US Hip Hop 35 Items

In listing the greatest albums in hip-hop history, one title never seems to stray from the upper echelons, no matter how many years pass: Boogie Down Productions’ undisputed classic from 1986, Criminal Minded. Released amidst a battle between BDP and MC Shan that would redefine the New York rap landscape as it was then known, the album, which features the songs "South Bronx," "Criminal Minded" and "The Bridge is Over," captures the excitement, urgency and raw power that embodies hip-hop culture as we know it, with KRS-One’s aggressive yet intelligent lyricism backed by Scott La Rock’s hard-hitting, stripped-down beats. A true classic, Criminal Minded has been recognized by Vibe Magazine, The Source and Rolling Stone as one of the most important albums of all time.

Common & Pete Rock - "The Auditorium Vol. 1" Legendary hip-hop figures Common & Pete Rock showcase their evolved prowess in their debut collaboration, The Auditorium, Vol. 1. Despite years apart, their synergy is palpable. Pete's groundbreaking production, blending intricate harmonies, and Common's multifaceted artistry shine through. Their meticulous process births 15 tracks that blend nostalgia with innovation. With cameos from Jennifer Hudson and de la Soul's Posdnuos, each element is carefully curated, resulting in a timeless masterpiece. This album not only celebrates their individual growth but also sets the stage for future volumes. Concord Music Group; Loma Vista Recordings; Indie Exclusive Translucent Forest Green 2 LP.

The Auditorium, Vol. 1 marks a groundbreaking collaboration between legendary hip-hop artist Common and iconic producer Pete Rock, blending years of individual success into a powerful joint effort. Common, a versatile talent known for his 15 albums, significant acting roles, and a collection of major awards including an Oscar and three Grammys, teams up with Pete Rock, whose influential production skills have shaped hits for artists from Nas to Madonna. Their paths, intertwined through decades of hip-hop evolution, have led them to this historic full-length partnership, showcasing their refined mastery over the genre. In this album, Common and Pete Rock capture the essence of their seasoned artistry without compromising the soul of their craft. The project breathes life into hip-hop's rich legacy while forging its future, offering listeners a unique blend of thoughtful lyricism and innovative beats. Recorded amidst the nostalgia of their earlier successes and the excitement of new creative breakthroughs, The Auditorium, Vol. 1 not only redefines the boundaries of hip-hop but invites audiences into a profound musical journey. With its intricate compositions and deep, resonant themes, this album promises an auditory experience that is as intellectually engaging as it is emotionally compelling, urging listeners to dive deep into its layers and appreciate the genius at play.

The Auditorium, Vol. 1 marks a groundbreaking collaboration between legendary hip-hop artist Common and iconic producer Pete Rock, blending years of individual success into a powerful joint effort. Common, a versatile talent known for his 15 albums, significant acting roles, and a collection of major awards including an Oscar and three Grammys, teams up with Pete Rock, whose influential production skills have shaped hits for artists from Nas to Madonna. Their paths, intertwined through decades of hip-hop evolution, have led them to this historic full-length partnership, showcasing their refined mastery over the genre. In this album, Common and Pete Rock capture the essence of their seasoned artistry without compromising the soul of their craft. The project breathes life into hip-hop's rich legacy while forging its future, offering listeners a unique blend of thoughtful lyricism and innovative beats. Recorded amidst the nostalgia of their earlier successes and the excitement of new creative breakthroughs, The Auditorium, Vol. 1 not only redefines the boundaries of hip-hop but invites audiences into a profound musical journey. With its intricate compositions and deep, resonant themes, this album promises an auditory experience that is as intellectually engaging as it is emotionally compelling, urging listeners to dive deep into its layers and appreciate the genius at play.

Sick 10 track solo EP from Thunder Jam Alliance artist "Cal-S.K.I." from 1996-1998.

Killer indie flavas for the heads!!!!

The one thing we know about DA Buze Bruvaz is they never stop workin...no rest and no days off..Always cookin up something new for your ears..They have now returned with their next project “trigga Twinz” completely produced by the supreme duo themselves..The multi-talented tag team champions once again prove why they are levels above the rest..Clever One (homasidal Hitz) and HIM LO (airmaxwell Trax) return to cause mass murda on sinister beats..Pour yourself a shot of cognac, twist up and get nice while you experience fly talk from the top shelf, drunken street crime blowing ya mind rhyme sayers..CHEERS. This will be available on limited edition vinyl and cd.

The one thing we know about DA Buze Bruvaz is they never stop workin...no rest and no days off..Always cookin up something new for your ears..They have now returned with their next project “trigga Twinz” completely produced by the supreme duo themselves..The multi-talented tag team champions once again prove why they are levels above the rest..Clever One (homasidal Hitz) and HIM LO (airmaxwell Trax) return to cause mass murda on sinister beats..Pour yourself a shot of cognac, twist up and get nice while you experience fly talk from the top shelf, drunken street crime blowing ya mind rhyme sayers..CHEERS. This will be available on limited edition vinyl and cd.

