US Hip Hop 367 Items

HHV exclusive vinyl edition on red in clear vinyl, limited to 500 copies

You Only Live 2wice is the third studio album from Freddie Gibbs. Following a tumultuous time in Gibbs’ personal life, the album focuses on Freddie overcoming his obstacles and rising from the ashes anew, as reflected in the album art depicting the resurrection of Jesus. At 8 tracks, the album has no features, instead using the space to let Gibbs bear his soul. The album includes the chilling violin-laced single, “Crushed Glass,” as well as standout hits, “20 Karat Jesus,” &”Amnesia.” Executive produced by Ben “Lambo” Lambert & Gibbs himself, the album sees production from BADBADNOTGOOD, Kaytranada, Speakerbomb, Dupri, Jay Nari, Teddy Walton, Blair Norf & more. Back in print for the first time since its initial release.

"L.A. rapper Blu burst onto the scene in the late 00s with the widely acclaimed Exile collaboration Below The Heavens, igniting a West Coast hip-hop renaissance in the process. With his cool Cali demeanor and undeniable lyrical talent, Blu drew praise from fans and tastemakers alike, launching a remarkable career that continues thriving to this day. His first ever double album, the 2014 masterpiece Good To Be Home is an essential part of this story. An unapologetic celebration of Los Angeles music and culture, the album takes listeners on a vivid journey through Blu’s storied stomping grounds. With sweeping strings and hypnotic bass lines supplied by producer Bombay, Good To Be Home features a host of West Coast hip-hop luminaries, including Evidence, Fashawn, Alchemist, Casey Veggies, MED, Planet Asia, Oh No, Pac Div, Strong Arm Steady, Thurz, Visionaries, and more. A cohesive collection with 20 tracks and no filler, this classic release is now available again on vinyl after years out of print."

DJ Harrison celebrates a decade of Stashboxxx, an essential early solo release via Richmond, VA’s Jellowstone Records. The record includes popular joints such as “Erykah’s Gun” and “Dilla’s Eclair”, and will be joined with a collection of unreleased Bonus Traxxx.

Pharoahe Monch is one of the most revered and influential emcees in the history of hip-hop, and 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of his fourth studio album "PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder".

In PTSD, Pharoahe Monch continues the story he began telling in his previous LP, "W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)" from 2011. The Queens emcee narrates, in both literal and metaphoric ways, about the trials and tribulations of an independent artist who is at war with the music industry and the struggle of the black male experience in America.

In 2012, during an interview with Shawn Setaro, host of the podcast The Cipher, the rapper explained the connections between the two projects, beyond their titles. “The W.A.R. album was like, I’m going to battle against the machine, I’m doing this independently. I’m putting some things out that I learned and I’m going to expose about the music industry. PTSD is the result of me doing that, where I am emotionally now. It’s similar to how someone comes back from war and is stricken by re-adjusting to a regular situation.”

Monch told MTV Hive that PTSD is “more mental, emotional and personal” because it came out of the depths of a period of depression. He also gave the internal and external factors that helped him create the album. “I was working on the title track, which took me to a point in between Internal Affairs and Desire, where I was heavily depressed. Through the waiting period, the industry period, and going through a lot emotionally. Then there was the physical [problem] with asthma. It was the worst. So I started off with that title track and my manager was like, ‘Yo, let’s really dive into that state and how you got to where you are now, and how this follows what people go through to get back to a so-called ‘normal’ situation’.”

The concept album follows a veteran through combat experience, his return home, relationship dissolution, drug addiction, painful depression, and, finally, a triumphant but realistically rendered decision to keep living and struggling.

Classic Hip-hop meets minimalism and dusty vinyl on Anchovies. Cali Agents alum Planet Asia is as sharp as ever with his lyrical smithing. Apollo Brown’s style is evident behind the dust and grime of these smoky samples. The Detroit producer approached this album like a director would a movie. Apollo painstakingly laid out every detail of the project and knew what he wanted from the finished product. He knew that only one rapper could execute his vision. Enter Planet Asia. The West Coast legend was able to fit directly into the plan and bring his talents to the album, creating a perfect match.

Limited edition of 1000 copies on white marbled vinyl. close to NM.

