The blistering 1990 EP by NWA – a fanbase divisive and critically underappreciated salvo in its day, despite being a fast seller – and a much sharper piece of work than it was credited for back in the day! NWA as a driven singular force was pretty much a thing of the past by this point, with Ice Cube having set off on his own path – turning the lyrical angry into a more interpersonal mode for sure, and also opening new creative production possibilities for Dr. Dre. Includes the masterful title track, which is blistering to this day, plus "Just Don't Bite It", "Sa Prize (Pt 2)", and "Kamurshol" – all of which hold up really strongly. CD

Benchmark west coast gansta – and one of the hardest hitting albums of the era in any genre! We're not gonna lie, we played this record to death when it came out – and it still holds up better than most of the material put out by former NWA's, and most of the West Coast sound-alikes that popped up later. For better and for worse, the start of an era – with undeniable strength and a production style that'll never get old! Features "Straight Outta Compton", "Express Yourself", "Dopeman (rmx)", "I Ain't The One", the title track, "Gangsta Gangsta" and the only record ever condemned by the FBI, "F*ck Tha Police" and more. CD

Benchmark west coast gansta – and one of the hardest hitting albums of the era in any genre! We're not gonna lie, we played this record to death when it came out – and it still holds up better than most of the material put out by former NWA's, and most of the West Coast sound-alikes that popped up later. For better and for worse, the start of an era – with undeniable strength and a production style that'll never get old! Features "Straight Outta Compton", "Express Yourself", "Dopeman (rmx)", "I Ain't The One", the title track, "Gangsta Gangsta" and the only record ever condemned by the FBI, "F*ck Tha Police" and more. CD

Benchmark west coast gangsta – and one of the hardest hitting albums of the era in any genre! We're not gonna lie, we played this record to death when it came out – and it still holds up better than most of the material put out by former NWA's, and most of the West Coast sound-alikes that popped up later. For better and for worse, the start of an era – with undeniable strength and a production style that'll never get old! Features "Straight Outta Compton", "Express Yourself", "Dopeman (rmx)", "I Ain't The One", the title track, "Gangsta Gangsta" and the only record ever condemned by the FBI, "F*ck Tha Police" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A stone classic from the west coast scene – and a record that just seems to get better and better over the years! What sounded like a disappointing, and way too calculatedly provocative follow-up to Straight Outta Compton back in 1991 now sounds to us like the peak of Dr. Dre's career as a producer. The wall of sound here is massive – and dare we say it, almost up to par with the Bomb Squad's work with Public Enemy and the expatriate Ice Cube at the time. Plus, with the passing of the years, we can now find a lot more darkly humorous moments in all of the ultra-violent, damn near Clockwork Orange level mischief. Titles include "Real Niggaz Don't Die", "Niggaz 4 Life", "Appetite For Destruction", "Findum, F*ckum, & Flee", and many more. Remastered for the first time, and includes the full 100 Miles & Runnin' EP as bonus cuts. CD

A stone classic from the west coast scene – and a record that just seems to get better and better over the years! What sounded like a disappointing, and way too calculatedly provocative follow-up to Straight Outta Compton back in 1991 now sounds to us like the peak of Dr. Dre's career as a producer. The wall of sound here is massive – and dare we say it, almost up to par with the Bomb Squad's work with Public Enemy and the expatriate Ice Cube at the time. Plus, with the passing of the years, we can now find a lot more darkly humorous moments in all of the ultra-violent, damn near Clockwork Orange level mischief. Titles include "Real Niggaz Don't Die", "Niggaz 4 Life", "Appetite For Destruction", "Findum, F*ckum, & Flee", and many more. LP, Vinyl record album

Eazy's first and best LP, from back when he was trying to kid everyone that he was still a teenager. As we all know, Eazy Duz It is a lot more of a companion piece to Straight Outta Compton than a standout solo album by Eazy E, with most the writing credits going to almost everyone involved with NWA EXCEPT Eazy. We all also know that that is a good thing, as the puckish MC was a much better mouthpiece than he was a great thinker. As an instrument of helium voiced anger and bile spewing, Eazy was pretty hard to top in those days (Eminem is Humpty Hump in comparison), and those tight, propulsive beats Dre and co. conjured up in the late 80s will keep our lowriders bouncing until the end of time. Truly a conceptual masterpiece, whether you're comfortable with that or not. Includes "Radio", "Eazy Duz It", "Boyz In The Hood", and "We Want Eazy", and the full 5150 Home 4 Tha Sick EP as bonus cuts. Remastered for the first time since the original release. CD