FlipNJay have teamed up with Relly Rels Records to bring you a double sided slapper by Bay Area legend Dru Down!

The Oakland rapper’s 1994 hits “Pimp Of The Year” and “Ice Cream Man” (featuring Luniz) made Dru Down a household name of Westcoast Rap. For the first time ever, both songs are available on 45 in standard black vinyl and limited edition “Red” vinyl!

Giants Of The Fall is the highly anticipated debut collaboration between Guilty Simpson and Kong The Artisan. Detroit legend Guilty Simpson needs no introduction - he has already cemented his legacy with his collaborations with J Dilla. "Giants Of The Fall" finds Guilty Simpson at his lyrical peak and at his most introspective version. Kong The Artisan is a former UK DMC DJ Champion and rising underground hip hop producer, whose credits include Cappo, Sonnyjim, Da Flyy Hooligan and others.

And we're back. Sorry about Monday night - site issue - now fixed!!



It's been 7 years since the last 12" drop by Hahyeem on Herring and here we have a stunning new album produced exclusively by NYC beatmaker, and some say, protégé of Extra P, Karbine. Cats might know Karbine from his day job, working at A1 Records in NY.



This record will most definitely take heads back to Hahyeem's first release Silence. Drums are something horrible, horrible! Ooo weee. To me,it sounds a lot like Finesse's production, so what's not to like?



Hahyeem has been developing his rhyming style and overall artistry since we dropped Silence back then and this record is one of the nicest projects I've heard in a minute. Packaged in a full colour cover reminiscent of a Blue Note jacket and all on purple wax as requested by H, this one is crazy tasty. Don't sleep...you will regret it!





There are 300 copies on Purple Wax in Full Colour Jacket.

For the first time on 7inch, 45 RPM vinyl, FlipNJay Records presents, “Superstar Pt. Zero” by the superstar himself, K-os. A record tailor made for DJs from a recommendation from another Canadian legend, Starting From Scratch , “Superstar” features kHeaven from Heaven rapping and singing over the Pal Joey house classic “Hot Music.” Together with the video, an homage to Herb Alpert’s “North On South Street”, featuring some of Canada’s best b-boys and b-girls and house dancers, this track transcended dance circles world wide and has aged like a fine wine.

In collaborating with FlipNJay records releasing his classics onto 7 inch, K-os decided to celebrate by combining the first release with his newest music to date - “supernovas” produced by long time hometown homies Mstrkft!

UK Import

KidCutUp from L.A., Trackstar the Dj from St. Louis and Grzly Adams from Berlin connected through the mutual love for Hip Hop. 3 different Timezones and one goal - Make timeless shit!!!

After sending mixes back and fourth for quite a while here is the final Mixtape.

Yes you heard it right, we decided to make an actual Tape.

Artwork & Design by Skor82

Limited to 100 copies on 180 gram galaxy color way. Featuring Breeze Brewin, Elzhi, Rasheed Chappell & more.

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.

After The Kaze (Project Pat's first group) released Kamakazie Timez Up in 1998, the Memphis rap legend and Three 6 Mafia affiliate launched his solo career by dropping his major label debut album Ghetty Green in 1999 on Hypnotize Minds/Loud Records. Produced by DJ Paul and Juicy J, Project Pat raps in his signature triplet flow over southern 808-backed beats sprinkled with soulful samples alongside Three 6 Mafia members with appearances by Cash Money's Big Tymers and Hot Boyz, Noreaga, Krayzie Bone, and Crucial Conflict. Previously only released on CD and cassette, Get On Down in partnership with Sony Music's Certified is proud to present for the first time on vinyl a limited edition pressing of Ghetty Green. Pressed on Aqua Blue and Mint Green double-colored vinyl in a gatefold jacket and OBI.

Rappin' Ron & Ant Diddley Dog a.k.a. Bad-N-Fluenz, are from Oakland, CA. Originally released in 1994, this limited edition 7" single re-release comes on clear vinyl and is limited to 300 copies online & 200 copies reserved for the streets.

Polyglot on Chloroform presents two of the best kept bicoastal secrets in an effort of linguistic expressionism and genre abolition. In 7 tracks Los Angeles’ Rhys Langston turns his rapping into a conceptual artist’s toolkit. And in the 20 min runtime, Brooklyn’s steel tipped dove employs his decades of experiences in the dungeons of leftward rap to take texture and timbre to task. Tearing through the boundaries of experimental rap, Langston rhymes abstraction and absurdity, with poetic English peppered in Romance language phrases, – even as he croons like an alternate-reality grunge singer, and mutters spoken word in Spanish. Bouncing off the contemporary underground’s dour flavor, dove crafts tilt-shifting beats, pliable chord progressions, and oddball foley– nestling the maximalist approach to language and meaning in careful impressionism. Released on Fused Arrow Records, it sees Rhys Langston’s music for the first time ever on vinyl, and builds upon steel tipped dove’s emergent role as prolific underground curator, collaborator, and mastermind.

