The classic Scott La Rock tribute album – with BDP classics and remixes – originally issued as a 2LP set that was put together following the South Bronx-repping hip hop pioneer's shooting death. Alternate versions, remixes and BDP medley's from their most classic late 80s period. 15 tracks in all: "Advance", "D Nice Rocks The House", "Red Alert (Criminal Minded)", 'Doc Mix (Criminal Minded)", "Super Hoe #4", "Word From Our Sponsor #8", "BDP Medley #5", "Poetry" (#s 1, 2 & 3)" and lots more! CD

The classic Scott La Rock tribute album – with BDP classics and remixes – originally issued as a 2LP set that was put together following the South Bronx-repping hip hop pioneer's shooting death. Alternate versions, remixes and BDP medley's from their most classic late 80s period. 15 tracks in all: "Advance", "D Nice Rocks The House", "Red Alert (Criminal Minded)", 'Doc Mix (Criminal Minded)", "Super Hoe #4", "Word From Our Sponsor #8", "BDP Medley #5", "Poetry" (#s 1, 2 & 3)" and lots more! CD

Featuring Flipmode Squad on "Everybody Come On". 12-inch, Vinyl record

Tracks include "Dark Alleyways", "Closing In", "The Badlands", "Cut To The Chase", "Night Watch", "Suspended", "Blue Keys", "Old Habits", "The Dirty Sermon", and "A Matter Of Time". CD

Produced by Grandmaster Flash. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Low Budget Hi Fi Music from Madlib – the eleventh entry in his epic Madlib's Medicine Show series – 28 tracks of hip hop unofficially dubbed the Dirty Demos! The set feature sample enriched instrumentals by Madlib as Loop Digga and collaborations with Strong Arm Steady, J Rocc, Madlib & Oh No as The Professionals, Guity Simpson, AG & Frank Nitt. It's great stuff, natch – finding Madlib in a straighter hip hop mode production wise – but straighter Madlib production has unexpected twists and turns! Loads of funky samples, some recognizable others otherworldly – and beats that range from dusty funk to dramatically soulful. Includes "The Sound Of Champions" (inst), "Charlie Hustle" by Strong Arm Steady, "Sam", "Snakes 101" by MED, "Girls" by J Rocc, "Love/Hate" (inst), "The Adventurs Of Soul Bra And Docta Dick'em Pts 1 & 2", "Hold Up" by The Professionals, "Thoughts Of An Old Flame" by Guilty Simpson and others. CD

The follow up to the classic first LP! Listening to Kurtis Mantronik productions all of these years later is a definite educational experience, given the huge influence the crisp synth sounds had on the future of hip hop – not only as a matter of necessity, given the cost of sample clearance, but also as an aesthetic choice. Archeological chin-scratching aside, it's a straight up good time, with a shiny electronic bounce – one that holds up well! Tracks include "Music Madness", "Who Is It?", "Ladies (UK rmx)", "Scream", "Listen To The Bass Part" – plus 5 bonus tracks including "Scream" original 12 inch club and dub versions, "Who It Is?" original 12 inch freestyle USA club and UK club mixes, and "Who's Dub Is It? (original 12 inch dub)". CD

... CD

Unfiltered portraits of the artist formerly known as Red Pill – delivering the goods under his own name on a solid set for the Mello Music Group! Real life, self searching and personal statement making hip hop from a voice rooted in classic 90s school craft – not so much with a neo-classic sound as much as a strong commitment to beats, rhymes and life experience. Good stuff! Includes production by Nolan The Ninja, Apollo Brown, L'Orange, Onra and Exile – and given the self-protrait mission the guest rhymes kept to a minimum, with just a couple worthy appearances, courtesy Verbal Kent and Fashawn. Titles include "Self Portrait", "Stories", "Design Flaw", "Lazy Buddies", "Escape Plan", "Bottom Feeders" w/ Fashawn, "Barfly", "What Happens Next", "Mom" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Common's full length debut! This one's a little more uptempo and overall less serious than "Resurrection", and a few cuts that are as good as anything on that LP – Common went on to a pretty diverse career, and this is the blueprint material for his most respected records. Production by Twilight Tone, Immenslope, and the Beatnuts. Includes "Penny For My Thoughts", "Soul by the Pound", "Take It Eazy", "Breaker 1/9", "Two Scoops of Raisins", "Tricks Up My Sleeve", Blows To The Temple" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Das Efx are dead serious, and dead on the money with this tremendous debut album – really announcing themselves as one of the powerhouse hip hop forces of the early 90s – able to blend some of the bite of the west coast scene with the sharper rhymes and amazing production of the east! Almost every song on the set is a bonafide classic from back in the day – and the fantastic set list includes "Mic Checka", "Jussumen", "Looseys", "Dum Sums", "They Want EFX", "Straight Out The Sewer", "East Coast", and "Klap Ya Handz". Production by EMPD – which is kind of like icing on the cake! LP, Vinyl record album

