Hip Hop -- Recently Added -- CD  

A tight, timeless take on classic hip hop -- featuring the paired up talents of Kista and 45 Prince -- plus guest appearances by Tableek of Maspyke, Sumkid, DJ Format, PEACE, OCB, DJ Bazil & others! Straight up boombap with funk, soul & jazz beats -- and each name gets a half! 18 tracks ...

Pretty sharp stuff from Wale -- the Interscope debut after some pretty hot underground attention -- doing his thing with smarts and quality flow over a varied backdrop of production! Wale has a reputation for bring some influences of DC's go-go sound to the table, and for this major debut, ...

The second solo album from the Blackalicious MC -- produced by Dnaebeats -- and very well, we might add -- with the Gifted one sounding as sharp and dexterous as ever! The sound is flavored by spacey soul, as fine a foil for Gift Of Gab's flow as any record he's done since prime Blackalicious, ...

A collection of Dilla's finest boom bap, pulsing & thumping productions -- volume 3 in the Dillanthology series -- this one concentrating on Jay Dee/J Dilla credited cuts, plus a couple Jaylib gems. These are largely beats that Dilla saved for himself and his collabos with Madlib, with uests ...

Rare and unreleased material from the DITC clique and extended family -- including DITC, Show & AG, Diamond D, OC, Ghetto Dwellers, Freddie Foxxx and more. 14 tracks: "Internationally Known" and "Themes, Schemes And Dreams" by DITC, "Put It In Your System" by ...

A damn good record by Q-Tip -- his first official album of the new millenium (not counting the unfairly mooted Kamaal The Abstract) -- featuring both spacey keyboard grooves and some Native Tongues style boom bap! Q-Tip really does kind of pick up where he could have left off years ago, and it's a ...

Furious, hard hitting Rhymesayers hip hop from Brother Ali -- possibly the most passionate stuff we've heard from him to date -- starting out with a gospel soul style intro and blasting off from there. There's a lot of funk and soul in the beatcraft, which helps the overall vibe cut deeper. This ...

The second album from Foreign Exchange -- the formerally bi-continental project of North Carolina MC, and nascent soul singer Phonte of Little Brother, and transplanted Dutch producer Nicolay -- who take an even deeper turn into spacey soul on Leave It All Behind! Given that Phonte is singing ...

Funky hip hop from the Cali scene and beyond -- both produced and assembled by Madlib the Beat Konducta as the rumored final installment of BBE/Rapster's Beat Generation series! This set does a pretty good job of showing Madlib's skill as an expert producer for others -- pairing the right beats ...

Anti Pop Consortium is back after a lengthy hiatus -- and it's a blast -- laser cauterized funk beats, squealing synth funk, and innovative rhymes from Beans, Blaize, Hi Priest and Sayyid! The crew is in a unique position for this comeback record, in that they can pick up pretty close to where ...

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 ...

Heavy grooves from Sugarhill Records -- lots of old school hip hop cuts, plus a few clubby groovers too! The 2CD set is the last installment in this excellent look at the label -- one that set a whole new standard for Sugarhill reissues -- one that's sadly not been matched as much in recent years - ...

Here it is after an arduous, nearly decade long wait -- Rakim's epically long in the making Seventh Seal -- released on his own label after the much discussed departure from Dr Dre! Rakim's authority and gravity on the mic is still second to none, and Seventh Seal's best tracks stark and ...

Doom follows up the stellar Born Like This LP with a set of collabos -- some unexpected, and others that we find ourselves saying that it's about time these cats hooked up -- with Talib Kweli, Vast Aire, Count Bass D, Masta Killa, Ghostface, Dilla, John Robinson and others. Essentially, Doom is ...

The trio of Rapster's Dillanthology comilations to date -- collections featuring the best J Dilla productions for other artists and some of the best of his self productions -- together in a 3CD box set! Filled with crackling and soulful hip hop beatcraft by J Dilla, plus standout tracks from some ...

RJD2's signature style epic hip hop! This time out -- no rappers allowed, which was a good move in our book, considering his production really shines when he doesn't cater to an MC. This effort has got a little bit of fusion flare, with wisps of synths on some tracks and space age ricochet drums ...

Live old school hip hop and funky disco breaks from the first school -- previously unreleased material recorded straight from the Ecstasy Garage Disco sound board at the dawn of the 80s -- party rockin' rhymes from a loose collective of "Ecstasy Garage All Stars"! Live Convention 80 ...

