Vinyl - Hip Hop

A TAV Curator's Pick.

A Tribe Called Quest – Q-Tip, Phife Dawg (who passed away on March 22, 2016), Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Jarobi White – the groundbreaking '90s group that forever transformed the urban music landscape, detonates new shock waves on their first – and last – new studio album together in 18 years, We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service. The landmark release represents the first new music from A Tribe Called Quest since they disbanded in 1998, after recording The Love Movement, their final album together. Renowned painter/photographer Richard Prince was commissioned to create the album's show-stopping cover art.

"The extraordinary times in which we now find ourselves desperately call out for a new message from A Tribe Called Quest, and We Got It From Here... is that message," said LA Reid, Chairman and CEO, Epic Records. "For nearly two decades, it has been my deepest personal wish to add one more chapter to their incredible legacy. I am deeply honored that Tribe entrusted us with this historic and final album."

Queens, New York natives Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of Brooklyn, formed A Tribe Called Quest in 1985. The group is one of hip-hop's most legendary, beloved and revered groups of all time. Easily recognized for their unique approach to rap music by employing jazz infused soundscapes to Afro centric rhymes, ATCQ was largely responsible for the popularity of a new genre that dominated the East Coast sound of the early-90s. Sonically, ATCQ was a decisive and welcomed tangent of jazz, bass-heavy rhythmic vibes and eclectic sampling when compared to the mundane recycling of soul loops, breaks and vocals of their contemporaries.

Lyrically, emcees Q-Tip and Phife Dawg addressed social issues relevant to young blacks such as use of the n word and its relevance, date rape and other interpersonal relationships, industry politics and consumerism with infectious energy and fun and having a good time while still promoting positivity. ATCQ composed a number of successful singles and albums with their creative approach to rap music. In 1990, the group released Peoples Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. Their sophomore effort, 1991'sThe Low End Theory, considered one of the greatest albums in hip-hop history, solidified them as legends.

In recent years, the anticipation for another ATCQ album has been building. Today, the power of the Abstract Poetic, Five Foot Assassin, and Mr. Muhammad is still evident in their dynamic stage shows and in the reception of their adoring fans. We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service finds the group paying respect to both their legacy and their fans and it's a cathartic moment for all. – Press Release

“It can’t be said enough how simply good this record sounds and feels. Everyone here shows themselves to be a better rapper than they have ever been before, but that still doesn’t capture the ease and exuberance of it all, how Q-Tip curls flows and words on “The Donald,” how Jarobi surprises with packed strings of rhyme at each turn, how Phife and Busta Rhymes dip effortlessly in and out of Caribbean patois and Black American slanguage. (And that’s not even taking into account Consequence’s inventive word marriages on “Mobius” and “Whateva Will Be,” Kendrick Lamar’s energetic angst on “Conrad Tokyo,” or André 3000’s and Tip’s playful tag team on “Kids…”) The music is decidedly analog, a refutation of polished sheen and maximal perfection; it’s an extension and culmination of ATCQ’s jazz-influenced low-end theory. But that doesn’t capture the bounces, grooves, sexual moans, random bleeps, stuttering drums that float throughout—like every classic Tribe album, it defies simple descriptions.” – Pitchfork

“A record rooted in anxiety and mourning, We Got It From Here remains musically as dark and electrically relaxed as 1996's Beats, Rhymes and Life and 1998's The Love Movement. With help from visionary producer J Dilla, those critically mixed, commercially sturdy records were moody, muted, experimental, deeply funky and remarkably prescient, but ultimately unable to wrangle the proper amount of attention in the shiny-suit era. We Got It From Here checks in with similarly off-kilter but undeniably grooving beats. Tribe utilize the Dilla innovation of letting samples clash at odd angles; they let a copy of Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets" skip endlessly until the real John pops in for a guest spot, and the drum beat to "Lost Somebody," one of the album's Phife tributes, doubles up and separates from itself like a Steve Reich phasing experiment before abruptly slamming into total silence. In a contemporary move, Tribe abandon the Nineties hip-hop format and allow for modern musical and melodic sprawl, like a guitar solo from Jack White, a psychedelic keyboard detour or a spiraling verse from Anderson Paak.” – Rolling Stone

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Hits, Rarities & Remixes is a compilation album by A Tribe Called Quest. It features two previously unreleased songs ("Mr. Incognito" and "The Night He Got Caught") as well as remixes and some of the group's more familiar songs. It also contains songs that were featured in movie soundtracks.

“Unquestionably one of the most influential acts in the history of hip-hop, the Tribe left behind them a legacy few could contend with and most have revered since their debut release. And while Hits, Rarities & Remixes is not as thorough a compilation as 1999's Anthology, it does offer highly sought-after tracks that are out of print, including a few that were featured exclusively on movie soundtracks. A good number of the crowd-favorite anthems that made Tribe one of the most adored groups of its time are featured here, and a few that were secret weapons in many a DJ crate during their initial release. What separates this collection from the earlier anthology is its ability to function as a comprehensive road map through the group's career for the inquisitive first-timer as well as offer up obscure tracks for the die-hard beat heads.” – AllMusic

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A TAV Essential Listening Album.

Midnight Marauders is the third album by hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, originally released in 1993 on Jive Records. It was released two years after A Tribe Called Quest's second album, The Low End Theory.

Midnight Marauders is also seen by many fans and critics as a classic jazz rap album along with The Low End Theory.

“Though the abstract rappers finally betrayed a few commercial ambitions for Midnight Marauders, the happy result was a smart, hooky record that may not have furthered the jazz-rap fusions of The Low End Theory, but did merge Tribe-style intelligence and reflection with some of the most inviting grooves heard on any early-'90s rap record.

The productions, more funky than jazzy, were tighter overall -- but the big improvement, four years after their debut, came with Q-Tip's and Phife Dawg's raps. Focused yet funky, polished but raw, the duo was practically telepathic on "Steve Biko (Stir It Up)" and "The Chase, Pt. 2," though the mammoth track here was the pop hit "Award Tour." A worldwide call-out record with a killer riff and a great pair of individual raps from the pair, it assured that Midnight Marauders would become A Tribe Called Quest's biggest seller.  …

A Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders was commercially successful, artistically adept, and lyrically inventive; the album cemented their status as alternative rap's prime sound merchants, authors of the most original style since the Bomb Squad first exploded on wax.” – AllMusic

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2016 release from the Harlem-based hip hop artist, a member of the A$AP Mob (along with A$AP Rocky and A$AP Yams). Always Strive And Prosper is the long-awaited follow-up to 2013's Trap Lord. The album features collaborations with Schoolboy Q, Future, Big Sean and others.

