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For the latest of the This Is series’ label spotlights – following our acclaimed looks at Flying Dutchman and Fame – we focus on Goldwax as it celebrates its 60th birthday, and feature the cream of the recordings made during its short existence. This throws the spotlight not only on James Carr, but vital label mate Spencer Wiggins and also the beautiful harmonies of the Ovations. These three acts were the mainstays of Goldwax, and alongside the song writing talents of George Jackson and Dan Greer, show why the label’s influence is still important today.

There are gems strewn throughout the catalogue, from the earliest recordings of ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ hitmaker Timmy Thomas, through rarely-recorded artists such as Philip & the Faithfuls.

This two LP set also demonstrates how strong the Memphis club and studio scene was at the time with recordings of Willie Walker, Percy Millem, Barbara Perry, Gene ‘Bowlegs’ Miller and others who recorded sparsely but were popular live performers.

“This Goldwax” comes in a wide spine sleeve, with fully illustrated and annotated inner sleeves.

A perfect introduction to the label as it enters its seventh decade.

Katharine Whalen of Squirrel Nut Zippers fame, makes a triumphant return with her Jazz Squad featuring Austin Riopel on guitar, Danny Grewen on trombone, and the great Griffanzo on pianos. This time the chanteuse delivers an entire album of breezy west coast jazz sounds in the form of a tribute to Chet Baker.

It was around 1996 when Katharine Whalen first made her grand entrance onto culture’s collective radar as the sultry, yet effervescent voice of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, where she remained until their initial disbandment around the turn of the century. In addition to the Zippers putting dixieland jazz on the pop charts in the 1990s, they sneakily introduced an unsuspecting "alternative" crowd to jazz music. Her cultural impact was also felt when she voiced the song "You You You You You" a standout track from Stephin Merritt's (The Magnetic Fields) project titled The 6ths. That song would also find its way into commercials and the film Pieces of April.

After recording one solo album for Mammoth Records shortly after leaving the Zippers, Whalen stepped out of the public eye. However, she’s remained very much in the spotlight of one unique small town; Hillsborough, NC, which has been referred to as Twin Peaks meets Northern Exposure. It’s a surreal literary, liberal Mayberry. If you find yourself in this Southern portal, you can find Katharine Whalen's Jazz Squad playing monthly in a cocktail bar appropriately named Yonder.

The album was recorded in an old chapel in Hillsborough by North Carolinian royalty, Jerry Kee (Polvo, Superchunk, The Kingsbury Manx). Each song was recorded with the band all playing together in the same room, the way the old jazz records used to be put to tape.

Superjock Records is pleased to bring you a reissue of two long out of print remixes from the “nola Breaks” catalog. The Professor brings back his sureshot rework of Dr. John's classic "Right Place Wrong Time," complete with beefed up drums and tasteful scratches for extra effect. On the flip, The Meters “Hand Clapping Song” gets added breaks and a hook that’ll appeal to Funk and Hip-Hop fans alike. This limited edition 7-inch comes on a half red and half green with yellow splattered colored vinyl.

Smallville Edward Eddie Green Tee is equipped with the following features:
• rib crew neck with interior tape
• Eddie Green artwork printed on front
• regular fit
• 100% cotton single jerse

