US Hip Hop 592 Items

Jay Worthy has emerged as one of the west coast’s rising emcees, so it’s expected that he’d be collaborating with the industry’s heaviest hitters. Perhaps it wasn’t expected that he would be recording an entire album produced by Roc Marciano, but “Nothing Bigger Than The Program” proved to be a fitting entry to both of their discographies. Jay’s leaned-back flows fit like a glove over Marci’s hazy and stripped-down beats, and A-list guests like Bun-B, Kurupt, Kokane, and Ab-Soul have no problem landing right in to the pocket with similar ease.

The Need to Know is Queens-based rapper Duncecap’s most refined project to date. steel tipped dove (Armand Hammer, Fatboi Sharif) crafts the new album with a cinematic touch, soundtracking the worlds Dunce builds with dusty kicks and bespoke samples.

Art-rap legends doseone and Skech185 lend verses to the project, and stalwart collaborator Samurai Banana lends his cutting hand for frenzied scratching over Dove’s plucky thumps and sprawling loops.

With a triumphant pessimism, The Need to Know examines the human condition through big-box store nostalgia and city parking; trans-humanism, and anxiety. steel tipped dove accentuates the levity and tension of Duncecap’s writing with nuanced expertise, bringing out funky colors from the bouncy darkness.

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.

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.

90 minute Mixtape mixed by United Crates

The debut collaboration by Harlem, New York City raised, Ugandan born, award winning hip-hop creative Emma Lee M.C. and decorated German producer Roccwell is a potent offering of globally creative proportions. Merging her bold, flowful vocals and piercingly imaginary lyricism with his smooth, classic, world-renowned "boom bap" production over seven tracks, the two who met during a pandemic aimed to stifle their artistry have used the "new normals" as opportunity to create new energy, tell new stories and re-balance tastes in the culture.

On the lead single “Like It’s 93” featuring hip-hop legend Masta Ace, listeners are treated to a unique twist on nostalgia. Emma Lee personifies hip-hop by lyrically describing a dysfunctional but loving relationship using over 40 classic rap album titles all released in the year 1993, with Masta Ace responding metaphorically in a classic rebuttal. The track rolls in with a dreamy soundscape over Roccwell's signature snare drum spine, lifts and waves with Emma Lee's softly layered vocals in the hooks, and ends with a sonic collage of reflective cuts by DJ LP2 reminding us why we fell in love with hip-hop. As mentioned from "Digable Planets to Doggystyle," this track is a witness and poetic questioning of a pivotal time in music.

The follow-up single "Cravings & Withdrawals" with hip-hop legend Bahamadia holds its own as one of the smoothest rap duets put to wax in a long time. As Roccwell riffs the beat like a spacey and jazzy interlude, an elite skill level of emceeing is on display by two generational talents unapologetically pouring onto the track. The dream duo gives us an unbeatable breather during the hooks which are elevated by an adaptation of classic neo-soul R&B, asking whether listeners are "craving something real?" Clever cuts by DJ LP2 once again punctuate the odyssey and are sure to please most music heads.

“Chocolate Bars” by Emma Lee M.C. & Roccwell stays true to its rooted theme and includes a few musical twists, start to finish. From its concept, choice of instruments, variation, undeniable lyricism, sounds and messaging, it creates both curiosity and satisfaction, and leaves hip-hop lovers surely wanting more.