Hip Hop 231 Items

R.I.P. Trugoy the Dove

Finally back on vinyl. Now also back on tape, officially reissued. Must have! 3 Feet High and Rising is the debut studio album by hip hop trio De La Soul and was released on March 3, 1989 It marked the first of three full- length collaborations with producer Prince Paul, which would become the critical and commercial peak of both parties. Critically, as well as commercially, the album was a success. It contains the singles, "Me Myself and I", "The Magic Number", "Buddy", and "Eye Know". The album title came from the Johnny Cash song "Five Feet High and Rising". It is listed on Rolling Stone's 200 Essential Rock Records and The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. When Village Voice held its annual Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 1989, 3 Feet High and Rising was ranked #1. It was also listed on the Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Released amid the 1989 boom in gangsta rap, which gravitated towards hardcore, confrontational, violent lyrics, De La Soul's uniquely positive style made them an oddity beginning with the first single, "Me, Myself and I". Their positivity meant many observers labeled them a 'hippie' group, based on their declaration of the 'D.A.I.S.Y. Age' (Da. Inner. Soul. Yall). Sampling artists as diverse as Hall & Oates, Steely Dan and The Turtles, 3 Feet High and Rising is often viewed as the stylistic beginning of 1990s alternative hip hop (and especially jazz rap).

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm is, quite simply, one of the finest albums in hip-hop. It's easy to argue that a Tribe Called Quest reached their zenith on this, their debut album: though they went on to produce another world-class disc (The Low End Theory) and broadened their palates and their consciousness, never again were they quite this naturally free and easy. Q-Tip and Phife's delivery is deceptively simple, flowing like wine and tasting like candy, and Jairobi adds some contrast. The music, so self-assured that it never raises it's voice to make a spectacle, follows suit. Four albums later, on their last tour, songs from Paths of Rhythm still were at the top of the set list. - Randy Silver.

once upon a time in south l.a. - Ice Cube, Cuba Googing Jr, Angela Bassett ... classic ! english, french, spanish & italian language plus multilingual subtitles (even hindi !)

ONe of those classic 90s hip hop albums that everybody should own. Classic productions & verses galore with a little help from Showbiz, Large Professor, Big L, Fat Joe, Q-Tip & others!

Original pressing with small coutout.

Limited edition on red vinyl!

Red double vinyl with gatefold tip-on case-wrapped jacket, 12” photo insert, printed labels and dust sleeves.

Before MF DOOM donned his mask and became one of the most prolific MC-producers of modern Hip-Hop, he was a member of KMD, an early `90s rap group whose work still goes criminally under-appreciated to this day. Following their 1991 debut album, Mr. Hood, the former trio shed one member leaving only two remaining - Subroc and his brother, Zev Love X (better known today as MF DOOM). Originally scheduled for release in 1994, their sophomore album Black Bastards showed clear progression from their debut. It was a truly amazing record, both sonically and lyrically, full of youthful creativity and tinged with the stresses of growing up as Black men in urban America. Songs like the lead single "What A N*gga Know", the slippery, bass-driven "Get U Now", and the album's title track explore Black consciousness viewed through young-but-experienced eyes. Musically alternating between bouncy and raw - many times both, concurrently - the tracks gave the MC's the springboard they needed to express themselves clearly. Sadly, Subroc would face a sudden and untimely death in 1993, just as the duo were finishing the album. Grief-stricken, his brother Zev Love X - now the sole remaining member of the group - was determined to carry the legacy of KMD onward, but Elektra Records unceremoniously shelved the project in the eleventh hour, due to controversy surrounding the album's provocative cover art. Following the fallout with Elektra, Zev tried for years to release the album on other labels, but he was continually met with dead ends. Struggling through the pain of losing his brother, coupled with the inability to release their final project together, a discouraged Zev Love X quietly withdrew from the scene and began quietly plotting his revenge on an industry that had broken him spiritually. Thus, in order to understand the true origin story of the super-villain, MF DOOM, one must recognize and appreciate the evolution of his former group, KMD, and the backstory of their pivotal album, Black Bastards.

First-time 7" vinyl single release, remastered by Simon Francis, full color printed sleeve

The best twist in music lyric history?
On 7" for the first time ever, one of the most important rap records ever.

It's timeless, it's genius, it's just pure beautiful brilliance. It's Common's masterpiece.

One of the best songs in all hip-hop history, “I Used To Love H.E.R.” was the first single from Common's eternal 1994 LP, Resurrection. He personifies hip-hop as an ode to the art form he once loved, lamenting how the genre became too commercialized and, due to a mass influx of mainstream rap in the 90s, some of the purity and freshness of the culture was being lost.

Common uses a first-person romance narrative to detail the history of hip-hop, resulting in an extended metaphor that's sophisticated, clever, and delivers a moral message that touched millions of people and still absolutely blows minds at the song's conclusion: "'Cause who we're talkin' about, y'all, is hip-hop"

Perfectly produced by No ID and incorporating a gorgeous, melancholic sample of George Benson’s “The Changing World”, the plaintive sonic landscape provided the ideal foundation for Common’s innovative storytelling. Almost 30 years later, “I Used To Love H.E.R.” remains one of the most significant moments in hip-hop: a classic in every sense of the word.

Common did discuss the true meaning of the track in a 1995 interview on “Yo! MTV Raps”, stating: “H.E.R. stands for Hip-Hop in its Essence is Real. And all I’m talking about his how I first came into contact with hip-hop music and how it evolved into where it is now. And it’s like all these gimmicks going on, all the phoniness, ain’t nobody being real with it. Everybody’s stressing that it’s real, but ain’t nobody being true to it. I think that came about because — once it started becoming a business, then people started losing their soul, and they started looking at it, taking it more as a business than an art form.”

