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 first full-length from Mos Def and Talib Kweli together as Black Star – a benchmark moment in hip hop history, and one of the finest duo vocal hip hip records of the 90s – and one of the best ever on Rawkus! In hindsight, it's all the more rewarding given Talib Kweli's longevity in proud, mic skills centric hip hop and while highs and lows of Mos Def's work as the years rolled along – and it still stands as strong (then) underground hip hop that takes on the commercial leaning themes of the day and well beyond. Stand out cuts include "Definition" "Twice Inna Lifetime", "Children's Story", "Respiration" featuring Common Sense – and other tracks include "Brown Skin Lady", "Yo Yeah", "Thieves In The Night" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The first album by The Tom Tom Club – a group that started out as a side project by Talking Heads members Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz – but which went onto have a surprising life of its own! Like the Talking Heads at the start of the 80s, Tom Tom Club were very open to pulling together rhythms from the soulful underground – bits of Caribbean influence and certainly some sounds from hip hop too – but used in these cool sing-songy tunes that also had ties to the same New York underground scene that gave the world ESG and Liquid Liquid! Yet there's also a nicely complex set of textures, too – thanks to work on the record by Adrian Belew and Steve Stanley – both of whom can balance out funky elements and more interesting textures. The record took off immediately with the track "Genius Of Love" – inspired by hip hop, and respected by that scene too – as was the album's classic "Wordy Rappinghood". The whole thing's great – an excellent document of the moment, but more timeless too – and other titles include "L'Elephant", "As Above So Below", "On On On On", "Lorelei", and "Booming & Zooming". (Soul, Hip Hop) LP, Vinyl record album