Hip Hop 305 Items

Finally back on vinyl, this 2011 release was the first proper full-length showcase for the Grammy Award-winning superproducer. The signature soulful style of 9th’s beats was a sensation in hip hop and R&B--for underground fans and in the mainstream--and he played a leading role in bringing North Carolina to the forefront of American music culture in the 21st century. Featuring guest appearances by Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, Raekwon, Masta Killa, Warren G, Marsha Ambrosius, Terrace Martin, Talib Kweli, Blu, Raekwon, Murs, Skyzoo, and more.

Why you'll love it...
The Love Movement is the unfairly overlooked Tribe record; their fifth–and at the time final–LP, released after the group broke up, and after almost a decade as the leading lights of Native Tongues. But because it came so close to the group’s dissolution, and because it’s concept album trappings of love as the leading light for human existence were far removed from The Shiny Suit era that was starting in earnest, it’s rarely been reconsidered in their oeuvre. No longer, we say: Ride in the immaculate auras presented on this album; hear the Tribe vibe and glide across lush beats and laid back bars. Our edition is the deluxe 25th anniversary edition, on exclusive “Cobweb” vinyl, remastered by Ryan Smith, and with a deluxe heavyweight tri-fold jacket.

Why you'll love it...
"""Many Tribe fans consider the band’s next album, 1993’s Midnight Marauders, to be its magnum opus. But you don’t arrive at the perfect nocturnal LP without first releasing a focused work like The Low End Theory, which winnowed the colorful expanse of People’s Instinctive Travels into a seamless listen. The Low End sounds minimal in comparison and is a mostly drum’n’bass record of subtle bells and whistles. Tribe represented freedom, and some 30 years after The Low End Theory, it’s still a sonic marvel and one of the best hip-hop albums of all-time."" "

Why you'll love it...
By 2007, Aesop Rock was a decade into a career that had firmly established him as one of rap’s unreplicable auteurs, an artist who could be bitten only insofar as he could be understood. And still, when he sat down to write hisfifth full-length album, None Shall Pass, relics of his earliest work kept popping back up: the sorrow and salvation that can each be found in rigid structures, the horror of the ordinary, the tyranny of routine. Over a series of beats constructed in near-total by himself and Blockhead (El-P furnishes one track and co-produces another; Aes’ friend Rob Sonic handles the digital-gothic “Dark Heart News”), None Shall Pass argues for Aes as the chief correspondent of an American decline so smooth that it often felt comfortable.

In this latest adventure with A.G & Southpaw Chop we travel to Laurel Canyon. This musical journey is a jigsaw puzzle including some of our greatest pop/rock stars within Los Angeles, California. Laurel Canyon is home to many counter culture stars of the 60’s & 70’s. Southpaw Chop adds the backdrop with his musical canvas that sets the stage for A.G’s colorful narration. THE Canyon is an intriguing and insightful.

"b-sides, Remixes, Rarities: Volume 3 & 4" is the second DLP in the master of mash-up's "soul Mates" series, compiling 15 more tracks from AMERIGO's extensive catalog. Featuring Kendrick Lamar vs. Marvin Gaye, DR. DRE vs. Curtis Mayfield, Black Star vs. Aretha, and many more.

Analog Mutants back with the summer hit of the millenium, across the entire galaxy!

Analog Mutants back with the summer hit of the millenium, across the entire galaxy!

Analog Mutants back with the summer hit of the millenium, across the entire galaxy!

Why you'll love it...
Centered on the different paths people choose in life or how they survive their different struggles, Atmosphere’s When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold is a very heavy series of short stories that share the voice of one author and the timbre of one composer. Lyrically and sonically, it’s clear that the words and rhythms were built together, instead of some Frankenstein piecemeal fashion like many other rap songs.

For those reasons, the tracks fit near-seamlessly together. But they also stand alone as episodes worthy of solo dissection.

No matter how you consume them, some of the songs will undoubtedly bite back, making you angry for or at the characters, their circumstances and the substances that push and pull them in different directions. And that emotion is the telltale sign of this album’s impact on those who hear it.

Limited edition of 500 copies on triple vinyl including all instrumentals.

