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Check it out bro - this dude Andre Legacy is 1/2 Armenian and 1/2 Russian and he's mad tall and has an afro AND he's from Hollywood. And he raps! See that shit is funny and you haven't even heard the music...
expand review yet. He's also got a group called Dyslexic Speedreaders with his boys Dirt Nasty and Mickey Avalon who are both all over this album. Sometimes dude likes to keep it chill ("He Said She Said(1)"), sometimes he likes to go on a "Bender(2)," sometimes he just needs to remind you who he is and what he's about ("It's The Legacy(3)"). I'm saying, dude has mad varied styles - if you don't believe me just check the first and last tracks, "Blow Off My Dick(4)" and "My Dick(5)." (Actually woah, maybe this is a concept album?? ) He also namechecks Flex, Clue and Kid Capri in "DJ Dying(6)" so dude is obv. up on his rap history. If you don't like this shit... you probably aren't cool enough anyway!! Go listen to some French rave bro. Production by Cisco Adler, Beardo and more. 13 tracks. -suicide bangs
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Say what you will about Slug, but he is like the William Eggleston of rap. He takes inspiration from his dreary and angst-ridden environment (the Midwest) and paints vivid pictures with words over Ant's dope-ass beats. I'd say Slug is even more...
expand review entertaining than reality TV with his crazy rap narratives about sad girls with drinking problems and fucked up relationships. For this 5 track EP, Slug drops more of that personal + introspective style with funky fresh beats (with live synth, guitar, and bass) hooked up by Ant and friends. Surprisingly, some of this shit is kind of party rocking for conscious rap. Check "Peyote(1)," "Make The Sun Come Out(2)," "Party Over Here(3)," and the more heavy head nod "Lyndale Avenue User's Manual(4)" and "Rooster(5)." This should hold the fans over till the "When Life Gives You Lemons..." full length drops. -Frank Grimes
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Somebody likes the folk record look. Too bad he's not really playing piano for these three lovely ladies. Don't you know rappers love to play real instruments? (Just ask the Beasties.) This is Sad Clown Bad Summer, Atmosphere's newest EP which confidently...
expand review brings the boys back to original form. It's definitely less rock infused and more hip hop like their earliest releases, and focused on youthful nostalgia and grasping life. The result is a jazzy, funked up soundtrack with an experienced Atmosphere sounding driven like a rookie. "Sunshine(1)," "The Number One(2)," and "Don't Forget(3)" all carry the air of "the good 'ol days" accompanied by some sick beats. I'm feeling that soul sample on "Number" - so soulful and nice. "RFTC(3)" is for all the graf heads out there. The picture painted is spraycans, adrenaline, and what it means to be alive. It's real deep, but so is Atmosphere. It's their job to get deep on ya. Oh yeah, can't forget the "Mattress(5)." That's the "inner reflection" track and it just wouldn't be complete without that one either. Funny thing is, although he confronts issues like human vices, mistakes, and dark secrets, the beat is the funkiest on the entire EP. There's music in the message. -C'mish
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Atmosphere fans, midwesterners, and real indy hip hoppers please take a bow 'cause this one's for you. This is Atmosphere's most epic album release ever, chocked full of 15 new tracks on CD, a hardcover book with an illustrated children's story written...
expand review by Slug himself(in full color), plus an hour long DVD of Atmosphere performing in concert live with a 5 piece band. Never one to pay attention to trends, this release has Slug's storytelling and Ant's beats sounding more musical than ever. Not only does it include their slumpy new single "Shoulda Known (1)," and "Guarantees(2)," they show their wide range of sounds on slow, intimate tracks like, "Like The Rest Of Us(3)," sparse funky rock beats on "Dreamer(4)," a trip down memory lane on "Yesterday(5)," the soul driven horn samples and beats on "Wild Wild Horses(6)," and the jazzy bass and flute lines on "The Waitress(7)." This is Atmosphere in full force and the live performance just pushes it that much further. If you're a fan, I'd peep this one quick, 'cause I doubt you'll see anything like this being released soon or ever again. -C'mish
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Special 2CD edition of Biz Markie's Goin' Off, complete with detailed liner notes, remixes, original 12" versions, demo versions, freestyles, instrumentals, dubs, previously unreleased tracks, video skit versions and "dub-apellas." Goin' Off was Biz's debut album that was released in an era...