Hip-hop legend Rakim is breaking new ground with his upcoming studio album, G.O.D.'S Network (reb7rth), by fl exing his skills both on the mic and behind the boards. Widely lauded as the best lyricist of all time, The God MC himself is blessing the culture with the next step in his historic career. “I feel like the battery in my back has been reenergized,” Rakim said about his new album, which arrives nearly four decades after the release of his classic debut with Eric B., Paid In Full. Since then, he’s continued to shape the landscape and culture of hip-hop as we know it, inspiring rising artists with his hype live shows and incredible studio albums. And while he’s produced some of his previous work—notably “Don’t Sweat the Technique,” “Juice (Know The Ledge),” and “Paid In Full”—this feels like new territory for the 18th Letter, whose production and scratching talents are nothing short of remarkable. G.O.D.'S Network (reb7rth) is proof that Rakim is truly one of the most special artists we’ve known not just in hip-hop, but all of music. You can tell he feels that level of praise when speaking about the genesis of the album. “Having the ability to showcase my talents behind the boards coupled with the elite lyricism the world already knows and gives me in fi nite praise for alongside some of the best talents to ever do it is truly a blessing and for that I am humbled,” he said. Rakim is more than an of fi cial triple-threat as an artist, because he’s also showing off skills as a curator. On this album’s seven tracks, he enlists a who’s-who of top hip-hop talent, including the dearly departed Nipsey Hussle, Fred the Godson, DMX, and Prodigy (of Mobb Deep). Rakim also linked with many of his contemporaries, such as Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Kxng Crooked, B.G., and Kool G. Rap, among others. The album’s fi rst single, “Be Ill,” is the perfect introduction, as it pairs Rakim’s raw rhymes and head-nodding production with slick guest features from Kurupt and Masta Killa. Elsewhere, Rakim slows it down for the soulful “Love Is The Message,” which features Nipsey Hussle, Planet Asia, Louis King, Snoop Dogg, Sally Green, Kobe Honeycutt, and the LA Grand Choir. And then there’s the chest-thumping “International,” a straight-up slapper with hard-hitting rhymes from Kool G. Rap, Tristate, and Joell Ortiz. RRC-066.pdf For fans of hip-hop, and especially of Rakim’s storied discography, there is so much to love on this record. You can hear his hunger as an emcee and producer on every track, as well as his desire to collaborate with so many respected artists. Despite having decades in the game and many classics to his name, it feels like Rakim is just getting started. While the world awaits the July 26th release date, fans can catch Rakim performing live throughout the US from now until the end of year in support of G.O.D.S Network (reb7rth). In addition to debuting new material, he’ll be performing all the classics from his beloved catalog.

Satoshi Tomiie Unveils His Latest Ep, '12b Dub', Exclusively on Phonogramme Records Tokyo &Ndash; Renowned Dj and Producer Satoshi Tomiie Is Back With a Captivating New Ep, '12b Dub', Set to Make Waves in the Electronic Music Scene. This Four-Track Release Marks a Slight Shift Towards a More House-Oriented Sound, Showcasing Tomiie's Versatility and Innovative Approach to Music Production. Having Garnered Acclaim for His Previous Releases and Collaborations, Tomiie Continues to Push Boundaries With '12b-Dub', Solidifying His Reputation as a Trailblazer in the Electronic Music Industry. This Latest Offering on Phonogramme Records Is Sure to Be a Staple in Dj Sets and Playlists Worldwide....

The Misfits Mini Skull & Logo Tee is equipped with the following features:
• rib crew neck with interior tape
• Misfits Mini Skull & Logo printed on left chest
• regular fit
• 100% cotton single jersey

The The Beatles Mini Drum Logo Tee is equipped with the following features:
• rib crew neck with interior tape
• The Beatles Mini Drum Logo printed on left chest
• regular fit
• 100% cotton single jersey

A Singular Blend of Dynamic Post-Pop & Electronic Production
Featuring The Vibraphonist’s Remarkable Quartet
Special Guests Gerald Clayton and Marquis Hill
Named One Of Downbeat's 25 For The Future

“His music is fresh, it speaks to everyone. Never heard anyone play vibes like that before.” -Herbie Hancock

“Best vibes player I’ve heard...” -Quincy Jones

In discussing Elements of Light, his fifth album as a leader, the vibraphonist-composer Simon Moullier often returns to a specific term: unfolding.

“This is an important word — the unfolding of a song,” says Moullier, who was born in France and lives in New York. “It’s something I’m very attached to, and something I’m always working on.” As he explains, many of his essential influences —Wayne Shorter, Milton Nascimento, Toninho Horta, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Ravel, — have been masterful unfolders in their writing. Moullier admires the movement and design in their music and harmony, the way one section of a tune leads into the next, everything flowing in a natural, beautiful, inviting way. Even the most serious intellectual musical concepts are rendered with a directness, a simplicity that can captivate a general audience. “For me, no matter how complex an idea can get,” he says, “clarity is always key.”

