US Hip Hop 469 Items

Red Pill of Ugly Heroes fame is about to release another dope EP for 2015!

Ahhh yeahhh – it’s the 1994-1996 material from Kwest’s debut album sessions that never made the final cut – MASSIVE!!! DAMN it’s ON!!! All the joints from the excellent “These Are My Unreleased Recordings” project now on vinyl for the first time plus a couple of new ones for the heads. Kwest was recording his debut album for Rick Rubin’s American Recordings imprint from 1994-1996 but a load of them never made the final cut. But here they are in all their intended glory. Shout out to James @ No Sleep Recs, Dan Charnas. & X-Ray. Let’s go in again…..White Jacket No Holes 12″ 3mm Spine with FULL COLOUR 20cm x 20cm Large Sticker. v

Latest mash up masterpiece from AMERIGO GAZAWAY, the man behind BIZARRE TRIBE, YASIIN GAYE, and FELA SOUL. On this new SOUL MATES project he brings to life an imagined studio session between the high priestess of soul NINA SIMONE and hip hop legend LAURYN HILL. 17 track two LP set in pic sleeve.

The contributions of the late Detroit producer James DeWitt Yancey -better
known to the world as J Dilla- to the world of hip-hop can't be overstated, and
nowhere is his legacy more apparent than his work as a member of Slum Village.
A founding member of the trio, (Alongside rappers T3 and Baatin) Dilla provided
the group's distinctly esoteric, free-wheeling sound, built around winding
basslines, quirky drumbeats, subtle low-end frequencies, and classic jazz & soul
samples. Against the backdrop of Dilla's rich production, T3 and Baatin's
free-flowing style of rhyming would also earn wide critical praise, leading to
comparisons as the successors to A Tribe Called Quest. (A label they themselves
have rejected.)
It's on Slum Village's 1997 studio debut, Fan-Tas-Tic Vol. 1, that all these
elements come together in the most proficient manner. An instant hit among
Detroit's underground hip-hop scene, the album seemed to combine all the best
elements of the reigning alternative and gangsta styles of hip-hop into one
cohesive style that was a hit among critics. Fan-Tas-Tic's influence extended far
beyond Detroit, as its sound heavily influenced the sounds of D'Angelo, Erykah
Badu, and The Roots just to name a few. (Roots drummer ?uestlove has even
declared that: "Hands down this album birthed the neo-soul movement.")
Ne'Astra Media Group now presents the album reissued on vinyl, for the first
time in several years. Every wobbling bass note of J Dilla's production has been
preserved and every freestyle line of T3 and Baatin has been re-created, to
maintain the legacy of a late-90s rap classic, and the legend of one of hip-hop's
greatest beatsmiths.

Czarface, Wu-Tang founding MC Inspectah Deck and veteran Boston duo 7L & Esoteric, isn’t concerned with the glitz and the B.S. that modern consumer culture is pushing. And neither are the group’s fans.

In 2013, the trio appeared relatively unassumingly with their self-titled debut, which was chiefly produced by DJ 7L and included guests ranging from Ghostface Killah and Cappadonna to Vinnie Paz, Action Bronson and Roc Marciano. The soon-to-be acclaimed group found out quickly that there was a groundswell of hip-hop fanatics thirsting for the lunchpail, lyrics-above-all-else rap they fell in love with in the ‘90s. Several pressings of the album on CD, 2-LP and even cassette later, they are back and ready to up the ante.

This time around the group is the same, but it’s fair to say that all three men have stepped up their game. “We knew how we felt about the last album, but weren’t sure how it would be received by listeners,” explains MC Esoteric. “But people really responded to it, even more than we had hoped. That gave us the confidence to really spread our wings and let loose on this one. The chemistry is even tighter this time around. We know exactly what lanes we are cruising in and what weight class we are fighting in for Round 2.”

Inspectah Deck adds, “Czarface is like the Danger Room for the X-Men, I can use all my weapons on there. When I’m in Wu-Tang, I have to come a certain way because we have a certain style of fan, when I’m here doing the Czarface projects, it allows me to actually be an MC, it allows me to actually just spit…I love that. I love when i can just spit freely and just be an MC.”

The fighting analogy – whether drawn from pugilism or ‘80s wrestling, both which figure into Every Hero Needs A Villain – is an apt one, considering the unrelenting lyrical attacks that Deck and Esoteric unleash on track after track, each trying to one-up the previous verse. Best of all, it is friendly camaraderie, based around a loose theme of renegade mutant MC talents running wild. DJ 7L explains, “All three of us are influenced by comics, sci-fi movies, TV, wrestling. Czarface encompasses all of that, and it helps with the visuals as well.”

On the production side, 7L shows yet again – as he did with the group’s debut – that he remains a formidable yet underappreciated musical force, constantly providing hard, funky and alternatingly ominous backdrops for the assembled MCs to use as lyrical luge paths.

It’s been more than forty years since Kool Herc starting throwing parties in the South Bronx, and so you could forgive the casual fan for thinking that nearly every permutation of hip-hop has already been explored. But KEITH, the new album from the iconic rapper Kool Keith and the master producer Psycho Les (due out July 12 on Mello Music Group) argues just the opposite: that what’s absurdly funny can also be sinister and strange, that the form can still be broken in new and radical ways. Keith is, of course, one of the pivotal figures in the history of hip-hop, and has been one of the genre’s most singular writers and original voices. The Bronx native was a founding member of Ultramagnetic MCs, whose debut album, 1988’s Critical Beatdown, served as a blueprint for both internationally famous acts like Public Enemy and for the entire future of underground rap. But Keith’s solo work, which began in earnest in the mid-’90s with Dr. Octagonecologyst (released under a pseudonym, naturally) is even stranger, more experimental, more brilliant. He will enjamb seemingly unrelated ideas and images against one another with a poet’s love for language and a pornographer’s knack for camp. Subsequent records like 1997’s Sex Style, ‘99’s Black Elvis/Lost In Space, and 2000’s Matthew were hailed as instant classics; Keith has spent the last several years crafting expertly written records that are rewardingly bizarre, unlike anything else on the rap landscape –– and KEITH is a crown jewel in that excellent late-period run.