Discover "Odyssey Disco" by Awon & High John. Immerse yourself in a sonic journey filled with lush melodies and deep grooves, inspired by Jazz, Soul, and Funk. This album flows like a DJ’s all-vinyl set, featuring captivating contributions from Retrogott, Tiff The Gift, and AfroDev. Each track blends seamlessly, creating an eclectic mix you’ll want to revisit again and again. Tune in, catch a vibe, and add these obscure gems to your collection.

BEN plg's music is an accurate reflection of reality, with no smoke and mirrors: harsh but tinged with luminous notes of hope. Those little nothings that imprint themselves on our memories, those "diamonds in the retina". The man from Lille has delivered an intense, intimate, authentic and universal debut album. Faut pas oublier de dire je t'aime. With contributions from Niro, Georgio, B.B. Jacques and Loud

Why you'll love it...
Meet the latest addition to the Rising family, Atlanta-based rhymesayer Ben Reilly.

Freelance and Freelance: Charlie are Reilly’s introductory projects that demonstrate his unshakeable stream-of-conscious technique as a way to relinquish the concept of control and lean into the word and theme of being ''free.'' The explorative projects tap into his origins in Brooklyn’s Brownsville and his ties to Atlanta, where he relocated to as a teenager.

In an interview with VMP, Reilly shared, ''I feel like both [Brooklyn and Atlanta] really shaped me into the person that I am, both on a personal level and a creative level. My attention to lyricism and wordplay and lyrical density… the aggression I like to tap into comes from my New York background.'' He added, ''But my beat selection, I really like how Atlanta culture is so melodic. So I take both cultures and try my best to kind of mold them and shift them into my own reality.''

Freelance and Freelance: Charlie are the rapper’s ultimate quest for freedom.

Why you'll love it...
While fighting through label limbo and placing his budding film career on freeze, Antwan “Big Boi” Patton spent a couple years readying the artillery for his solo close-up. Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty is both a testament to the maturation of Big Boi and a tribute to his late father; underneath, it’s a speakeasy at breakneck speed, sittin’ on 32s. Where many other formidable MCs would be eaten alive, Big Boi shapeshifts across every mood and landscape with his trademark tenacity. He’s an effortless showboat who can portray sleaze with ease, but he’s a true class act who’s got nothing left to prove, yet will never let it show. Flanked by his known co-conspirators and many more, Big Boi blesses the senses the way only an East Point playboy can; it’s an intergenerational time warp, and another funky ride in HD. The final product is a natural progression of his Organized Noize lineage, sent across dimensions to return with an assemblage of time-tested potent Black grooves, then pressure-cooked in the kitchen of thefinest booty club in Georgia.

Why you'll love it...
Big Sleepover, the reissue of 2021 collab album by Big Boi and Sleepy Brown, features CeeLo Green, Killer Mike, Backbone, Big Rube, and RENEGADE EL REY and is available for the first time on vinyl. Lauded for its humor and dynamics, the pair lets you know from the very beginning that they "have nothing else to prove."

Limited to 2000 copies, the VMP exclusive version of Big Boi and Sleepy Brown's Big Sleepover is pressed on Cloudy Green vinyl at GZ Vinyl. The 2LPs will arrive in a double gatefold, rainbow foil board, foil-stamped and numbered jacket.

Why you'll love it...
The beats on Capital Punishment, from RZA, Rockwilder, Domingo, and other A-list maestros, are grimy, radio- friendly, yet low-ley cutting-edge, affirming its status as an undisputed classic. Big Pun was as much a visionary — conceptualizing every song — as a consummate pro in the booth. Citing Picasso and Baby Jesus while purporting to “twist your temples into pretzels,” Pun made Minute Rice out of multi-syllables. There’s no way to describe Pun’s febrile liberties with the king’s English. He doesn’t really breathe; when he does, it’s a sharp gasp for air that almost mimics his Ginsu-like wordplay. Pun’s habit of sucking wind before spitting an ill verse mimics the effect of a lit grenade about to land and decimate entire sections of the population. If Pun’s dense rhymes invoke mixed metaphors, that’s likely because he’s an impossible amalgam of wanton wooer and lyrical hitman, an overweight lover with a murderous mouthpiece.