That’s a mature, evolved outlook for a millennial jazz musician to embrace, and it’s shared among Moullier’s youthful quartet featuring pianist Lex Korten, bassist Rick Rosato and drummer Jongkuk “JK” Kim. What’s more, these musicians of astonishing technical facility interact with the selflessness and good taste that Moullier’s song-focused music requires; to say it another way, they use their virtuosity to make the bandleader’s compositions sound as human and affecting as possible — never to preen.

21 exclusive tracks.

5x12" Klapp-Box Set MMLP 003, colored vinyl, incl. download code, “30 Jahre Muna” Poster, “10 Jahre Muna Musik” Poster, stickers

- blue marbled vinyl - LP1 (Side A/AA)
- green marbled vinyl - LP2 (Side B/BB)
- yellow marbled vinyl - LP3 (Side C/CC)
- pink marbled vinyl - LP4 (Side D/DD)
- gold marbled vinyl - LP5 (Side E/EE)

A1. Super Flu – Nos Crub
"Nos Crub" is another work by the Halle-based tech house export Super Flu that lands on our 30 years of Muna sampler. In typical Super Flu style, there is a harmonious composition with a synthesizer theme, subtly spiced strings and piano tracks, as well as a psychedelic-tinged vocal. The whole thing is based on a bassline that is absolutely suitable for clubs and goes wonderfully with everything from a club to a huge open air venue.
A2. Marco Resmann - Zero In
There is also a contribution from Marco Resmann to our 30 years of Muna compilation. "Zero In" is a beautiful piece of house music, starts atmospherically, builds up with added instrumental tracks and a kind of psychedelic vocal to create a beautifully saucy listening experience, far from prime time mass-produced algorithm optimized house! Category: Morning hours, recommendation: listen on repeat!
AA1. Sarah Wild – Night Shift
Sarah Wild adds "Night Shift" to our 30 years of Muna compilation. The driving piece starts with some break beats in the first few seconds, builds up nicely with some electronica elements and a spherical synth pattern and stands on a stable base of a club-friendly bassline!
AA2. Sierra – Dirty Thirty
Our local hero Sierra contributed the piece called "Dirty Thirty" with a wink to our 30 years of Muna compilation. A clean house piece with a bassline that could be described as well-fed. A subtle vocal, little acid and some synth sounds finish the tune wonderfully.
B1. Mathias Kaden – Muna 1994
With Mathias Kaden an artist who truly and undoubtedly belongs to the DNA of Muna also delivers a work to our 30 years of Muna compilation. With "Muna 1994" the title itself is a homage to the club and in 6:16 minutes it accurately describes what happens here regularly in the hall and foyer - driving powerhouse with a typical Mathias Kaden sound! An energetic bassline mixes with hi hat and clap, along with harmoniously arranged synth themes and vocals that come in at exactly the right time.
B2. Douglas Greed – Sleeping in Shifts
A song by the Berlin based Douglas Greed, “Sleeping in Shifts,” also ends up on our 30 years of Muna compilation. A wonderfully complex and melodic piece of electronic dance music. Spherical sounds, synths or vocals, the individual tracks begin smoothly and are arranged in a melancholic mood with an almost instrumental like drum loop. As usual from him, much more than just a dance floor tool!
BB1. Kristin Velvet – Katamaran
Kristin Velvet's "Katamaran" is part of our 30 years of Muna compilation. A beautiful, slightly twisted house piece that fits perfectly with the first rays of sunshine on an open air floor in summer. A dominant synth theme runs through the entire tune, varies very pleasantly and
increases the atmosphere in the tune until a break in the last third. The danceability of the bassline remains constant.
BB2. Norman Weber feat JuKa – Fabulous Muna
We'll take that as a compliment! With "Fabulous Muna", a tune by Norman Weber also appears on our 30 years of Muna compilation. Together with JuKa, he serves up a wonderfully soulful piece of house. Percussion, kick drum and a wavy bass track form the basis, plus there are subtle synth sounds, pads and vocals. Diverse, Latin-like and groove in its DNA! This Sound fits the Muna like photo dumps in the timelines of people under 30 and really makes you want to dance!
C1. Robag Wruhme – Trip-This
As an artist and person also part of the history and present of the Muna club - with "Trip This" there is also a piece of music on our 30 years of Muna sampler created by Robag Wruhme. The connoisseur can certainly name the artist and year of production after the first 15 seconds. The typical floating Robag Wruhme bassline can also be found here. After all the elements are introduced in the first half, a break is followed by a wonderful marriage of all tracks to a deep, melancholic finale of this tune!
C2. Thomas Stieler – Meet You At Foyer
Full-time nice guy and Munich resident by choice Thomas Stieler also sends us a tune for our 30 years of Muna compilation. “Meet you at the Foyer” can and should be understood as an invitation to visit us! The modern, clean piece of house music grooves excellently and arranges all tracks wonderfully equally and without any hecticness. The wobbly bassline creates an energetic and danceable base to this great produced song.
