Seminal late 80s righteous hip hop from KRS and Boogie Down Productions! By All Means Necessary shows remarkable change in lyrical style from Criminal Minded, delivering a eavy dose of knowledge at a time when so much hip hop was all about rocking the party. KRS's lyrics here mark a serious turn for political hip hop, and it sets a new standard production-wise, as well. Greatness! Includes "My Philosophy", "Ya Slippin'", "Jimmy", "Illegal Business", "Stop The Violence", "Nervous", "I'm Still #1", "Part Time Suckers", "T'Cha - T'Cha" and 'Necessary". LP, Vinyl record album

Ahh, the glory days of the Native Tongues. Remember a time when dropping knowledge and keeping rumps bumpin' weren't mutually exclusive? This sophomore LP from the Jay Beez is a smorgasbord of funky breaks, jazzy samples and lyrical niceness from the golden era of hip hop. 16 tracks, including interludes and such, with "Doin Our Own Dang", "J Beez Comin Through", "What U Waitin' 4", "Beyond This World", "Acknowledge Your Own History", "Sunshine", "Beeds On A String", "Done By The Forces Of Nature", "Kool Accordin 2 A Jungle Brother" and "Tribe Vibes". CD

Tough, righteous rap from King Sun – 1989's XL – a set that still looms large after all these years! King Sun dropped knowledge from a Five Percenter influence with a flow that's as smooth, solid and authoritive as any Bronx rapper of the day – and the production by Sun Born sounds great to this this day. This one was out of print for far too long! Includes "Hey Love", which uses the "Moments In Love" sample by Art Of Noise, and is standout produced by Cut Master DC. Also includes "Lethal Weapon", 'Ft Tape", "It's A Heat Up" and "Time To Go". This long-awaited Traffic remastered edition includes the earlier single cuts "Mythological Rapper" and "Christmas In The City" – both on CD for the first time. CD

Originally the first release in the Madlib Medicine Show series – this one is a full scale collaboration with no nonsense rapper Guilty Simpson – sort of a prelude to Guilty's OJ Simpson LP with Madlib in the production booth! The set is a pretty sharp confluence of Guilty's heavy-toned street knowledge and Madlib's hazy funk atmospherics – kind of a strange bedfellows situation, but it works fully well! Many tracks are billed as OJ Simpson remixes, possibly tripped out and funked up versions as a taste of what's to come – with appearances by MED & J Dilla. Titles include "Ode To The Ghetto" (OJ Simpson rmx), "Yikes" (OJ Simpson rmx), "Further", "Lucky Guy", "Pigs" (OJ Simpson rmx), "Life Goes By", "The Paper", "Looking For Trouble", "Young Guns" feat J Dilla, "American Dream & Future" (OJ Simpson rmx) and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Public Enemy gave us plenty of knowledge and power back in the day – and we maybe need their message more than ever in 2020 – a year that marks their return to their original home at Def Jam! The group have help from plenty of guests here – maybe more so than they would have had back in the day, but very much in keeping with the legacy they inspired – in a lineup that includes Questlove, DJ Premier, Cypress Hill, Impossebulls, Black Thought, Nas, YG, Run DMC, Mike D, Ad Rock, and even George Clinton! The tunes have plenty of old school PE vibes – and titles include "Go At It", "Rest In Beats", "RIP Blackat", "Grid", "State Of The Union", "Toxic", "Yesterday Man", "Fight The Power Remix 2020", "Beat Them All", and "Smash The Crowd". LP, Vinyl record album

Chef Raekwon cooks up one of finest hip hop albums in history – a standout moment in the Wu Tang canon and the 90s in general! Given Ghostface's presence throughout, the prime RZA production and other top shelf guests, you could almost call this one a Wu Tang Clan album, if not for Raekwon's incredible leadership behind the mic. Guests include Nas, Method Man, Inspektah Deck and more from the Wu Tang family. An absolute standard-bearer! Titles include "Knuckleheadz", "Knowledge God", "Criminology", "Incarcerated Scarfaces", "Guillotine (Swords)", "Glaciers Of Ice", "Ice Cream", and more! LP, Vinyl record album