“Despite the strong production and features including Missy Elliott, Ty Dolla $ign, and Rick Ross, Ferg's latest is mainly about his wise observations on family, fame, and what comes next.” - Pitchfork

“Rap albums are inherently narcissistic, the product of one person’s values and interests, yet on Always Strive And Prosper, the secondary characters are every bit as fully drawn as the buoyant personality at the center of it all. Without succumbing to false sentimentality or restricting himself with the overly linear narrative structure of many of rap’s recent prestige albums, Ferg has crafted a tender tribute to the people he loves most. It’s not often that albums that bang this hard are this moving.” - AV Club

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Long.Live A$AP is the debut studio album by American rapper A$AP Rocky, originally released in 2013. The album features guest appearances from Schoolboy Q, 2 Chainz, Drake, Big K.R.I.T., San-tigold, OverDoz, Yelawolf, Florence Welch, Danny Brown, Action Bronson, Joey Badass, Gunplay, ASAP Ferg and Kendrick Lamar.

The album's production was handled by Hit-Boy, ASAP Ty Beats, Soufien3000, Clams Casino, Danger Mouse, Noah "40" Shebib, T-Minus, Skrillex and Emile Haynie, among other high-profile producers. The album was supported with four singles—"Goldie", "Fuckin' Problems", "Wild for the Night" and "Fashion Killa". – Wiki

“LongLiveA$AP delivers on and even exceeds the promise of LiveLoveA$AP. Like that mixtape, the album is a triumph of craft and curation, preserving Rocky's immaculate taste while smartly upgrading his sound.” – Pitchfork

More about A$AP Rocky:

Rakim Mayers (born October 3, 1988), better known by his stage name ASAP Rocky (stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, record producer, director and actor from Harlem, New York. He is a member of the hip hop group A$AP Mob, from which he adopted his moniker. Rocky released his debut mixtape Live. Love. A$AP, in 2011 to critical acclaim. The success of his mixtape led to a record deal with Polo Grounds Music, RCA Records, and Sony Music Entertainment. He subsequently rec-orded his 2013 debut album Long. Live. A$AP, which was also well received by critics and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. In 2015, Rocky released his second studio album titled At. Long. Last. A$AP. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making it Rocky's second con-secutive album to debut at number one and has received critical acclaim from music critics. – Wiki
 

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“Sought after instrumentals for critically acclaimed album Sour Soul, by Toronto jazz/hip hop band BADBADNOTGOOD and Staten Island rap champ, Ghostface Killah. Inspired by 1960’s and 70’s music and taking inspiration from the recording techniques and production of that era, they embrace live instrumentation and zero sampling. BBNG in collaboration with producer Frank Dukes created a dramatic, cinematic musical staging for Ghostface’s vivid storytelling.

"Sour Soul is sublime” “It’s instrumental class” - 9/10 Drowned in Sound

"The Canadians deliver in spades, with lush arrangements" - Q Magazine

"Exquisite ‘70’s soul" - 8/10 Uncut Magazine

“How the group redefines the genre is through their unconventional influences, youthful vigor and musical experimentation” - Hypebeast

“…a vital, luxuriously live backdrop” - The Skinny

"A vivid pulsing rhyme banquet that’s out-there, edgy and kaleidascopic" - Mojo

“...even given the fairly proud lineage of wild musical juxtaposition, these kids are making waves.” - The Independent

“As self-confessed hip hop heads as well as jazz academics, BADBADNOTGOOD have the audacity to mix the unexpected and pull it off with finesse.” - Dazed & Confused” – Lex Records

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A TAV Essential Listening Album.

Paul's Boutique is the second studio album by the American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released in 1989 on Capitol Records. Featuring production by the Dust Brothers, the recording sessions for the album took place in Matt Dike's apartment and the Record Plant in Los Angeles from 1988 to 1989, after which the recordings underwent mixing at the Record Plant in Los Angeles. Subsequent remixes were done at the Manhattan-based Record Plant Studios. The album is noted for being almost completely composed of samples, excluding the group's vocal output.

Paul's Boutique was initially considered a commercial failure by the executives at Capitol Records, as its sales did not match that of the group's previous record, Licensed to Ill, and the label eventually decided to stop promoting the album. The album's popularity continued to grow, however, and it has since been touted as a breakthrough achievement for the Beastie Boys. Highly varied lyrically and sonically, Paul's Boutique secured the Beastie Boys' place as critical favorites in the hip-hop genre. The album's rankings near the top of many publications' "best albums" lists in disparate genres has given Paul's Boutique critical recognition as a landmark album in hip hop.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 156 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album was re-released in a 20th anniversary package remastered in 24-bit audio and featuring a commentary track in 2009. - Wiki

“Paul's Boutique is a landmark in the art of sampling, a reinvention of a group that looked like it was heading for a gimmicky, early dead-end, and a harbinger of the pop-culture obsessions and referential touchstones that would come to define the ensuing decades' postmodern identity as sure as "The Simpsons" and Quentin Tarantino did. It's an album so packed with lyrical and musical asides, namedrops, and quotations that you could lose an entire day going through its Wikipedia page and looking up all the references.” - Pitchfork

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Solid Gold Hits is a greatest hits collection by Beastie Boys, released in 2005.

In contrast to 1999's The Sounds of Science anthology, Solid Gold Hits consists only of tracks that were released as singles.

“Solid Gold Hits spans eighteen full years of musical chaos, during which the three skinny white boys from New York matured from macho party dudes into right-on hipster kings.

The greying freedom fighters have rhymed about everything from throwing eggs to the racial politics of their home town, creating classics with the explosive mayhem of "Intergalactic" and the disorienting scream-punk of “Sabotage".” - BBC

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The Mix-Up is the seventh studio album by the Beastie Boys, released in 2007 on Capitol Records.

Drummer Mike D said that "even though The Mix-Up is a 'post-punk instrumental' album, the Beasties have no plans to ditch vocals for good.

In an interview with The Aquarian Weekly, published in February 2008, the band was asked if they were making a statement about the status of hip-hop music by releasing an album strictly of instrumentals. “In a way, the album was a reaction to our hip hop," said Ad-Rock "Our last record was an all rap record, so when we started recording [The Mix Up] we wanted to work with some instruments, and it just sounded cool, so we kept with it.”

Mike D expanded on Ad-Rock's response, adding, "We get asked, ‘What do you think of the state of hip hop today?’ a lot. Maybe I’m being defensive, but it seems like people always look for us to come out and criticize hip hop. But hip hop is what we grew up on, and it continues to be one of the only forms of music left that strives on evolution and innovation. Yeah, we might be in a spell where we’re waiting for that next record to come out and change everything—but still, that’s what hip hop is and that’s what puts it in its unique place.”