CC1. Daniel Stefanik – In Search of Slowly
Daniel Stefanik from Leipzig, a Muna veteran, has also created a tune for our 30 years of Muna long player "In Search of Slowly" is a wonderfully slightly swirly, deep piece of house music. The powerful bassline, together with a surface sound in the background, frames a dominant, spacey synth theme. A tune for the early hours of the morning, not packed, just right and with a lot of pressure from the subs!
CC2. TKR – Anymore
Muna stands for diversity since its birth! So our 30 years of Muna compilation also includes broken beats, which have always been part of Muna. With "Anymore", Jena based drum'n bass veteran TKR contributes a wonderfully melancholic liquid DnB tune. Surfaces that are reminiscent of early Chase & Status works, a smooth and very subtle piano and a never intrusive.
D1. Matthias Tanzmann – You Just
With "You Just" there is a piece of house music by Matthias Tanzmann that practically screams for the dance floor on our 30 years of Muna compilation. The first few seconds of crisp hi-hats get you dancing straight away, and the beat that starts after makes it clear. What follows is an energetic interplay of percussion, deep synth sounds and a very subtle vocal, all that in a harmonic way. Makes you want to go to Ibiza, whether it's a club or a beach party!
D2. youANDme – All Fine
In addition to a calendar jam-packed with international gigs and productions for many other labels, youANDme also contributes a tune to our 30 Years of Muna sampler with "All Fine". The deep, atmospheric piece of house music comes minimally from the speakers, but feels absolutely complete. The deep bassline is complemented by slightly broken percussions, a minimalistic piano sound and is crowned by a subtle vocal.
DD1. Leeni & Danilo Kupfernagel – Vida Única
With "Vida Única", a fresh piece of House Music by Leeni & Danilo Kupfernagel also lands on our 30 years of Muna record. What comes along as a classic house stomper in the first few seconds develops into a beautifully melodic, atmospheric tune through the spherical surface that starts as smooth as peach skin after 30 seconds. It slowly builds up over the next 4 minutes, always leaving room for the absolutely danceable bass line.
DD2. 2HundredEight feat Matti – Pretend
Electronic dance music has also included broken beats since the end of the 80s. It's all the better that we have included some of these tunes on the 30 Years of Muna sampler as well. "Pretend" is contributed by 2HundredEight, who brings in the otherwise guitar-experienced singer MATTI and creates a wonderfully melancholic piece of work. A minimalist piano sample, a broken DnB beat and an ever-present deep bassline, all spiced up with the powerful, bright vocals of the Leipzig based singer. Great cross-genre work!
E1. Luna City Express feat. Kenneth Avera – 30 YRS of Muna
Luna City Express were a little uncreative when it came to choosing a name, but "30 YRS of Muna" with Kenneth Avera is a piece of music bursting with positive energy that ends up on our 30 Years of Muna compilation. After a standard house intro with a powerful kick drum, a very present hi-hat and clap, there are synth sounds, vocals and a saxophone track. The whole thing comes together to form an energetic tune that leads to an shaking musculoskeletal system and simply puts you in a good mood!
E2. Click Click & Defex feat. Leah Raider – Raw Cutz 6.1
With “Raw Cutz 6.1” Click Click & Defex feat. Leah Raider contribute a piece to the 30 years of Muna compilation too. A house kind club tool with a slightly overdriven, snotty bassline an acid pattern and a subtle, breathy vocal. Definitely gets in your leg and leads to acute dance movements!
EE1. Langstrumpf – Drop Out
Langstrumpf also insisted on serving up a song for our 30 years of Muna compilation. "Drop That" comes with a powerful bassline, flanked by an acid-like sound, and the whole thing is spiced up with playful, choral sounds. It fits from warm-up to the morning, builds up nicely and pushes!
EE2. TimBrix – Sound Invasion
With "Sound Invasion" TimBrix also delivers a drum'n bass tune for our 30 years of Muna LP. This thing can easily do 20 pull-ups, pushes 174 kilos and combines an energetic bassline suitable for prime time with a clear vocal and razor-sharp synth sounds that are slightly
reminiscent of neurofunk. All of this is served on a typical DnB drum pattern that seems to scream: Go ahead mate!
EE3. Politone – Thirty Prayers
Politone, one of our residents, also contributes a piece to the 30 Years of Muna sampler. With "Thirty Prayers", he has created a minimalistic but absolutely well-trained house record. The few tracks complement each other and blend together very smooth. The symbiosis of the synth theme and the slightly reggae-like echo vocal go perfectly with the powerful kick drum and can lead to stomping dance moves at any time of day or night.

