Just when you thought Prince Paul and Cat Power would never make a record together PRESTO – it's the new Handsome Boy album! HBMS takes a bit more of a chillout tack with this long overdue second opus – with lots of laidback beats and samples, and a surprising amount of live instrumentation! The gleeful, sarcastic comedy of the stellar first album remains intact, with some genuinely amusing skits (including one with Jay Z appearing under the pseudonym Hines Buchanan), and the deep range of guest vocalists isn't as surprising as how strong their work is in the best tunes. It would have been pretty easy for Prince Paul and Automator to find a bunch of interesting names to flesh out their big pop culture frappe, but something else altogether to make trippy hip hop tracks featuring Cat Power and the Hieroglyphics make sense on the same record. A pretty solid set from the most adventurous pseudo duo in the game! Guests include Del The Funky Homosapien, De La Soul, RZA, Lord Finesse, AG, Rahzel, Jazzy Jay, Qbert, Mike Patton, Casual, Hieroglyphics, Grand Wizard Theodore, El-P, John Oates, Pharrell, Kid Koala, and George W. Bush (just kidding). Tracks include "If It Wasn't For You" with De La, "Are You Down With It" with Mike Patton, "The World's Gone Mad" with Del and others, "It's Like That" with Casual, "I've Been Thinking" with Cat Power, "Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Pt 2" featuring Lord Finesse, Qbert and others,"First. . .And Then" featuring Dres from Black Sheep, "A Day In The Life" featuring RZA, AZ and others and more, plus intro/outro by Father Guido Sarducci. LP, Vinyl record album

If you like that jazzy, late 80's early 90's flavor with positive lyrics and a little more movement than just head noddin, then scoop this up! Tracks include "Elevator Music", "B-Boy (We Get Shit)", "Think About" featuring J Rawls from Lone Catalysts, "Truly Unique", "Soul", "This Is Me", "Jamboree", "Dear You", "Soon Come" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "Joints & Jam", "Fallin Up", "Karma", "Movement", "The Way U Make Me Feel", "Positivity", "Que Dices?", "Communication", "Be Free", "What It Is", and more. CD

Pre-pop takeover era hip hop from a younger, hungry Black Eyed Peas! Tracks include "Joints & Jam", "Fallin Up", "Karma", "Movement", "The Way U Make Me Feel", "Positivity", "Que Dices?", "Communication", "Be Free", "What It Is", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Matt Black & Jonathan Moore were some of the first to peddle the non-hip hop remixologist tip back in the late 80s – and 10 years later, they're still on the top of their craft with this complicated set of grooves, breaks, and turntable tricks for Ninja Tune! The set includes the tracks "Noah's Toilet", "Atomic Moog 2000 (Post Nuclear Afterlife Lounge Mix)", "Music 4 No Musicians", "Space Journey", "Timber", "Every Home A Prison", "Cloned Again", and "More Beats & Pieces (Daddy rips it up mix)". Includes audio CD and CD rom. (New Grooves, Hip Hop) CD

The fantastic third album from Common – the record that really catapulted him on his way to stardom, yet a set that still retains all the best aspects of his early days in Chicago! Part of that quality comes from the superb production of No ID, who gets a bit of local help from Dug Infinite and Twilite Tone – all talents who have that special, sophisticated vibe that was really starting to flow from Chicago out to the rest of the world – and which here is perfect for the well-crafted lyrics from Common! The balance is great – never too hard or heavy, yet also not trying to ape either a west coast quirky or New York native tongues approach. This time around, there's also plenty of guests on board, of the sort that Common would soon be rubbing shoulders with on a regular basis – a lineup that includes The Roots, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, Canibus, Black Thought, Lauryn Hill, and De La Soul. Yet throughout, the vibe is Common's and Chicago's – something that's always made us very proud to be from the same scene at the same time. Titles include "1 2 Many", "Reminding Me Of Sef", "Invocation", "Stolen Moments", "My City", "Real Nigga Quotes", and "Retrospect For Life". CD

The fantastic third album from Common – the record that really catapulted him on his way to stardom, yet a set that still retains all the best aspects of his early days in Chicago! Part of that quality comes from the superb production of No ID, who gets a bit of local help from Dug Infinite and Twilite Tone – all talents who have that special, sophisticated vibe that was really starting to flow from Chicago out to the rest of the world – and which here is perfect for the well-crafted lyrics from Common! The balance is great – never too hard or heavy, yet also not trying to ape either a west coast quirky or New York native tongues approach. This time around, there's also plenty of guests on board, of the sort that Common would soon be rubbing shoulders with on a regular basis – a lineup that includes The Roots, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, Canibus, Black Thought, Lauryn Hill, and De La Soul. Yet throughout, the vibe is Common's and Chicago's – something that's always made us very proud to be from the same scene at the same time. Titles include "1 2 Many", "Reminding Me Of Sef", "Invocation", "Stolen Moments", "My City", "Real Nigga Quotes", and "Retrospect For Life". LP, Vinyl record album