The album consists entirely of instrumental performances and won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album. - Wiki

“The Mix Up was designed as a specific project, so it holds together better, and it's also decidedly less knowing in its references than the cleverly kitschy In Sound (its title and artwork borrowed from classic '60s LPs). This is a fusion of sounds -- cool organs, elastic guitars, loping basslines, rolling rhythms -- where all of the elements are integrated together, turning into a style that's recognizable as uniquely, undeniably the Beastie Boys, even if they don't utter a word on this record. As always, they're more about feel than instrumental acumen, but they've sharpened as players, creating tighter, assured grooves and seamlessly blending their fascinations with funk, dub, soul, and Latin rhythms. Even if the instrumental interplay is tighter, the overall atmosphere is alluringly warm and friendly: it's music that flows easily and it's a perfect soundtrack for a slow summer afternoon.” - AllMusic

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Big Grams is the self-titled debut EP by American hip hop trio Big Grams, which consists of rapper Big Boi and electronic rock duo Phantogram., featuring guest appearances by Run the Jewels and Skrillex.

In December 2010, Big Boi, one half of famed hip hop duo Outkast, accidentally discovered Phantogram, an electronic rock duo consisting of Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel, when hearing their single "Mouthful of Diamonds" in a pop-up ad. Big Boi shared the song on his website as the "Jam of the Week". Barthel saw the post and contacted Big Boi, which led to future collaborations. Big Boi's 2012 studio album Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, included three tracks featuring Phantogram: "Objectum Sexuality", "CPU" and "Lines", and in a interview days before its December 11 release, Big Boi revealed that he and Phantogram were planning to record a "one-off EP type of thing" titled Big Grams.

Carter described the project's sound as "sort of" "psyched-out hip-hop". Barthel and Big Boi provided sung vocals and rapped vocals respectively, while Carter only occasionally provided vocals and was the project's primary producer. – Wiki

“Since the dissolution of OutKast, Big Boi has proven himself to be a restless worker, creating Southern rap epics like 2010's Sir Lucius Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty as well as experimenting with other genres and collaborating with a bevy of often surprising artists. Primary among them is the indie electro-pop group Phantogram, who appeared a couple times on Big Boi's last record, Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors. During the sessions for that album, Big Boi revealed that he was pursuing a continued project with the band, and now we have the BIG GRAMS EP. It's been a few years, and despite the curiosity about the success of such a collaboration, the EP works surprisingly well.

If you thought that Big Boi's funky Southern rap wouldn't quite mesh with the smooth, woozy electronic pop of Phantogram, you're not alone. And while the EP really sounds like an exact collision of the two sounds, Big Grams, as the group calls themselves, nail a lot of the hooks and psyched-out verses.”  - Under the Radar

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A TAV Curator's Pick.

Black Star, an American hip hop duo consisting of Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) and Talib Kweli formed in 1997 from Brooklyn, New York City, New York. Black Star’s ‘Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star’ is the duo’s only studio album released on August 18, 1998 to widespread critical acclaim and has gone on to be considered a seminal classic of the 90s underground hip hop scene. The title references the Black Star Line, a shipping company founded by Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey. The album deals with modern-day issues, philosophies and life in Brooklyn.

This pressing is part of Universal Music Enterprises’ (UMe) "Respect the Classics" series, which pays tribute to many of hip-hop's finest albums on vinyl. This release features a limited edition two-tone black on black picture disc.

“There's no slack evident in the tight wordplays of Def and Kweli as they twist and turn through sparse, jazz-rooted rhythms calling out for awareness and freedom of the mind. Their viewpoints stem directly from the teachings of Marcus Garvey, the legendary activist who fought for the rights of blacks all around the world in the first half of the 20th century. Def and Kweli's ideals are sure lofty; not only are they out to preach Garvey's words, but they also hope to purge rap music of its negativity and violence.” - AllMusic

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My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is the first collaborative album by Brian Eno and David Byrne, released in February 1981. It is titled after Amos Tutuola's 1954 novel of the same name. Recorded by Eno and Byrne in between their work on Talking Heads projects, the album integrates sampled vocals and found sounds, African and Middle Eastern rhythms, and electronic music techniques. While it received mixed reviews upon its release, My Life is now widely regarded as a high point in the discographies of Eno and Byrne.

The album has since been called a "pioneering work for countless styles connected to electronics, ambience and Third World music". The extensive use of sampling on the album is widely considered ground-breaking and innovative, though its actual influence on the sample-based music genres that later emerged continues to be debated. Pitchfork listed My Life in the Bush of Ghosts as the 21st best album of the 1980s, while Slant Magazine listed the album at No. 83 on its list of the "Best Albums of 1980s". – Wiki

“Fresh from working together on Talking Heads' Fear of Music, Eno and Byrne combined Eastern music, funk and ambient to create what is now known as world music. Their "vocalists" included voices taken from radio broadcasts and recordings of radical clerics. Since then, similar techniques have been used on everything from Moby's Play to Public Enemy.

It still sounds fresh as a daisy. The content (Muslims chanting; US foreign policy on America Is Waiting) is eerily prescient. It's hard not to be astonished by the spirit of something like The Jezebel Spirit, which whisks a recording of an exorcism into a dance track.” – The Guardian

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Finding Forever is the seventh studio album by Common, originally released in 2007.

Like Common's previous album, Be (2005), Finding Forever is primarily produced by Kanye West. The album debuted at the number one on the Billboard 200, selling 155,000 units in the first week, becoming Common's first chart-topper.

Finding Forever was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 50th Grammy Awards 2007.

Common explains that "Finding Forever really means to find a place in music where you can exist forever. Music can be forever if you make it from the heart, if you make it from the soul and it’s good. And I look at music like Bob Marley's or Marvin Gaye's or Stevie Wonder's or A Tribe Called Quest's, that's forever music. And I’m continuing on the quest to make forever music."

Common also says: "And now with the death of J Dilla and other things, you start thinking about forever lasting for real through music [...] Jay Dee will last forever through his music and hopefully generations down the line will know about Common through his music. And it's also saying: I been doing this for a nice period of time, so I'm trying to find the place where I can keep existing in the game and make music I love." - Wiki

"Common is an exception, a man whose experimentalism and lyrical abstraction does not mask any MC shortcomings. He’s still at his best when he’s making hardcore hip-hop head-bumpers like the Gang Starr-esque ‘The Game’, and the Wu-Tang-style street symphony ‘Play Your Cards Right’. He has never been able resist straying once or twice, but thankfully the words ‘feat. Lily Allen’ next to ‘Drivin’ Me Wild’, which is drippier than an Ibizan ice lolly, means you can pre-programme your CD to skip it. The rest of it though, is soulful and intelligent where ‘intelligent’ is not exclusive to ‘good beats and rhymes.’ Which is what it’s all about." - NME

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CZARFACE (Wu-Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck & 7L & Esoteric) is back! Fresh off the heels of their collaboration with Marvel Comics the trio continues to combine music and art with their latest release "A Fistful of Peril."

