Very cool work from Ben Cenac of Newcleus fame – a set of house instrumentals that use all the keyboard genius of that earlier groove and move it into the lean clubby sound of the New York scene in the early 90s! There's a great post-Todd Terry vibe going on here – bassy rhythms, crackling beats, and that approach that was definitely learning that less is more with club cuts like these – very much in the spirit of the best work on Nu Groove at the time! The set's only got six tracks, but all are great – and titles include "Breathe Deep", "Liquid", "How Do I Love Thee", "Mystery Of Love", "Dream 2 Science", and "My Love Turns To Liquid". (House Music, Hip Hop) LP, Vinyl record album

The record that really put Jurassic 5 on the map – a set that came out after some key indie fame, but with a platform that helped the group become one of the more important mainstream hip hop forces of the century! All the creative lyrical interplay of the underground is firmly in place here – as the record's a major label effort, but one that's not sacrificing quality for success – thanks in part to the wonderful production from Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist – well-schooled in the more sophisticated styles of the 90s, yet also able to keep things lean and sharp – without some of the headier bedroom hip hop modes. Rhymes are by Zaakir, Chali 2na, Akil, and Marc 7 – every bit as sharp as the production – and tracks include "How We Get Along", "Contact", "Quality Control", "World Of Entertainment", "The Influence", "Monkey Bars", "Quality Control", "Twelve", "Contribution", "The Game", "Improvise", "Swing Set", and "Jurass Finish First". LP, Vinyl record album

A hell of a record from the early 80s scene – a set that many folks slept on when first released, yet a record that's gone on to be every bit as classic as work from De La Soul or Tribe Called Quest in their prime! Of course, part of the album's fame has expanded over the years – as the launching board for Daniel Dumile, soon to be MF Doom – yet the record's got all sorts of fantastic energy of its own – all the wit of some of the trio's hip New York contemporaries, but spun a bit differently – and really linked together in a way that makes the record a masterpiece from start to finish! Brand Nubian guest on "Nitty Gritty" – and other titles include "Who Me", "Peachfuzz", "Humrush", "Figure Of Speech", "Trial N Error", "Soulflexin", "Gasface Refill", and the hilarious "Mr Hood At Piocalles Jewelry/Crackpot". LP, Vinyl record album