Better Me Than You (Clarity Edition) Big Sean Better Me Than You is the 6th studio album from Detroit superstar rapper, Big Sean. Clarity Edition LP on BLUE EXPLICIT

Big Sean - "Better Me Than You" Better Me Than You is the 6th studio album from Detroit superstar rapper, Big Sean. Focus Edition LP on GREEN vinyl and includes the bonus track, "Get You Back." EXPLICIT

Big Sean -"Better Me Than You" Better Me Than You is the 6th studio album from Detroit superstar rapper, Big Sean. Happiness Edition LP on YELLOW vinyl and includes the bonus track, "Together Forever," featuring The Alchemist. EXPLICIT

Big Sean - "Better Me Than You" Better Me Than You is the 6th studio album from Detroit superstar rapper, Big Sean. Pressure Edition LP on RED vinyl and includes the bonus track, "Wire Me." [Pressure Edition LP] EXPLICIT

Limited Vinyl to 300 Copies. 200 Black 100 Splatter colored Vinyl.

Limited Vinyl to 300 Copies. 200 Black 100 Splatter colored Vinyl.

Why you'll love it...
Album of the Year, Black Milk's fourth studio album, was produced almost entirely by himself with assistance from Will Sessions and originally released in 2010.

Limited to 1000 copies, the VMP exclusive version of Black Milk's Album of the Year is pressed on Gold Nugget vinyl at GZ Vinyl. The 2LPs will arrive in a widespine, direct-to-board, foil-stamped and numbered jacket.

"The person who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The person who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever seen before" - Albert Einstein Walking up the fairway the crowd leans in to catch a glimpse. The tee, the ball, the club, and the endless green stretching out in front. The crowd leans in further phone cameras eagerly clicking away. The golfer steadies himself and brings both hands to the brim of his hat. This shuts out all the spectators from his field of vision leaving only the ball and green to focus on. The noise of the crowd silences. Bless Picasso, the King of Tidewater, delivered a masterpiece with Rillest in the Room Volume One. The noise from fans or critics can tempt one to return to the same palette, use the same brushes once again. Fall victim to hype and predictability like making The Hangover Part II, same story, different country. Rillest in the Room Volume Two is different. Bless elevates not only with growth and maturity but also a vulnerability in his penmanship while remaining true to the production sound originated with Volume One. With fewer features on this album, the listener is able to focus more on skills that Bless so elegantly displays. Brushing off just servicing fans and instead, he challenges not only himself but the audience while always remaining entertaining.

Why you'll love it...
“Blu’s 'Her Favorite Colo(u)r' hits harder than it did on its initial 2009 leaked-to-streaming run or its official, somewhat-remastered first physical release two years later. We’re more used to noise in hip-hop, more accustomed to pendulum-swinging inner conflicts between invincibility and unease, even more forgiving of those times when artists put out a potentially alienating experiment or two for every crowd-pleaser. It’s an untraditional album that blurs the lines between pop culture references as familiar touchstones and the specificity of a film or a record that speaks to an artist’s own impossible-to-duplicate experience, a run-on sensory-overload experience that could feel mysteriously impressionistic and painfully specific all at once.”

HHV exclusive vinyl edition on clear vinyl, limited to 200 copies.

Why you'll love it...
By All Means Necessary is often discussed like it’s some departure from Criminal Minded. The moment KRS turned into “The Teacha” and became a politically minded, socially conscious wordsmith. In reality, this is who he already was. Misunderstanding and tragedy is what compelled him to not only refocus on the role he wanted to play in hip-hop, but create an album that gave way to a very important movement in hip-hop, too.

By All Means Necessary is an essential and definitive BDP and KRS album. It marks the moment where KRS wasn’t just concerned with being a great emcee but a teacher, too, continuing his exploration of sociopolitical subjects on BDP’s following three albums, as well as throughout his solo career.

Limited edition glass mastered CD edition of "The Toronto Tape" by Bozack Morris. Featuring the illest emcees from Toronto. Includes bonus track "Karate Practice" featuring Daniel Son.

