"Television..." is a later version of the song Michael Franti did with his hardcore group, the Beatnigs. Not so much straight ahead rhyming, but a Gil Scott-Heron-style monologue against the tv/advertising industry. 12-inch, Vinyl record
Diamond, Finesse, Show & AG, Big L, OC, Buckwild & Fat Joe step up on the Official Version – righting the wrong of many of these excellent tracks not being issued on vinyl before – and actually coming out here in alternate versions making it all the more worthwhile. A veritable ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Fresh hip hop from Bay Area producer DJ Fresh & New Orleans rhymer Curren$y! This one kicks off smoothly with with a smooth jazz sample before settling in to tight mix bass heavy beats anchoring some diverse atmosphere on the production tip, Fresh can roll from synthy and light keys floating ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
One of most distinctively gruff, gritty and unabashedly emotional voices in hip hop – a rhyme legend from Yonkers – and this is a really solid retrospective! This Def Jam compilation comes about soon after DMX's return to the label and they take care to put together a representative ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
The late 90s debut of DMX – a huge hit for Def Jam, the Ruff Ryders camp and especially DMX himself – whose next few albums would top the charts! Rough, raw and hardcore lyrical imagery, and top notch Ruff Ryder production from Swizz Beats and PK, plus Dame Grease on a number of cuts. ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Very nicely done, heavy duty gold vinyl pressing for the albums 15th Anniversary!)
The triumphant return of Dr Octagon gets a full scale remix treatment – a spacey, worthwhile alternate version/companion piece to Moosebumps! On Moosebumps, Kool Keith, Dan The Automator and DJ QBert finally delivered worthy follow-up to the landmark Dr Octagon/Dr Octagonecologyst album, one ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
The triumphant return of Dr Octagon – finally a worthy follow-up to the Dr Octagon/Dr Octagonecologyst album, one of the most influential hip hop LPs ever – we can't imagine Madvillian and so many other other willfully out there rap classics would've happened without it! Keith's ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
The major label debut of one of the teens most distinctive voices in hip hop – and certainly one of it's most surprising creative AND sales success stories! It's impossible to consider his rhymes without factoring in the "troubled youth" lore, "Free Earl" merch, etc. that ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A short, brilliant blast of creative wordplay from Earl Sweatshirt – who'd been riding a peak for years leading up the Feet Of Clay and shows no signs of coming down – with production by ES himself, Alchemist, Ovrcast and a Mach Hommy, all tasked with providing a moody, headnodding ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Nice promo 12" single of this track – featuring LP and clean mixes, plus 3 "LP Snippets" of the tracks "Streets Of The Ghetto", "Busted", and "Less Than Zero". Also includes "As Long As You Know", in the "poisonous mix", which ... read more12-inch, Vinyl record
Edan returns with a new set of his sample heavy wizardry – this time out steeped heavily in late 60s pysch out flourishes, yet still sporting the thickest breakbeats available. His rhyme style is both ridiculous and genius – with tongue twists that pay homage and blast forward ... read moreCD
The record that put Edan on the map – a set that came out at the start of the century, but which feels much more like a throwback to classic years of hip hop – a move that was especially welcome at the time! There's a real back-to-basics feel going on – and the album is a sincere ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
El Michels return again to the Wu-Tang chambers – and the results this time might even be better than before! Wu-Tang forged their initial sound out of a love of offbeat samples and unusual funk – so it's only fitting that one of the hippest funk groups around strip the music right ... (Deep Funk, Hip Hop)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Includes download! Please Note – LP sleeves are variable.)
El-P as visceral and inventive as hed been in years – and in hindsight, a strong solo effort pointing the way to the career peak to date that'd come with formation of Run The Jewels pretty soon after! You know damn well well that El-P is going out spit out ominous, though entrancing ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
EPMD's incredible full length debut – a straight up all caps CLASSIC late 80s effort – raising the bar for the genre and helping pave the way for so much of the best golden age hip hop to come! Bottom heavy funky soul beats and masterful use of samples anchor the production, and the ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Debut album from the downtempo vocalist you might recognize from her collaboration with DJ Krush. This falls somewhere inbetween Portishead and Sneaker Pimps in the HGSOB genre. 11 tracks in all, including "Heaven Sent", "That Girl", "Country Livin' (The World I ... (New Grooves, Hip Hop)read moreCD
Peven Everett & Upper Esh —
Star Studded ... CD Satelite Soundscape, 2003. New Copy ...