Pete Rock is the man who J Dilla told, “I wanted to be like you.” Kanye once called himself the “new Pete Rock.” But the original Pete Rock remains permanently vital. The evidence bangs in his latest opus, Petestrumentals 2, the sequel to the 2001 classic that helped define the hip-hop instrumental record. It marks the legend’s first album on Mello Music Group, a fitting union between the author of the boom-bap blueprint and the label that’s expanded upon his legacy. Petestrumentals 2 conjures memories of BBQ cookouts and 70s Blaxploitation scores, rattling summer jeep cruises and blunted Jamaican vacations. There’s a gorgeous requiem to Dilla (“Dilla Bounce (R.I.P),” where the originator pays tribute to the prodigy. You see the full range of Rock’s gifts on display: the meticulously chopped horns, unquantized drums, and air raid sirens. It contains the emotion of a thousand eulogies. An even 20 slaps and rhythmic levitations. It’s Pete Rock at his best, accelerating and kicking cosmic slop, extending wishes, hope, love, gritty drums and eternal wonder. This special 24 for '24 Artist Series Edition is a one time pressing on metallic gold vinyl w/ original KipDaFog oil painted cover art.

If there’s a secret to time travel, Kool Keith owns the patent. Even a flying DeLorean seems too conventional for the Bronx legend. He’d more logically orbit throughout the galaxy in a gleaming chrome spaceship, teaching the stars and aliens new forms of originality. He is too weird to live, too rare to die, too uniquely ultra-magnetic to be accurately mimicked.

Released on Mello Music Group, Time? Astonishing! is the latest dimensional warp from hip-hop’s premiere astral traveler. His union with MMG producer L’ Orange finds him exploring uncharted terrain: choppy volcanic rock planets, ice glacier moons, new surgical procedures, and fresh rappers to toss into the ether. The scalpel remains eternally sharp.

The beats glow with radioactive grit. Hard enough to knock from your car speakers, cinematic and plutonium-propelled enough to transport you to strange terra firma. Buck Rodgers movie serials meet boom-bap. And along for the odyssey are a cast of the best underground MC’s of the last decade: Blu, Open Mike Eagle, Mr. Lif, J-Live, and more.

These are space symphonies and occult odysseys, fuel for wanderers, wonderers, and all the a-likes.

Welcome to the new world, even more sinister and suspenseful than the last one. We live in astonishing times: abstract, absurd, and indelibly Kool.

Mandala is the fourth Mello Music Group compilation – previous compilations include Mental Liberation, Helpless Dreamer, and Self Sacrifice - featuring Oddisee, Apollo Brown, L'Orange, Quelle Chris, Murs, Milo, Georgia Anne Muldrow and more.

The album showcases the ever-evolving roster of top-tier producers and rappers on MMG, many of whom (e.g. Oddisee & Quelle Chris) fill both roles with equal dexterity. Additionally, it features several artists nearby MMG, a testament to their commitment to working with those who possess singular sonic and lyrical abilities.

Mandala is at once compact and comprehensive. There is not a minute wasted and not a miss in sight. It is diverse and yet somehow cohesive, tailor made to rock your car speakers and your brain stem. It is MMG's reminder that hip-hop is alive and well, and a reintroduction to a label that's tried never to forget what makes music compelling.

With a multitude of producers behind the boards, the soundscapes on Mandala cover the map and the album is all the better for it. Oddisee helms the opener and tracks throughout with a musicality like few in Hip-Hop today. L'Orange brings subtle, jazzy suites to the table, and Quelle Chris provides dusty samples looped over hard-hitting drums as well as anyone else. Each beat is far richer and more inventive, able to play on its own and provide the perfect complement to the raps at hand.

As far as the rhymes are concerned, the rappers on Mandala leave nothing to chance. The MCs on the comp are intelligent and self-aware, capable of the comic, tragic, and in-between at the sound of a snare. They have an old-school reverence for rhyme with a modern state of mind and modern problems. Come-up or comedown, shine or shadow, friend or foe – they are fearless in confronting all fears.

Above all, Mandala is a sign of the great and innovative music in the history of MMG.

Celebrating the 5th anniversary of Conway's legendary tape with DJ Green Lantern "Reject On Steroids" with a vinyl reissue in collaboration with Drumwork Music. Tape features guest appearances by Royce Da 5'9" and Benny, and productions by DJ Green Lantern. For the occasion we have two different artworks by Shk, limited to 1500 units each.

