Hip Hop — Recently Added

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 ... LP, Vinyl record album

An early 90s Native Tongues classic – one that sounded great way back when, and has held up beautifully over the years – and rightly considered amongst the greatest hip hop albums ever! Wolf In Sheep's Clothing is playful rap at its best, with funky and and funny cuts galore – ... LP, Vinyl record album

A long-overdue second set from Quakers – and a set that's got even more intensity than their debut! Beats are by the core trio of Supa K (Katalyst), 7STU7, and Fuzzface (Geoff Barrow) – and there's a very old school vibe to most of the record – a focus on core elements on each ... LP, Vinyl record album

J Dilla at his grittiest, most rugged & raw – in both the production and rhyme realm – 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 draw ... LP, Vinyl record album

J Dilla at his grittiest, most rugged & raw in the production realm – on his long unreleased original mixes for his early 00s classic Ruff Draft! 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 ... LP, Vinyl record album

MF Doom left our planet all too soon, and he left behind a great legacy of music, too – including a previous collaboration with the Czarface collective, nicely matched by this posthumous set! The balance here is great, and the set brings the metal man of mystery into great play with his ... CD

A legendary record from KMD – one that languished unreleased for far too long! Black Bastards has few tracks the maintain the jazzier sound of the first album, but they're mostly coming a little bit rawer, perfectly balancing their earlier style that gritty early 90s hip hop vibe. As solid as ... CD

A fantastic meeting of the minds – as director Jim Jarmusch makes a film that's a nod to the old martial arts films of the 70s that inspired the Wu-Tang Clan in their music – and RZA gets a chance to contribute to the soundtrack, with help from the Clan as well! The music is maybe the ... CD

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 ... CD

The amazing debut of those most hyperactive of the Native Tongues, the short-lived, ultra fresh Leaders Of The New School! Busta & Co. splintered apart after just two albums, but this will always be a shiny trophy in the mantle with the all time freshest East Coast hip hop. It sounds great to ... CD

MC Lyte's second full length record – a bit overlooked in the grand scheme, if only because the preceding Lyte As A Rock was a tough act to follow – so now's a great time to catch up with it! To our ears, Eyes On This is every bit as nice as the debut, and it that last of Lyte's no ... 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

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 ... CD

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

2Pac may have left the planet in 1996, but his music kept on coming strong – thanks to the release of a set like this – which brought together all sorts of unissued material the rapper had left behind in the vaults – most of it recorded during his Makaveli period! Tracks include ... LP, Vinyl record album

The classic critical breakthrough from The Roots – the one that really cemented their legacy as one great hip hop live bands ever, and help paving the way for many fascinating records to come! Do You Want More is a modern hip hop essential, changing the way we looked at hip hop, and ... LP, Vinyl record album

There's plenty of great guests here – a lineup that includes Terry Callier, Pase Rock, Apani B, and many others – but the core groove is what really makes the record great, and which stands as maybe the crowning production achievement of Nujabes! Acoustic and electric elements come ... LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty fantastic chapter in the career of one of the most unique MCs to emerge in recent years – the Ukraine-born Your Old Droog, spinning out tracks here that echo the struggles of his youth as an immigrant in Brooklyn! The set's got a very freewheeling vocal style – the quick-spun ... LP, Vinyl record album

Unreleased tracks from the recordings for Saafir's Boxcar Sessions debut, plus rare early cuts from the vaults – all brought together here as a full length set that offers up a great prequel to his solo career! The cuts here are from a time when the Bay Area MC was coming off of ... LP, Vinyl record album

Just-Ice wasn't actually part of the old school – although to some, the 1986 release might seem pretty darn close – but he definitely does a good job here of keeping things nice and clean on his classic debut! Production is from Mantronik, but there's also a harder edge than most of ... LP, Vinyl record album

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Seattle rapper Da Qween looks relaxed and regal on the cover – but the sound of the set has a taught intensity that comes through right away – fast rhymes, crispy beats, and a sense of urgency that holds on all the way through! There's a few sung vocal moments that get nice and mellow ... LP, Vinyl record album

A split album – featuring work from Seattle up-and-comer AJ Suede, and longstanding resident artist Specswizard! There's a strong sense of history that runs through the AJ Suede titles – vintage soul snippets and historical recordings – laced together carefully to accompany AJ's ... LP, Vinyl record album

A great back to basics set from Edo G and Insight Innovates – part of a recent run of records on the scene that really seem to redirect hip hop to more straightforward modes – not at a retro level, but in a style that reminds us that at the core, the music is best when it's got a strong ... LP, Vinyl record album

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A new Gang Starr album nearly a decade after the Guru passed away, and a surprisingly strong one - One Of The Best Yet might not come really come close to genre redefining classics like Step In The Arena or Daily Operation, but it when it comes to careful assembled posthumous projects, this one ... LP, Vinyl record album

Brooklyn hip hop heavies Buckshot, 5ft and DJ Evil Dee rise together for the first proper Black Moon album in 15 years – produced by the Da Beatminerz and featuring just a handful of guest spots, from Method Man, General Steele, Smif N Wessun, Rockness Monsta and Tek – doing their ... LP, Vinyl record album

Think the Beastie Boys went straight into hip hop? No – back at the start, they were three guys with plenty of energy who dabbled in a number of modes that were brewing big in the New York scene of their youth – including punk rock and reggae, both of which are featured here along with ... LP, Vinyl record album

The second album from Too Short, and like the first, a set that firmly established both the Cali scene and the Bay Area as a hotbed of harder-hitting hip hop! And sure, there were countless later gangsta acts that slide into the sorts of cliches that often marred the genre – but back at the ... LP, Vinyl record album