The fantastic third album from Common – the record that really catapulted him on his way to stardom, yet a set that still retains all the best aspects of his early days in Chicago! Part of that quality comes from the superb production of No ID, who gets a bit of local help from Dug Infinite and Twilite Tone – all talents who have that special, sophisticated vibe that was really starting to flow from Chicago out to the rest of the world – and which here is perfect for the well-crafted lyrics from Common! The balance is great – never too hard or heavy, yet also not trying to ape either a west coast quirky or New York native tongues approach. This time around, there's also plenty of guests on board, of the sort that Common would soon be rubbing shoulders with on a regular basis – a lineup that includes The Roots, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, Canibus, Black Thought, Lauryn Hill, and De La Soul. Yet throughout, the vibe is Common's and Chicago's – something that's always made us very proud to be from the same scene at the same time. Titles include "1 2 Many", "Reminding Me Of Sef", "Invocation", "Stolen Moments", "My City", "Real Nigga Quotes", and "Retrospect For Life". LP, Vinyl record album

Aggro experimental hip hop and fiercely creative noise from Death Grips – their first for Epic Records – and it's still one of the most surprisingly uncompromising, genre-defying records to get a major platform at the time! The way the group splices scattershot yet momentum-building beats with rawly shouted, yet hip hop-rooted rhymes makes them impossible to categorize, but it's truly gripping stuff. Includes "Get Got", "The Fever", "Lost Boys", "Blackjack", "Hustle Bones", "System Blower", "The Cave", "F*** That", "Punk Weight" and "Hacker". (Rock, Hip Hop) CD

Think what you want about DJ Quik, the west coast hip hopper is a key part of the sound of his scene in the 90s – and also maybe one of the most dedicated to the legacy of old school funk as well! This album's overflowing with wonderful samples – work by Cameo, Parliament, One Way, Rick James, The Blackbyrds, and others – all wonderful choices from Quik in the studio, and a way to ground his sometimes-dated rhymes with a really classic vibe – so much so, the album's maybe even more enjoyable now from the perspective of time – as a filter of the 70s through a 90s west coast style! Titles include "Get At Me", "Diggin U Out", "Somethin 4 Tha Mood", "Tha Ho In You", "Summer Breeze", "Quik's Groove III", "Sucka Free" and "Keep Tha P In It". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice, moody hip hop/funk album from one of the deepest talents on the Stones Throw roster! Dudley came to underground hip hop fame as Declaime, but really stepped forward as a durable, innovative artist with the Dudley Perkins singles that have dropped thus far – and A Lil Light soundly delivers on that promise. It's all about mood – this may be the murkiest, most muddily funky thing Madlib has ever produced, with crackly, hissing beats, bass and samples. Dudley's vocals are about as far from the crooning NuSoul sound as you can get. He's grooves along with an improvised feel to the lyrics, loosely scatting in both a rolling deep bass and a soulful, nearly crying falsetto. The sound falls somewhere between the denser parts of D'Angelo's Voodoo and the spacier aspects of 70s soul and funk. Totally unique and satisfying – would you expect any less of Stones Throw? Tracks include "Money", the Sun Ra-inspired "Gotta Go", "You Really Know Me?", "Washedbrainsyndrome", "Flowers", "Just Think", "Yo' Soul", "Momma", "Lil' Black Boy" and more. CD

The highly anticipated solo album from Def Jux CEO and Company Flow vet El-Producto is all that and a bucket of black hole warp speed 9 intensity. Excellent, dark, space age, new millennial hip hop.. This album flows from many songs without breaks between them, with jagged, scattered beats and lush synth-scapes. At points it sounds very cinematic, yet very grounded in thick, pounding break beats. The whole thing is produced by El-P himself, with Rhyme Sayer Entertainment's DJ Abilities on all the scratching, with many Def Jux guests like Aesop, Lif, CamuTao, and Vast. Ill Bill, C Rayz Walz, Rob Sonic, and Cage also make appearances. Songs include "Deep Space 9mm" with the raw Rawkus dis, "Tuned Mass Damper" with awesome scream samples, "Dead Disnee", "Delorean", the biting "Stepfather Factory", "Lazerfaces' Warning", "Constellation Funk" and more! 3LPs! LP, Vinyl record album

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 contributor. Fresh material from an increasingly pivotal figure – who may not be revolutionizing the game on the level of the heavy critical praise he's heaped with, but he's certainly marching to his own beat, rather than chasing hits! Includes "Wesley's Theory" with George Clinton & Thundercat, "King Kunta", "These Walls" with Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat, "Aright", "For Sale?", "Institutionalized" with a Slick Rick-homage of a guest verse by Snoop Dogg (sign us up for any record that gives props to The Ruler...and extra points for transplanting that style of flow to Compton), "Momma", "Hood Politics", "The Blacker The Berry", "How Much A Dollar Cost" feat James Fauntleroy & Ronald Isley, "Mortal Man" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A new record by the legendary Sergio Mendes – bursting into the 21st century on a catchy wave of Will I Am production – reworking gems from the Brazilian songbook and more with guest appearances by Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Q-Tip, India Arie, Black Thought, Chali 2Na, Marcelo D2, John Legend and others! Will I Am has been annoying hip hop purists for years thanks to the relentless candy-coated pop gloss of recent Black Eyed Peas records – but he brings an intelligent, reverent and educated approach to the Brazilian keys legend Sergio Mendes – whose familiar grooves are a lovely accomplice to the sparkling hip hop/pop background. The guest stars seem to be here out of genuine love of the music – and provide far more graceful appearances than we would have expected! A very sweet surprise with bright, warm, and lovely moments – almost good enough for us to forgive Will I Am for "My Humps"! Tracks include "Mas Que Nada" feat Black Eyed Peas, "Berimbau/Consolacao" feat Stevie Wonder & Gracinha Leporace, "That Heat" feat Erykah Badu & Will I Am, "Let Me" feat Jill Scott & Will I Am, "Please Baby Don't" feat John Legend, "Samba Da Bencao" feat Marcelo D2, "Yes, Yes, Y'All" feat Black Thought, Chali 2Na & others and much more! (Brazil, Hip Hop) CD