Reissue without hype sticker! Janelle Monae, Vic Mensa, James Fauntleroy, Kaytranada and Tyler, the Creator are aboard!

"Blackmarket Seminar", an album by Kazi and entirely produced by Madlib. Guest features by Madlib, MED, Wildchild, Declaime (Dudley Perkins) and Oh No. The album was recorded in 1996 and now digitally remastered in 2016 and re-remastered in 2021.

Kazi says: We recorded this album in the wee hours at CDP studios back in ‘96. It was pretty much me, Madlib and Declaime in the lab when this album was recorded.

I learned so much from Lib cadence, rhyme patterns, timing and how to dig for records. What some people don’t know is this cat actually took the time to show me how to make beats. I must say working with Lib was an amazing experience. The “Blackmarket Seminar” is a very raw and dark album. We came up with “Black Market” because at the time we were doing Hip Hop that nobody else was doing and to us you could only get it on the “Black Market”. When you first play the album you'll hear characters on a skit in search of the black market seminar. We really tried to make it seem like the characters were outside walking around looking for it.

We recorded a new video for the song “To Be Lost” as it is about MCs selling out to remain in the game and still makes perfect sense in the present day.

Unreleased track from 1994 pressed on yellow vinyl, yeah!

Fifty is back in building, with features by Dr.Dre, Jadakiss & Styles P and others.

Playboi Carti's 2017 debut album Playboi Carti. It includes Carti's platinum single "Magnolia". The album peaked at #12 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. Playboi Carti, is an American rapper and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. He is also a member of Atlanta art collective Awful Records.

Back in 2006 DJ Cappel & Smitty mashed up Frank Sinatra with Notorious B.I.G. in a weird and wonderful mix CD called "Blue Eyes Meets Bed-Stuy". There was a vinyl sampler released but only now can you get all 12 mashups from the CD on vinyl. Pressed on double vinyl with color labels and picture sleeve.

Here's another volume of treats from the Othorized archives. Unreleased tracks include the studio version of “Mugshots” (demo version #2), “Kwue's Body Shop”, and “Krakow”. “Bring It On” gets its first vinyl treatment after initially appearing on the group's 1st “Amendment” CDr in 2001. “Flamboyant Rap” you likely know from their 1995 12" and “Money Getters” from their 1994 debut single.
All tracks written and produced by Othorized Fam. Cover art by Spek The Architek, logo design by Othorized, labels by Debonair P.

With transcendent lyrical skills, an impossibly perfect rap voice, and a uniquely cool, calm, and collected flow, Brooklyn rapper Your Old Droog is one of the brightest young stars in hip-hop today. Looseys is a collection of Droog tracks that lit up blogs but never made it onto any of his acclaimed projects. Now, this rare project is receiving a much-deserved official release. Looseys features collaborations with Joey Bada$$, Styles P, and Rast RFC, plus stellar production from famed producers like Alchemist, Oh No, Black Milk, Statik Selektah, and Jonwayne.

Only one copy per customer!
Produced by J Dilla aka Jay Dee!!
5-Elementz formed in Detroit in 1992. The group met while attending Osborn High School on 7 Mile. The original members consisted of Thyme, Proof, Mudd, Jay Dee & DJ Head.
These great tracks produced by Jay Dee only released on cassette later in 1998. Chopped Herring had access to the original studio DATs and presents to you this great EP. Ya better don’t sleep!

Here's another volume of treats from the Othorized archives. Unreleased tracks include the studio version of “Mugshots” (demo version #2), “Kwue's Body Shop”, and “Krakow”. “Bring It On” gets its first vinyl treatment after initially appearing on the group's 1st “Amendment” CDr in 2001. “Flamboyant Rap” you likely know from their 1995 12" and “Money Getters” from their 1994 debut single.
All tracks written and produced by Othorized Fam. Cover art by Spek The Architek, logo design by Othorized, labels by Debonair P.

Prince Paul hit Chopped Herring up to release this dope early 90's project!!