Previously unreleased funky old school hip hop and disco breaks -- and you don't stop, keep on body rockin' to Live Convention 79 -- live material from the Jamaica Queens Armory! Live Convention 79 features audio captured from the soundboard of this benchmark era throwdown, with 13 unlisted tracks ...

Q-Tip's legendary unreleased jazz funk flavored Kamaal The Abstract album -- a wonderful record that should have come out in 2002 (!!!) -- but in yet another tribute to Q-Tip's genius, it sounds just as great all these years later! We remember well, hearing snippets of Kamaal The Abstract on a ...

Lyrically and spirtually fresh wordplay from Superstar Quamallah -- working with blueprint era funky hip hop beatcraft, done with a timeless style! Titles include "You Need Knowledge", "88 Soul", "Black Shakespeare", "For My People. . .It's Spiritual", " ...

Crackling and soulful hip hop beatcraft by J Dilla -- a tight batch of some of his most iconic productions for other artists as well as a few curveballs that are a little deeper than we expected -- put together by Rapster! Dillanthology, despite the title, doesn't set out to bet the be all end all ...

Funky mad work from Cut Chemist and Madlib -- with a sound that's right off of a classic funky 45, filtered through a South Bronx soundsystem! "6 Variations Of In The Rain" is based around Billy Wooten's famous jazz vibes version of The Dramatics cut "In The Rain" -- and it ...

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 ...

There are not many hurdles left for Jay Z to clear on Blueprint 3 -- but staying vital and hungry despite all his triumphs is the strain that connects the best tracks here -- and the best tracks here are pretty tight. The sound ranges from No ID soul grit to Timbaland star trips -- with more ...

Big, booming and funky beats, with rhymes blasted to suit from Kid Millions -- hard hitting, exuberant and all around fast paced hip hop from the Milwaukee scene veteran! It's solid, good time funky hip hop -- impossible not to nod your head your head to, it's a straight up winner from a character ...

Rare 80s funky east coast hip hop -- great tracks by Most Wanted, The Heartbeat Brothers, Sport G & Mastermind, Phase And Rhythm and and others -- great tracks cut for the Enjoy, Elite, Street Walk, Pelon and other labels with production throughout by the late Paul C! Paul C is better known ...

Oh No's given carte blanche to the the Now Again and Soul Cal vaults of obscure funk, psychedelic soul and more -- taking on the deep obscurities of those rarity reissuers for a tripped out hip hop funk instrumental set! Here Oh No has put together a record that rivals his underground hip hop ...

The legendary debut set from by the third star in the original Native Tongues trinity -- with bonus tracks and a bonus disc with Instrumental Show instrumentals! Straight Out The Jungle predates the first De La and Tribe LPs, and has paves the way for much great stuff that was to come -- you know, ...

Dope underground hip hop from People Under The Stairs -- their lucky seventh album -- still working as one of the finest neo classic hip hop crews in the game, and one of our favorite hip hop duos since the blueprint era! Thes One and Double K bring their A-games each time out, and this return to ...

Stripped down, hazy, funky hip hop from Dudley Perkins -- rolling in heavy funk beats, spare piano particles, and in a gritty hip hop mode for the most part! It seems to us the Dudley is rhyming more in this solid effort than singing, and he's bringing in more social and spiritual conciousness, ...

Fresh hip hop from the All Natural, Inc team -- and one of the freshest female fronted hip hop albums we've heard in a while -- from Rita J! Rita J's rhymes are at the forefront and are top notch -- spurring the best from guest MCs and producers, which include Stoney Rock aka Black Spade, Kenny ...

Heiro hero Del The Funky Homosapien teams up with Artifacts and Weathermen veteran Tame One to trade rhymes -- with production by Parallel Thought -- a solid set and another winner on the Gold Dust Media label, which is put out a number of classic era reverent records to date! The beats are often ...

Heavy lyrical sword swinging from Killah Priest! Here the Priest keeps it solid and cohesive thanks in no small part to single source production by DJ Woool -- plus a strong, connective set list, with more than a few spiritually resonant, but still sharply worded tracks. Titles include "Swor ...

Solo set from William Cooper of Black Market Militia -- featuring guest appearances by Black Market Millitia fellow Hell Razah -- plus heavyweights Kool G Rap, Killa Priest, Ill Bill, 9th Prince and others! Titles include "The Day Of Light", "In America" feat Killah Priest & ...