The back story of this album begins in the summer while Deck and Esoteric were in the studio recording some new Czarface material. During this time Marvel Comics had reached out to Czarface wanting some music to soundtrack their Black Panther web series, promoting their breakout comic of the same name. This Marvel meeting spawned the lead track "All in Together Now" and served as the primary inspiration for a fleshed-out album that nobody saw coming. The group camped out in the studio playing beats, talking comics, video games, and pop culture....what came about was "A Fistful of Peril."

Starting the album off with the ARP keyboard odyssey of "Electric Level 1" is like entering the vortex of color and light in Kubrick's 2001. The aptly titled "Two in the Chest" showcases Deck & Eso's ability to deliver punchlines and pop culture references with ease over an exceptional bass and guitar combo. "Czar Wars" has the two sparring back and forth bringing that 'X-Men/Danger Room' mentality that Deck often to refers to when in Czar-mode. Psycho Les of The Beatnuts steps in on "Dust" while "Lizard City" introduces 'Czarface Pajamas'. Yes you read that correctly. The off-kilter "Steranko" has Meyhem Lauren and Rast join forces with Czarface as they weave their way through a mind-bending array of varying beats. Other features on the album are Conway on "Machine, Man & Monster" and AOTP's Blacastan on "Tarantulas." Another one of the album's highlights is "Dare Iz A Darkseid" which along with "Talk That Talk" is the perfect balance of wit and humor that make up the core of Czarface.

Building on an already rock solid foundation with two critically acclaimed albums, "A Fistful of Peril" features some of the groups most cohesive material. The chemistry between the hungry-as-ever Deck and Eso overflows as the two mc's trade lines, humor and plenty of razor sharp lyrics over the backbone of 7L and Todd Spadafore's production.

"A Fistful of Peril" in a word? "Excelsior!" – Press Release

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A TAV Curator's Pick.

The first weapon drawn in a conflict is language, but the first weapon drawn for Czarface is music. Wu-Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck & Esoteric carved a niche for Czarface with venomous vocals, but the musical production is their super power. Powered by the trademark sound of 7L and Todd Spadafore (The Czar-Keys), a sound that's been developed since Czarface's first LP in 2013, First Weapon Drawn serves as the soundtrack to Czarface's mysterious origin.

Fresh off of their collaboration with Marvel Comics, Czarface has not only delivered a new audio adventure complete with narration, it has given us an extra large, full color, action-packed 24 page comic book with it, housed in a beautiful gatefold jacket! In the spirit of the highly sought after Power Records series from the 70's, you can read along with the comic and hear the story come to life on vinyl. – Press Release

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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 is 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 and Spada4 show yet again – as with the group’s debut – to be a stellar team, as they provide hard, funky and alternatingly ominous backdrops for the assembled MCs to use as lyrical luge paths.

If that wasn’t enough, it’s all iced with a ridiculously intricate and beefy 70-plus page, hardcover CD casebook with lyrics and extensive artwork by Gilberto Aguirre Mata (El Ultimo Codice) and L’amour Supreme, and with with “Death & Abduction,” a comic written by Esoteric; and an explosive, comic-book-inspired cover by L’amour Supreme (Mishka NYC). – Brick Records

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A TAV Essential Listening Album.

Black Messiah is the third studio album by American recording artist D'Angelo. It was released in 2014 through RCA Records, bringing an end to his 14-year hiatus.

Black Messiah was among 2014's most highly anticipated albums and was released to commercial success. The album was also met with rave reviews from music critics, who praised the album's socially relevant lyrics and its use of multiple genres. The album was ranked as one of the best albums of 2014 by several publications.

 Black Messiah won Best R&B Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards as well as Best R&B Song for "Really Love" which also was nominated for Record of the Year. – Wiki

“The prodigal son of the soul and funk canon, D'Angelo, is back. His ever-awaited third studio album, Black Messiah, is his first album since the critically acclaimed Voodoo, bringing to an end a 14-year hiatus. The album blends 70's jazz-funk and neo-soul.

Anyone who's been keeping up should be keen to the fact that the long-lusted over project was recorded in full analog, so the liner notes' PSA “For best results, listen at maximum volume” should be taken as a direct order for fervent D'lievers. And what better way to experience the gritty greatness of the release than a heavy-bodied vinyl pressing for the audio junkies?

The album features tracks co-penned by Kendra Foster (Parliament/Funkadelic) and Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest). It's also co-produced by Questlove (The Roots), bassist Pino Palladino (John Mayer Trio, The RH Factor), and drummer James Gadson (Bill Withers, Temptations, Beck, Jamie Lidell).” – Fat Beats

"Black Messiah is a dictionary of soul, but D'Angelo is the rare classicist able to filter the attributes of the greats in the canon into a sound distinctly his own. It’s at once familiar and oddly unprecedented, a peculiar trick to pull on an album recorded over the span of a decade.The timeliness of Black Messiah’s message is doubly astounding." - Pitchfork

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Brown Sugar is the debut album of American recording artist D'Angelo, originally released in 1995.

Production, instrumentation, arrangements, and songwriting were primarily handled by D'Angelo, who employed both vintage recording equipment and modern electronic devices. Brown Sugar contains themes of love and romance, and features a fusion of contemporary R&B and traditional soul music, along with elements of funk, quiet storm, and hip hop music.

Upon its release, Brown Sugar received acclaim from music critics and earned D'Angelo several acco-lades, including four Grammy Award nominations. Regarded by music writers as a pivotal album in neo soul, the album provided commercial visibility to the musical movement, amid the prominence of producer-driven, digitally approached R&B.

The song "Brown Sugar" was nominated for the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Per-formance and Best R&B Song. The album was also nominated for Best R&B Album. "Lady" was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. – Wiki

“No matter how delicate or dusty sounding a track may be, D'Angelo flips the script with B-boy savoir-faire: He makes the nasty rhythms bubbling underneath his multilayered love songs seem old and new at the same time. Call him an ndegéocello (Swahili for "free as a bird"), a rebel soul. …

Like his fellow retrolutionaries Me'Shell NdegéOcello, Joi, Omar and Dionne Farris, he's shattering the conventional definition of "black music." …

Brown Sugar is a reminder of where R&B has been and, if the genre is to resurrect its creative relevance like a phoenix rising from the ashes, where it needs to go.”  – Rolling Stone

More about D’Angelo:

“D’Angelo is an American R&B singer-songwriter, producer, and instrumentalist. He was one of the most influential musicians during the rise of the neo-soul movement, often drawing comparisons to his influences, Marvin Gaye, and Prince.

