Hip Hop — Recently Added

Lil Kim's showing plenty of herself on the cover, and on the record too – just her second set, but one that has the MC grabbing the title of Notorious at a time when it might have been a bit too sensitive for most – and jumping into the fray with all-star help from Mary J Blige, Redman, ... LP, Vinyl record album

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 – ... 7-inch, Vinyl record

One of the first classic hip hop movie soundtracks of the late 80s, and a motherlode of great cuts! As divisive, hard hitting and uncompromising as the movie was, the Colors soundtrack does a great job of delivering on the tone with Ice T's title track and theme some, a snapshot of mid-to-late 80s ... LP, Vinyl record album

A stone classic from People Under The Stairs – a record that not only stands as some of their strongest work on wax, but which undeniably helped a lot of the west coast find a way forward after too many years stuck in the shadow of thuggish posturing! The set bristles with the kind of ... LP, Vinyl record album

Public Enemy at the height of their power – all the best cuts from their early years on Def Jam Records – from a time when they were really helping expand the scope and political power of hip hop! The group were essential in taking the music from the parties in the streets to the ... LP, Vinyl record album

A really great Stones Throw debut from Twilite Tone – a Chicago beatmaker who's been one of our local heroes for years, and who finally gets the wider exposure he's deserved for way too long! Tone's done some big name work for Common, Kanye, and others – but here, he's very much at ... CD

The classic debut of Poor Righteous Teachers – a creative benchmark for the Five Percenter movement – and one best records to come from the dawn of the 90s hip hop scene! Tight group rap of the highest caliber – with a distinct approach, courtesy of leader and lyricist Wise ... LP, Vinyl record album

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 – ... CD

Childish Gambino once again transcends anything you might be expecting from an actor/musician – this is not some vain star trip at all, but a worthy, boundary-busting effort – and a pretty sizable step away from idiosyncratic, yet accessible hip hop into spacey pop funk! Strong stuff, ... LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible solo GZA effort – and the killer follow up to Liquid Swords! Beneath The Surface really does bubble underneath the surface, legacy-wise (for no earlyish Wu-Tang completists, anyway) – simply because Liquid Swords broke so much ground and casts such a long shadow. Not being ... LP, Vinyl record album

The classic self-titled debut LP from Run-DMC – one that not only changed hip hop, but much of modern pop and rock forever! There's little we can add to the canon for this record, but the way Run-DMC ushered in a new era in contemporary urban culture, a harder hitting style of rap that ... CD

A beautiful tribute to A Tribe Called Quest – in case you can't tell from the title – served up through a variety of instrumental musings by Medline that almost feel as if they were scraps from the production room of Q-Tip back in the day! The music is awash in jazzy elements, and ... LP, Vinyl record album

Knowledge-heavy hip hop from the Texas trio of Easy Lee, MexStep, and DJ Chicken George – working here with some heavy help from a lineup of guests that includes Black Pumas and Grupo Fantasma! Producer Adrian Quesada, the powerhouse between those two acts, is on hand as producer for a fair ... LP, Vinyl record album

Killer funky work from Pete Rock – a set that's still rooted in the hip hop traditions he helped form over the past few decades, but which also has a strong degree of instrumental funk as well! Pete did the set with the Soul Brothers quartet – a great group with riffing guitars, funky ... LP, Vinyl record album

A less tense and caustic Roots than the crew that hit us on the majority of Rising Down a couple years earlier – and this one's as strong of an album as they've delivered since moving over to Def Jam. In truth, we were a little scared when we saw some of the guests credited – Monsters ... LP, Vinyl record album

A Stones Throw sci-fi masterpiece – one that was destined for greatness from conception, but we're still pretty well blown away by the final product! MC Doom and beatmaster Madlib couldn't be better suited for a collaboration. As much as we've dug the best of Doom's material of the last ... CD

The full length debut of the Yancey Boys – Frank Nitt & Illa J – the former of the venerable duo Frank N Dank, the latter J Dilla's rhyme centric younger brother – who come together with the dual purpose of keeping J Dilla's production pedigree alive, and to simply deliver ... CD

Prime early electro hip hop genius from Mantronix – fresh beats and rap from Mantronix, including tight singles, 12" mixes and some classic production work for T La Rock, Just Ice and more – 2CDs that cover the vital mid 80s period! Includes those classic early hits with the ... CD

The rare, late 80s gem from Black Rock & Ron – dedicated to and featuring production by the late, great Paul C McKasty – along with some production by Jazzy Jay and Skeff Anselm. You can hear Paul C's influence in the edits, the tightness of the beats and the layering and chopping ... CD

A rare all-instrumental version of the very first album from ODB! Pressed up here like a rare promo release – with versions of "Shimmy Shimmy Ya", "Baby C'Mon", "Brooklyn Zoo", "Hippa To Da Hoppa", "Rawhide", "Damage", "Don't ... LP, Vinyl record album