Reflectively funky hip hop from London's Funky DL -- an emcee who has been capably dropping fresh hip hop for more than a decade now -- and delivering a solid set for BBE! The Interview features beats and percussion by DL, too -- and it's solid work. He's influenced by some of our favorite hip ...

Rap classic 45 edits by Peanut Butter Wolf -- a stellar set of benchmark singles by Fearless Four, Just Ice, Marley Marl & MC Shan, Big Daddy Kane & Biz Markie, Mantronix, JVC Force, Boogie Down Productions and more! The Wolf mixes the tunes perfectly, no jumpy edits or too abbreviated ...

A beautifully packaged box set if we've ever seen one -- celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Def Jam hip hop -- each disc featuring a well chosen sampler of classic tracks from a 5 year period of the labels history! It's no easy task programming a set like this, and we could argue for 25 more ...

A look at the guest list of Alchemist's Chemical Warfare album will let you know how far reaching the respect is for Alc's brand of hip hop beatcraft -- featuring a who's who of legends and stars of the underground and mainstream territories -- including Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kool G Rap, KRS-One, ...

Camp Lo returns for Another Heist -- produced by Ski for the classic Ski Beats vibe! The group moves forward with a bit of the blacksploitation funk vibe, with a raw vibe overall, and solid rhymes from Geechi Suede and Sonny Cheeba. Titles include "Another Heist", "Uptown", ...

The long awaited Cuban Linx Pt 2 from Raekwon -- and one of those late model Wu Tang efforts that reminds us of how vital the Wu Tang were in their prime, as well as how sharp the still are when the moons align and the pieces fall into place! OBFCL Pt 2 is indeed one of those rare newer Wu sets ...

The 5th album by the Beastie Boys -- and a prime example of a modern classic we didn't appreciate enough the first time time around -- the wholly excellent Hello Nasty! We'll admit we were suffering a little Beasties fatigue by the time Hello Nasty came out in '98, but it sounds nothing short of ...

This is the first full length by underground favorite J-Live. He rhymes like a veteran rapper on this album, although this was actually shelved and in label limbo for some time. Tracks include "Got What It Takes", "Get The Third", "Vampire Hunter J", "Them That's ...

Rare breaks from the DITC vaults -- gritty, funky soul beats from the Show vaults! 45 breaks in 54 minutes -- really kind of coming off as a classic era set of scratchy soul beats, and gritty raw funk atmosphere. All untitled. ...

Easygoing, soulful hip hop from Kero One -- a record that's an acknowledged nod to the early believers in his craft, but it's also carrying on the vibes from some of the earlier individualists of the Bay Area indie hip hop scene. This is really nice record -- MC Kero One produces his own stuff, ...

K-Solo's long hard to find first LP for the Hit Squad, with some classic early 90s trunk rattling funky PMD beats -- underneath his relentless rhyme style! Gruff, funk beats and samples underneath booming rhymes. K-Solo's couple of LPs for Atlantic didn't really get their due back in the day, and ...

The firey first full length from Cage -- his unbound debut for Eastern Conference. Tracks include "(Down) The Left Hand Path", "Escape To 88", "Teen Age Death", "Too Much", "Agent Orange", "A Suicidal Failure", "The Right Out", ...

Essential stuff, a story we've been waiting to get told for some time now! Tommy Boy's spot in the history book doesn't need to be laid out by us or anyone else for that matter, but this double disc set puts the history lesson neatly together in one great little package. You get every imaginable ...

Little Brother transitions to the majors with their soulful underground sound intact -- and deliver an effort that in the best moments improve upon the already classic Listening LP! It looks like this just isn't going to go over with the TRL crowd, despite the Atlantic logo. The soul sample vibe ...

In 1994 when everyone seemed to be turning hardcore, Common Sense wasn't having it. Introspective tales of growing up and living on the South Side that fit perfectly with No I.D.'s mellow production and spiced up with two guest appearances by Y-Not aka Twilight Tone. Classic LP, solid all the way ...

A Sugar Hill party in one sweet little package -- 2CDs worth of music that features some of the biggest hits from the Grandmaster Flash generation, plus a few surprising bits from later years too! The package features a whopping 23 tracks in all -- one disc that mostly hovers around the early ...