expand review of Boogie Down Beef and "hard" MCs. With hit tracks named "Pickin' Boogers(1)," "Making Music With Your Mouth Biz(2)," "Vapors(3)," and "Biz Is Goin' Off(4)," he quickly outshined many with his playful, down to earth steez. Not to mention he killed the beat box genre with "Making Music..." (wish I could do that). This special edition is for the real-deal collectors and hip hop fanatics. A lot of the added material is ultra-rare (where else are you going to get the "Nobody Beats" demo version?) and unique to this comp. A perfect twist to your next mixtape or show. -C'mish
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LAB EXCLUSIVO: Purchase the debut CD from Black Spade and receive an exclusive promo-only CD EP featuring a remix from Waajeed (Platinum Pied Pipers) and three unreleased tracks.
Freshman effort from this St. Louis producer/MC, already getting a lot of love in underground...
expand review circles and earning comparisons to SA-RA & Aloe Blacc. Plus, our man Josh Re:Up did the artwork! Black Spade's got wide ranging tastes in music (he namechecks Prince and Dilla, among many others, on "The Genius In You(1)") and it really shows in his varied and skillful beatmaking. "She's The One(2)" is Spade in a jazzy '20s nightclub update, "Actioneer(3)" is a slice of uplifting futuristic soul and "Revolutionary Bullshit(4)" starts with a misleading upbeat funk sample before it turns into a nasty trunk rattler. The man has some great lines, too; I like the part about "2-steppin' on the White House lawn." More listening: "Tale of 32(5)," "Her Perfume She Wore(6)," "Evil Love(7)." 19 tracks; 70 minutes. -Chris Lemon-Red
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From the same label that brought you the Biz Markie "Goin' Off" Deluxe edition brings you the BDP deluxe edition. This is really for the fan's fan that just won't be happy with the original catalogue. Besides heaters like "South Bronx(1),"...
expand review "Bridge Is Over(2)," "Poetry(3)," "The P Is Free(4) and the title track(5), you get never before released interviews, The Scott La Rock Mega Mix(6), "Say No Brother(Crack Attack Don't Do It)(7)," The Mos Def borrowed "Stop The Violence(8)," and even a Bladerunner's edit of the "Bridge Is Over(9)." Really drives home the fact that you don't need Protools, Logic, and Ableton to make some timeless music. Scott La Rock and KRS-One was truly the ahead of their time. -C'mish
When one of our friends who works at Vice is emailing us raving about a CD, you know it's gotta be be good. (Those guys hate everything!) Boyd Pro comes out swinging on this new album/mixtape, featuring 27 instrumentals that range from...
expand review hip-hop to downtempo to psych to dance. To be honest, I'd never heard of Boyd before we got this CD, but after ONE listen I was like "Why isn't this dude on Stones Throw??" The whole vibe is very similar to Madlib's quick beat sketch albums or Dilla's Donuts. Take a chance on this one. Recommended. -Larri Byrd
I was this close to dropping beloved Clipse to the waiver wire a la Theo Ratliff, but street nugs like this get me back on the bandwagon. Put out an album already! Let's admit it, with the Wire on hiatus til next...
expand review season, Clipse are the next best thing for the kinfolk to experience the realness (or getting jacked for their ipods, the new thing in NYC). I mean these guys are straight pre-injury Larry Hughes over stuff like "Drop It Like It's Hot," "You Know My Style," and "Who Shot Ya." This mix also introduces us to their new crew The Re-Up Gang, which includes middleweights Liva and Sandman. Yet even with the extra-baggage, Clipse shine hard here. 25 tracks with the usual street tape chatter. -the mgmnt
Everyone loves the Clipse. Much like the McRib sandwich or Michael Jordan un-retiring, when the Clipse come out of their hidey-holes, it's a muhfuckin‚ celebration. In preparation for their new album, and in celebration of their dope new single "Mr....
expand review Me Too," we've re-upped (sorry) on their last two mixtapes - and at a nice price, too. Volume Two in the We Got It 4 Cheap saga finds Malice and Pusha freestyling (ahem) over some of last year's biggest beats, in addition to some new production from Pharrell. Their take on N*E*R*D's "Maybe" is flat awesome, snatching the beat out from under it and replacing it with Outkast's "Elevators." (Even more awesome is the Pusha intro, where he says he doesn't ghostwrite anything for Pharrell.) You don't need me to tell you about this one. If you don't know, get familiar. 18 tracks of crack; 60+ minutes total. -Chris Lemon-Red
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Damn, I remember when we got a couple of these singles in a few months ago. Before I could even ask how it was doin' - Poof! they were gone! If you missed it, no worries homie. This is the full album...