Priority caps off their excellent NWA reissue series with a couple of greatest hits sets, this one devoted to shorty. Heavily weighted with material from the first LP, all remastered. Tracks include "8 Ball", "Nobody Move", "Eazy Street", "Only If You Want It", "Automobile", "Eazy-Duz-It", "We Want Eazy", and more! This edition includes a bonus track, "A Lil' Eazier Said" by Lil' E, and a DVD of music videos. CD

The solo debut masterpiece from Ice Cube – who links with Bomb Squad for the incredible production! When Ice Cube left NWA he took a lot of the more sobering lyrical aspects of that landmark crew with him, and with the addition of the Bomb Squad's cut & paste rhythms and jackhammer funk, and a bit of new ally Chuck D's social muckraking skills, he created one of the greatest hip hop albums of the 90s. Ice Cube at his solo peak! Features the unbeatable title track, "A Gangsta's Fairytale", "Better Off Dead", "Endangered Species" with Chuck D, "Turn Off The Radio", "Who's The Mack?", "To Come Here", "Once Upon A Time In The Projects" and more. CD

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 furiously funky Lench Mob beats. One of the last great gangsta era records to be so propulsive and exciting – Dre's Chronic was waiting just around the corner to haze this sound out of the picture for good. Quite tough to find on wax in it's original pressing – finally reissued with the bonus track "How To Survive In South Central". Other tracks include "Givin Up The Nappy Dug Out", "The Funeral", "Wrong Ni**a To –- Wit", "My Summer Vacation", and "Steady Mobbin". CD

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 start, folks like Too Short, Ice T, and NWA were really exploding with a sense of message that was quite a surprise to anyone whose ears were pointed to the east – really opening the door for countless other scenes to add their two cents – including the big wave that would soon rise from the south. The whole thing still sounds surprisingly fresh all these many years later – and titles include "Life Is Too Short", "I Ain't Trippin", "Nobody Does It Better", "Cuss Words", "City Of Dope", "Don't Fight The Feelin", "Rhymes", and "Pimp The Ho". LP, Vinyl record album

A huge dip into the history of hip hop – in a set that's something of a groundbreaking effort from the folks at the Smithsonian! If we're honest, we'll tell you that we're old enough to remember a time when folks thought that hip hop was just a fad – when it was a musical style that would disappear in just a few short years. But now, all these many decades later, the form has had such an impact on American culture that the Smithsonian Institute is giving it some official sort of due – something we never would have believed back in the 80s! The package is huge – 9CDs with a whopping 129 tracks in all, and a 300 page book that supports the recordings with an insane amount of notes, photos, and all sorts of other information – alongside a track list that was put together by folks who include Questlove, 9th Wonder, Chuck D, Jeff Chang, and MC Lyte! The set is especially great on old school tracks up through the golden era hip hop years – but also moves into the 21st century too – and artists include Treacherous Three, Afrika Bambaataa, Fearless Four, Cold Crush Brothers, Herbie Hancock, Run DMC, Fatback, Sugarhill Gang, Kurtis Blow, Funky Four +1, T La Rock, Schoolly D, Beastie Boys, Kool Moe Dee, LL Cool J, Eric B & Rakim, Mantronix, Stetsasonic, Audio Two, Big Daddy Kane, MC Lyte, Marley Marl, Tone Loc, Jungle Brothers, NWA, Public Enemy, Slick Rick, 3rd Bass, De La Soul, Queen Latifa, DOC, 2 Live Crew, Dr Dre, Sir Mix A Lot, Digable Planets, Positive K, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Naughty By Nature, Black Sheep, Tribe Called Quest, Geto Boys, Pharcyde, 2Pac, Warren G, Gang Starr, Notorious BIG, and many many more! CD