The first incarnation of the group was formed around 1989 in Amityville, Long Island, New York, although the family grew up in Long Island. The family of four brothers (Anthony, Richard, Joel, and Edward) and one sister (Dawne), of which Anthony (Poetic) was the eldest, were born to Trinidadian parents who moved from Trinidad and Tobago in 1971, making their first residence in Queens, New York for a short time, then moving to Long Island. John Berkeley (a pastor and a local businessman) and Ela Berkeley (a homemaker, cook-nutritionist, and teacher) were both singers and artistic in general, and they encouraged artistic expression in their five children. The family was well-rounded musically, singing gospel and R&B up to their early teens all around New York, other states, and Canada as "The Berkeley Singers". Anthony (Poetic), Dawne, and Joel (Brainstorm) sang, accompanied by Richard on the drums and Eddie (E-Sharp) on the piano or keyboard.

Poetic began rhyming in his early teens in Wyandanch, and was known by many names and building a name for himself as a lyrical battle MC. He changed his name to Poetic around 1985, and in 1986 he formed the crew known as Too Poetic, who in 1988-89 released a modestly popular single called: “God Made Me Funky/Poetical Terror”, under the DNA/Tommy Boy Music imprint. The group’s relationship with Tommy Boy Records eventually panned out for various reasons, scrapping the album and making Poetic very displeased, an early casualty of the politics of the music business.

While Poetic was just beginning his formal hip hop career in 1987–89, Brainstorm was attending college at the State University of New York at Farmingdale, Long Island, where he was the roommate of Brooklyn’s own Super DJ Richie Rich (who had been in Third Base, Clark Kent’s Supermen, and the movie Juice). The university was host to many hip hop artists as visitors for parties and to do shows like Rakim, EPMD, Producer-Super DJ Clark Kent, and Biz Markie.

After Brainstorm finished his college run in 1989, he took time to learn many aspects of the music business, but in 1989 he and Poetic mutually decided to pair up with a hardcore lyrical edge, original word play, and acute metaphors, after many collaborations between them since 1985. Thus, Da Bruthas G.R.Y.M. was born shortly after Too Poetic’s deal with DNA/Tommy Boy had soured. The energy and high chemistry between these true by-blood brothers at the time was, simply put, natural.

In the first Bruthas G.R.Y.M. era (c. 1989–1992), the brothers Poetic (Brother One) and Brainstorm (Brother Two) garnered much respect on the underground hip hop scene of New York Their first official demo featured the underground bangers like “Bruthas G.R.Y.M.”, “Circle-Circle-Dot-Dot”, the politically charged “Popcorn” and “Livin’ In Hell (Had To Survive)”. The demo featured production mastering by Nate "NATO" Tinsley, their in-house producer Semi-Automatic (Pedro Sims, Mr. Semi, Gravediggaz), and the brothers themselves. After blazing underground radio and live shows around New York City, they were listed in The Source magazine as the best unsigned rap group of 1989. The crew was then managed by longtime friend Jack Pope (Jack Sprat, Starving Artists Entertainment), who later became the road manager of the Gravediggaz.

These cassette tape “dubs” floated around the New York streets in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and their demo eventually made their way to the seasoned musical ear of fellow Amityvillain Prince Paul (Stetsasonic, De La Soul, Gravediggaz) from his association with the local Long Island artists who had met the brothers and saw their raw talent. In 1990 Prince Paul decided to fund and executive produce further demos, finding various other known and up-and-coming producers for the unnamed project, as well as being the tentative DJ for the group.

Then the unfortunate happened – being disenfranchised by the politics and games of the music business and life in general, Brainstorm just quit altogether for “personal enlightenment”, before any formal deal could solidify. Poetic understood about Brainstorm’s personal path at that stage in his life, but was silently devastated because they were so close to sealing a major record deal that would have propelled them further into Hip Hop history.

Their original demo, even today, is still one of Prince Paul’s favorites. It was not until 1992 that Poetic, after Brainstorm quit in 1991, that it is said that Poetic “fell on hard times”, including a short period of homelessness.

Brainstorm would continue to write for leisure and therapeutic reasoning, but never to seriously pursue a music career, moving to Brooklyn New York and later down south to various states; in fact, Brainstorm was so “finished with Hip Hop” that he gave Poetic all of his original rhyme books to use at his own discretion – some lyrics ending up on Gravediggaz projects.