Y2K! is a sugar rush of playful sensuality and unbothered cool—a true representation of the Bronx baddie herself. Ice Spice, born on January 1st, 2000, brings the Y2K vibes and undeniable beats that will make you want to party like it's 2000, before you had to worry about your late-night social media going viral. Ice Spice lives up to her name, bringing straight fire to your speakers this season.

Black Star Icon T-Shirt - Features:
• Regular fit
• Midweight, 5.3 oz, 28-singles, 100% combed cotton
• Neck ribbing, side seamed, shoulder-to-shoulder tape, double needle hems, preshrunk
• Flag icon sewn onto sleeve
• Single color print on front.

A portion of proceeds will go to savethechildren.org benefiting relief efforts in DRC, Sudan, Haiti and Gaza.

The artist formerly known as Mos Def, now Yasiin Bey, teams up with Talib Kweli again for a second Black Star album. This merch drops with the first widely available vinyl edition that is also available at HHV.

After four tape editions on Seil Records, Sofie Birch's 2019 debut record "Planetes" is finally available on vinyl featuring new artwork and a beautiful analog remastering.

Sofie creates dream-like, elegant ambient music with an emphasis on exploration and wonder. Her distinctive organic and melodic sound is shaped by improvising with analog synthesizers, acoustic instruments, and field recordings. Repetitiveness is clinically avoided with harmonic progressions that resolve all tension brilliantly. Planetes was described as a beautiful sound universe where the atmospheric sound surfaces and textures gently and elegantly take the listener to new places all the time by Danish experimental music media Passive Aggressive.

For this record's 5th anniversary, apart from the regular vinyl edition, there are two special editions. The first one comes in translucent blue vinyl and includes a limited edition K7 inspired by 70’s yoga tapes. It contains a 20-minute guided meditation on one side and two beautiful unreleased tracks on the other. The second special edition comes in yellow vinyl and includes an inner sleeve with stickers so that you can create your own cover/ constellation for the record.

Sofie's own words about the release:

“It's a dream coming true to see my debut release Planetes coming out on vinyl for its 5th anniversary! Planetes means “a wanderer” in Greek, and I love how this word describes the wandering of celestial bodies, and how we humans wander through life both on a physical and spiritual plane. Wandering is being alive. Wandering is moving, and everything is always moving and changing. Shifting and transforming. The music was created with recordings from a pilgrim trip in Italy with my mom on a little cassette recorder and the music evolved from synth improvisations and the discovery of trusting sound as it is and creating music from immediacy rather than concept.”

