US Hip Hop 144 Items

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.

An undesputed classic album comes back with the 25th anniversary treatment! Remastered from the original tapes by Bob Power (D'Angelo, De La Soul) plus three remixes by Ceelo Green, Pharrell Williams & J. Cole!

Promo. Close to VG+

After the collaboration in 2014 the two parties team up again for this full length, produced by Frank Dukes (Danny Brown, 50 Cent). Guestlist includes MF Doom!

180g vinyl.

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.

Finally, this Beastie Boys classic gets a reissue!

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 !)

Hailing from Eugene, Oregon, Capriisun has been carving his own pocket of rap for a while now. He may go under the radar of the average Griselda fan but C’s name is a familiar one in international rap circles.

Capriisun has a unique global audience that spans far beyond his Oregon hometown. Hard to pin down in terms of East Coast or West Coast, C’s inability to be boxed in has helped him become one of the most recognisable voices in the fanatical scene of underground hip-hop across Europe.

'A Fleeting Now' is the sound of an MC truly in their comfort zone. Capriisun owns every guitar lick and piano key, allowing mellow pastel backdrops from the likes of Omar Bmar and Nine Two to illuminate his dextrous and ruminative wordplay.

Never sacrifice the art for anything and never leave home without your respect. Southwest representer Cash Lansky hails from the deserts of Tucson, Arizona about 45 minutes from the Southern border. His story is one of family, trials, growth, and being forced into a role all too many young boys face - being the Man of the House at a young age. Wise beyond his years, Cash grew up quick. This record is the heartfelt result of being able to reflect on that life and bring forth the lessons and stories that make great art. A seasoned performer and respected member of the Arizona Hiphop scene and Southwest culture, Cash Lansky makes his indie label debut with Mello Music Group on this T-Wade and Mario Luciano produced album (Mario's credits include notable releases like Drake’s “8am in Charlotte”, Kendrick Lamar & Baby Keem’s “Savior” , J. Cole’s “Punchin’.the.clock”, Jack Harlow’s “Is That Ight?”, and H.E.R. & YG’s “Slide”). The new record is mixed by the legendary Willie Green. This is Rec-Center Rap straight from the heart of one the West's best.

Reissue on 150g vinyl.

On Donald Glover’s latest project as Childish Gambino, he ditches rap for lovingly produced funk worship, resulting in his most enjoyable project yet.

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...

Limited to 300 copies for the european market!

"This album is inspired by the book, “Let Love Have The Last Word” which gave me a path to write about things I had never written about before. It forced me to go deeper and because I opened up about so many things in the book, I was charged to go to raw, personal and spiritual places in the music. Production-wise, I knew that the music had to have depth, soul and dimension to it. I wanted the musicianship and the spirit of what live music brings but it also had to have something raw and basement about it. When my team said, "You should do some music revolving around the book.", I just took that energy and went running into my artistry without focusing on anything else. No movies, no commercials, no parties (well, I don’t do that too much anyway) and I just worked on music. So this album is the culmination of this journey, this passion and this Divine Love that I have for one of GOD's greatest gifts - MUSIC.” - Common

Un-released J. Dilla productions from 1994!

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).

Vinyl with scuffs and hairlines. Cover with bumped cornera

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!

New single from Dillon & Paten Locke
- Rap Safari J-Zone Remix (feat. Phill Most Chill & J-Live) b/w J-Zone Remix Instrumental

The original version of Rap Safari featured on Dillon & Paten Locke’s superb Food Chain album released on Full Plate Records back in July 2016 and was a modern fast rap classic featuring the always incredible Phill Most Chill and the legendary J-Live.

This dope remix by J-Zone with a new narrative for the chorus parts with Paten Locke on turntable duty gave the song a brand-new flavour, totally different to Paten’s original beat.

Originally intended to be a digital only venture but AE Productions and Full Plate got talking about a vinyl release as a joint project and here we are, a new fast rap classic on 45 supplied by 2 truly independent Hip Hop labels.

Mr Krum has recreated the Jungle Brothers - Straight Out The Jungle sleeve with absolutely stunning results even getting the characters in exactly the same pose and we’re sure you’ll agree the hours were well spent!!

Here it is, Dre's third one! Feature guests are almighty Kendrick Lamar, Anderson.Paak, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, BJ The Chicago Kid, Eminem, Xzibit, The Game and many more.

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

Original pressing with small coutout.

Includes 60 x 60 cm poster of the album artwork! The poster is only available at HHV!

