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Vince Staples’ Dark Times serves as the Long Beach rapper’s sixth studio album and is a snapshot of Staples presently: on top of the world on the surface, but reality might be trickier. Throughout the album’s thirteen tracks, he grapples with life’s heaviness, all while understanding what the gravity of his work means in the grand scheme of things.

Originally scheduled for release way back in March 1996, "The Raw Factor" by North Carolina native Omniscence is one of the last of the unreleased mid-90's albums to see the light of day. Despite being awarded The Source's coveted "Hip Hop Quotable" and dropping two well-received singles ("Amazin" and "Touch Y'all"), record label politics meant the full-length "The Raw Factor" album was never released and fans were left wondering what might have been.

28 years later, "The Raw Factor" is finally being released on vinyl, CD and digital stores. Featuring punchline-driven lyrics from Omniscence delivered in his unmistakable cadence, and backed by head-nodding production from Fanatic, the album is a must-own for fans of 90's Hip Hop.

Omniscence haunted the same early 90's cyphers and stages that many lyrical greats from the era had to cross. With a gruff delivery and equal adeptness with punchlines and metaphors, his high finish at the 1994 edition Battle For World Supremacy at the New Music Seminar assured heads across the culture were watching. After this, Omniscence locked in with producer Fanatic (who also laced tracks for Notorious B.I.G., Ma$e and Michael Jackson). The result was "The Raw Factor" album, fifteen plus tracks of jazzed out boom-bap, replete with crackin' drums.

Now Below System Records has not only given the album its first deluxe physical release (including 2xLP, CD and digital) as well as a slew of bonus/unreleased tracks.

Originally scheduled for release way back in March 1996, "The Raw Factor" by North Carolina native Omniscence is one of the last of the unreleased mid-90's albums to see the light of day. Despite being awarded The Source's coveted "Hip Hop Quotable" and dropping two well-received singles ("Amazin" and "Touch Y'all"), record label politics meant the full-length "The Raw Factor" album was never released and fans were left wondering what might have been.

28 years later, "The Raw Factor" is finally being released on vinyl, CD and digital stores. Featuring punchline-driven lyrics from Omniscence delivered in his unmistakable cadence, and backed by head-nodding production from Fanatic, the album is a must-own for fans of 90's Hip Hop.

Omniscence haunted the same early 90's cyphers and stages that many lyrical greats from the era had to cross. With a gruff delivery and equal adeptness with punchlines and metaphors, his high finish at the 1994 edition Battle For World Supremacy at the New Music Seminar assured heads across the culture were watching. After this, Omniscence locked in with producer Fanatic (who also laced tracks for Notorious B.I.G., Ma$e and Michael Jackson). The result was "The Raw Factor" album, fifteen plus tracks of jazzed out boom-bap, replete with crackin' drums.

Now Below System Records has not only given the album its first deluxe physical release (including 2xLP, CD and digital) as well as a slew of bonus/unreleased tracks.

After a brief pause in the Medicine Show series, Madlib returns with a 28-track, full-length hip-hop album of collaborations with AG, Guilty Simpson, MED, Oh No, Strong Arm Steady and others. Karriem Riggins pops in for a short Supreme Team session, Madlib & Oh No debut their group The Professionals, and we hear for the first time a Jaylib-era track from Madlib & Dilla's never-realized second album. Limited edition 3LP contains 14 additional Madlib beat instrumentals.

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.

This Japan edition was produced as a limited project for Willie The Kid's Japan tour in 2011 and it's compiled based on "The Fly 2.0" which featured The Alchemist, V DON, Styles P, Cory Gunz and Lee Bannon etc. Although it was originally released just in digital format, it is now available in a long-awaited vinyl format with obi-strip.

This album is about influence, inspiration, perception & reality. Every song was written in an outside environment, so that I could observe the subjects that would become my subject matter. All too often in Hip Hop, reality is limited to that of the artists own, actual experiences. People Hear What They See is my attempt to liberate the MC from those constraints & allow reality to be penned other than my own. Listening to congressmen & lawyers converse on the steps of the supreme court inspired 'American Greed', Watching a couple argue over the phone in a bar inspired 'Maybes'. By having a visual representation of my subject matter, my hopes are that the listener will see them through the worlds & melodies of my songs.

