Hip-Hop Vinyl New Releases - News

The latest RJD2 release "The Fun Ones" was set up to place RJD2 in the studio by himself to explore all different styles and sounds. The song selection for an album really dictates the story that gets told. What is most different about this album is that he disregarded any concern for showing versatility; The songs were chosen strictly by which were the funnest to listen to, hence the title The Fun Ones. By and large, it is a funk record. Once the songs were completed and ordered, the idea was to sequence the album like a mixtape or treat the raw songs as selections in a mixtape. The concept of the album became the stories of purpose that everyone told. Because of this, the digital version of the album plays like a mixtape of sorts, while the vinyl version plays as the raw audio tracks. So a listener could choose which way they prefer to hear the songs themselves.

This LP is here to make party!
All actually styles are presents.
Must Have! and Dance!

New Jersey-native Clams Casino stands amongst the most respected hip-hop producers in the game today. After several years of underground notoriety, Clams became widely known after producing several of the standout tracks on A$AP Rocky’s monolithic debut mixtape Live. Love. ASAP and has received widespread critical acclaim for his collaborations with Lil Peep, Vince Staples, Lil B, Mac Miller, The Weeknd, Joji amongst others. Clams released his hugely anticipated instrumental album Moon Trip Radio late last year, a stunning collection of tracks that showcase his immense talent as both a composer and producer.

Die zweite 12" des britischen DJ/Produzenten Alex "Kiwi" Warren (Optimo, 17 Steps, Disco Halal, Cin Cin, Correspondant, NeedWant, Futureboogie) auf seinem neuen Imprint Crossbreed ist eine Kollaboration mit dem Electro-Produzenten Ghost Culture aka James Greenwood, der damit erstmals außerhalb seines Kult-Labels Phantasy Sound veröffentlicht. Crossbreed ist eine immer populärer werdende, sex-positive Patrtyreihe in London.

Originally hand dubbed on limited cassette tape in 2013, "bed" is a sonic expedition into the subtleties of sleep and the destinations reached through the comfy vessel. g'maury pays tribute to an old dear pet cat. art by deleon.

Stretch and Bobbito’s debut album No Requests explores the legendary club DJs’ vast musical knowledge with covers of songs directly from their record crates! Featuring the M19s Band, a live band of elite hand-picked musicians, the gatekeepers of ‘90s Hip Hop step outside their foundational genre base to produce Latin, Afro-beat, Samba, Jazz, Reggae, and Soul reinterpretations of dance floor bangers—ranging from popular to rare and obscure—which loosely depart expected structure and create new nuances to familiar tunes. The group also offers original compositions along the sonic journey. All tracks have one goal in mind: GROOVE!

The Boogie Twins aka Ashley Beedle and Ray Mang have reworked and edited one of Paul 'Trouble' Anderson's biggest signature tracks.

A message from Ashley Beedle:
"My Electric Ballroom crew, that were later to become the infamous Shock Sound System, was myself, Stan Zepherin, Dean Zepherin, Paul Denton, Cecil Peters and Ricardo Da Force (R.I.P.)
We loved going to the Electric Ballroom to see the legendary Paul 'Trouble' Anderson who was killing it in there with Boogie, Electro, Hip Hop and Disco - he was such a huge musical influencer.
When he dropped 'Heaven and Earth' in the mid 80's, the joint went ballistic.

That tune ruled London and became not only a rare groove classic but remains a much loved staple of today's club scene - all because of Paul's exceptional ear for music.

Screaming ‘lo-fi’ Soul / R’n’B crossover and super rare on original press.

Here are the two rarest Cobra releases finally reproduced on 45’s, short run, get ‘em while you can!

Here are the two rarest Cobra releases finally reproduced on 45’s – short run, get ‘em while you can!

Arnheim presents rhode heavy fourth release on his own imprint, featuring London based musicians Phil Rose & Johannes Sahmland-Bowling.

With the original UK 7” of this release now as rare as hen’s teeth, and with the group having recently ‘reformed’ for one last album together, the Mr Bongo replica re-release of this 1990 masterpiece by Gang Starr couldn’t be more timely.

The now-legendary duo of DJ Premier and Guru dropped this at the height of hip-hop’s sampling of jazz, which had led to a creative leap forward for the genre. Yet while others plundered in the dark, this instant classic wore its influences on its sleeve and paid verbal homage to the musicians they were sampling. The “melodious funk” of “Thelonious Monk” gets namechecked, while the track samples two of his records, including 1958’s Bop gem ‘Light Blue’.

