From the "Rappin" soundtrack. The one Force MD's track we'd recommend, with Doug Wimbish, Skip McDonald, and Keith LeBlanc, who played on most of the early Sugarhill label cuts. 12-inch, Vinyl record
Previously unreleased fire from Frank N Dank and producer Jay Dee! Gritty, beat heavy, rumbling genius from Dilla in straight forward, floor-shaking style – the perfect backdrop for the on beat, focused rhymes. Includes vocal and instrumental versions of "Let's Go", "Things Ain' ... read more12-inch, Vinyl record
(Limited edition red vinyl! Previously unreleased!)
"Feelin' James" is a mostly instrumental track with lots of James Brown and Bobby Byrd vocal samples cut in, the flip, "I Believe In Music" has that early Stetsasonic sound. 12-inch, Vinyl record
Fudge (Prefuze 73 & Michael Christmas) —
Lady Parts ... CD Lex, 2016. Used ...
$5.99
A tight duo venture from producer Prefuze 73 and rhymer Michael Christmas! Prefuze 73 has been exploring all kinds of abstract production ideas for years, usually carrying his tired-and-true sputtering beats and tripped out atmopsherics, but his straighter hip hop productions really tighten things ... read moreCD
Pop soul from Full Force – filled with plenty of influence from mainstream hip hop, but all watered down into a much more partyful groove! The group here are a bridge between the commercial funk of Prince, The Time, and other 80s acts – and some of the more beat-heavy sounds coming out ... (Soul, Hip Hop)read moreCD
Funky DL's full on funky homage to A Tribe Called Quest's uber classic Midnight Maurauders – no samples, no breaks or loops pulled from the classic album or the samples therein – this is a freshly done, inspired set of beats, keys, programming and live instrumentation that covers the ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Jazzy hip hop instrumentals from Funky DL – inspired by travels around Japan, and with a really cool, kinda laidback and dreamy and nocturnal vibe that's pretty great! As you'd expect from the title a hazy, nocturnal feel here – you really get the sense of inspiration from the after ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Gang Starr —
Hard To Earn ... LP Chrysalis, 1994. New Copy 2LP (reissue)...
$24.9929.99
Gang Starr at pretty close to peak level here on 1994's Hard To Earn – and rather than continue to ride the waves they made on the previous couple classic albums, Guru sharpens the lyrical tone just a bit – spitting some more incisive rhymes over apporpriately gritty soul jazz beats ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Gary Clail —
Hard Left ... 12-inch World/On-U Sound (UK), 1986. Very Good+ (pic cover)...
$4.99
A great On U single. Gary Clail's presence is hardly felt, but you can't say the same for the rough and ready On U rhythm section of Keith LeBlanc, Skip McDonald and Doug Wimbish, transplanted from Sugarhill but still breaking new ground and grooves with Adrian Sherwood! 12-inch, Vinyl record
Heady sounds from Gaslamp Killer – tunes that are as fuzzy as they are funky – which might be something that we'd say about the man himself! As with other productions, there's definitely a focus on the low end and lo-fi here – but never as a lack of anything, or as a mistake ... (New Grooves, Hip Hop)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Producer Gensu Dean steps out from behind the scenes and getting more comfortable headlining his own high quality records after years in the game – and the guest vocalists are a solid indicator of his pedigree as a producer – including Diamond D, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Homeboy Sandman, ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
An early 90s effort from Houston rap pioneers The Geto Boys! This one features Big Mike in the place of recently departed MC Willie D, and while earlier Geto Boys records might've set the expections bar pretty high for this one live up to, it holds up pretty strongly. After all these years, it's ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Houston in the days before the screwed era, when the city was still putting a whole different spin on the rap game! Where NWA were deivering the hardcore rhymes filled with anger, Scarface, Wllie D and Bushwick Bill were coming with a whole other horror story. Tracks include "We Can't Be ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Ghostface Killah —
More Fish ... LP Def Jam, 2006. Very Good+ 2LP ...
$14.99
Def Jam must've been as high on Fishscale as the rest of the hip hop heads – as here's an official end of '06 addendum LP to the one of the better LPs from a Wu Tang alum in years! More Fish brings in a few more appearances by Ghost's Theodore Unit roster – with production by J-Live on ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Includes the insert. Cover has marker through the barcode.)
A very nice solo set from Blackalicious MC Gift Of Gab – one that combines the fast, playful wordplay of Blackalicious with a more heartfelt soul style, kind of like Relativity era Common. It's a much more focused set than Blackalicious's Blazing Arrow LP – and possibly one of the best ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five —
Message ... LP Sugar Hill, 1982. New Copy (reissue)...
$14.99
The classic debut album by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five – one of the pioneering groups in hip hop -history- not that we didn't need to tell you that! With prototypical party jams and the original conscious rap landmark "The Message", all over old school grooves laid ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Group Home —
Livin' Proof ... LP Payday/Get On Down, 1995. New Copy 2LP (reissue)...