Marv Won is a Detroit musical alchemist – a street poet laureate entrenched in the battle rap scene, as well as a cinematic world class producer as capable of channeling Dr. Dre as Donald Goines. Marv breaks new ground with his first Mello Music Group album “I’m Fine, Thanks For Asking” - a soul-baring endeavor, that weaves tales of struggle and triumph, drawing inspiration from his storied life in the Motor City. As one of the most esteemed battle rappers, Marv Won brings a lyrical ferocity to his unapologetically raw and heartfelt rhymes. This album collaboration with Mello Music Group marks a pivotal moment in his career, showcasing a seamless fusion of his word play and production. The album, featuring collaborations with Quelle Chris, Elzhi, Freeway, Rapper Big Pooh of Little Brother and more, cements Marv Won's status in the rap game. Marv Won's storytelling transcends mere verses, painting vivid portraits of life in the D. Over ten self-produced tracks Marv showcases his ability behind the boards with tracks that blend epic orchestration and Joe Louis drums that hit like Tommy Hearns.

Jus-P is back on the scene with this new release Black Menace To Society soon to be a Hip Hop classic! Jus-P has enlisted a group of elite Emcees and Producers for this piece of art! Features include El Da Sensei, Da Beatminerz, Reks, Ruste Juxx,and more. The Queens New York Native delivers clever wordplay and punchlines with his melodic flow over Boom Bap production. This album is for the listener who can appreciate that Golden Age Hip Hop sound!

Guerilla Warfare, the second record by the New Orleans hip-hop group Hot Boys, is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a vinyl reissue. The album was originally released under Cash Money Records on July 27, 1999.

Hot Boys was a super group formed in 1997 by Cash Money co-founder Bryan “Birdman” Williams. The project was composed of a teenaged Lil Wayne, Juvenile, B.G., and Turk; Original member Bulletproof AKA Lil Derrick left the group shortly after recording the group’s first album, 1997’s Get It How U Live! The success of Hot Boys’ debut contributed to Cash Money’s historic publishing and distribution deal with Universal the following year.

The platinum-certified Guerilla Warfare was Hot Boys’ most commercially successful album. It peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and debuted at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, selling 142,000 copies in its first week of release. Produced by Mannie Fresh, the album features singles like “We On Fire,” “I Need a Hot Girl,” and “Too Hot.”

The members of Hot Boys frequently appeared on each other’s solo projects, including tracks on Juvenile’s 1998 classic 400 Degreez, Lil Wayne’s 1999 debut Tha Block Is Hot, and B.G.’s 1999 album Chopper City in the Ghetto.

Pressed ON Orange Colored Vinyl With Hand Numbered OBI Limited TO 1000 Copies 2023 is the year of Too $hort at Get On Down with our 4th reissue and album number 7 in the catalog of the Bay Area legend. Shorty The Pimp was released 31 years ago on July, 14, 1992 and has not been in print since we originally reissued it on wax in 2018. Taking the title from the incredibly rare 1973 Blaxploitation film, Too $hort does what he does best on Shorty The Pimp: funk beats, boastful braggadocio, a few conscious rhymes and layers of straight up pimp talk. The lyrical content can certainly be considered comical and entertaining. Shorty The Pimp is also a stand out project for producer Ant Banks who did many of the beats for the project, his first working with Too $hort with many more to follow over the next decade.

DJ Quik is a giant of West Coast hip-hop. With his fourth album Rhythm-Al-Ism he created his masterpiece, a perfect hip-hop album. As Quik explains, “the name Rhythm-Al-Ism alone tells you what I was doing. I was mixing up rhythms. I was meshing R&B with hip-hop and jazz. And a little bit of comedy”. It’s absolutely sensational and as with a lot of mid-90s albums those original vinyl copies are now rare so here’s the Be With re-issue. A preternaturally gifted producer/rapper, DJ Quik has produced scores of LA gangsta rap classics. He’s released platinum and gold records of his own, as well as helped craft them for the likes of Tupac, Snoop Dogg, and Dr Dre. Quik has always been quirkier and more interesting than his gangsta rap peers, both musically and lyrically. An old-school funk producer at heart, he’s also incredibly nice on the mic. His raps often deal in boasts, jokes and good times but also cover his beefs, his trials and his trauma. Partying and pain, all mixed up. DJing and producing hype beat tapes from age 14, Quik’s tracks blended the languid funk and rubbery synths of Zapp and George Clinton with a gangsta aesthetic, creating a more danceable foil to Compton’s more typical nihilistic hedonism. Ultimately, his records sound custom engineered to drift out over sun-soaked barb