When Leon Michels and El Michels Affair released their rst record, Sounding Out The City, in 2005, it was hard to guess what was next for Michels and his then-introduced, now-patented "cinematic soul" sound. Now, four EMA studio albums and scores of tribute and remix projects later - all while producing for some of the biggest names in the industry - Michels has trademarked his sound, with each project taking audiences somewhere new and pushing the boundaries of what he is known for. The man is a river, not a lake and this time he takes his golden touch into the realm of hip-hop laying down a musical bed for one of the greatest to ever rhyme into a microphone: Black Thought of The Roots crew. Releasing on Big Crown Records, the LP is called Glorious Game and it is a remarkable debut partnership in more ways than one. Michels provides his bottom-heavy, soul-tinged production for Black Thought who gives us some of the more personal and transparent verses we've ever heard from him. Michels and Black Thought have been in each other's orbit for a while now. The two first met in the 2000s when Thought was first getting familiar with the contemporary soul scene. "Out of that whole world, Menahan Street Band was probably my favorite," recalling the funk and soul group Michels was a founding member of back in 2007. Fast forward a few years and musicians from that collective - Dave Guy on trumpet and Ian Hendrickson-Smith on sax - are now full time players with The Roots. This connection eventually led Leon and Thought to doing a few fundraising events around NYC and Philly together. "Before long, Black Thought was coming around the studio and would jam with us from time to time," Michels explains. "Then, fast forward to 2020 and Covid lockdowns, he just hit me up out of the blue, wanting me to send him stuff to write to. We both were looking to stay busy." Being that Black Thought is the co-founder and emcee for, hands down, the best live-band group in hip-hop. Michels took a decidedly different approach to this project and instead of sending recorded tracks of live compositions, he pulled out the sampler and sampled himself and some records from his collection. "I'm a big fan of soul music," as if Michels has to remind us. "And part of hip-hop's appeal to me has always been the sample-based production" For Glorious Game, Michels would make wholly composed and recorded soul songs in his studio, sample himself, then chop and/or loop up his sounds and create instrumentals for Black Thought. On some tracks he took a more traditional hip-hop approach, starting from samples of other people's music but then adding live instrumentation on top. But for the most part, it's him reinterpreting his own compositions into something new. The result is an organic feel of loop-based tracks that breathe and uctuate enough for Black Thought to ex on. "What I write about is determined by the equation of the producer's energy and my energy," Black Thought says. "It's about where we meet." So armed with Michels sampled and re-sampled soul cinematics, Black Thought rhymes through personal memories.

The standard edition comes as olive green colored vinyl.

OFWGKTA's own Frank Ocean releases his 1st album on Def Jam. Looks like Andre 3000, John Mayer and Earl Sweatshirt are with him!

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.”

These days everything you consume has to be checked - a vibrant outside can hide a genetically modified Frankenstein interior. Finding that 100% organically grown with no artificial rhymes can be difficult. This album is for those looking for something less calculated.

Powerful production runs the range from soulful, funk filled, and hard knocking to cool, laid back easy nodders. The rhymes are politically aware without taking themselves too serious - so from the occasional judo chop to the need for sexy, dirty slutty money - Denmark explores life from the perspective of a man who grew up on minimum wage and butter sandwiches but has grown into a self-aware scholar.

Lyrics don't sugar coat anything -no matter how rough that truth might appear: "The fleek shall inherit the Earth and the meek shall be buried in dirt - ain't nothing sweet." Denmark delivers existential truths while still throwing in a "where the hoes at?" A street savvy album that explores Black love, brutality, capitalism's grip on our daily thoughts, and the connection it all has to our ancestors. Gensu Dean has produced for David Banner, Large Professor, Roc Marciano, and more, while Denmark Vessey has had his praises sung by the likes of Earl Sweatshirt. This is that sh*t to get you through sh*t.

All Day is the fifth studio album by American musician Gregg Gillis, known by his stage name Girl Talk. The album was originally released as a free digital download by Illegal Art on November 15, 2010. Gillis composed the album using overlapping samples of 372 songs by other artists. All Day was released as one seamless 71-minute file and as 12 separate tracks, available in MP3 and Flac. As with prior Girl Talk albums, All Day was "intended to be listened to as a whole," but was "broken up into individual tracks only for easier navigation."

Pittsburgh artist Gregg Gillis (a.k.a. Girl Talk) has scrupulously created music from samples for over eight years. His fourth album on the Illegal Art label, Feed the Animals, continues his sonic evolution towards his party-infested live show and steps even closer towards a creation that is centered on pop musicality rather than attention-deficit sample splicing.

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.

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.

New Album from the west coast legend!

Pressed in Canada.
The name of the 8-track project is Simple, which refers to a neighborhood called “Simple City” in southeast Washington, D.C.. According to the rapper, the area got its namesake as a result of the senseless violence that occurs there.



“There’s a neighborhood in my city called ‘Simple City,’” IDK said in a statement. “It gets its name because you can get killed for any simple reason. Simple City is also the birthplace of Marvin Gaye. I wanted to tell the story of Simple City in a way that it’s never been told before. From drug abuse to crime and murder, I wanted to cover what it feels like to be from Simple City and teach the world that the fix to helping disadvantaged black communities isn’t as simple as you think.”

Only 1 per customer! Limited double blue-colored vinyl LP pressing. Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Grammy-award, multi-platinum artist Jill Scott's debut album, Who Is Jill Scott? Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 is the debut album by the R&B-soul singer-songwriter, originally released in 2000 The album was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 2001 Grammy Awards, whereas "Gettin' in the Way", "A Long Walk", and "He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat)" were nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 2001, 2002, and 2003, respectively. The album has been listed as one of the best albums of the 2000s by Slant Magazine.

The long awaited Jorun PMC album is finally here!

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!

Zum 10. Jubiläum erscheint am 21. Oktober das Album „good kid, m.A.A.d city“ von Kendrick Lamar erneut.

Das Album enthält Gastauftritte von Drake, Dr. Dre, Jay Rock, Anna Wise und MC Echt und erzählt die Geschichte von Lamars Erfahrungen als Teenager in den drogenverseuchten Straßen und dem Bandenleben seiner Heimatstadt Compton.

Das Album wurde 2014 für vier Grammys nominiert, darunter für das Album des Jahres. Zudem enthält „good kid, m.A.A.d city“ die erfolgreichen Singles "The Recipe", "Swimming Pools (Drank)", "Backseat Freestyle", "Poetic Justice" und "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe".

Das Album ist als 1CD und 2LP auf 180g gepresst erhältlich und als 2LP in rot

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 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.