While both versions presented here have common elements, the ‘Movie Mix’ – so-named for the song’s appearance on the soundtrack to Spike Lee’s mythic jazz biopic ‘Mo’ Better Blues’ – goes in a few different directions to the ‘Video Mix’. Rather than just drop in an instrumental for the B-side, DJ Premier instead shows his versatility by switching up the base track (Kool & The Gang’s 1971 ‘Dujii’) and layering in other samples. In more ways than one, his virtuosity here echoes the improvisation of a jazz musician, akin to Denzel Washington’s Bleak in the movie.

Of course, he’s not the only show in town. The late Guru’s voice is as mellifluous as an instrument itself here, his potted history of the genre and the artists of jazz delivered with his own unmistakable cadence. Without this record, would he have gone on to make his ‘Jazzmatazz’ projects.

Mash Me Up' sees an appearance of Jesse Royal, a young rasta singer who has previously been featured on Major Lazer projects and causing a buzz in the scene with releases for Over Stand Ent., Biggy, Notis and more. Here he collaborates with US based female singer Jovi Rockwell on an irie and bass heavy shaker.

The first in a series of all-time CLASSIC hip-hop anthems from the Nervous vaults, pressed onto high quality dinked 45's.
Remastered from the original source material and featuring the unedited 'dirty' version on the A-side, and the full instrumental on the B-side, these 45's are for the heads who know what time it really is! Black Moon's 'Who Got The Props' needs no introduction, it's place in hip-hop history is fully solidified. The combination of vintage Beatminerz SP1200 beats paired with the legendary MC's Buckshot and the 5 Ft. Accelerator's streetwise NYC raps is a heady mixture indeed. Often speaking of street life in New York in the 1990's, Black Moon gained cult status via their 1993 debut LP 'Enta Da Stage', one of the most celebrated hip-hop debut albums of all time. The Beatminerz production changed the game, their deep knowledge and understanding of samples, records and digging in the crates gave their sound a real style and edge. 'Who Got Da Props' is the perfect example of this, one of those timeless rap records that appeals to the hardcore and can ignite the party. Truly essential. Every home should have one (or 2!).
Fully legit, licensed and reissued by Above Board distribution in conjunction with Nervous Records, NYC. 2018.

Danilo was always incredibly young with things. He started producing at the age of eleven—“way too early” as he jokes—having his first release out just five years later: Inverse Cinematics’ “Slow Swing”, released on Pulver Records in 2002, and ended up finding its way into Ricardo Villalobos’ record bag as well as onto one of the first Fabric mix CDs. An album under the same name and a string of EPs followed. Dailo's latest releases, the Motor City Drum Ensemble’s Raw Cuts series in 2010, had the house music world responding strongly to the charmingly fresh and dirty sounding tracks, all mixed down in spontaneous two-hour sessions. Danilo has also released on top labels ranging from 20:20 Vision to Rush Hour as well as his own MCDE and Four Roses imprints, produced for Ben Westbeech and Rainer Trüby and never ceased to amaze with his challenging remix work for artists like Caribou, Jazzanova, DJ Sprinkles and Zero 7. His understanding of how the parts of a track can work has never been more apparent than on his DJ-Kicks mix. In 10 years, playing 80+ gigs a year, including such temples as Berghain, Fabric London, Rex and MOS, he’s absorbed dance history through hard and disciplined work behind the decks. Look at the opening selections of his DJ-Kicks mix to get a glimpse of his amazing ability to fuse totally disparate sound aesthetics into a coherent whole. With the next months holding an extensive tour schedule for Danilo, dancers around the world will be able to experience his gift as a selector first hand. That is, before he gets back into the studio to start working on his first album as Motor City Drum Ensemble as well as a live act. All this will prove, just as his DJ-Kicks is doing now, that there is no such thing as stagnation in the ever-evolving cosmos of Danilo Plessow!

Two raw Afro Dance-floor Bombs from Pat Thomas & Marijjata both taken from the Coming Home: Original Ghanaian Highlife & Afrobeat Classics 1964-1981 issued on Strur Records in 2016- and now presented on one killer hand-numbered 45 on the Singles only
imprint Mukatsuku.
The A-Side ''I Can Say'' is issued for the very first time on a 45. Punchy brass- and the infectious Chorus drive it till the end in glorious afrocentric style.

On the Flip from 76 the powerful brass section of ''Lets Think It Over '' kicks off kicks off the tune with great impact before what essentially is simply an Afro-Soul Masterpiece! Pat Thomas shows us once again what a great song writer he is not only with his lyrics but also the dynamic arrangements of the funky groove.

Hand-numbered- Ltd. Edition, 500 Units!