Pivotal west coast rap from Compton's Most Wanted! NWA cast such a long shadow in the late 80s, especially in the nascent gangsta rap and G Funk scenes, it was tough for top shelf peers and followers to get their due, but CMW deliver the goods and this record stands the test of time! Production by LA old school-er the Unknown DJ and CMW's DJ Slip give this set a nice stripped down west coast sound, with MC Eiht holding up his own end of things (and taking up the slack for the Chill MC) on the mic. 11 tracks in all, including "It's A Compton Thang", "One Time Gaffled Em", "This Is Compton", "Late Night Hype", "Duck Sick", "I'm Wit Dat" and "Rhymes Too Funky Pt 1 (Live at Lonzo's 1988)". CD

The classic album by the DOC from the glory days of Ruthless Records – really up there in excellence with NWA in the gritty west coast canon – with timeless production by Dr. Dre! Nice mic skills paired with tight, funky production from Dre when he still hungry and on the ascent. 13 tracks including "The Formula", "It's Funky Enough", "Mind Blowin", "Lend Me An Ear", "Portrait Of A Master Piece", "Whirlwind Pyramid", "No One Can Do It Better", "The DOC & The Doctor" and "The Grand Finale" featuring Ren and Ice Cube. CD

A hard-nosed, funky masterpiece from Ice Cube – who hooks up with Bomb Squad for the incredible production! When Ice Cube left NWA he took a lot of the more sobering lyrical aspects of that landmark crew with him, and with the addition of the Bomb Squad's cut & paste rhythms and jackhammer funk, and a bit of new ally Chuck D's social muckraking skills, he created one of the greatest hip hop albums of the 90s. Ice Cube at his solo peak! ! Features the unbeatable title track, "A Gangsta's Fairytale", "Better Off Dead", "Endangered Species" with Chuck D, "Turn Off The Radio", "Who's The Mack?", "To Come Here", "Once Upon A Time In The Projects" and more. CD

A nice mix of older highlife modes with some of the more electric touches of the 80s – still produced with a nice lean vibe overall, and plenty of live energy that leaps between the riffing guitar, percussion, and horns – all augmented by these nicely quirky lines on keyboards! The group sports the great Ray Stephen Oche on trumpet and John Kante on guitars – and Nkem Njoku stands up strongly with vocals in the lead, really shining with rhythmic vocals that are fit nicely to the groove – at a level that makes us wonder why this is his only album as a leader. Titles include "Ozobia Special", "Ofu Obi", "Osula Nwa Eje Ubi Eje Oba", "Ije Eluwa", "Akwa Obi", and "Egwu Oyoliba". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Great 3-sided single that features two regular sides, plus a third side "hidden" amidst the grooves of the second side. Loads of great stuff, including "Brain Washed Follower" and "Ain't Hip to Be Labeled a Hippy". The kind of 12 inch single that makes collecting them worth while! 12-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Jerzy Grunwald looks a bit like a Polish Ziggy Stardust on the cover, and there's definitely some glammy touches on the album – but those are also mixed with some warmer touches from the En Face group, who back things up with a few acoustic touches, and sometimes bring some great harmony vocals to the proceedings! The whole thing's a real surprise from the Polish scene of the 70s – with production that almost has some sunny Cali touches, and an approach that's different than some of the heavier, proggier work of the period. Titles include "Memorial", "A Cherry Branch", "Man For Years", "You Came From Nowhere", "Our Horoscope", and "A Little Dreaming Will Do No Harm". CD features bonus tracks – "Ten Srebrzysty Patak" – and raw master tape versions of "Prelude" and "Memorial". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Cosmic righteousness from Brother Ahh – an enigmatic musician who worked briefly with Sun Ra, and continued an exploration of the sonic heavens on his own! This rare 1975 album features Ahh's Sound Awareness ensemble – a 25 piece group that features a host of voices set to percussion, flutes, and other intimate and evocative instrumentation. The feel's quite hard to describe – kind of a cross between Sun Ra and Moondog, with the righteous style of vocalization that you might find on some of the Max Roach experiments with voices, recorded in the relaxed and expressive style of the early AACM – all of which means it's a great little record, with a very striking approach! Titles include "Transfiguration", "Nature's Children", "Transcendental March", "Boundless Rhythm", "Sweet Illumination", and "Celestial Strings". LP, Vinyl record album