Run-DMC's great second album, with rock hard production by Russell Simmons and classic cuts! It's fascinating to listen to this album all these years later, with the knowledge that this hungry hip hop act from Queens was so soon to conquer the world. Great stuff from a legendary crew! This is the record where Run-DMC transitioned from their earlier style that put their own distinctive stamp on early-to-mid 80s east coast rap, to the rap group who fearlessly put rock music on notice that rap was coming to takeover. Amazing! Includes "Jam Master Jammin", "Can You Rock It Like This", "King Of Rock", "Rock The House", "You're Blind", "You Talk Too Much", "It's Not Funny" and "Darryl And Joe (Krush-Groove 3)". LP, Vinyl record album

Run-DMC's great second album, with rock hard production by Russell Simmons and classic cuts! It's fascinating to listen to this album all these years later, with the knowledge that this hungry hip hop act from Queens was so soon to conquer the world. Great stuff from a legendary crew! This is the record where Run-DMC transitioned from their earlier style that put their own distinctive stamp on early-to-mid 80s east coast rap, to the rap group who fearlessly put rock music on notice that rap was coming to takeover. Amazing! Includes "Jam Master Jammin", "Can You Rock It Like This", "King Of Rock", "Rock The House", "You're Blind", "You Talk Too Much", "It's Not Funny" and "Darryl And Joe (Krush-Groove 3)". LP, Vinyl record album

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", "Just Listen", "California Dreamin", "Kunta Kente", "We Got Plots", "Do Nin_Dis", "Hope She Remembers Me" and more. Enhanced CD includes the video for "Hope She Remembers Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Mostly instrumental tracks from hip hop djs and producers including Rob Swift, Prince Paul, DXT, Invisible Scratch Pickles, Q-Bert, DJ Krush, New Kingdom, all overseen by Bill Laswell. Much better than your average Axiom stuff. Cover art by Rammellzee. 14 tracks in all, including "Reanimation" by Rob Swift, "ShinKi Row" by DJ Krush, "If 9 Was 6" by Prince Paul, "Invasion Of The Octopus People" by the Invisible Scratch Pickles and "Embryo" by DXT (formerly know as D. St). CD

A sharp, angry salvo from Ice Cube! Cube's early 90s solo style was firmly established at this point, so Lethal Injection doesn't have the acknowledged classic status of his previous couple albums, but he's still close to his prime that it's well worth your dollar! As you'd guess from the title, he's still pretty angry – the reasons for that permanent scowl he wore at the time are all over the place, as is the firm Lench Mob production. Tracks include "Really Doe", "Ghetto Bird", "Bop Gun (One Nation)" featuring George Clinton, "What Can I Do?", "Make It Ruff, Make It Smooth" featuring K-Dee, "Down For Whatever", "Enemy", "When I Get To Heaven", and more. CD

Cube's last truly great full length, from 1992, when he was leaving the gangsta stuff behind and had grown into an incredibly sharp social commentator and ghetto portrait painter. The rhymes, and even the liner note acknowledgements ("Ice Cube wishes to acknowledge white America's continued commitment to the silence and oppression of black men. . .") are wickedly incisive to this day. This could be his finest hour. Includes the singles "It Was A Good Day", "Check Yo Self" and "Wicked", "Gangsta's Fairytale 2", "Dirty Mack" and "Now I Gotta Wet'cha". Production by DJ Pooh, Muggs, Sir Jinx, and others. CD

There's nothing disposable about this classic album – as the set is one of the greatest comebacks in hip hop, and the start of a fantastic second run for Masta Ace! It's almost as if the MC has a whole new sense of mature majesty – one that really comes through on the classic "Acknowledge", and which holds strong in the company of guests who include Jane Doe, King T, Apocalypse, Strick, Jean Grae, Greg Nice, Rah Digga, and others whose presence only serves to remind us who the leader is! Ace delivers some amazing self-reflection on "Dear Diary" – rhyming about the ups and downs of his career in hip hop with brutal honesty – and other cuts include "Too Long", "Don't Understand", "Hold U", "Enuff" "Last Rights", "Block Episode", "Unfriendly Game", "I Like Dat", "PTA", "No Regrets", and "Something's Wrong". LP, Vinyl record album