1995’s debut Brown Sugar had already strategically positioned D’Angelo—born Michael Eugene Arch-er and Virginia-raised to a Pentecostal preacher father—as the next Hendrix-like deity in black music, after Prince and maybe Lenny Kravitz. But since its release, D’Angelo had become distracted by weed and weightlifting, shaken by the deaths of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. and debilitated by sophomore pressure. In the interim he’d fathered two children, switched managers and jumped to a new record label. He wanted to be like Sly Stone, George Clinton and Al Green. And most of all, he wanted to be like Jimi Hendrix.

What happened next only added to D’Angelo’s myth. Having hit mega-stardom with the single “Un-titled” and its intensely sexual video, a follow-up was slow to come. So slow, in fact, it still hasn’t ar-rived. Though he’s since made guest appearances and even toured in 2012, his silence – both musically and in his refusal to talk to the press – has only helped his cult of status grow. Even if he never releas-es another album, he’s already given us so much.

He was one of the most influential musicians during the rise of the neo-soul movement and his im-pact on the movement continues with the recent release of his amazing follow up to "Voodoo," "The Black Messiah."” – Light in the Attic

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“Due to popular demand, Damu The Fudgemunk's "Supply For Demand" LP (2010) is back in stock. This time redef's go-to visual artist Joseph Buckingham, who recently contributed to De La Soul's mega successful Kickstarter campaign, decided to completely redesign the album packaging from the ground up. Besides the updated artwork, the music remains the same as heard on last year's remastered pressing, featuring a potent mix of instrumental and vocal tracks featuring Damu himself as well as a Y Society collabo in the form of "Don't Do It."

We here at Redefinition Records appreciate the simplicity of this arrangement and are certainly not of the mind to buck fundamental economics. We're also in the enviable position of having a loyal fan base that keep pushing us to put out quality product (that's the supply bit in case you weren't paying attention).

Supply For Demand is therefore what you've come to expect from Damu: Gimmick-free head nodders that wrap themselves around you like sheets of sonic velvet. Keep askin' and we'll keep givin'. The pleasure is all ours.” - UndergroundHipHop.com

About Damu The Fudgemunk:

“Damu the Fudgemunk (born Earl Davis on June 8, 1984, in Washington, DC) is an American hip hop music artist and producer from Washington, DC. In addition to his career as a solo artist, music producer, and DJ, he is a member of the groups Y Society and Panacea.

Damu released his official debut album as a member of Y Society, Travel at Your Own Pace, on October 10, 2007, to positive reviews. The album is reminiscent of true-school hip-hop with its liberal use of jazz and soul samples and scratching throughout. In 2008, Damu released two free albums primarily composed of instrumental music, titled Spare Time and Overtime. He built himself a respectable and loyal fan base through his unique YouTube videos and live street performances around Washington, DC, and New York City, which require him to use a portable electricity generator to power his sampler and speakers.

Damu the Fudgemunk releases the bulk of his music through Redefinition Records, a label that he co-owns and operates. The label focuses on releasing vinyl records and cassettes even if the records are also released on CDs.” - Wiki

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The Mouse and the Mask is a collaboration album by Danger Mouse and MF Doom under the name Danger Doom, released on October 11, 2005 by punk label Epitaph Records in the United States, marking it the third hip hop release for the label. The album is composed almost entirely of raps by MF DOOM, performed over beats created by Danger Mouse sampling music from various television shows airing on Cartoon Network's programming block Adult Swim. – Wiki

“MF Doom, Danger Mouse, and Cartoon Network's Adult Swim have each ascended to countercultural glory using the sum of popular culture as their outsized playpens, reconfiguring cartoon and comic-book iconography and/or old sounds into giddily ridiculous yet strangely fitting new arrangements. Collectively, they've transformed third-rate superheroes into attorneys and oblivious talk-show hosts, deadpan rappers with an endless reservoir of obscure pop-culture references into comic-book supervillains, and The Beatles and Jay-Z into unwitting collaborators. Separately, they've radically appropriated other people's creations to fit their own ends with the kind of brash, smartass irreverence that tends to result in obsessive cult followings, legal threats, or both.

Danger Mouse provides the beats and Doom the rhymes, while the cult icons and sentient meat patties of Adult Swim run amok in the margins, heckling the headliners, making bids for the spotlight, and rhapsodizing about "heartwarming but rarely amusing Ziggy cartoons." […] Danger Mouse knows this territory well, and he lays down happy horns and a day-glo retro vibe for "Old School," where Doom and guest Talib Kweli trip giddily down memory lane, reminiscing about the simple pleasures of Saturday morning cartoons and sugary cereal. Danger Mouse overlaps rubbery and sci-fi synths on "Benzie Box," as Cee-Lo Green purrs an infectious chorus that could double as Doom's super-villainous theme music.” – AV Club

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A TAV Curator's Pick.

The Mouse and the Mask is a collaboration album by super-producer Danger Mouse and masked supervillain MF Doom under the name Danger Doom, originally released in October 2005, and is now being reissued for its 10^th year anniversary.

The album features Cee-Lo Green (also of Gnarls Barkley), Talib Kweli, Ghostface Killah, Money Mark and the cast of cult cartoon show Aqua Teen Hunger Force and ten years on remains DOOM's best-selling album to date.

Lex has a history of lavish packaging but this remains one of the lushest sleeves in the catalogue. Designed by EHQuestionmark, the outer sleeve is made from thick translucent textured plastic with DOOM's mask printed on cover, and mouse ears on each side of the mask forming a pattern that looks like a Rorschach test (a technique reused in another Danger Mouse project six months later).

The inner sleeves, visible through the outer at first glance pattern based on an Ishihara test, but inside the circles in the pattern are tiny icons depicting a different disasters - climate change, acid rain, holy war, nuclear leaks. - Lex Records

"Next out of the box is Danger Doom, the stunning and welcome collaboration of two of hip-hop's most innovative artists, both of whom already have close ties to the world of animation -- Danger Mouse not only named himself after a cartoon but is also a part-time Gorillaz beatmaker, and the rapper MF Doom has imagined himself variously as a comic-book character and fire-breathing monster-movie hero (not to mention, he's rarely photographed without wearing an iron mask that makes him look like an early version of the Marvel supervillain Doctor Doom).

Their partners for The Mouse and the Mask are the characters of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block, a cast whose creators share with Danger Mouse and MF Doom the same influences (obscure '70s superheroes, some making a resurgence on Adult Swim) and motivations (a parade of surrealist fantasies intersecting with real life, like the crusading happy meal that airs on Cartoon Network as Aqua Teen Hunger Force). Granted, none of these cartoon characters are rappers, and they're wisely given only backgrounds, transitions, or samples (all of them hilarious). No, it's the experts who handle nearly all of this record, and they're at the top of their game.