Growing up on the north Atlantic island of Iceland bestows one with an unusual and often intense relationship with light and colour: Summers come with endless days, Winters with scant sunlight yet increased sightings of the Aurora Borealis; the mysterious and awe-inspiring glow across the sky. Channelling these energies, Exos
comes to Tresor with his Green Light EP, a five-track collection of the sort of spectrally rich techno synonymous with the Northman’s 27-year career.
Across the EP, the five tracks fizz and pulsate driving ever forward, making the release’s title a three-way play on words referencing the continuous travelling of photons, the verdant warping of the Northern Lights, and the universal colour for Go, for forward propulsion. Smart wordplay can also be found in titles like Grátt Silfur, a term in Íslenska (literally “grey sliver”) which signifies a tension between two parties, further extending the colour metaphor and dark/light dichotomy found elsewhere.
The digital release comes with three extra tracks that continue the dynamic energy, pushed along by the same shifting, mutating force where the music often feels like voices calling out from the darkness or the shimmer of light as the sun rises across the horizon.
Green Light EP continues this year’s blazing return from an artist who, similar to his output, is never stagnant: ever changing form yet ever moving forward.

Since first bonding over Slowdive at a Texas karaoke bar six years ago, musicians Uriel Avila and Jonathan Perez have grown trauma ray into Fort Worth's foremost flag bearer of crushing shoegaze. A five-piece rounded out by bassist Darren Baun, drummer Nicholas Bobotas, and guitarist Coleman Pruitt, the band's debut album, Chameleon, captures their evolving sound at an apex of majestic devastation. A fusion of downer hooks, gauzy melancholia, and bulldozer riffs, the album heaves and crashes across 50 minutes of stacked amplifier alchemy. Lyrically the songs trace similarly lofty and brooding terrain; Avila says "The theme is death. And a chameleon, like death, can shape-shift in and out our lives in different forms." Chameleon opens with "Ember," dreamy and distant, alternately anthemic and apocalyptic, defeated and deafening. Lead single "Bishop" perfectly encapsulates trauma ray's depth and dimension, ripping out of the gate with "the biggest, baddest, saddest wall of sound." Lyrics about being burnt at the stake and "tossed in the flame" float above a stop-start assault of precision distortion, eventually expanding into a lush, heavy, sorrowful end coda. "Spectre" is a mysterious, introspective dirge, envisioned as a "mellow, slowcore, Duster-thing," all feeling and heavy fuzz chords (with no lead guitar). Avila wrote it, "to be a hymnal" from the perspective of someone who won't let go - a ghost, an ex, a shadow self. Although the album is rich with subtleties, graceful lulls, and "breaths of air," the band's three guitar attack is its defining force, a power flexed to its peak on "Bardo." Perez's intentions were blunt: "I wanted to write a riff that was hard as fuck." The result is alternately mean and eerie, veering between noisy one string bends and surging headbang, mapping a middle ground between Unwound and early-Deftones. One of trauma ray's greatest gifts is their ability to make doomy, sledgehammer heaviness sound like an earworm, without production tricks or gimmicks: "Riff, verse, chorus, three guitar parts - that's all you need." This quality is particularly apparent on the title track, a churning slab of amplifier worship, swirling chords, and heavenly, defeated vocals about not belonging, shape-shifting, and death ("A twisted face / Void of attention / An empty space / In your reflection"). "U.S.D.D.O.S" closes the album, swaying across seven minutes of grey skied guitar and haunted voice, subtly thickening as it deepens. Feedback and shrapnel gradually begin raining down, like a satellite disintegrating in the atmosphere. Titled as an acronym after a poem by Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño that loosely translates to "a dream within a dream," the melody softens, smears, and then disappears, slowly swallowed by the gravity of eternal descent. Chameleon is a masterpiece of craft, balance, melody, lyricism, and gravity, flexing a fresh vision of loud-quiet-loud architectures and the vertigo depths of blasted harmonics. From Slowdive to Nothing, to Hum and beyond, the band absorb and expand on their influences into a rare and dedicated alchemy. trauma ray's cinematic tempest is a gathering storm only just taking flight.