Das EFX's third album finds them holding down a more jam-packed approach than ever before – longer by half than their previous LPs and with a strong sense of purpose! Das EFX appeared with such a unique rhyme style, by this point they really needed to balance the tasks of being recognizable as as the hard-hitting duo with the distinctive approach to rhymes, without relying on it as a gimmick, and here they largely succeed – with production from Premier, Showbiz, Easy Mo Bee, Klark Kent, DJ Scratch and more. Tracks include "No Diggedy", "Represent The Real" with KRS, "Microphone Master", "Hold It Down", "Bad News" with PMD, "Real Hip Hop", "40 & A Blunt", "Ready To Rock Rough Rhymes", and lots more! LP, Vinyl record album

The somewhat slept on second album by Das Efx – and in hindsight, it's just as solid as Dead Serious – maybe even more consistently strong than the breakout debut! Dray and Skoob keep up the loco syllabic tempo and tongue tripping rhymes on this one – over the head nodding Solid Scheme beats that sound great to this day – but wisely put the focus on the rhyme craft rather than going overboard with the manic style. You've heard us an just about anyone else with an opinion about hip hop history go on and on about the golden years of the early 90s, and this rock solid effort deserves as much acclaim as many of the better remembered records of the day. With the tracks "Baknaffek", "Wontu", "Check It Out", "Undaground Rappa", "Gimme Dat Micraphone", "It'z Lik Dat", "Host Wit Da Most", "Rappaz", and "Freakit". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Ghostface in his raw and direct mode once again, sounding pretty great after a string of collaborative and more theme oriented efforts – definitely more in the vein of his work around Supreme Clientele and Fishscale that more recent records in which he shared billing with producers and players like Adrian Younge and Badbadnotgood. Nothing fancy, just rock solid raw hip hop with sharp dart rhymes by a legend – with appearances by Method Man & Cappadonna, Sun God & Shawn Wigs, Eamon, Solomon Childs & Inspectah Deck. Titles include "Me Denny & Darryl", "Burner To Burner", "Flex", "Conditioning", "Fly Everything", "New World", "The Chace" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Wu Tang stalwart Inspectah Deck back in the Shaolin style on Chamber No 9 – complete with Asian action cinema soundbites, an ODB tribute track, and the flying guillotine on the cover – and whether you want to chalk it up to nostalgia or not, it's pretty nice to hear him revisiting his roots! Deck's always been one of the Wu's underrated figures, but he's been one of the most consistently solid over the years, too – be it on the all too rare solo albums or with his latter day group Czarface. This one is a straight up Wu Tang offshoot, and titles include "Shaolin Rebel", "Russell Jones", "Chamber No 9", "Certified", "24K" with Hellfire & Cappadonna, "Game Don't Change", "Who Run It" feat Hellfire & Streetlife and more. 12 tracks and no filler. LP, Vinyl record album

Madlib invades Blue Note! He gets free reign of the catalog for this mix of sampler genius and live band interpretations, too, as/with Ahmad Miller, Yesterdays New Quintet, Malcolm Catto, Medaphoar, and others from the Stones Throw camp. This one's truly a conceptual triumph, if there ever was such a thing – one of the greatest hip hop producers alive, given carte blanche with the source beats of the century! Madlib's Blue Note crates are heavily weighed in the mid 60s through mid 70s electric beats that often get the shaft in mainstream jazz round-ups, but floor the beathead world into overdrive. Re-interpretations, remixes, and revisions are spliced seamlessly with the source samples, creating a whole new world where hip hop and late model live funk not only co-exists with classic Blue Note jazz, but it actually draws a linear transition between the 2 genius art forms. Beautiful stuff – if the album isn't the most original idea to come along all of these years into the hip hop & jazz underground, it's certainly one of the most perfectly realized projects of its kind, ever! It's one for the time capsule – easily one of Madlib's masterpieces, and pure funky sample wizardry by any standard! Includes Monk Higgins' "Slim's Return" interpreted by Ahmad Miller and DJ Lord Such on cuts, "Donald Byrd's "Distant Land", "Ronnie Foster's "Mystic Bounce", Yesterday's New Quintet's adaptation of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints", Madlib Invazion's "Funky Blue Note", the Joe McDuphrey Experience take on Horace Silver's/Herbie Hancock's "Peace/Dolphin Dance" and lots more. LP, Vinyl record album