The profile of French producer Guts has grown steadily in recent years and he is now considered to be one of the leading producers in France and a recognised name on the European beats scene. ‘Hip Hop After All’ features an array of stellar MCs and vocalists, including Grand Puba, Masta Ace and Cody Chestnutt. Double LP gatefold sleeve with insert & download card, exclusive content for the download card.

His hit "Brand New Revolution" was played by many radio stations worldwide and was used in Grand Theft Auto V. His compilation series ‘Beach Diggin' is now a reference point for summer and quality music in general.

After three instrumental albums, Guts decided to come back to his Hip Hop roots (he created the French rap band Alliance Ethnik in the 90's) and invited quality MCs and singers to join him in the studio. You can find on this album, Hip Hop legends such as Grand Puba, Masta Ace, Bob Power, Rah Digga, plus singers such as Cody Chestnutt, Patrice and a batch of new talent - Leron Thomas, Lorine Chia, Quelle Chris & Denmark Vessey and Dillon Cooper.

J. Cole's last album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, was both a profound personal statement about childhood, sexual insecurities, adult angst, and the follies of success, on top of being an addictive listen with smooth beats that sounded closer to Jay-Z's prime in the early 2000s. But after hints at an early retirement and a declaration in September that he was going to stop performing for "a long time," it's a real sigh of relief to get this album. Partially recorded at the famous Electric Ladyland studios, J. Cole has made this his most intimate and personal album. He even jams out on the piano and guitar along to some of the tracks.

Includes download code! Janelle Monae, Vic Mensa, James Fauntleroy, Kaytranada and Tyler, the Creator are aboard!

Copy closer to NM

Limited to 350 copies for the German market.
Celebrate 10 years of Pinkprint.
First time on vinyl.
Black vinyl.
Exclusive poster insert.
Includes the singles "Pills n Potions", "Anaconda", "Only" and "Bed of Lies".

Celebrate 10 years of Pinkprint.
First time on vinyl.
Black vinyl.
Exclusive poster insert.
Includes the singles "Pills n Potions", "Anaconda", "Only" and "Bed of Lies".

Awesome album by Compton's Kendrick Lamar called "To Pimp A Butterfly" with guest spots by Flying Lotus, George Clinton, Knxwledge, Snoop Dogg, Taz of Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Rapsody and more!

Repress 2023
After the release of his 2011 debut ‘Blue Slide Park’, Mac Miller started using promethazine to cope with the album’s negative reviews and subsequent stress of his Macadelic tour.
Maybe that’s why his second LP proper, ‘Watching Movies With The Sound Off’, is hazy and somewhat introspective. “You was Easy Mac with the cheesy raps / Who the f*ck is Mac Miller?” a male voice asks midway through the 70-minute recording.
He doesn’t get too personal; instead, Miller spits disoriented rhymes atop an equally disjointed soundtrack. He glorifies his drug habit one moment while atoning for it the next. “Halleluah, thank God I have a future,” Miller raps on ‘The Star Room’; “Praying I don’t waste it getting faded.”
With ‘Movies’, Miller channels his past addiction into an impressive set of stoner rap, far beyond the carefree ‘Blue Slide Park.’ These sounds are heavier and Miller flows naturally in this element. He still likes a good time, but he’s giving us more of himself in the process. Looks like he’s growing up after all. - clashmusic.com

From the makers of Wu Tang vs The Beatles, 'An Adventure To Pepperland Through Rhyme & Space' continues the obsessive use of Beatles samples (and cover versions) but this time laced with all the classic MCs of the 90s such as Biggie, Nas, Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, Rakim, Kool G Rap, Public Enemy, The Beastie Boys, Busta Rhymes, Large Pro, Lord Finesse and The Wu-Tang Clan. This record is as if the Beatles themselves were transported to 1990s New York (as implied by the intro) and set up a studio to make tracks with the legendary MCs. Nowhere else will you find the attention to detail in pairing up raw raps with Beatle based sample madness. The album was painstakingly made over a 4 year period and uses rare recordings and cover versions that were meticulously researched and filtered through to find loops that complimented each MC.

Intended for release in 2000 on CD and tape, the only album from Texas rapper P.I.G. never saw the light of day as the entire run was lost in a storage unit dispute. Now pressed as a 2LP set for the first time on color vinyl. Produced by Ernie G, who produced ONE GU Cide and Coop MC.