expand review drop! C.R.A.C. (Collect Respect Anna Check - pronounced "Crass") is the super duo consisting of Blu and Ta-Raach. If you're into the LA indy hip hop scene and Sound In Color, you'll definitely recognize Blu from his work with producer Exile. If you're into the dirty detroit drum sounds and heard of Platinum Pied Pipers or Dilla, you'll definitely know Ta-Raach. Together, the Lovelution and the mind of Blu worked out a full album in like 7 days mang! If I did that, do you know how much weed and red bull that would require? Anyways, the CD is full of new sounds for the next gen of hip hoppers, mixing hard experimental beats with Ta-Raach and Blu chipping in on mic duties. The result is 17 tracks of conscious minded street flamboyance straight from the heart. You already know the dopeness on "Bullet Through Me(1)" and "Major Way(2)," but check the upbeat tempo and "Love Don't(3)," the slumpy grind on "Respect(4)," "Mr. Big Fizz(5)," and "Go!(6)." Definitely, quite a show. Also, stay tuned for the bonus track after the last track and the extended phone convo - pretty sick. -C'mish
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Now available on CD, including all the remixes! Transatlantic connex! It's Texas legend vs. current Parisian club smasher as Devin meets up with TTC's Teki for 33Hz's "Paris, Texas(1)." Both MCs bring their usual swagger, and I know this will shock you...
expand review but Devin rhymes about weed and girls. But the real clincher here is the smooth-as-shit 33Hz beat, which sounds like it coulda come out of either rapper's hometown with its surging keys and vocoders. Curtis Vodka's synthy, housed out remix(2) is cool, but Architecture In Helsinki(3) pull a nice trick out of their hat with their quirky and minimal (yet irresistibly melodic) style. In Flagranti(4) turn in the strongest remix of the bunch, tossing the original's vocoder'ed hook over a strutting new disco beat with a killer bassline. Also includes a grimey electro remix from Max Pask(5) and a bunch more. 10 tracks total. -Larri Byrd
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Simon Rex is back... and he's rapping! Hell yeah bros - if you have been missing this man's styles since his departure from MTV, it's your lucky day!! This is the shit right now in Hollywood, and it goes without saying that...
expand review what's cool in Hollywood sets the standard for the rest of the US or maybe even the world. The album has guest spots from Mickey Avalon, Andre Legacy and Tony Potato and was produced by Cisco Adler, DJ Lethal, Beardo, Leggo & Tycoon and... DJ RECTANGLE!!! No idea if it's the real DJ Rectangle, but who else would take that name? The music speaks for itself so just listen to "Droppin Names(1)," "Can't Get Down(2)," "Too Sexy(3)," "Baby Dick(4)," "Too Short Homage(5)" and "Wanna Get High(6)." Real funny shit broskis. 13 tracks. -suicide bangs
I know everyone and their mom was "planning" to do an all Dilla mix, so I'll give it to you bluntly - plan no more. Eclipse just dropped the bomb on y'all! Not only does he drops 2 CD's worth of Dilla-produced...
expand review tracks both known and rare, but this is only Part 1! How's that for a one-two? The mix itself is an actual broadcast from Eclipse's Halftime Show on WNYU from February 14, 2007, and he keeps things real smooth without too many "tricks" (no DJ Enuff here). Check how he keeps you thoroughly hype, selection after selection: Slum Village, Pharcyde, Common, Platinum Pied Pipers, Erykah Badu, Ghosface, Jaylib, Mad Skillz, De La Soul, Busta and many more. Good timing on pressing these up, too â€" I already know this is going to be stuck in some of your car systems all summer. You can pretty much press add now and thank me later. Highly recommended. -C'mish
If you live and die by the scratch, please stand up. This release is actually the old school DJ Rectangle, the lanky scratch DJ that pioneered the whole competitive battle scene in the late 80's / early 90's with his "crazy" style....