7 Shots in a Neon Violet pressing with full color OBI strip 38 Spesh has quietly become tastemakers’ top pick for “next to blow.” Just ask LeBron James, Kevin Durrant, DJ Premier, Sway, Method Man, or Lloyd Banks, all of which have co-signed this Upstate New York emcee. His 7 Shots EP, the third and final instalment in his fan-favorite “Shots Series,” marked the moment that many caught on to the Trust movement. The 8-track offering gives underground Hip-Hop fans exactly what they want, hard bars over soulful beats. The project features guest verses from Freeway, Ransom, Eto, and Che Noir, as well as production from Streetrunner, The Heatmakerz, LT Beats, Thanos Beats, and more.

Young Roddy & Trademark Da Skydiver's "Day Ones" from their latest series of projects. Available on vinyl with all new artwork exclusively from Near Mint.

YELLOW COVER: 2xLP, Widespine Jacket, Black & White Cookie SplitVinyl, Alternate Yellow FrontCover, Marketing Sticker. Ltd to 50 copies.

With help from Jerry Seinfeld himself, one of the classics from the mixtape era, Wale’s More About Nothing sees its first official release on CD & Vinyl. Originally released in 2008, the album is nothing short of a masterpiece in his celebrated catalog, and features appearances from then-budding artists Wiz Khalifa & Fat Trel, among others. True fans of the musician will undoubtedly know how crucial this project is to the culture; a Jerry Seinfeld collaboration with Wale finally available for all.

Dope collabo between Texan MC $os' [pronounced Sos] and Long Island beatmaker Lars Viola. These 2 cats met online and have been working on joints together for a couple of years. Lars played me the demos and I was instantly on board, like the true

fisherman that I am.



$os', like many great artists before him, growing up as the son of a Preacher[man], learned to play [drums] as a kid at church. He only listened to gospel and Christian music as a kid, but once he was exposed to the realness, he definitely changed his tune! He had always written poetry, even as a young'un, so the transition to rhyming was fairly natural. Hope you cats enjoy this 7" 4 track EP entitled "Food For Yo' Soul". Check the snippets - Lars' beats are crrrrrazy nice on this one...

New York City rapper/producer duo Double A.B. and Dub Sonata bring to you their joint album Media Shower, presented on vinyl for the first time courtesy of Man Bites Dog Records. The special edition 2xLP includes five brand new Alternate Media remixes on Side-D from Bronze Nazareth, Blockhead, Kount Fif, Maitre’ D & Opto. Media Shower features A.B.’s vivid storytelling alongside guest appearances from Evidence, Roc Marciano, Sean Price, Scram Jones, Rhymefest and Cannibal Ox, over Dub Sonata’s production laden with live instrumentation over deftly chopped samples. A veteran of the New York underground circuit, Double A.B. got his start in the Blaze Battle, eventually making records and touring the world with Cannibal Ox, Gza and Elzhi, while Dub Sonata’s production credits include songs for Sage Francis, Rhymefest, Guilty Simpson, and Jidenna.

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

Record Store Day 2020 Release.
Limitation: 1000 copies.

Just in time for Record Store Day 2020, Coalmine Records and Duck Down Music are happy to announce the 7’ release of "Latoya Jackson," the commanding, gritty posse cut first appearing on Sean Price & Small Professor's LP, 86 Witness. The A-side is the original version which features Quelle Chris with cuts from DJ Revolution, while the flip side features the “Back to the Old School Remix,” with a gracious guest verse from the luminary lyricist Masta Ace.