Psycho Les is a founding member of the Beatnuts, who were first notable as the only Latino members of the Native Tongues, the collective of groups that pushed hip-hop to its avant edges in the early ‘90s. They were staples throughout that decade, both with their own albums and via the production they did for artists as disparate as Fat Joe and Common –– as well as for their work pioneering the remix. The Beatnuts’ music had in its foreground cramped house parties and reckless debauchery; Les developed the unique ability as a producer to merge that abandon with technically rigorous sample manipulation and unique arrangements.

If you’re worried that two artists who have been working at this for so long would be tempted to rest on their laurels or make music that’s predictable, disabuse yourself of that notion. Keith opens the album with a tangent about Foot Locker –– not about buying shoes, but about lusting after the footwear chain’s employees, with their tight, referee-striped shirts and form-fitting black pants. It only gets stranger from there. His Lamborghinis aren’t just green, they’re pistachio green; his head is perfectly round like Charlie Brown’s; his handkerchief is worth your per diem. And as a vocalist, Keith is still as slippery and innovative as ever: see the way he slides right into an unorthodox flow at the beginning of “Slave Owner,” only to thin out his writing to allow for a string of insults from the titular slave owner.

KEITH is a laser-focused, remarkably vital work from two artists entering the fourth decades of their respective careers. If nothing else, take as an example a couple of the guests who appear here: there’s Jeru the Damaja, who represents the true-school ethos of New York in the early ‘90s, but there’s also Paul Wall –– he rides shotgun on “Foot Locker” –– who broke through more than a decade after Jeru, as the woozy, laconic Houston scene of the mid-2000s briefly stole the national spotlight. Both serve as ideal foils for Keith: they’re somehow tethered to Earth as we understand it, while he’s free to orbit around them, and us, in a path that only he will ever understand.

Oh shiiii – monster rarity here – the 1997-1998, previously CDR-only “release”,by dope Canadian crew Bomb Shelta Association. This release follows on from the excellent Shylow “Please Listen To My Demos” LP from the end of 2017. We were fortunate enough to get access to the original studio DAT files, so this one sounds stoopid nice people. Peep a short interview with Shylow from the crew, to get some background info on this incredible and generally slept-on project…..

King of Hearts is the fourth and final album by the late rapper, singer and producer, Camu Tao. Originally posthumously released in 2010 by Definitive Jux in collaboration with Fat Possum, King of Hearts was Tao's last record before his untimely death at just 30 years old from lung cancer in 2008. Recorded with Definitive Jux label head, EL-P (also one half of Run the Jewels), had it been released in 2008 when it was originally slated to, it probably would have felt ahead of its time. Pop-focused, hook-driven, and more sung than rapped, it pre-dates the similar ideas since explored by Kid Cudi, Janelle Monae, and even 808 and Heartbreaks-era Kanye. So singular and affecting was Tao's music, it led to EL-P dedicating an entire solo record to his legacy, on the now-classic Cancer 4 Cure. Now on Oct 18th 2019, Fat Possum will finally issue the album on vinyl for the first time, and re-introduce Camu Tao's music to the wider audience it deserves.

It's safe to say that 2018 was a very busy year for both Klever Skemes and Willie The Kid, as they both delivered several bodies of work on their own and managed to put together these two incredible chapters of their "Gold Rush" series. Klever Skemes spotless productions perfectly combine with Willie The Kid's unique flow to deliver the perfect sequel to the "Gold Rush", featuring guest appearances by Roc Marciano as well as Manic, who fuels the engine behind the "Gold Rush" operation with his Romanic imprint. This incredible team is stepping their game up is ready to leave a mark in the game. We are glad to team up with Romanic once again to bring you the sequel complete with all instrumentals on the Bside as a limited edition of 500 handnumbered copies, with the first 200 pressed on white vinyl with gold splatter, and the remaining 300 on black vinyl.

Limited to 500 hand numbered copies.

Devin The Dude is your favorite rapper's favorite rapper. Devin released his 6th studio album Suite 420 on the unofficial weed smoker's holiday, 4/20, in 2010. Full of laid-back grooves and features from Devin's OG crew Da Odd Squad aka the Coughee Brothaz (Jugg Mugg and Rob Quest) and other Houston affiliates, Suite 420 is pure southern comfort hip-hop music.

Thanks to Get On Down for sharing this exclusive with us for the European fans.

The Chefs‘ new album with features from Ghostface Killah, ASAP Rocky, Busta Rhymes, 2 Chainz, Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross & Estelle!

Gorillaz strike back, this time feat. Snoop Dogg, Kano, Mos Def, Lou Reed, De La Soul & Bobby Womack!

Quelle Chris' album "Guns" uniquely blends diverse sounds and themes, focusing on the concept of weaponization in various forms, from literal to metaphorical. The album's production features a mix of traditional hip-hop and experimental elements, creating a distinct auditory experience that complements its thematic depth. This work marks Quelle Chris's evolution as an artist, offering a fresh, engaging listening journey. This one time pressing of Quelle Chris "Guns" for the Mello Music Group Artist Series "24 for '24" features limited edition oil painting cover art by KipDaFog Featuring Mach Hommy, James Acaster, Eldar Djangirov, Jean Grae and more