$22.9925.98
Classic debut of Group Home from the height of the Gang Starr foundation, when Primo just couldn't miss on the production front – always a rock solid backdrop from on point rhymes, which is just what you get from Lil' Dap & Melachi The Nutcracker. Strong work that stands up strongly these ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A groundbreaking meeting of musical icons – with veteran jazz greats, a couple of then-young guns, and one of the MCs who helped bring jazz into hip hop in the first place! Jazzmatazz bridges both stylistic and generational boundaries in incredible ways, not only an earnest effort by Guru to ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Includes MOP/Guru/Stikken Moov "Life" (clean, inst), True Master "Who's The Truest" (clean) and Big Shug "Do What Pays Ya" (clean, inst). 12-inch, Vinyl record
Maybe the best work so far from one of the hippest beatmaking collectives on the European scene – on a record that definitely has some of the righteous power you'd guess from the title! As before, the approach is rooted in hip hop, but also has a lot more going on too – lots of musical ... (New Grooves, Hip Hop)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
From the goofy "Hands On Experience" to "Open Mic Night" through "B-Boy Document", The High & Mighty have done something hip hop groups rarely do – release three equally dope singles that sound completely different from each other. "B-Boy Document" ... read more12-inch, Vinyl record
Crackling, soulful beatcraft from Ideaz! Motion Capture is a pretty sweet set of instrumentals from the reliable Cold Busted label – rooted in hip hop thanks to compelling beats and all around headnodding vibe, but there's a lot of other elements here – breezy, uncommonly melodic bits ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Infinito 2017 at his most personal and ambitious – delivering a record we're thinking might be one of his very best to date – for the (so far) completely excellent, vinyl-centric Culture Power 45 label. Culture Power 45 is as much a collective of kindred spirit figures in independent ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Thoughtful rhymes, forcefully delivered by Infinito 2017 on this tight EP! Infinito has the classic school MC quality of delivering his rhymes in such raw, off the cuff, direct vibe that it feels like freestyles, but they lines hit with such pinpoint precision, you just don't know – whether ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Infinito 2017/Marcellous Lovelace has been one of independent Chicago hip hop's strongest, most consistent voices for quite a while, and he's as sharply on point here as he's been in years! Raw wisdom on the mic has always been a strong suit for Infinito, and he's as solid as ever here – ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Pure wonderfulness from Internet – a group who seem to bound forward strongly with each new release! These guys are easily one of the most compelling mainstream soul acts we can think of – still very lean, and working with an indie-level vibe – but also able to focus in on hooks ... (Neo Soul, Hip Hop)read moreCD
Pure wonderfulness from Internet – a group who seem to bound forward strongly with each new release! These guys are easily one of the most compelling mainstream soul acts we can think of – still very lean, and working with an indie-level vibe – but also able to focus in on hooks ... (Neo Soul, Hip Hop)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
"The Mic" from Iomos Marad (a member of All Natural's Family Tree) is another Chicago underground classic produced by the Molemen. In a way, it reminds of the early Eric B and Rakim singles with dope, conscious, energetic lyrics propelled by a driving piano sample in the production and DJ ... read more12-inch, Vinyl record
A soul-searching effort from J Cole! 2014 Forest Hills Drive is named after the address of his NC childhood home, which is crystal clear clue of the introspective nature here – but it's got fresh, head-nodding hip hop soul production that carries it over all the more strongly. Solidly ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Soulful beats from the Dilla archives! This batch of untitled, numbered tracks from the Ma Dukes vaults feels a little more along the lines of his more soul steeped efforts – persistent beats and a tight core, but with bits of keyboards, piano or jazzy organ or strings – some spacier ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Formative Dilla beats – raw SP-1200 and Akai MPC material created and cataloged by the legendary producer over the years and served as blueprint/building blocks for some of his most revered productions throughout his career! This being the work of master, it doesn't play like a mere beat ... read moreCD
The classic batch of instrumentals from J Dilla – one that strongly transcends the hip hop genre – and perhaps his rawest, and most adventurous listening experience ever! The loopy soul samples, rich synth/electro shine, and thumping bass and soul beats that Dilla largely made his name ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Definitely one of the independent label classics of 1995. We've always preferred this original version of "Braggin Writes" that sounds like it was recorded with nothing more than the dj cutting the beat live in the studio behind J-Live's verses (instead of using a rhythm track and then ... read more12-inch, Vinyl record
The first of BBE's forays into current hip hop – and a wonderful debut in the series! The album started as a breakbeat project from Detroit's Jay Dee, but soon morphed into a full-on hip hop album – complete with real instrumentation on Fender Rhodes, trumpet, keyboards, and drums, ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Jay-Z's 13th album and one he really had no need to do, if not for the love of the game, and it's a rock solid effort with raw, classic school No ID production! It's a testament to Jay Z's enduring status as one of sharpest MCs of all time that the first news bites to come out of this semi-surprise ... read moreCD
"This here is the victory lap," raps Hove midway through The Black Album, his supposed career-capper (for this stage, anyway), and if nothing here immediately dazzles us to the core the way the best of his past singles have done, overall this is probably the most consistent front-to-back ... read moreCD
Tracks include "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)", "Ride Or Die", "Can I Get A..." with Amil & Ja Rule, "Money, Cash, Hoes" with DMX, "It's Alright" and "Coming Of Age (The Sequel)" with Memphis Bleek, "Money Ain't A Thing", ... read moreCD
Jazz Liberatorz —
Clin D'Oeil ... CD Kif/P-Vine (Japan), 2007. New Copy ...