expand review The man would rip doubles while stacking his turntables double decker style using Pepsi cans! Who does that? His famous break albums, the Ultimate Battle Weapon series, were the predecessors to Qbert's Dirt Style records and were the staple for DJs everywhere. I remember when I started DJing back in '98, Rectangle's record, Bionic Booger Breaks and Guerilla Breaks were the only break albums around. This CD compiles new samples and old samples from volumes 1-5 into a master compilation of every old school break and battle sample imaginable. Since it comes as MP3s, it's designed for Serato and Traktor battle DJs, which is the generation keeping it alive. All together, it's over 125 MP3s of pure old school battle fodder for daaaaaays. I doubt you'll go through all of them in a year. If he could rip sets with this back in the day, just think what you can do with the tech advantage. 320 kbps MP3s. -C'mish
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LAB SEMI-EXCLUSIVO! This is a super-limited (2,000 copies worldwide) CD-only EP featuring the finest Bay Area rappers over Shadow beats. The majority of these tracks - the Droop-E remix of "3 Freaks(1)," "Turf Dancing(2)," "Dats My Part(3)" with E-40 and "Keep 'Em...
expand review Close(4)" with Nump - were featured on Shadow's The Outsider album, but of course you're copping this for the pair that weren't. "Purple Grapes(5)" is a drum programming masterpiece with the Team, sounding way more like a wild hyphy beat from Traxamillion than something you'd expect Mr. Davis to make. And speaking of Traxamillion, he provides the other bonus track here with his remix of "Turf Dancing(6)." Surprisingly, the remix sounds like something straight out the ATL, but it's infinitely more playable than the heavy-as-shit original. Why am I talking about playing this shit out? You're just gonna keep it in the plastic and sell it on eBay during the hyphy revival of 2035. 7 tracks; 25 minutes. Extremely limited stock. -Chris Lemon-Red
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The instrumental version of the landmark Dr Octagon album, featuring all the Automator beats, some of which are slightly remixed and / or extended. -the mgmnt
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"Be cool. The fuzz is your cuzz." Once said the Watts police officer to the grizzled scrapyard dealer who wore a mottled maroon cardigan. Edan has become a fuzz farmer. It's all over his beats, his head and his toadstools. Humble Magnificent...
expand review has become Humboldt Magus, using psyche rock fuzz and distortion as sequence passages. An interlude that's a minute and a half feels like a small piece of a 40 minute epic. Tomorrow never blows. On "Making Planets(1)," Mr. Lif gets all Yog Sothoth on that ass, talking about worms leaking out of your orifices. And he makes orifices rhyme with "sort-of-vicious." Lif's favorite color is the colour out of space. Edan's favorite color(2) is math. Mine is jabberwocky. There's also a great part about a piece of dog shit growing wings and taking offÑas things with wings tend to do. Percee P makes a nice cameo on "Torture Chamber(3)," as do the Dells and the Bob Seger System. "Promised Land(4)" is mad cosmic with strings, but not in a corny indie rap way. This also has the previous single "Fumbling Over Words That Rhyme(5)," "The Science Of Two(6)" with Insight, and 6 others. It's one hell of a hairy elf of an album. -Dave Tompkins
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If you have been checking our blog, you know we've been riding Egyptian Lover hard recently (no-homo); but it's totally justified. Dude has some of the best record covers ever, put out a big pocketful of electro classics, and is humble enough...
expand review to come DJ at our small east village shop. This is his greatest hits collection from 1989 (peep the benzo-coupe steez) and comfortably falls into the category of "fucking electro essential." Not only that, when Egyptian Lover put this together, he picked his favorite mixes from the singles, so you're getting full 12" mixes or 12" dub versions. Of course, you gotta have the 12" version of "Egypt Egypt(1)." The 12" dub mix(2) of "Freak-A-Holic" is a huge score, and by all accounts, this was track that brought the house down at his show at Studio B. The Dub Mix(3) of "Girls" is begging for a revival, I totally forgot about how dope this song was until EL played it at our store. You even get "Alezby Inn" (Remodeled Vocal Version)(4), one of EL's more pop-like moments. I could probably name-check ever song on here, but I'll just leave you with "My House On The Nile(5)" and you'll know why he's called The Egyptian Lover. 8 tracks total. -the mgmnt
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First ever official instrumental release from the Wu's Think Differently Label. "Liquid Swords" was the Genius/GZA's super classic album from the height of Wu era that even has cult status today. I remember friends freaking out 'cause he just performed the entire...