Doom's dense flow and ciphered allusions have much in common with Adult Swim; both presuppose a large body of cultural knowledge to appreciate what's going on and both rely on a series of bankable eccentricities presented at light speed with high artistry and innumerable subtleties for later parsing by fans.  ...

It all adds up to the best album of the year in the hip-hop underground, and perhaps the best with any degree of popularity." - AllMusic

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A TAV Curator’s Pick.

“Danny Brown’s XXX is a concept record about hedonism, growing up, and Detroit, taking listeners on a profane and psychedelic journey through the uncensored mind of rap’s most electric MC. There’s no laundry list of guest appearances or producers-for-hire, keeping the focus squarely on Danny and his rhymes: a triple stack of pop culture references and did-he-really-say-that? provocations atop the heart of a poet. Among it’s near universal critical acclaim, Spin named XXX their rap album of the year and The Fader and XXL featured Danny on the cover. Fool’s Gold recently re-released the record in a deluxe edition with bonus tracks, and a 2xLP vinyl version is on the way.” - Fool’s Gold Records

“Pitchfork Media placed the album at number 19 on its list of the "Top 50 albums of 2011", while Spin named it the top hip-hop album of 2011. In October 2013, Complex named XXX the eighth best hip hop album of the last five years.

In June 2016, Pitchfork Media placed the album at number 3 on its list of the "50 Best Rap Mixtapes of the Millennium".” – Wiki

“The audacious Detroit rapper with a strangled voice and a penchant for depravity transforms his jagged edges into a compelling and immersive universe. Brown's voice is uniquely suited to conveying wild-eyed, loose-cannon insanity, and the rising note of panic in it makes every mention of snorting crushed Adderall hurt.” - Pitchfork

“XXX is given depth and longevity by a tension, or collision between hardcore rap’s reality fix and the avant-garde’s desire for creative and expressive freedom from reality. This Internet and drug-fueled collision has reinvigorated outsider interest in underground rap in the last few years (see: Odd Future, Main Attrakionz and, of course, Lil B) and XXX might just represent the most polished and fully formed manifestation of street-meets-art rap so far. It is, in any case, essential listening.” - FACT Magazine

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“And the Anonymous Nobody” is the first De La Soul studio album in eleven years and as independent artists, free of record labels interfering in the creative process. True to the roots of hip-hop, the new album incorporates elements of jazz, funk, rock, country western and more sampled to create the tracks. Sampling is how De La has always made music but after spending a huge part of their career fighting off the "sample police," De La decided to take a completely new approach, something hip-hop hasn't done before...sampling themselves.

Over three years, De La collaborated with some of LA's finest studio musicians and recorded them in free-styled, unrehearsed, jam sessions. They played everything from banjo to upright bass, sometimes up to a dozen musicians at once; simply allowing sounds to integrate. Recorded in one of LA's most classic studios, Vox, the recordings have that creamy analog warm mixing board sound that the old records our parent's once played had. With over 200 hours of sounds, and vibes, equal to about 250 to 300 full-length vinyl LPs, De La began listening, enjoying and discovering those special moments where, musically, something magical happens, where interesting sounds and layers were forgotten, where new sounds can be sampled, looped, chopped, filtered and arranged, freely, without the intrusive presence of publishing politics and the infamous "sample police."

"What we've done is created our own crates of records; album upon albums to mine and sample from. In our world, what we've created is freedom, freedom to make the art you believe in without having to compromise your vision. That's what we've always wanted most, that's what we've always believed in, that's what we've fought for..." - De La Soul

“A spectrum of guest stars appear on De La Soul's latest LP, and the Anonymous Nobody…, each from a disparate genre — grimy underground rap courtesy of Roc Marciano, mainstream G-funk-inspired hip-hop from Snoop Dogg, New Wave via David Byrne, neo-soul from Jill Scott, alt-rock bestowed by Blur's Damon Albarn and much, much more. That's a testament to the veteran hip-hop trio's popularity and, above all, their influence.

 But impressive as that range of collaborations might be, some of the LP's very best tracks feature founding members Posdnous, Dave and Maseo all on their own. …

These elements and more make and the Anonymous Nobody… one of the most thrilling, wide-ranging rap releases of the year. It's clear, from the way De La push themselves, to the way they buoy their more famous guest contributors, that the trio continue to defy the album's title — even 25 years into their career, De La Soul are anything but nobodies.” – Exclaim

“And the Anonymous Nobody… isn’t just an album that proves hip-hop elders are still capable of great work; it’s an LP that reaffirms De La Soul as standard-bearers for Gen-X rap artistry. There’s a lot to say about hip-hop artists “aging well,” but compared to rock and R&B, there isn’t the major bias against decades-deep MCs that there used to be. Of the rap game’s first wave of legendary album-driven artists that emerged in the late-’80s (up to the late-’90s), quite a few have recorded strong records deep into the 2010s: Ghostface Killah, Big Boi, the Roots, and mainstays like Nas and Jay Z are all still viable album artists in a genre inarguably driven by rhymers a generation younger. These seasoned rappers may not be consistently making hits, but they are delivering well-received LPs as evidence of a still-burning creativity: The album has become the refuge of the veteran rap great.” – Spin

About De La Soul:

“De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The group is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres. The members are Posdnuos, Dave and Maseo. The three formed the group in high school and caught the attention of producer Prince Paul with a demo tape of the song "Plug Tunin'". With its playful wordplay, innovative sampling, and witty skits, the band's debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, has been called "a hip hop masterpiece." – Wiki

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Bottomless Pit is the fifth studio album by the group Death Grips, released in 2016 on Third Worlds and Harvest Records. 

“On their new album Bottomless Pit, they stitch together one of their most cohesive grotesques ever, renewing their focus on songcraft, rather than chicanery. It's sure to elicit a sigh of relief among fans who’ve grown jaded with the band’s work. Opening track “Giving Bad People Good Ideas" opens on a feint—an eerie, descending vocal from Cherry Glazerr vocalist Clementine Creevy, the feminine foil to macho, malicious Burnett. The lilting intro gives way to a black-metal sprint, with Tera Melos’ Nick Reinhart churning out jagged tremolo riffs. The follow-up blow carries that momentum further: “Hot Head” starts off inside a cartoon fight cloud spinning off towards oblivion, a blur of percussive jabs, whooshing machines, and screamed gibberish.” - Pitchfork

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The Powers That B is the fourth studio album by experimental hip hop group Death Grips, released via Harvest Records in 2015.