Nas was a bit of an under-recognized figure at the time of this second set – but the record soon catapulted him to the top of the hip hop game – and really ensured that Nasir Bin Olu Dara Jones would be around for a long time to come! The record's got an epic vibe in terms of the presentation and production – maybe fitting for the title, and handled by Trackmasters on most tracks – yet still with enough of a stripped-down, laidback vibe at times to tie Nas back to NYC sounds from a few years before. The Firm posse of AZ, Cormega, and Foxy Brown drop in on "Affirmative Action" – while Dr Dre produces and appears on "Nas Is Coming" – and Lauryn Hill makes a famous appearance on "If I Ruled The World". Other cuts include "I Gave You Power", "Street Dreams", "The Set Up", "Black Girl Lost", "Shootouts", "Live Nigga Rap", "The Message", and "Take It In Blood". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe one of the last moments of genius from Public Enemy – and a set that still has their power and politics very much at the top of their game! The message may even be more powerful than the music at points – no surprise for Chuck D and crew at this point in their career – but in comparison to so many other weaker records from the time, the whole thing's still held up very well with age – and has managed to slide strongly into the rest of their previous catalog. Titles include their popular "Bring Tha Noize" duet with Anthrax – plus "Get the F–- Outta Dodge", "Can't Truss It", "By The Time I Get To Arizona", "Nighttrain", "Shut Em Down", "A Letter To The New York Post", "1 Million Bottlebags", and "More News At 11". CD

Maybe one of the last moments of genius from Public Enemy – and a set that still has their power and politics very much at the top of their game! The message may even be more powerful than the music at points – no surprise for Chuck D and crew at this point in their career – but in comparison to so many other weaker records from the time, the whole thing's still held up very well with age – and has managed to slide strongly into the rest of their previous catalog. Titles include their popular "Bring Tha Noize" duet with Anthrax – plus "Get the F–- Outta Dodge", "Can't Truss It", "By The Time I Get To Arizona", "Nighttrain", "Shut Em Down", "A Letter To The New York Post", "1 Million Bottlebags", and "More News At 11". CD

Black Milk, Sean Prince and Guilty Simpson swingin' it as Random Axe! A solid underground hip hop supergroup that's notable for bridging Detroit to Brooklyn – but more than that, it's simply solid, worthwhile modern hip hop from cats who care about the quality. Includes "Zoo Drugs", "Random Calls", "Black Ops" feat Fat Ray", "Chewbacca" feat Roc Marciano, "The Hex", "Monster Babies", "4 In The Box", "Shirley C" feat Fatt Father, "Never Back Down", "Understand This" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

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 not trying – maybe more in that it's got a focus that doesn't obscure the energy at the core, even when there's a bit of space for guests who include Black Thought, Estelle, and Conway The Machine. Titles include "Spiritual", "Painted Houses", "Drug Trade", "Zelle Transfers", and "Harlem World 97" – and this vinyl pressing features both vocal and instrumental versions of all tracks. LP, Vinyl record album

A nice bit of New Jack from Wreckx-N-Effect – Teddy Riley production firmly in place, and a bit less of the hard sound than earlier work, but still pretty bounce-y and catchy. 12-inch, Vinyl record

A great collection of tracks from the documentary on the man behind Mo Wax Records – Unkle/James Lavelle – an artist in his own right, and a creative force who helped shape the sound of a generation! The package includes not only some key cuts from the Mo Wax catalog, but also tunes that predate the label, and show the impact of their style in later years – a lineup that includes "See & Don't See" by Marie Queenie Lyons, "Doin Damage In My Native Language (Shadow's legitimate rmx)" by Zimbabwe Legit, "Blue Flowers" by Dr Octagon, "Kemuri" by DJ Krush, "Back & Forth" by Unkle, "Swan Lake" by Blackalicious, "Return Of The Original Art Form (DJ mix)" by Hiroshi & Kudo, "Friends & Countrymen" by The Wild Bunch, "Contemplating Jazz" by Attica Blues, "Organ Donor (ext overhaul)" by DJ Shadow, "Food Of My De-Rhythm" by RPM, and "Ravers Such Our Sound" by LA Funk Mob. (New Grooves, Hip Hop) CD