A masterful joint effort from a pair of hip hop's most respected veterans – legendary rhymer Talib Kweli and innovative, gritty soul loving producer 9th Wonder! The prolific Kweli is prominent on the mic, and 9th Wonder continues to stay true to his soulful pedigree, while keeping it fresh and timeless – but what makes Indie 500 even nicer is they also serve here as hosts for a top notch collective of fellow independent-minded figures. Guests include Slug, Brother Ali, Pharoah Monch, Rapsody, Kendra Ross and others – plus producers Khrysis and E Jones. Which isn't to say the co-headliners take a back seat – they're just excellent hosts is all! Includes "Which Side Are You On" with Tee Poe & Kendra Ross, "Pay Ya Dues" with Problem & Bad Lucc, "Prego" with Pharoahe Monch and Slug from Atmosphere, "Understand" with Brother Ali & Planet Asia, "Lo-Fi" with Niko Is and more. 13 tracks in all. CD

Top notch Central Texas hip hop collaborative produced by Adrian "AQ" Quesada (Grupo Fantasma, Brownout, Echocentrics, Spanish Gold) – with "Reflection Of The Times" feat Reggie Coby, the title track with Mellow Man Ace, "Justice Or Else", "Yanga's", "Soul Force" feat Da'Shade, Riders Against the Storm, Bavu Blakes & Vocab (plus a vinyl-only remix) and more! 12 tracks in all. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

There's nothing abstract here – as the set's a fantastically-focused tribute to the late Jay Dee – put together in a style that's mostly jazz, but which also has some great vocal touches too! The music's roots are in hip hop, but the presentation here is awash in strong work on saxes, trumpet, and trombone – used over rhythms that are played live, and which have this warm glow that's like 70s jazz funk, filtered through the hop hop generation! Emphasis is on horn solos, but the set also features twin female singers – who provide some chorus vocals, and a warm link between the instrumental modes in a really great way. So maybe consider this both a soul and a jazz remake of the world of Dilla – and a great one too. Titles include "Welcome To Detroit/The Diary", "Dilla Mix 1", "Official/Fall In Love", "Love", "Angel"," King", "Two Can Win", "Raw Sh*t", "Workinonit", and "Stop". (Deep Funk, Hip Hop) LP, Vinyl record album

A really great take on the music of Madvillain – that famous collaboration between Madlib & MF Doom – served up here in a mostly instrumental mode that's heavy on funk and jazz! You'll definitely recognize the tunes in the set, but the presentation is very different – almost as if someone's gone back to the music, stripped it down to core samples, then worked those back up again with a new sort of energy! The group's directed by Rob Mitchell – clearly the genius behind the whole project – and solos are by James Russell on tenor and flute, Simon Bobby Beddoe on trumpet, Jim Corry on alto, and George Cooper on piano and keyboards. Titles include "Meat Grinder", "Eye", "Figaro", "Can't Reform Em", "Madmix 3", "Rainbows", "Fire In The Hole", "Rhinestone Cowboy", "Operation Lifesaver", and "Borrowed Time". (Deep Funk, Hip Hop) LP, Vinyl record album

The classic from Afrika Bamaaataa & The Soul Sonic Force – one of the most revolutionary pieces of formative hip hop history! "Planet Rock" is straight up legendary for a number of reasons. It's one of those early hip hop hits to bring the genre to greater popularity, the deft use of Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra inspiration with a NYC party rocking vibe is pure genius, and the overall effect on hip hop, house, electro and pop music to come is seriously huge. Vital! 12-inch, Vinyl record

Cinematic hip hop soul from Anderson.Paak named after a seaside city west of Los Angeles, CA – but it's not Malibu, it's the stunning follow up Oxnard – a little looser, more diverse, and ultimately just as impressive set from this still rising talent! The uber-impressive guest list including Kadhja Bonet, Norelle, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop, Dre, Pusha T, J Cole, Q-Tip and more but this is the sprawling Anderson.Paak show all the way, his distinctive blend of Cali sunshine and nighttime music and mood, his gritty-smooth voice so masterfully going back & forth from singing to rhyming, the production breathtaking from the stripped down beats, bass and vocals focused tracks to grander and more densely layered material. Includes "The Chase" with Kadja Bonet, "Headlow" feat Lowrell, "Tints" feat Kendrick Lamar, "Who R U", "6 Summers", "Saviers Road", "Smile/Petty", "Mansa Musa", "Brothers Keeper" feat Pusha T, "Anywhere" feat Snoop Dogg & Last Artful Dodgr, "Trippy" feat J Cole and "Cheers" feat Q-Tip – plus the bonus tracks "Sweet Chick" feat BJ The Chicago Kid and "Left To Right". (Neo Soul, Hip Hop) LP, Vinyl record album