A double album, the album's first disc, Niggas on the Moon, features instrumentation performed en-tirely on a Roland V-Drum kit by drummer Zach Hill and features chopped vocal samples of Icelandic singer-songwriter, Björk, on every track.

The second half, Jenny Death, features Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos, and Zach's former high school bandmate, Julian Imsdahl, on guitar and organ respectively.

"both N***as on the Moon and Jenny Death have at last been united as The Powers That B. Known to innovate and reshape themselves with each release, it should come as no surprise that the Sacra-mento trio have done so twice over this time around, with each disc taking a strikingly different ap-proach to their brand of challenging hip-hop. Whether the aforementioned antics were part of the conceptual art or not, the exploration of sounds here both polarizing and palatable was worth the mystery.... Though radically different in execution, The Powers That B is a compelling look at the band's ability to work with sounds both minimal and monumental, while containing some of their most riveting lyrical and musical work in recent memory. One wouldn't be wrong to question the deci-sion to release both discs as a double album, given that neither demonstrates a great sonic reliance on the other." - Exclaim

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A TAV Curator's Pick.

Death Row Greatest Hits is a 33-track compilation released by Death Row Records, and contains singles by artists such as 2Pac, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. The CD also includes previously unreleased remix tracks. – Wiki

“More than any other label, Death Row defined gangsta rap and hip-hop in the early '90s, and Death Row Greatest Hits captures nearly all of the label's biggest hits from artists like Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and 2Pac. Although the disc bends some rules by including cuts that weren't released on Death Row and containing an abundance of previously unreleased songs, the compilation sums up the feeling of the early and mid-'90s.

Death Row Greatest Hits has a string of great songs -- "Let Me Ride," "What's My Name," "Gin and Juice," "Nothin' but a G Thang" (but no "California Love") -- making it an excellent summation of gangsta rap's glory days.” – Allmusic

Side A:

1. Nuthin' But a "G" Thang - Dr. Dre Feat. Snoop Dogg
2. Gin & Juice - Snoop Doggy Dogg
3. Afro Puffs - The Lady of Rage
4. Natural Born Killaz - Dr. Dre/Ice Cube
5. Who Am I (What's My Name)? - Snoop Doggy Dogg

Side B:

1. Keep Their Heads Ringin' - Dr. Dre feat. Nanci Fletcher
2. No Vaseline - Ice Cube
3. Doggy Dogg World - Snoop Dogg feat. The Dramatics and Nanci Fletcher
4. Keep Ya Head Up - 2Pac

Side C:

1. Murder Was the Case - Snoop Dogg
2. Lil' Ghetto Boy - Dr. Dre Feat. Snoop Dogg
3. Ain't No Fun - Snoop Dogg Feat. 213 and Nanci Fletcher
4. Lodi Dodi - Snoop Dogg feat. Nanci Fletcher

Side D:

1. Stranded On Death Row - Kurupt, Bushwick Bill, Snoop Dogg, Lady of Rage & RBX
2. The Shiznit - Snoop Dogg
3. Dear Mama - 2Pac
4. Me Against the World - 2Pac

Side E:

1. Let Me Ride (RMX) - Dr. Dre Feat. Snoop Dogg & Daz Dillinger
2. Gin & Juice (RMX) - Snoop Dogg
3. Dayreaming - Michel'le
4. Who Am I (What's My Name) (RMX) - Snoop Dogg

Side F:

1. Nuthin But A G Thang (RMX) - Dr. Dre Feat. Snoop Dogg
2. I Get Around (RMX) - 2Pac
3. Lil Ghetto Boy (RMX) - Dr. Dre Feat. Snoop Dogg
4. Hit 'Em Up - 2Pac

Side G:

1. Who Been There, Who done That - J-Flexx
2. F--- Wit Dre Day (RMX) – Jewell
3. Pour Out A Little Liquor - Thug Life
4. What Would You Do - Tha Dogg Pound

Side H:

1. Come Up To My Room – Jodeci
2. Come When I Call - Danny Boy
3. Me In Your World - Dat Nigga Daz
4. Smile For Me Now- Scarface ft. 2Pac

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“On Dela's second album Changes of Atmosphere, there is a trace of unadorned irony and coincidence that does a lot to explain the nuance of Dela's sound.

On the song "The Plan," guest rappers Dynas and Lycian rap about America's cavalier foreign policy as a way to contrast the domestic failure surrounding Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. It's certainly not an original poetic construct but to hear the following lines, "Eight days in the Superdome / Most was losin' their homes / For your deeds, New Orleans / Is knee deep in corpses / Five days behind you wouldn't leave your fortress," rapped over faux-jazz and faux-hip hop has its own strange logic to diplomacy versus domesticity.

Dela, a white French producer writes jazz-infused hip hop, which means taking two musical traditions borne from African-American culture and creating his own armchair interpretation. Dynas and Lucian, two black American rappers, criticize white America's mishandling of non-white peoples both abroad and in New Orleans, a predominantly black area of the country that was originally a French colony. Furthermore, the existence of blacks in the United States in the first place is a product of slavery, which itself is a product of European colonization. Despite all of these twisting strands of causality and musical reappropriation that point to Dela's music being blaxsploitation, there is a tremendous harmony because Dela's jazzy hip hop and his guest rappers' protest lyrics. Simply put, it works.

 It's as if Dela's music is its own special form of diplomacy that dispels the lamentable history of white expansion and black subjugation by embracing the silver lining: black culture's positive contributions to American, and at this point, global culture, namely musical the musical developments, hip hop and jazz. Dela's music is an homage, a peace pipe, and a humble offering. Changes of Atmosphere is his hopeful contribution.” – Sputnik Music

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A TAV Curator’s Pick.

Blowout Comb is the 1994 second album by cult, Brooklyn-based hip hop trio Digable Planets.

"The album is named for the combs used to maintain an Afro hairstyle, and that’s significant. The group’s Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler said it summed up what they wanted to do with it: "It means the utilization of the natural, a natural style,” he has said.

Like with 1993’s debut Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space), ‘utilizing the natural’ meant creating hip hop that blended jazz with the formidable rap skills of the aforementioned Butterfly, Craig ‘Doodlebug’ Irving and Mary Ann ‘Ladybug Mecca’ Vieira. Unlike that debut, it meant broadening to include guests such as Gang Starr’s Guru, Jeru the Damaja, and Jazzy Joyce.

Following the gold-selling commercial success of their debut, they here set out to prove their artistic prowess. This is intelligent, alternative hip hop that sounded like party music. Its lyrics are dense with wit, social commentary and politics – and its original inner sleeve was modeled on the newspaper of the Black Panther movement.

