the Beasties would distance themselves from much of the attitude of this album, making their career arc from ...
LaFace, 1998. New Copy 3LP (reissue)
Still the Hot-lanta duo's high water mark – and yes, we did love Stankonia. Relentless hype, Grammys, and the Village Voice be damned! Tracks include "Rosa Parks", "Skew It On The Bar-B" featuring Raekwon, "Aquemini", "Synthesizer" featuring George ...
Priority/Interscope, 1992. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
The first solo set that Dr Dre cut after leaving NWA – and a record that not only set the tone for his solo career, but also for a huge run of albums from other folks in the years to come! Dre's as much of a production genius as he is a frontman here – really pushing forward some of ...
Aftermath, 2012. New Copy 2LP Gatefold (reissue)
The second album from Kendrick Lamar, and the one that really helped bring his talents to the rest of the world – and maybe mark a whole new generation of hip hop in the process! At some level, Lamar is in the same territory as many of the south Cali rappers before him – with tales of ...
Aftermath/Interscope, 1999. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
Dre's solid and hugely successful follow-up to The Chronic, and production-wise it holds up really well after all these years! Chronic set the sound bar so high, even 6 or 7 years later its shadow loomed large, but Dre delivers a headnodding groove that was pretty tough to resist, then and now. The ...
4th & Broadway/Universal, 1987. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
Paid In Full, indeed! Eric B & Rakim's seminal debut still pays off in so many ways, and it was such a vital link between the party rockin' style of the old school and the terse, hard-hitting beats and rhymes of the nascent school, we can't even come up with the words for the praise it's due. ...
MCA/Universal, 1990. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
No sophomore slump for the second Eric B & Rakim album – benchmark hip hop of the first order and up there with the best of all time! Following up Paid In Pull was no easy task, and the appropriately titled Follow The Leader makes it look easy, completing one of the great one-two punches ...