Def Jam, Late 90s/2000s/2010s. New Copy 2LP
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 ...
Elektra/Music On Vinyl (Netherlands), 1992. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
The debut full length from Pete Rock & CL Smooth – and a bonafide hip hop classic if there ever was one – one of the best ever! Pete Rock's trademark mix of heavy soul, jazz & funk beatcraft pretty much set the bar to a level that's been impossible to top ever sense. On top of ...
Columbia/Get On Down, 2002. New Copy 2LP
An early oughties classic – with an appearance by Tupac from beyond the grave – plus guest work from Alicia Keys, Bravehearts, and Kelis – on tracks that include "Revolutionary Warfare", "Hey Nas", "Zone Out", "Made You Look", "Get ...
Fat Beats, 2010. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
The solo debut of Roc Marciano, and a record that more than shows the MC can stand on his own – serving up edgy rhymes over beats that show a strong NYC tradition – often spare and lean in construction, but with compelling core elements that continue that tradition started by Wu-Tang so ...
Lewis, 2002. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
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 ...
Def Jam, 2020. New Copy 2LP
A compelling alternative to a typical compilation for Jadakiss on Def Jam – 2LPs each with one side of acapellas and one side of instrumentals, serving as a greatest hits set, albeit with unreleased acapella and instrumentals! Includes "Huntin Season" Catch & Release", ...
Idlers/Traffic, 1988. New Copy (reissue)
The legendary album by the third star in the original Native Tongues trinity! Before the first De La and Tribe LPs, and with hint of all the great stuff that was to come – jazzy beats, nice rhymes,and straight butter all the way through. This double vinyl version includes a bonus track ...
Get On Down, 2020. New Copy
We first dug the work of Rasheed Chappell through collaborations with Kenny Dope – but this time around, production is by Buckwild, who gives the whole thing a nicely deep, dark, moody sort of vibe – maybe a bit more sinister than the Rasheed from before, all tuned with the right sort ...
Below System (Netherlands), 1996/2021. New Copy
A rare studio set from Kazi and Madlib – recorded way back in the mid 90s, but with the kind of crispy intensity that would make Madlib so influential for years to come! The title and the occasional skits on the set refer to a search for a "blackmarket seminar" – an ...
Sleeping Bag/Octave (Japan), 1985. New Copy
The classic first LP from Kurtis Mantronik & MC Tee – early hip hop and funky electro at its mid 80s finest – richly expanded with a wealth of bonus material! We'll never tire of style here – electronic funky beats, synthesizers and vocoder vocal effects, and those benchmark ...
Pay Jay, 1990s/2000s. New Copy 2 CDs
Formative Dilla beats – raw SP-1200 and Akai MPC material created and cataloged by the legendary producer over the years and served as blueprint/building blocks for some of his most revered productions throughout his career! This being the work of master, it doesn't play like a mere beat ...
Pay Jay, Early 2000s. New Copy 2 CDs
J Dilla at his grittiest, most rugged & raw – in both the production and rhyme realms – with all beats and rhymes by the Dilla himself! This set originally opened our ears to a different side of Dilla, a harder hitting aesthetic, with beats and grooves from out of leftfield that ...
Madlib Invazion, 2010. New Copy
Low Budget Hi Fi Music from Madlib – the eleventh entry in his epic Madlib's Medicine Show series – 28 tracks of hip hop unofficially dubbed the Dirty Demos! The set feature sample enriched instrumentals by Madlib as Loop Digga and collaborations with Strong Arm Steady, J Rocc, Madlib ...
Jive, 1996. New Copy
Beats, Rhymes & Life – crucial aspects of Tribe Called Quest and hip hop in general – and the fourth album by the inimitable Tribe! After a couple or three years of down time following Midnight Marauders, the Tribe returned with this extra stripped down sound, collaborating with ...
BBE (UK), 2001/2005. New Copy
A classic masterpiece from J Dilla – a record that set the tone for countless hip hop releases in years to come – but which still shows Jay Dee as one of the smartest, sharpest, most forward-thinking producers to rule the roost! The set's got some incredible live instrumentation – ...
Grand Royal/Capitol, 1995. New Copy (reissue)
The funky Root Down EP by the Beastie Boys – riding high on a mid 90s creative peak! Root Down featuring a trio of versions of the title track and Ill Communication album standout, based on the Jimmy Smith's classic of the same name – and in hindsight, you really have to hand it to the ...