Sixteen beats in honor of the sixteen squares in Sirplus's Akai MPC 2000xl. Classic beats from a classic machine. No eight outs, just straight out the stereo jack. You can hear the time that was put into crafting a clean sound even without the detailed mixing from DAW. Raw beats from Sirplus with help from Exile on the turntables. That's it. Also take note of the vinyl only vocal feature from Blu on the last track. This version will not be on digital platforms.

The latest slice of tasty vinyl from RS Records, the third one to be exact, is a 45 dedicated to that hip-hop love: heads who’ve had it bad for the culture and hip-hop lovers who just happened to catch a stray from Cupid! This time around, production was handled by Slick Walk, aka SaturnVybz and DJ Robert Smith. Side A kicks off with “50 (More Hits)," a space funk-inflected mellow banger featuring NYC legends QNC (Q-Ball and Curt Cazal) professing their love for the one and only. The combo of Premo-type crisp drum programming, soft cumulus cloud-like synths, and a warm, velvety bass will make you feel like you’re flying, that is, if you’re cruising in your car. If you’re just taking a stroll down your block, the sensation is that of walking on air. Stitched from references to old school and golden era gems, where almost every bar is a hyperlink to a deep classic, the track is literally a hip-hop encyclopedia.

Side B takes a turn into another type of mellow with “No Way Out.” The drums get thicker, the programming loses the retro inflection. The high hats start skipping, stuttering, and scuttling about, while the bass drops hella low to counterbalance a snare that straight up smacks you upside the head. The track features Slimkid3 of the legendary Pharcyde crew alongside Portland native R&B singer Moonbeam Kelly, going for a classic hip-hop duet. If you’ve ever been in love — as in, the type where you can’t sleep for days and all you can think about is... That’s the vibe right here! The instrumental will rattle the trunk lovely, while this extra sticky blend of voices will hijack your ears for a minute and some.

KutMasta Kurt and Substance Abuse pay tribute to MF Doom with this special 7” release. The A-side contains a dope 2023 remix with that KMK signature sound guaranteed to keep heads noddin’, while the B-side brings the original (2005 released) version that was actually recorded in the beginning of the 2000’s - before Doom’s rise to prominence; thanks to releases like Mad-Villain and Danger Doom. R.I.P. Doom Supreme! Limited to 200 copies.

Hip-hop aficionados rejoice as the dynamic duo, emcee Substance810 & producer Observe Since '98, are set to unleash their magnum opus, "The Lion's Share 3: Pride of the Lion."

Building on the success of their previous collaborations, "The Lion's Share" parts 1 & 2, the upcoming trilogy promises to redefine the boundaries of sonic storytelling. This highly anticipated album, featuring 16 meticulously crafted songs, showcases the unparalleled chemistry between Substance810's lyrical prowess and Observe Since '98's innovative production. The listener is invited to embark on a thrilling sonic journey, where each track unveils a new layer of the duo's artistic evolution.

In a nod to the true aficionados, "The Lion's Share 3" offers an exclusive treat with 2 bonus songs available solely on physical copies of the album. This limited edition adds an extra dimension to the already rich tapestry of their musical narrative.

From the impactful storytelling in the lyrics to the masterful production that resonates with authenticity, "The Lion's Share 3: Pride of the Lion" is poised to captivate fans and critics alike. Substance810 and Observe Since '98 invite you to immerse yourself in an unparalleled hip-hop experience, as they once again redefine the boundaries of collaborative artistry.

Prepare for a musical odyssey like no other. "The Lion's Share 3: Pride of the Lion" is more than an album; it's a testament to the enduring power of creativity and collaboration in the world of hip-hop.

Featuring Appearances BY TY Farris, Josiah THE Gift, Ferris Blusa, Warv WON, D-styles & DJ Grazzhoppa!

And we're back in Tacoma, WA for more unreleased and unheard 1994-1995 bangers from the Thunder Jam Alliance crew. All tracks produced by Shaggy C. Such a shame a lot of this material didnt drop at the time of recording, but Herring, like Mighty Mouse, has come to save the day!!



Make sure you peep those snippets - some killer material right here for the heads!!!







Big shout out to my man Hakan Dougpark for the original connect and Unikone for his posts on the excellent Hip Hop The Golden Era Blog - 1L

Featuring appearances from Jsoul, Georgia Anne Muldrow, JUS, J Felix, Guilty Simpson, Inkswel, BLU, Pugs Atomz, KID Sublime, and many more, this star-studded 2x LP comp from Australia's Inner Tribe runs the gamut from RnB & Neo Soul to Hip Hop, House, Broken Beat and Boogie. Full pic sleeve.