expand review album for the first time live with a live band and everything just a while ago. Pretty epic. Anyways, get refreshed on the timeless beats on "Liquid Swords," "Shadowboxing," the illest synth on ""4th Chamber," the eerie guitar licks of "Investigative Reports," and the super soulful "B.I.B.L.E" track. 1995 RZA just can't be uffed wit and you know this. -C'mish
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Official mixtape album from Starks Enterprises, featuring 15 new tracks from Ghost & his boy Trife. The music continues his trajectory of the last couple years with soul samples and complex rhyme schemes- check the Foster Sylvers sampling "Out Da Way(1)," ...
expand review "Struggle(2)," "War(3)" and "Milk Em(4)." And while Trife takes up a good portion of the air time here, he's way better than a mob of Theodore Units and actually holds his own next to Ghost. At the very worst you don't really notice him. They also include 3 bonus tracks of unreleased / hard to get Ghost collaborations, including the sought after track "The Sun(5)" with Slick Rick & Raekwon. This CD version also comes with an incredible bonus DVD. Live at BB Kings in NY October 2005, Ghostface put one of his legendary shows and this high quality (great sound & picture) DVD features 21 tracks from the set. A couple guest mcs (Masta Killa, GZA), but this is all about Ghost- and almost worth it on its own.
The 6 year wait since their last album makes it really difficult to forgive the Beasties for the massive disappointment that was To The Five Boroughs. Fortunately, this shit-hot collab with Green Lantern goes a long way towards absolution. Green's combination of...
expand review Beastie acapellas with modern beats instantly washes away all the Tibetan Freedom sanctimony and groan-inducing lyrics of recent years, letting us rediscover Mike, Adam, and Adam as the fun-loving rap hipsters they always were. I wasn't expecting to be blown away by this disc, but it's really that good. Checkout stuff like "Triple Trouble" over "White Lines" "Hey Ladies" over "Hypnotized" and "Pass The Mic" over "What Up Gangsta". Along with all the blends, there's a sick Clipse freestyle, MOP's rock band cover of "No Sleep Till Brooklyn", Redman's Def Squad version of "Posse's Getting Big"from Docs The Name, and Busta's take on "Paul Revere" hell, even Billy Joel gets in on the act! I have no idea whether this was Capitol's attempt to keep the Beasties relevant, Green Lantern's fan tribute, or a response to Mixmaster Mike's use of new instrumentals on tour (I watched him put on "Coolie Dance" during "Brass Monkey" a month or two ago, and Adrock was all "woah, whoa, slow it down there Mikey"; regardless of the motivation, this CD is genuinely dope. 20 tracks total. -Nick Catchdubs
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SPECIAL OFFER: Get a Stones Throw Fan Club 45 (featuring Madlib's "Footwork Size 12 Version" and instrumental) when you purchase this item.
So the Stones Throw squad is armed and ready for combat in '08, and Guilty's leading their street platoon. The dirty...
expand review Detroit native has been frontmanning their entire ghetto rap faction for some time with a fair share of singles and featured guest tracks, but the time has come for his full length debut album to drop. Will he be able to stand on his own two? Only time will tell. At least he has the help of some of the Throw's finest producers to back him up on beats - Dilla, Madlib, Oh No, Mr. Porter, Black Milk, J-Rocc and Babu (damn, that's quite a roster!). You might already know the singles, "Get Bitches(1)" and "Ode To The Ghetto(2)," but you gotta check the street game come through on "Footwork(3)," the ghetto love vibe on "Kinda Live(4)," the b-team emcee haterade on "Run(5)" and the ill Madlib beat backing him up on "The Future(6)." For now, he's the only alternative filling the space between average thug rap and intelligeble indie rhymes. It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it. 16 tracks total. -Chris Lemon-Red
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Dilla in the rawest form with eight instrumentals that were recorded directly out of his MPC and onto DAT. Usually when these unreleased instrumental records come out, you get the feeling that it's just a bunch of beats nobody wanted to buy-...
expand review unreleased for a good reason. But while I'm sure Dilla has some sub-par beats in his library, he doesn't let any slip onto this record. Instead we get a well-rounded assortment of the Dilla bounce that fill the instrumental work shoes: good for making your own remixes, rhyming over, blending and generally zoning out to. "Flyyyyy(1), Hambro(2), Substitute(3)" and "Guitar(4)" will give you a good idea of what you're getting into. It's all filtered goodness and boom claps. 8 tracks total. -JMS
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For all the Madlib and J Dilla fans, you can finally get all the tracks from their collaboration Champion Sound, as a double CD with the all the Instrumentals (previously only available on LP) and bonus remix
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