"I rap with the Passion of Christ, Ni**a, cross me!" BE isn't exactly a back-to-basics LP in the vein of his classic work for Relativity – but it is indeed a return to a focused, genuinely soulful, no BS approach – and it's a very welcome one at that! It seems like Com was a bit affected by some of the criticism folks had for the spacious, astral Electric Circus LP – if you ask us Common had no reason to apologize, but we'd be lyin' if we said we weren't hoping for another batch of tracks that sound like they could have been written on a front porch on the southside of Chicago. This is indeed that record – 12 tracks, few guest appearances, and a warm, consistent sound all the way through. There's a 3 track span on this album, from "Chi-City" through "Real People", that's seriously close to perfection. Welcome home, Common! Ruggedly produced by Kanye West, with a couple of stellar production contributions from Jay Dee! Other tracks include "The Corner" feat Last Poets, "Go!", "Faithful", "Testify", "Love Is. . .", "The Food (live)" (this great track has been circulating for a while since it was performed on Chappelle's Show, and we're thrilled Common and Kanye had the good sense to include it on the album), "They Say" featuring John Legend and "It's Your World (Part 1 &2)". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

With Montell Jordan on "Showdown", Ice Cube on "Earthquake", and Jayo Felony on "Maddoggin". 12-inch, Vinyl record

A really revolutionary album – both at the time it was released, and all these many years later! In a surprising nod to the younger generation, Blue Note opened the door to Madlib – already making a name with his array of great projects at the start of the century – an early part of his legacy of bringing in lots of jazz energy to hip hop production! The album wasn't the first effort of this nature, but certainly set a new standard – one that so many others have tried to match over the years, but never got this right. The set's got a fair bit of live jazz work – in the mode of Madlib's Yesterdays New Quintet project – mixed with all sorts of cool production elements too. We love the vibes of Ahmad Miller especially in the lineup – and titles include reworks of "Montara", "Song For My Father", "Footprints", "Stepping Into Tomorrow", "Peace/Dolphin Dance", "Stormy", "Distant Land", and "Slim's Return" – plus the original "Funky Blue Note". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet lost electro EP on Sunnyview with lots of great synth bass and ping ponging drum machine. The cover says "Fresh Beats Without Rap Bass Your Car Streets and Party Fresh Beats", which we take as a Burroughs style cut up of what you can expect from this slice of hot DJ wax! 4 cuts: "It's Your Scratch", "Bass Is What We Want", "Oh Inspector" & "It's Your Turn". 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Nas balancing classic level depth and dexterity with more off the cuff and spontaneous rhymes on the once written off, belatedly better respected Nastradamus LP – his second album of 1999! How anyone could ever have completely disrespected an album with a track as masterful as "Project Windows" is a mystery – it's Nas at an all time best level on the mic, and the track is real deal soul with Ron Isley singing the hook – and bringing the goods, too – but there's some other standout tracks here that make it well worth a spot on your shelf! Other tracks include "Life We Chose", "Nastradamus", "Some Of Us Have Angels", "Come Get Me", "New World", "Family" with Mobb Deep, "Big Girl", "God Love Us", "New World" and "Shoot Em Up". LP, Vinyl record album

6 tracks: "BeatWave", "Master Of The Mix", "Nunk (New Wave Funk)", "Light Years Away","Light Years Away (dub version)" and "No Man Is An Island". LP, Vinyl record album

With guest appearances by Nate Dogg, Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Defari, KRS One, and more. Production is handled by Dre, Rocwilder, Soopafly, DJ Quik, Eminem, Erick Sermon, and others. 16 tracks, including "Been A Long Time", "X", "Front 2 Back", "Best Of Things", "Don't Approach Me", "Double Time", "Get Your Walk On", "Rimz & Tirez", "F#*kin You Right", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Red Alert mixes up some late 80s hits with some talking. Includes BDP "Jimmy", Jungle Bros "On The Run", Just Ice "Goin Way Back", Ultramagnetic MC's "Feelin It (rmx)", " Funky", Hellrazor "No More James", 45 King "The King Is Here", "The 900 Number", Sugar Bear "Ready To Penatrate", MC Mitchski "Red Alert Is A Great Man." LP, Vinyl record album