The first single off Hello Nasty. Following the "Intergalactic" theme, they make good use of old school synth and vocoder effects, and lots of references to The Whop dance! To our ears, the remixes seem to be pretty funny paradies of assorted club music styles. The "Prisoners of Technology" is a twisted take on some overused "itelligent" techniques. CD

The MC Gift of Gab serves your ears melodic, driving, challenging wordplay at it's best on this album from the Quannum Projects label out of the Bay Area, who brought you DJ Shadow and Latyrx. The jazzy, soulful, reflective, bouncing music is entirely produced by DJ Chief Xcel and features cameos by Lyrics Born and Lateef from Latyrx on two separate tracks ("Do This My Way" and "Smithzonian Institute Of Rhyme", respectively.) It also includes the single "Deception" and the tracks "Searching", "The Fabulous Ones", "A To G", "Cliff Hanger", "Shallow Days", "Ego Trip By Nikki Giovanni", "You Didn't Know That Though", "Trouble (Eve Of Destruction)", "Reanimation", "Beyonder", "Making Progress", "Sleep", and more. CD

Includes "More Gangsta 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. LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the crowning achievement of DJ Cash Money – a sharp DJ from the early Philly scene – and a talent who was every bit as great at the time on as Jazzy Jeff on the wheels of steel! Cash is paired here with Marvelous, an MC whose sense of wit really matches the sharpness of the production on the record – and the album's a classic from a time when the indie underground was starting to burst out again with strong full length albums like this! There's plenty of deft, playful rhymes on the set – and titles include "Find An Ugly Woman", "Play It Kool", "Is It Real", "Time Is Up", "A Real Mutha For Ya", "Marvelous' Drawers", "Ugly People Be Quiet (rmx)", "Ugly People Be Quiet", "The Mighty Hard Rocker", and "The Music Maker". LP, Vinyl record album

Childish Gambino once again transcends anything you might be expecting from an actor/musician – this is not some vain star trip at all, but a worthy, boundary-busting effort – and a pretty sizable step away from idiosyncratic, yet accessible hip hop into spacey pop funk! Strong stuff, following his own path in respectable, highly rewarding fashion. Includes "Me And Your Mama", "Have Some Love", "Boogieman", "Zombies", "Riot", "Redbone", "Terrified", "California", "Terrified", "The Night Me & Your Mama Met" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A set of tracks that were done by Coup for the film Sorry To Bother You – but music that's not to be confused with their previous album of the same name! The tracks here feature contributions from other artists – including Lakeith Stanfield, who starred in the film, which was directed by Boots Riley of the Coup – plus Janell Monae, Tune-Yards, Killer Mike, and E-40 – with a range of sounds that moves between hip hop, underground soul, and other styles. Titles include "Hey Saturday Night", "Monsoon", "Level It Up", "Crawl Out The Water", "Oyahytt", "Anitra's Basement Tapes", and "Out & Over/Sticky Sunrise". LP, Vinyl record album

A mindblowing debut from Cybotron – one of the most unusual groups to ever hail from Detroit – and that's saying a hell of a lot, given the musical legacy of the city! Cybotron have a sound that's starkly electronic, and a huge influence on later electro, hip hop, techno, and house – served up here as a spare, fuzzy approach to funk – but with lots of the colder touches you'd find from post-punk imports at the time! The blend is quite unique, and even more unusual given the fact that the trio were working in virtual obscurity on the Detroit scene – as an early project from the legendary Juan Atkins, with guitarist Jon-5, and the mysterious electronician 3070! There's more funk here than most of the group's electro contemporaries – but the sound is still nicely cold in all the right parts too – and titles include the seminal "Clear", which was years ahead of its time – plus "Cosmic Cars", "Cosmic Raindance", "Industrial Lies", "The Line", and "Alleys Of Your Mind". CD reissue also features some nice bonus cuts – including "Clear (Jose Animal Diaz rmx)", "Cosmic Cars (Detroit style mix)", "Techno City (voc)", "Techno City (inst)", "R-9 (inst)", and "Eden (voc)". (Soul, Hip Hop) CD