Conway The Machine certainly earns his name here – as there's a focused directness to his sound that makes the whole record feel like it's an automatic, effortless effort from the MC! There's great production help along the way – from Alchemist, Daringer, JR Swiftz, Rick Hyde, and Statik Selektah – and guests include Gunn and Benny on "Tito's Back", Amber Simone on "You Made It", and the trio of Jim Jones, Dave East, and El Camino on "Vino D" – but it's Conway's flow that really keeps things together, on other titles that include "Half Of It", "Bells Palsy", "Black Spoons", "RIP Owen", and "No Women No Kids". LP, Vinyl record album

Smooth, percolating modern soul from Nigeria! 12-inch, Vinyl record

Slow, spare, almost sad-tinged work from Michael Rother – a set that's kind of a distillation of his longer krautrock legacy into a subtle, minimal mode! The tunes are all instrumentals, with these beautifully-placed guitar lines, keyboard parts, and other sonic touches – very much in the territory that Roedelius and Moebius were exploring on Sky Records during the same stretch – a step back and cool down from the more excessive moments in the earlier German scene! Titles include "Erklkonig", "Fortuna", "Fernwarme", "Hohe Luft", "Silberstreif", "Elfenbein", and "Klangkorper". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

That's quite a cover photo on the book – and the interweaving of key talents in the image really gets at the style of the narrative within! Author Steven Blush delivers a decidedly one-sided document of the New York scene from the late 60s onward – a picture of countless creative musicians, working alongside each other to create sounds that would go onto transform a generation – often in ways that were strongly inspired by the city itself. The book is less of a long story, than a history that encapsulates moments, focuses on figures – and even lays out groups in some index-styled passages – showing their strengths and weaknesses, and often augmenting the text with countless comments from singers and musicians who were part of the scene. In a manner similar to other rock books in recent years, Blush allows plenty of space for other folks' voices – sometimes almost making the whole thing feel like an oral history of the New York scene, but one that's directed by his own choices and sense of structure. The softcover book is almost 500 pages long, and has a fair bit of black and white photos too. Book

The second great entry in the Changes series from David Bowie – and, like the first, a well-chosen array of tracks that really get at his creative genius as a pop star – which includes a few great titles from his post-Berlin years! The set does a great job of spanning the 70s – and includes the single-only "John I'm Only Dancing (Again)" – which is a clubbier take on the earlier song that was showcased on Changes One. Other tracks run from the Ziggy years onward – and include another great single, Bowie's take on "Oh You Pretty Things" – which was more famously recorded by Mott The Hoople, although written by Bowie – plus "Aladdin Sane", "Starman", "1984", "Ashes To Ashes", "Sound & Vision", "Fashion", "Wild Is The Wind", and "DJ". LP, Vinyl record album

The deepest, most righteous music we've ever heard from Sheree Brown – and that's saying a lot, given how much we loved her first few solo records back in the day! Brown's got this rich vision here that really makes for a hell of a record – a set of tracks inspired by her younger years, but which are getting a mature handling here – with vocals that are maybe more heartfelt than in years, and set to arrangements that take all the warm, jazzy currents of Sheree's roots, and mix them with contributions that change up nicely from track to track – really fleshing out the spirit of the music as the album moves on. The lyrics are wonderfully uplifting – and titles include "Can I Leave Next Friday", "I Wanna Thank You Love", "Beautiful Girl", "Get Up Stand", "Take A Walk With Love", "Sorry Bout Bein A Ghost", and a remake of the Minnie Riperton classic "Les Fleur". CD features the bonus track "Spirit" – recorded live at Conway Recording studio. CD