Mastermind ist das sechste Studioalbum von Rick Ross und enthält Gastauftritte von Jay-Z, Jeezy, The Weeknd, Kanye West, Big Sean, Meek Mill, Lil Wayne, French Montana, Diddy, Sizzla, Mavado,
Z-Ro und Scarface. Unterstützt wurde das Album durch die offiziellen Singles "The Devil Is a Lie", "War Ready" und "Thug Cry" sowie die Promo-Singles "Box Chevy", "No Games" und "Nobody". Das Album debütierte als Nummer eins auf dem US Billboard 200, mit 179.000 verkauften Exemplaren in der ersten Woche in den USA und wurde bei den BET Hip Hop Awards 2014 als Album des Jahres nominiert.
Jetzt wird die Vinyl von Mastermind in 2LP Standard Schwarz neu aufgelegt.

In 2009, a group of seasoned funk and soul session musicians joined forces to record a rousing rhythm & blues-meets-funk cover version of Duffy's 2007 single "Mercy" making it a timeless version & feel good classic. Subsequently released on both Tri Sound and Acid Jazz, the track has become a must-have for soul DJs ever since. Sounding as though it might have been recorded in the late 60's it has a powerful funk driving backbeat ,thumping bass, soaring male soul vocal and screaming swirling Hammond organ.

Apocalyptic rebetika recordings from the 1930's through to late 50's. Songs of sorrow, poverty, loss and the general end of this god forsaken planet.

Killer 13-track compilation of 70's music from Mauritius that evolved from the original sega genre - the music of the slaves as well as their descendants, sung to protest against injustices in Mauritian society.

Created at the crossroads of Afro-Malagasy, the 70s strain fused Western and Indian cultures, pop, soul and funk arrangements, syncopated polyrhythms, saturated guitars, psychedelic organs and Creole vocals. Although the exact origins of sega remain unknown, it contains vocal and percussive practices that originated from Madagascar, Mozambique and East Africa. A social escape and a space for improvisation, satire and verbal jousting, it transcended everyday life and made room for the expression of conflicts and the transgression of taboos.

The main instrument of sega is the ravanne, a large tambourine-like drum made of a large wooden frame and goat skin. It is accompanied by the maravanne, a rectangular rattle filled with seeds, and other homemade forms of percussion. Eric Nelson a solo guitarist and arranger, set up the band Features Of Life which, in the mid 70’s, gave birth to a new sound. Fuzzy distorted guitars and funky beats invite each other to play over the unbridled beats created by fabulous drummer Raoul Lacariate.

The band accompanied a new wave of singers, including the atypical Joseph Roland Fatime aka Ti L’Afrique, a hyperbolic and hyperactive character, a fan of blues and James Brown who launched an explosive raw, and funky style of sega.

"Magnificently hard-core rembetica, from the 1930's till the end of the 1950's. Wretched, bitter, raging; an other-worldly blend of Arab and European music, two steps from Delta Blues; implacably anti-capitalist, existentialist, apocalyptic. Fabulous stuff." - Honest Jon's.

This is the double LP format of the recently released #1 album from J Hus (CD was released February 7th). A 14 track album featuring collaberations with Burna Boy, Icee TMG, Koffee and Ela Mai. Ongoing promo/marketing activity.

Grammy award winner Louie Vega set the worldwide music and club community on fire in 2018 with his renowned NYC Disco album. Released on Double CD and 2X Double - Pack vinyl, the album represented Louie's personal homage to the disco genre that has played such an important role in the evolution of music. In furthering his goal of making this album available and accessible to DJ's and fans of all formats and configurations, he has now made 7' edits of select tracks from the album, to be released on a Triple Pack 7' collection with a custom jacket on Nervous Records.

'It was important for me to release vinyl on the NYC disco project for all our vinyl family worldwide. And now doing the 45 / 7' project even takes it a step further giving you eclecticism in our musical landscape. Enjoy the musical flavor of the NYC Disco, Nervous, Sam Records & Vega Family sounds!' - Louie Vega

This triple pack 7' collection includes five songs, and each one played a unique role in making the NYC Disco project so special:

Record 1 Side A - Louie Vega / Get With The Funk featuring Josh Milan 3:17 - a collaboration between Louie and vocalist / keyboardist Josh Milan from the seminal House / R&B group Blaze.

Record 1 Side B - Louie Vega / Love Paradox featuring The Martinez Brothers 3:35 - a collaboration between Louie and The Martinez Brothers. Inspired by a disco horn loop, with live musicians brought in to add layers of funk and soul and disco to the groove.

Record 2 Side A - Louie Vega / Last Night A DJ Saved My Life featuring Anané and Tony Touch 3:58 - this was the last track produced for the album. Anané Vega, also a producer and DJ in her own right, had the idea to do an updated version. For the rap in the break they brought in well known New York based DJ / MC Tony Touch.

Record 2 Side B - Louie Vega / Love Fantasy featuring Cindy Mizelle 3:35 - Originally produced and released by Roy Ayers in 1980. Louie has always been a fan of Roy Ayers and has done collaborations with him. Louie felt a cover version of this song would be a great ending for the album.