 Its instrumentation includes sax, vibraphone and flute. Its samples – gathered from global cratedigging trips while touring the first album around the world – included Grant Green, Eddie Harris, Shuggie Otis and jazz-funk pioneer Roy Ayers (whose “We Live in Brooklyn, Baby” became “Borough Check” here). And yet at the same time its beats are infectious and its spirit undeniable.

 This is an album firmly rooted in Brooklyn. “Growing up hearing and cherishing this album, it created a textured soundscape of a mythical world of rhymes, jazz, breakbeats, culture, art and urban ambiance,” says DJ and fan Mick Boogie in the liner notes. “When I moved to Brooklyn years later, I found that the world I imagined while listening to this classic LP actually really existed…”

 Though Digable Planets have reunited on occasion since – and though their influence endures in every top-shelf rap act with a jazzy sensibility – the trio parted ways after Blowout Comb, citing that old favorite "creative differences”. Sometimes, the most volatile combinations create the best art.” – Light In The Attic

More about Digable Planets:

“Blowout Comb is named for the combs used to maintain an Afro hairstyle, and that’s significant. The group’s Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler said it summed up what they wanted to do with it: "It means the utilization of the natural, a natural style,” he has said. Like with 1993’s debut Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space), ‘utilizing the natural’ meant creating hip hop that blended jazz with the formidable rap skills of the aforementioned Butterfly, Craig ‘Doodlebug’ Irving and Mary Ann ‘Ladybug Mecca’ Vieira. Unlike that debut, it meant broadening to include guests such as Gang Starr’s Guru, Jeru the Damaja, and Jazzy Joyce. Following the gold-selling commercial success of their debut, they here set out to prove their artistic prowess. This is intelligent, alternative hip hop that sounded like party music. Its lyrics are dense with wit, social commentary and politics – and its original inner sleeve was modeled on the newspaper of the Black Panther movement.” – Light In The Attic

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Jaku (寂) is the eighth solo album by Japanese underground hip hop producer DJ Krush. It was originally released in 2004. It features guest appearances from American rappers Mr. Lif ("Nosferatu) and Aesop Rock ("Kill Switch"), both of whom were signed to the Definitive Jux label at that time.

“Born in 1962 in Tokyo, DJ Krush is the internationally acclaimed producer, remixer and a DJ, who's produced music in vast variety of fields such as films, TV dramas and commercials. As a solo artist, he is greatly revered in the international club scene. He has done countless collaborations with artists transcending genres, such as Black Thought  of The Roots,  Herbie Hancock and k.d. lang.

After the break-up of his group Krush Posse in late 1991, Krush began pursuing his solo career and soon grabbed people's attention as the first DJ to use turntables as live instruments, doing free sessions with live musicians on stage. His 8th album Jaku was released in 2004, and topped the RPM chart of CMJ for 3 weeks in the US.

He still continues to renew this record, transcending all barriers, and leaving some distinctive footsteps of his own, achieving ever-increasing acclamation as an international artist.” – Music On Vinyl

"The more Zen moments of turntablist DJ Krush's Jaku may end up on a yakuza-gangsta flick, but his jigsaw connections between hip-hop and Japanese folk music should be beheld. ... Krush's use of space and texture remain not just formidable, but remarkably relevant." - Pitchfork

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“The fifth album of DJ Krush Kakusei was released in 1998. Continuing his series of solo albums as collaborative efforts, this album is an invigorating, moody, and powerful release. Krush once again lets his abilities at both musical creation and turntablism work together for great results.

"Escapee", a track worked on with fellow beatmaster A.S.A., is almost stereotypically Krush, but it sounds so great, the crackle of vinyl and acoustic bass moan steering the course. Other musical collaborations abound, unsurprisingly: "Parallel Distortion" with DJ Sak features odd video game noises and a quirky synth bass rhythm echoing through the flow, while "Krushed Wall" has the Rhythm Troops having a blast with the usual Krush sound and tons of unexpected stops, scratches, and cuts.” – Music On Vinyl

"Hideaki Ishi, one of the major pioneers of the trip hop genre, is arguably the best known DJ to hail from Japan, and the only musician from the island to have been fully embraced by the global hip hop community. For the last twenty years, he has been one of the key figures in the country’s fast evolving electronic scene, earning much critical acclaim due to the high quality of his releases as well as his willingness to collaborate with myriad talented artists from around the world. ....

Perhaps Kakusei can best be described as music for kicking tins cans around city streets; the musical equivalent of an act that’s a little bit capricious, a little bit antisocial, yet at the same time overflowing with irresistible waves of dark thought and reflection. Arguably Krush’s finest moment, and undoubtedly his greatest artistic statement; Kakusei is essential listening, even outside of the grimy confines of trip hop." - Sputnik Music

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Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood is the second studio album by American rapper DMX. The album was released on December 22, 1998, a little more than seven months after his debut album It's Dark and Hell Is Hot. It entered the charts at #1 (and stayed there for 3 consecutive weeks) with over 670,000 units shipped in the first week. The album eventually went 3x Platinum in the US. He is the second rapper to have two albums released in the same calendar year debut at number one on Billboard's Top 200, the first being 2Pac with All Eyez on Me (February 1996) and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (November 1996), although the latter album was released posthumously under the alias Makaveli making DMX the first to release two number one albums alive by the same name in under a year. – Wiki

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Born Like This is the sixth studio album by British-American emcee/producer MF Doom. It was released under the pseudonym DOOM, originally in 2009 through Lex Records.

“In addition to tracks produced by DOOM, the album includes production by frequent collaborator Madlib, as well as J Dilla. The album title is borrowed from Charles Bukowski's poem, "Dinosauria, We," which employs it as a cadence. A reading of the poem by Bukowski himself is in the beginning part of the track "Cellz." It is an aggressive album that follows a loose storyline, and its lyricism involves verbal braggadocio, social commentary on police brutality and the ghetto condition. Pitchfork Media included Born Like This in their best albums of 2009, placing it at #48.” - Wiki

“It's funny that Born Like This starts off feeling unfinished and, a couple listens later, starts to resonate as strongly as anything he's done since Madvillainy. I don't know if Born Like This arose from disillusionment or fatigue or something else, but whatever caused DOOM to scale back his output and go off the grid, he's only come back from it sharper, stronger, and more powerful than before. Villains don't really die, they just emerge from the rubble even more determined to make the world see their way.” - Pitchfork

“DOOM here rifles through his own past as fruitfully as he ransacks pop culture, living out his ’70s TV fantasies along Ghostface Killah (“Angelz”), casting aspersions on Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson’s sexuality (“Batty Boyz”), and sampling Charles Bukowski, Mr. T, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.DOOM still has the sickest vocabulary, broadest frame of reference, and densest, most quotable rhymes in hip-hop. Out of shopworn material, he has created an album of sublimely half-assed super-genius.” - AV Club

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