Geffen, 2007. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
Common lean, filler free late 80s Finding Forever – a set that's definitely the thematic follow up to the semi-comeback BE LP – and a solid one, with highpoints that equal Com's best work of the decade! The set is largely produced by Kanye West, with some terse, harder hitting moments, ...
MCA/Universal, 1992. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
The fourth and final Eric B & Rakim LP from their classic mid 80s to early 90s run – with some of Rakim's finest rhymes and most devasting delivery to date, and some of Eric B's best production, too! The title track, if course, is a monster – with Rakim's precise rhymes, the furious ...
Stones Throw, 2018. New Copy
An impressive blend of jazz and hazy hip hop beatcraft from Kiefer – his best yet! We dug Kiefer's earlier Kickinit Alone a lot, too, but Happysad feels like a next level effort. Jazz piano really stands out as the leading light in the sound here – it's the real thing, too – ...
Capitol, 2004. New Copy 2LP Gatefold (reissue)
A masterful later album by the Beastie Boys – who always preferred to put out a great record every five or six years, than a sub par album every 2 or 3! All these years after Paul's Boutique, when the world of difficult, expensive sample clearance could've kill the layers of pop pastiche ...
Loud/Get On Down, 2000. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
The dawn of millennium classic by Dead Prez – and angry, revolution-minded effort from a period on major label hip hop that sorely lacked such strident players – and if it didn't make any huge waves commercially, that only strengthens its legacy! Sticman & M1 are at the top of ...
Universal, 1990s. New Copy 2LP
A soundtrack for a documentary, but one that's heavy on hip hop classics from the 90s – and not all of them by west coast groups either! In fact, even if you like the film, you might be better suited to think of this one as a collection of classics from back in the day – hard not to, ...
MCA/Universal, 1990. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
No sophomore slump for the second Eric B & Rakim album – benchmark hip hop of the first order and up there with the best of all time! Following up Paid In Pull was no easy task, and the appropriately titled Follow The Leader makes it look easy, completing one of the great one-two punches ...
Rhymesayers, 2020. New Copy 2LP Gatefold
One of the most sonically intense albums to date from Aesop Rock – a set that matches his ever-sharp rhymes with the sorts of musical settings that really live up to the spirit of the title! The vocals come on with this really crispy sort of edge – partly the production, partly the ...
Jive/Get On Down, 2006. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)
The long-gestated follow up to the breakout Lord Willin' record by Clipse! Hell Hath No Fury may have been on ice for years, but it appeared as an instant classic, WAY up at the top of the list of greatest hip hop LPs of the mid 00s. The Neptunes beats are very spare and chilly, despite the fiery ...
Rhymesayers, 2020. New Copy 2LP
A smoking Rhymesayers debut from Sa-Roc – one of the most inventive female MCs of the past decade, and an artist who just continues to explode with fresh energy on each new release! The album's mostly produced by Sol Messiah – Sa-Roc's longtime musical partner, and a talent who really ...
Bad Boy, 1999. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
Tracks include "Dangerous MC's" featuring Snoop Dogg & Busta Rhymes, "I Really Want To Show You" featuring Nas with K-Ci & Jo-Jo, "Rap Phenomenon" featuring Redman & Method Man, "Tonight" featuring Mobb Deep, "Let Me Get Down" featuring ...
Madlib Invazion, 2020. New Copy
A masterful duo project from Madlib & Oh No – Madlib on the beats and younger brother Oh No on the mic, 2 independent hip hop heavies still riding a creative peak after a couple decades in the game! The Professionals moniker is more than earned here. Madlib has been one of the most ...
Capitol, 1989. New Copy 2LP Gatefold (reissue)
The Beasties' masterpiece – and one of the original nightmares for sampling opponents everywhere – the cut & paste hip hop classic Paul's Boutique! The Dust Brothers unapologetic way of weaving very famous samples with soul, funk and film score obscurities would steal the show if ...
MCA/Def Jam, 2000. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
A huge creative leap forward for Common! Com had been slowly moving from a Chicago street poet role into a more universally conscious hip hop soul from record to record to this point, but Like Water For Chocolate is the one that really catapulted him deep into that realm – especially given ...