Twenty-eight years ago, pissed-off twelve-year-olds around the universe discovered a new planet, a Black Planet. Public Enemy’s aggressive, Benihana beats and incendiary lyrics instilled fear among parents and teachers everywhere, even in the border town of Laredo, Texas, home of the future founders of the Latin-Funk-Soul-Breaks super group, Brownout. The band’s sixth full-length album (out May 25th) Fear of a Brown Planet is a musical manifesto inspired by Public Enemy’s music and revolutionary spirit.

Chuck D., the Bomb Squad, Flava Flav and the rest of the P.E. posse couldn’t possibly have expected that their golden-era hip hop albums would sow the seeds for countless Public Enemy sleeper cells, one that would emerge nearly three decades later in Austin, Texas. Greg Gonzalez (bass) remembers a kid back in junior high hipped him to the fact that Public Enemy’s “Bring the Noise” is built on James Brown samples, while a teenaged Beto Martinez (guitar) alternated between metal and hip-hop in his walk-man, and Adrian Quesada (guitar/keys) remembers falling in love with Public Enemy’s sound at an early age. “When I got into Hip hop, I was looking for this aggressive outlet . . . and I didn’t even understand what they were pissed off about, because I was twelve and lived in Laredo . . . but I loved it and I felt angry along with them.”

Joseph Abajian (Fat Beats’ owner) must have sensed the deep hip-hop well lying beneath the versatile band’s Latin-Funk veneer. “I thought their sound would work covering Public Enemy songs,” Abajian says, and, “it was good to know they were P.E. fans . . . We came up with a track listing and they went to work.” Despite the band’s eagerness to work on new original material (an album of original songs is slated for next year), they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to pay homage to this iconic and influential posse.

Translating sample-based music to a live band turned out to be more of a challenge than they anticipated. Adrian tried to get inside the Bomb Squad’s [Public Enemy’s producers/beat-making team] head in order to find the inspiration to reinterpret P.E.’s songs: “imagine the Bomb Squad going back in time and getting the J.B.s [James Brown’s funky backing band] in the studio and setting up a couple analog synths and then playing those songs.” While some songs closely follow the original musical blueprint, others use the source breakbeats as jumping-off points later sweetened by Trombonist Mark “Speedy” Gonzales’ horn arrangements, synth wizardry courtesy of friend-of-the-band Peter Stopschinski, and DJ Trackstar’s turntable scratches. But don’t listen expecting to hear paint-by-numbers recreations of classic Public Enemy jams. “Our approach is never in the tribute sense,” Adrian explains. “We’ve always taken it and made it our own, whether it’s the Brown Sabbath thing or this Public Enemy thing.”

Coming off numerous tours as Brown Sabbath and even a stint backing the late legend Prince, Brownout is arguably the tightest and funkiest band on the road today and they’re psyched to bring this revolutionary music to the people. For a band without an overt political agenda, they collectively couldn’t resist the opportunity to play this music live, especially now. “If there’s any way that we can use the already political and protest nature [of P.E.’s music], we would like to try,” Beto says. “The album’s title, Fear of Brown Planet is definitely a relevant idea today and we’re not afraid to put it out there, because we want to speak out.” By reinterpreting these hip hop classics in their unique style and channeling the spirit of Public Enemy that first echoed around the world and captured their imaginations all those years ago, Brownout is doing exactly that.

Why you'll love it...
Long before this album was released, Busta Rhymes made his name as the king of the feature. In those days, you couldn't just walk into the studio and be the last to rap on a song, you had to be special. Busta proved that he certainly was that so there was a lot of pressure on his debut album, The Coming, and he proved he was up to the challenge.

Limited to 3000 copies, the VMP exclusive version of Busta Rhymes' The Coming is pressed on Cloudy Red vinyl at GZ Vinyl as part of our year-long celebration of Hip Hop with Warner Music Group and Hip Hop at 50. The 2LPs will arrive in a double gatefold, tip-on, foil-stamped and numbered jacket. It was mastered by Cicely Balston at Alchemy Mastering at AIR.

Why you'll love it...
The War Report, the 1997 brilliantly militant debut from Capone-N-Noreaga, is the VMP Hip-Hop Record of the Month in December 2022. Celebrating the record's 25th anniversary, our edition is pressed on 2LP Yellow vinyl, with lacquers cut by Cicely Balston...

2 more slices of Hip Hop & R&B mash-up gold on 45 via CC.