Adding to the record's allure for bonafide collectors and hip-hop fans alike, the artwork has been handled by Atlanta-based heavyweight FRKO (Action Bronson, Gucci Mane), who expertly reimagined the cover of Just-Ice's classic Back to the Old School (Fresh Records, 1986). With an aptitude for details, FRKO's vibrant visual take superimposes Masta Ace into the scene, drawing from the rap veteran's cover artwork for his 2004 album, A Long Hot Summer. The parallel merger of classic iconography and refined cultural references accents the 7" release with exemplary execution, giving new legs to a track that further personifies the coveted energy of its initial release as an exclusive Record Store Day drop, all while paying homage to the late legend Sean Price.

This collector’s edition 7-Inch of "Latoya Jackson" is pressed on striking bubble gum pink vinyl.

Yung Bleu, also known as, Bleu Vandross, is a Hip-Hop/R&B artist from Mobile, Alabama. After scoring several major hits and racking up over 1 Billion streams and YouTube views early in his career with a series of smash love anthems, the multi-talented artist scored his first Billboard Hot 100 hit with “You’re Mines Still,” a joint single featuring Drake, which debuted at #52. It’s parent EP, Love Scars: The Five Stages of Emotions, likewise hit the Billboard 200 Chart. Following the success, Yung Bleu delivers his debut studio album, Moon Boy. Featuring hit songs such as “Baddest (feat. Chris Brown & 2 Chainz),” “You’re Mines Still (feat. Drake),” Beautiful Lies (feat. Kehlani),” & “Way More Close (Stuck In A Box) (feat. Big Sean),” the album also sees appearances from heavyweight artists such as H.E.R, John Legend, Kehlani, Kodak Black, Davido, Moneybagg Yo, Jeezy, Gunna & A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. Pressed on Black vinyl with White Splatter.

Renowned Berlin-based music discovery platform ColorsxSTUDIOS will release their new vinyl compilation album, ‘MOVE:FEEL1’, just in time for the holidays.

The limited-edition double disc gatefold vinyl will feature 16 beloved A Colors Show tracks, both recent and from the archive, including London-based rapper Kwengface’s ‘Freedom’ that was released earlier this year, critically-acclaimed Malian artist Fatoumata Diawara’s ‘Nterini’ from 2019, and Dominican-Italian star YEИDRY’s breakout 2020 hit ‘Nena’.

The album is truly international—it will feature songs sung in six different languages (including English, Swedish, German, Bambara, French, Vietnamese, and Spanish) and represent artists from 15 different countries across the world.

‘MOVE:FEEL1’ reflects and celebrates the launch of Colors’ new ‘move’ and ‘feel’ playlists that are now available across all DSPs. Updated monthly, these playlists will curate Colors’ genre fluid output into cohesive listening experiences that cater for varying emotional states.

The songs on the ‘move’ playlist—and hence on the ‘move’ sides of the vinyl—are uptempo, bold, sexy and energetic, and aim to set the tone for daring and unapologetic enjoyment. In contrast, the tracks on the ‘feel’ playlist and discs are downtempo and emotive. They are for relaxation, and to help listeners contemplate their internal and external environments

Designed by Colors’ in-house creative team, the vinyl cover is mirrored, meaning its appearance adapts depending on the light and colors it reflects. This was an important decision to ensure the cover represents all of the featured artists, who all performed their A Colors ShowS against different colored backdrops. The mirrored material also enables the audience to literally (and hopefully metaphorically) see themselves in the album.

Each side of the mirrored cover is adorned differently: while the “move” side features embossed lines, stripes and slashes indicative of motion, the more introverted “feel” side is debossed with goosebump-like grooves. Even with their eyes closed, people will be able to feel which side of the album is which, adding an extra sensory layer to the listening experience. MOVE:FEEL1’s design also prioritizes sustainability, using no single-use plastics for its packaging.

With I Will Make a Baby in this Damn Economy, Fat Tony embodies the kind of quixotic figure he would rap about; a singular entity who’s motivated, confident, and hungry; a perpetual-motion-machine locked in a staring contest with his country. It’s the latest album in his catalog produced entirely by L.A-based producer Taydex since 2020’s Wake Up. Later that same year Fat Tony released Exotica, and ever since he’s demonstrated he is in his own lane as a professional rapper with the mind of a magician, as quick to conjure an image as pull it out from under you, deftly manoeuvring through so many details and references a listener feels as if they have witnessed the work of an illusionist. He paints these canvases inside of songs that rarely spill past three minutes; they’re pocket-sized diaries replete with acute observations, character studies, microdoses of storytelling, and single-minded ruminations on a topic that bud, blossom, and fade before too long. Fat Tony & Taydex’s I Will Make a Baby in this Damn Economy cements Tony’s status as someone whose albums are not so much lyrically-lyrical as they are picaresque.