$11.9913.99
A wicked blend of hip hop and underground soul from Peven Everett and Upper Esh – warm Peven-styled beats and keys underneath, and rhymes by Asian A and Pretty Toan over the top! If you dig Peven's self-produced albums, you'll find plenty in here to like – as a lot of the tracks have ... (Neo Soul, Hip Hop)read moreCD
How 50 manages to stand out as such a genuinely exciting MC is in such a crowded field of street hip hop is as mysterious as it is beside the point. Dr. Dre's recent love for that minimalist ghetto synth orchestra sound is in full depth here, this is probably as strong as any production work he's ... read moreCD
The timeless sounding underground classic debut of Frank-N-Dank – which is a strong first full length statement for the duo – and a significant milestone in the J Dilla production canon! It has more of a straight up, street ready rhyme style than was typical for Dilla productions at ... read moreCD
Freddie Gibbs & Alchemist —
Alfredo ... CD ESGN, 2020. New Copy ...
$11.9912.99
Freddie Gibbs's gradual ascent to the upper echelon of modern hip hop – and his impeccable choice in production partners, this time working from beginning to end with long serving beat king The Alchemist – shows no signs of slowing down! Lyrically, Freddie is riffing on mob lore on ... read moreCD
These guys are known by some as the backing band of Anderson.Paak, but they're a hell of a group on their own – rock-solid right at the core, and able to effortlessly craft a sweet blend of funk and soul – yet also leave room for plenty of guests along the way! The musicianship here is ... (Neo Soul, Hip Hop)read moreCD
Frighty & Colonel Mite —
Life ... CD Profile, 1990. Used ...
$4.99
Includes "Life (Is What You Make It)", "Ragamuffin Girl", "My Baby Just Cares For Me", "Realize", "Can You Handle It", "Maximum", "I Know You Know", "Don't Go" and "Jah Put It Deh". (Reggae, Hip Hop)CD
Mid 90s classic Fugees tracks get the remix treatment on Bootleg Versions – with worthy alternate mixes of some of the highpoints from their back-to-back milestones The Score and Blunted On Reality – seriously among the greatest successive album efforts in late 20th century popular ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
We'll forget about the first Fugees LP, this is the one that really launched the career of Lauryn Hill, both as an MC and a vocalist. And back then, even Wyclef and Pras were kinda dope. 13 tracks and 2 bonus remixes in all, including "How Many MC's", "Ready Or Not", "Kill ... read moreCD
These guys definitely take the "breaks" in the title seriously – as the music explodes with fresh funky drums right from the start – very much in an old school style, but mixed with elements that also showcase more of sonic influence from decades of hip hop production too! ... (Deep Funk, Hip Hop)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Hand-numbered limited edition pressing – in a screenprinted sleeve!)
Gang Starr at pretty close to peak level here on 1994's Hard To Earn – and rather than continue to ride the waves they made on the previous couple classic albums, Guru sharpens the lyrical tone just a bit – spitting some more incisive rhymes over apporpriately gritty soul jazz beats ... read moreCD
Gang Starr —
Hard To Earn ... LP Chrysalis, 1994. New Copy 2LP (reissue)...
Just Sold Out!
Gang Starr at pretty close to peak level here on 1994's Hard To Earn – and rather than continue to ride the waves they made on the previous couple classic albums, Guru sharpens the lyrical tone just a bit – spitting some more incisive rhymes over apporpriately gritty soul jazz beats ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
One of the finest early efforts from Premier and Guru – their second album – and it's not only one of Gang Starr's greatest, it's one of the greatest hip hop albums, period. Guru's mic presence is as sharply on point as ever here, and the Primo production is also at peak precision. ... read moreCD
One of the finest early efforts from Premier and Guru – they're second LP – and it's not only one of Gang Starr's greatest, it's one of the greatest hip hop albums of the era, period. Guru's mic presence is as sharply on point as ever here, and the Primo production is also at peak ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A fantastic testament to the ever-growing strengths of Gaslamp Killer – and a record that's not really instrumental hip hop, or just a loose collection of beats – but instead almost moves the producer into the territory of more complex soundtrack or sound library modes, yet still all ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(In a very cool 10" package, too – with heavy tip-on sleeve!)
Ghostface Killah —
More Fish ... LP Def Jam, 2006. New Copy 2LP (reissue)...
$15.9926.98
Def Jam must've been as high on Fishscale as the rest of the hip hop heads – as here's an official end of '06 addendum LP to the one of the better LPs from a Wu Tang alum in years! More Fish brings in a few more appearances by Ghost's Theodore Unit roster – with production by J-Live on ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Gnarls Barkley —
Odd Couple ... CD Atlantic/Downtown, 2008. Used ...
$1.99
A round two knockout for Gnarls Barkley – an album we think is better than the landmark St Elsewhere LP – boisterous pop art & soul from Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo! We were slightly trepid when the Odd Couple was announced, fearing a hasty attempt to rekindle the magic that clearly ... read moreCD
Cube's anger goes full throttle on his second post NWA full-length. He takes every aspect of his social commentator standpoints to another level from his solo debut – the roles of the angry and educated leader, and the finger-pointing blamer each get their say here, and so do those ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Top notch 2015 pressing – with a 3D lenticular cover!)