The start of a great legacy for Foreign Exchange – a duo made up of equal parts MC Phonte of Little Brother and Dutch production wiz Nicolay! The record was a pretty fitting departure for Phonte – whose crew re-ignited the southern hip hop underground for cats without the pimp crunk sound, and provided a pretty amazing launching pad for 9th Wonder. Phonte brings much of the same flow and style, but the beats by Nicolay are firmly of the soaring, spacey keys and echoey thumping beats school – the kind that would sound as great behind Amp Fiddler as it does behind a laidback rhymer. The tasty mix of thoughtful lyrics (largely recorded by 9th Wonder) and lackadaisical delivery adapts as well to Nicolay's space soul production aesthetic. It's a deep, chiming listen all the way through – with appearances by Yahzarah, Critically Acclaimed, fellow Little Brother MC Big Pooh and others. Tracks include "Von Sees", "Raw Life", "Let's Move", "Nic's Groove", "Sincere", "Brave New World", "The Answer", "Come Around", "Happiness", "All That You Are" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The incredible debut of the mighty Jill Scott – a record that asks and answers a question with the title – then goes on to not only establish Jill as one of the freshest soul music talents of her generation, but also an artist who set the tone for so many others to follow! The record explodes out of the Philly scene with a mixture of underground soul and hip hop production elements – echoing classic modes, yet instantly present too – in a way that still sounds fresher than most of the copycat records that came in its wake – and a good deal of records that preceded it too. Jill scores big with a totally seductive blend of warm instrumentation, subdued funky beats, and immensely captivating soul vocals – and the whole record is awash in Fender Rhodes, giving it a spacey soul sound that will make the record a classic for years to come! Titles include "The Way", "Do You Remember", "Long Rain", "Love Rain", "Honey Molasses", "Slowly Surely", "Watching Me", "One Is The Magic #", and "He Loves Me" – but it's allllll good! The LP includes a remix of "Love Rain" featuring Mos Def! LP, Vinyl record album