As with any Fat Tony project, the bars are tight as ever, but are so fluid for the 34-year-old it’s almost easy to take for granted the details, warmth, and humanity inside his free-associative tales of day-one friends who’ve passed, edgelord grifters who want to spit game, and nights on ketamine. Taydex’s production sprints through disparate yet simpatico styles, dipping its toes into Pi’erre Bourne-esque bass (see lead single “Spectacular”), house (“Loosen Up”), and even hyperpop. Meditations on loss and grief are woven throughout, but Tony throws a few curveballs as well: Consider “Alexis,” which sweetly reflects on a long-term platonic friendship. Taydex finds a Teddy Riley-indebted New Jack Swing groove just deep enough for the feeling to land and underlines the song’s sincere candor. This is the appeal of Fat Tony writ-large: his boisterous voice and genial personality invite you to the party, then you stick around to hear what he’s saying, which is frequently more introspective and complex than one assumes.

Written and recorded in Taydex’s new studio in North Hollywood, Tony says, “We had much more freedom and flexibility in making this album and you can hear it. It felt like a family project.” If the album is comfortable and loose, it is also dense and substantial. The album’s final two tracks contextualize the immediacy of what came before it—the mezcal with ices drank, Paul Wall swangin’ through to drop knowledge, the Polaris Prize-winning rapper Cadence Weapon providing a vibe check. “Make a Baby” accounts for Tony who’s seen everything, and knows he’s met the one to be a father with, and yet chooses to take his time to get it done. Taydex’s beat recalls turn-of-the-century R&B and the millennial promise of an endless good time. Sombre closer “Jasper, TX” is Tony coming to grips with the story of James Byrd, Jr., a Black man from East Texas dragged to his death by three white supremacists in 1998. These songs are not only trademarks of Tony’s fastidious rapping—they are deeply personal examples of his approach to artistry and life itself, where every decision is made in the shadow of history.

It’s here the mission statement of I Will Make a Baby in this Damn Economy comes into focus—you get the sense he means it, he’s ready for it, he’ll fight for it. He’s waiting to take the world at its word.

2021 double vinyl re-issue, 140g vinyl, includes “Pure Thought” bonus track from the original CD version, original picture sleeve and printed inner sleeves based on the original one. Innercity Griots, the second album from Freestyle Fellowship, is perhaps *the* essential West Coast left-field rap album of the early ’90s. Released in 1993 on 4th & Broadway, it’s a towering, progressive hip-hop masterpiece that expanded rap’s boundaries through lyrical elevation and production innovation. Their talent was ahead of everybody else by light years. This is pure b-boy jazz. The original single vinyl LP is now hideously scarce, and of course the sound suffers from not being officially released as a double. This Be With re-issue fixes both problems, and for completeness also includes “Pure Thought” from the CD version of the album. This incredible display of imaginative hip-hop sounds better than ever. Freestyle Fellowship were some of the earliest technically dazzling rappers to come out of California. Mikah 9, P.E.A.C.E., Aceyalone and Self Jupiter - along with DJ Kiilu - forged their famed lyrical dexterity in the ultra-competitive crucible of the Good Life Cafe. Founded in Leimert Park, South Central LA in December 1989, this earthy health-food store and cafe was where the city’s finest microphone fiends would gather to showcase their freestyle skills at the Thursday night open-mic.

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.

An immersive journey through the depths of soul and consciousness, this masterpiece weaves together elements of R&B, neo soul, and hip-hop, enveloped in a message that transcends the ordinary, Erin has previously worked with the likes of Talib Kweli, Bugz IN THE Attic, and Atjazz.

Limited edition glass mastered CD edition of "The Toronto Tape" by Bozack Morris. Featuring the illest emcees from Toronto. Includes bonus track "Karate Practice" featuring Daniel Son.