Atlas plays out like a half-remembered Greek epic of avant-pop proportions, piecing together earthy woodwinds, old-school synths, and shifting rhythmic patterns that enhance Jacob"s myth-inspired spoken word and bilingual vocals, delivered in Dutch and English.

Over the course of two wildly varied and acclaimed EPs, 2019's England and 2021's The Valley, shape-shifting London outfit Famous has forged its own inimitable sound. A sound that subverts pop's Gospels. A barrage of halcyon melodies, despondent electronics jutting against warming acoustics, and scintillating song structure, all this the singular creative vision of Jack Merrett - Famous' singer, lyricist, core songwriter and only consistent member - that finds convulsively spectacular expression in their forthcoming debut album, Party Album. Coming to prominence as a part of the cele...

Back Lot Music and Mondo are proud to present the Dìdi (弟弟) soundtrack's premiere physical release. Featuring the original score by Giosuè Greco, the album is pressed on 140 gram vinyl with original artwork by Felicia Chiao and title treatment by Joyce Ho.

Hip-hop legend Rakim is breaking new ground with his upcoming studio album, G.O.D.'S Network (reb7rth), by flexing his skills both on the mic and behind the boards. Widely lauded as the best lyricist of all time, The God MC himself is blessing the culture with the next step in his historic career.

“I feel like the battery in my back has been reenergized,” Rakim said about his new album, which arrives nearly four decades after the release of his classic debut with Eric B., Paid In Full. Since then, he’s continued to shape the landscape and culture of hip-hop as we know it, inspiring rising artists with his hype live shows and incredible studio albums. And while he’s produced some of his previous work—notably “Don’t Sweat the Technique,” “Juice (Know The Ledge),” and “Paid In Full”—this feels like new territory for the 18th Letter, whose production and scratching talents are nothing short of remarkable.

G.O.D.'S Network (reb7rth) is proof that Rakim is truly one of the most special artists we’ve known not just in hip-hop, but all of music. You can tell he feels that level of praise when speaking about the genesis of the album. “Having the ability to showcase my talents behind the boards coupled with the elite lyricism the world already knows and gives me infinite praise for alongside some of the best talents to ever do it is truly a blessing and for that I am humbled,” he said.

Rakim is more than an official triple-threat as an artist, because he’s also showing off skills as a curator. On this album’s seven tracks, he enlists a who’s-who of top hip-hop talent, including the dearly departed Nipsey Hussle, Fred the Godson, DMX, and Prodigy (of Mobb Deep). Rakim also linked with many of his contemporaries, such as Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Kxng Crooked, B.G., and Kool G. Rap, among others.

The album’s first single, “Be Ill,” is the perfect introduction, as it pairs Rakim’s raw rhymes and head-nodding production with slick guest features from Kurupt and Masta Killa. Elsewhere, Rakim slows it down for the soulful “Love Is The Message,” which features Nipsey Hussle, Planet Asia, Louis King, Snoop Dogg, Sally Green, Kobe Honeycutt, and the LA Grand Choir. And then there’s the chest-thumping “International,” a straight-up slapper with hard-hitting rhymes from Kool G. Rap, Tristate, and Joell Ortiz.

For fans of hip-hop, and especially of Rakim’s storied discography, there is so much to love on this record. You can hear his hunger as an emcee and producer on every track, as well as his desire to collaborate with so many respected artists. Despite having decades in the game and many classics to his name, it feels like Rakim is just getting started.

While the world awaits the July 26th release date, fans can catch Rakim performing live throughout the US from now until the end of year in support of G.O.D.S Network (reb7rth). In addition to debuting new material, he’ll be performing all the classics from his beloved catalog.