Some of the most beautiful work ever recorded by pianist Dave Burrell – a solo session issued only in Japan, featuring Burrell on a Steinway recorded in the wide open space of a performance hall in Tokyo! There's a photo on the back cover that has a pair of suitcases behind Burrell at the piano – and we like to think that he showed up in the space, dropped the bags, and ran over to the piano to let loose with the kind of inspired imagination he really brings to the set – as the long tracks have this boundless sense of creativity that marks the record as one of the strongest statements of Burrell's genius on record! Some moments are rhythmic, others are freer yet still have a sense of cohesion – and there's a balance here between structure and space that's really wonderful. All tracks are nice and long – and titles include "Margy Pargy", "8th Ave Rendez Vouz Blues", and "Lush Life". CD

An amazing tribute to some of the greatest jazz funk of the 70s – the groundbreaking work of trumpeter Donald Byrd, both as a solo act on his own, and as the inspiration for the mighty Blackbyrds group – both of whom are featured on this set! Byrd first broke into new territory in the early 70s with a string of amazing records on Blue Note – all done with help from genius producer Larry Mizell, who helped Byrd's trumpet find a way to groove in an electric space, but at a level that was very different (and a lot more soulful) than any sort of Miles Davis electric modes! This work quickly inspired a young group at Howard University, who chose the name Blackbyrds as a nod to Donald – who quickly became their mentor and producer, and helped them forge a great blend of jazz and funk before they took off on their own. This set features 39 tracks from both artists, illustrating a fantastic partnership and shared musical inspiration – with work from Byrd's Blue Note and Wea albums, and all the great Blackbyrds records for Fantasy in the 70s. Titles include Donald Byrd tracks "Dominoes", "Black Byrd", "Lansana's Priestess", "Wind Parade", "Flying High", "Thank You For Funking Up My Life", "Onward Til Morning", "Dance Band", "Science Funktion", "Dominoes", "Flight Time", "Witch Hunt", "Stepping Into Tomorrow", "Sexy Dancer (12" mix)", "Star Trippin (12" mix)", "Pretty Baby", "Giving It Up", and "Dancing In The Street". Blackbyrds cuts include "Blackbyrd's Theme", "Do It Fluid", "Flying High", "Cornbread", "Time Is Movin", "Happy Music", "Rock Creek Park", "Walkin In Rhythm", "Lookin Ahead", "Street Games", "Gut Level", "Party Land", and "Supernatural Feeling". CD

A killer guitar and Hammond session with a really sublime sort of sound – a groove that's wonderfully free of cliche – and which has an open, spacious quality that few artists can match! Given the instrumentation, the album's steeped in tradition, but never tries to just rehash an older Prestige Records vibe – and instead guitarist Ed Cherry and organist Kyle Koehler find a way of soaring out in their own spirits – opening up strongly in a bass-less trio that only features the drums of Anwar Marshall to keep things snapping along. The pairing is perfect – on the level of Grant Green with Larry Young, or Pat Martino with Don Patterson – yet very much with its own spirit, too. Cherry's arrangements are great, too – providing very fresh takes on familiar tunes, alongside his own compositions. Titles include "Central Park West", "A New Blue", "Rachel's Step", "Ode To Angela", "Little Sunflower", "Little Girl Big Girl", and "Peace". CD

Two rare albums from Uncle Victor Chukwu – a hell of a guitarist, and the driving force behind both of these Nigerian gems from the late 70s! Akalaka is a record that's maybe higlife in outward appearance, but which has a very different quality overall – in part because the guitar work from Victor Chukwu is so sharp and searing, there's often a bit more edge on some of the tunes than the lighter, brighter notes you'd usually associate with the genre! Plus, the vocals have this nicely echoey vibe – ringing out with a quality that's equally great, whether the lyrics are in English or Igbo – on long titles that include "Akalaka", "Born Throw Away", "Ogbu Mmadu", and "Nwanne Bu Nwanne". Next up is an album that Victor Chukwu did with the Black Irokos group – a set that's even more striking, and almost experimental at times – with all these odd elements played right down near the bottom of the guitar strings, which are then echoed out with effects that make them sound very cool next to the percussion! There's a bit of horns in the mix, but the guitar and offbeat vocals are the main appeal – on the long tracks "Onwu Uwa", "Anya Ukwu", and "Oge Chukwu Ka Nma". LP, Vinyl record album