$22.99
One of the hippest French albums we've heard in years – a laidback blend of hip hop and jazz that really lives up to the cover's homage to the legendary Black Jazz label! The Jazz Liberatorz have a great way with a groove – a style that's openly flowing and instrumentally jazzy – ... (New Grooves, Hip Hop)read moreCD
Nice breaking cut from the legendary Jazzy Jay. Full version of the best cut from the second volume of the Beat Street soundtrack. 12-inch, Vinyl record
Early aughts Chi underground hip hop from Jeff Baraka/O Type Star! "Different Type Of Cancer" is funky, timeless hip hop on an astral tip. "Rate Of Exchange" features appearances by Chi freestyle king JUICE and Slug from Atmosphere. 12-inch, Vinyl record
Classic electro production from the Willesden Dodgers on these instrumentals released here as part of Jive's Rhythm Tracks series. Eight 4-5 minute tracks, all named after some of our favorite BPM's – "130", "114", "122", "108", "102", "1 ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Highly talented independent hip hop producer and dexterous rhymer Jonwayne puts down the mic for a sharp instrumentals set! Anchored in hypnotic beats and crafty, soul-steeped samples and atmosphere. Impressive stuff – and the 2LP vinyl pressing has 10 bonus tracks! Includes "Drive ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Always a fresh producer and smart, personal storyteller, Jonwayne steps to the plate and knocks it out once again on Rap Album Two – rooted equally strongly in timeless production and focused rhyme spitting! Jonwayne handles the majority of production himself, but as always he's a gracious ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(180 gram pressing!)
Jovanotti —
Boun Sangue ... CD Universal (Italy), 2005. Used 2 CDs ...
$8.99
Juelz Santana —
From Me To U ... LP Roc-A-Fella, 2003. Near Mint- 2LP ...
$8.99
Tracks include "The Champ Is Here" feat Freeky Zeekey, "One Day I Smile", "Down", "Monster Music", "Whereever I Go" feat Jimmy Jones, "Dipset (Santana's Town)" feat Cam'Ron, "Squalie", "Rain Drops", "My Love ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A funky blast from a bygone era of discount retail store background music – as chopped, looped, augmented and funked up Juicy The Emissary – chopping up old K-Mart background music and in-store announcement tapes into surprisingly timeless work of his own ingenious imagination! This is ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A few CJ Macintosh house mixes, plus work by Tony Humphries, and the LP version of "J-Beez". Pic sleeve, too. 12-inch, Vinyl record
(Original pressing. Cover has a promo stamp.)
Jurassic 5 —
Power In Numbers ... LP Interscope, 2002. New Copy 2LP (reissue)...
$22.9924.98
All praise to the mighty J5 – reminding us in the early 00s that hip hop could still be about funky, party rockin' beats and flowing on beat, with witty, intelligent rhymes – and sound as fresh as ever! This album's mostly produced by Cut Chemist, though Nu Mark has a hand in a number ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Sharp hip hop from Chicago's K'Valentine – strongly rooted in rhymes and lyricism, as you might expect from Talib Kweli's Javotti label – and really a distinctive voice in the Chi scene. There really isn't a play for a timely trends here, which is great – it's all about pair beats ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Artifacts veterans Tame One and El Da Sensei in rock solid form – with production by Jersey fellow K-Def! Utilizing a classic 90s style production, this one is tight and true. 7-inch, Vinyl record
THE hyphy anthem by Bay-Area native Keak Da Sneak. This is the cut that introduced many to the hyphy movement, and Keak appropriately puts you up on the culture with his signature gruff voice over amazing production. 12-inch, Vinyl record
Nice, nice, nice New York hip hop from Keith Murray – his one and only full length on Def Jam! The album features production by Clark Kent, Rockwilder, Pete Rock and others and it's just the kind of no nonsense street hop we love around here. Keith rocks it like Nas in a way – he's ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Old school, true school, golden age, random rap, west coast, east coast, independent, southern, and midwestern hip hop -- as well as some commercial classics!
G Man —
Hollywood Swingin (voc, dub, acapella)/