On the flip, we've stayed faithful to the track used for the original 12" release. And what a track it is. Destined to be overshadowed by the behemoth on the A-Side, the frenetic neck-snapping jazz-rap "Communism" has it all - those horns at the start, the lyrical dexterity, the beat. Oh my.

So, one of the greatest pieces of music ever, in any genre. This is not merely music. It's high art. Speaking of which, we've recreated the striking original artwork from the 12" and shrunk it down to the 7" format. It looks and sounds stunning. The most important song in rap history, if you really think about it. We all miss her. We all miss hip-hop...

Gravediggaz: "Digging graves of the mentally dead and resurrecting their state of unawareness
and ignorance." Frukwan describes the meaning of the group's name. Helping give
birth to hip-hop’s subgenre of Horrorcore and one of hip-hop's first supergroups,
Gravediggaz were born at a time when all four members were at low points in their careers.
Already one of hip-hop’s most legendary producers, Prince Paul was at a crossroads in his
career resulting in experimenting with darker sounding beats. He recruited a young soon to
be legendary producer RZA, who was at a different type of crossroads in his career, not
having the best experiences with various labels and before going on to start the global phenomenon
that is The Wu-Tang Clan. Also added were Frukwan, a former member of
Stetsasonic with Paul, and Too Poetic, a young MC navigating his way in the game after
creating underground buzz with his 2 brothers and their short lived group the Brothers Grym
and before his unfortunate death from colon cancer. The four transformed themselves into
The Undertaker (Paul), The RZArector (RZA), The Gatekeeper (Frukwan) and The Grym
Reaper (Too Poetic) to form Gravediggaz. On 6 Feet Deep the group utilize horror-themed
imagery and lyrics combined with black comedy and satire to vent their frustrations with the
hip-hop record industry. Singles "Diary of a Madman," "Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide"
and "1-800 Suicide" lead an onslaught of tracks which The Quietus writer David Bennun
described as "a then novel means of addressing black life at street level [and] finding a new
way of getting that message across". Production is mostly handled by Paul with RZA handling
a few tracks. Highly regarded and still sought after, this pressing comes in a premium
gatefold jacket with only 2000 of this classic available.

feat. 2Pac, B-Legit, Suga T, Spice 1 and more!

At the peak of his powers as a producer in the mid-‘90s, Wu-Tang mastermind RZA crafted a distinctive soundtrack at his basement studio in Staten Island. This haunting landscape of dusty samples, sharp snares and menacing urban gloom – culled from the Japanese film “Shogun Assassin” as well as wide-ranging R&B and funk sources – would soon become a pillar of hip-hop history. These sounds were to become GZA’s 1995 sophomore classic, Liquid Swords – considered by many to be the ultimate Wu-Tang Clan solo album. 17-years later, it’s impossible to debate or deny the album’s legendary status, still standing up to any release that has come out in the rap pantheon, before or since.

Cerebral and precise with his words like a shaolin swordsman, GZA crystallized a range of influences, from chess to kung-Fu and mob films to Eastern philosophy. The album features appearances by the entire Wu-Tang Clan, including the memorable debut of Killah Priest on “B.I.B.L.E.”

First official reissue of this long EP by everyone's favorite Beastie Boys. Besides three versions of Root Down the EP includes seven tracks that were recorded on their tour in the winter 1995. At the end of track 10, there is also a hidden "track" that is certainly no secret anymore. While being interviewed at a radio station in Israel they heard a jingle the station made for their two shows in the country, in March 1995. They asked for the recording and put it on this EP.

only Disc 3 / Side E&F!

Illadelph Halflife is the third studio album by The Roots. It features a tougher and broader sound than their previous album, Do You Want More. The album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. In 2006, the album was selected as one of Hip-Hop Connection's 100 Best Rap Albums from 1995 to 2005. Continuing with its Respect The Classics campaign UMe will be reissuing this classic back on standard weight vinyl.

The Psycho Realm (1997) is the first album of the hip hop group The Psycho Realm. The group consisted of Sick Jacken, Duke, and B Real, MC and one of the masterminds behind Cypress Hill. The Psycho Realm is an impressive collection of hardcore West Coast gangsta rap. There's genuine menace in their rhymes and music, which is why it hits so hard. The Psycho Realm's surrealistic imagery and impressionistic music creates genuine tension.

180g vinyl.

Vinyl with scuffs and hairlines. Cover with bumped cornera

1998 was a fertile year defined by juggernaut projects from Black Star, Lauryn Hill, Outkast, and others, all of whom synced experimentation with foundational tenets that made the 1990s ferociously groundbreaking. Out of Oakland, California, a collective known as Hieroglyphics were positioning away from industry control, to helm their own assets in manners more suited to their own marketing self-vision. While artists have certainly went solo prior, this came at a critical juncture for the crew during a spiraling and newfound Internet world. Born out of this independent spirit was the crew’s first official studio album 3rd Eye Vision. The album spans twenty-two songs, all featuring beats by Domino who manned the lion’s share of production. A-Plus, Opio, Del, Casual, and Phesto also contributed beats. MCs each had their own song, short interludes highlighting their individuality through short verses, a clear espirit de corps statement. Even among standouts like “Oakland Blackouts” or “At The Helm,” perhaps the most celebrated song off the release is “You Never Knew,” a track that propelled 3rd Eye Vision to #88 on the Billboard Top 200, not an entirely easy feat as a new label competing with the late ‘90s’ abundant onslaught of classic material. In celebration of 20 years of 3EV, Fat Beats and Hiero Imperium are proud to present this CD/Vinyl reissue in deluxe packaging, expansive liner notes and the full original album tracks and a bonus for the very first time in one package.

few paper scuffs