Record 3 Side A - John Davis & The Monster Orchestra / I Can't Stop Featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff (Louie Vega Remix) 4:02 -

One of the essential Break Beat records that has been acclaimed by hip hop originators like Grand Master Flash and Jam Master Jay as one of the formative tunes that helped create the genre. Knowing that DJ Jazzy Jeff is a master of the hip hop genre, Louie felt he would be a great addition to this remix, adding his world class scratching skills to Louie's remix, thereby creating the definitive hip hop version of this seminal disco track.

Record 3 Side B - John Davis & The Monster Orchestra / I Can't Stop (Louie Vega Remix) 4:02 - this version does not include the hip hop scratches, and is Louie's respectful homage to John Davis the producer and one of his more acclaimed works from the Sam Records catalogue.

This wonderful, Balearic tinged Disco rarity is getting the official reissue treatment finally!

Nicolette Larson's 'Lotta Love' has long been a sought after jam, with the promo only 12" version changing hands for big dough!
Mixed by the legendary Florida born and NYC dwelling mixer and DJ extraordinaire Jim Burgess, this one straddles that gorgeous line of being a bit Rock (Neil Young wrote the track) and totally Disco in all the right ways. A truly sweet slice of music here backed with a nice cover of Sam Cooke's classic standard 'You send me'.

Often bootlegged, there's been some shoddy facsimiles kicking around over the years this high quality, official, 100% legit reissue has been lovingly remastered by Above Board distribution in conjunction with Warner Brothers from the master tapes. What more can you ask for This 2018 repress is a reproduction of the 1978 WB promo only 12" complete with Warner Brothers artwork. Essential business.

2 track Single from Henry Buckley released by Dub Store Records

*Repress*

Launched in 2018 with two first EPs, Broken District continues to explore alternative music styles with the third instalment of its VA series.

The label's territory here expands to Jazz & Soul-influenced electronic music landscapes, with productions from Turbojazz, Setwun, Leon Revol, Duktus and the label's co-founders Jus Jam and Momla.

We'd like to draw your attention to half Dutch, half Turkish combination Altin Gun, to be released on Bongo Joe records in the near future. Properly done psych funk that really does sound as though it's been made in 70's Turkey (no, really!)

Dr Rubberfunk might not be medically trained, but he does know a thing or two about treating your ears, as he returns with his fourth album 'My Life at 45'. The eagle eyed will have spotted the connection to the good Doctor's second album – 'My Life at 33' - and fans can do their own maths as to when they should expect the final RPM-punning release in the trilogy.

Having established himself in funk, soul, blues and jazz circles with a ton of high calibre releases, the good doctor holds a reputation for quality productions, with a hands-on approach, both in front of, and behind the mixing desk, as an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and producer.

The new album brings together stunning vocals from John Turrell, Izo FitzRoy and Stephanie Whitelock, whilst the instrumental tracks, showcasing the talents of long-time collaborators Jim Oliver, Jonathon James and Ben Castle, make it clear just what a crack production outfit the Doctor has put together. Got a lovely quote from Fatboy Slim: "Very soulful. Doesn't sound too retro. Just fabulous...."

UK Radio support has come in from BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music from Craig Charles (Spot play Trunk of Funk feature), Huey Morgan, Rylan and Paddy O'Connell. US Radio on KCRW from Jose Galvan, Karene Daniel and Garth Trinidad.

WW Specialist plays have come in on WWFM, JazzFM, Radio Krimi, Solar Radio, Radio 1 Prague, WMPG, Milk n Chocolate, Rai 1 Italy, KaneFM, Cannibal Radio, Radio Z Nurenburg and Radio Nova Portugal

Press: Bandcamp: New & Notable, 45Live, Sphere Of Hip Hop, Word Is Bond, The Dutch Guy, Last Day Deaf, Monkeyboxing, Flea Market Funk, Staccatofy, The Find Mag.

DJ support from Fatboy Slim, Laurent Garnier, Dj Yoda, Renegades of Jazz, DJ Andy Smith, Auntie Flo, Doc Scott, Smoove, Chicken Brothers, Crazy P, Satin Jackets, Marc Hype, Mr Benn, Mat The Alien, Basement Freaks, Renegades Of Jazz, The Allergies, Hint,

Two classics from the vibes master, Mr. Roy Ayers. “Searching” is an all-time anthem in the soul and rare groove world. Original 7’ for Searching sell for £100+. One sweet love, has never been released as a 7” before. Perfect first time cut!

“Double A++ sided Disco Beat Steppers from Sharon's Super Sexy Disco mischief on a Love To Love Summer beat, followed by Usha's 24 carat version excursion from way out East on a "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" back beat!

Super Disco Heavy Duty individually hand numbered fun 45 floor fillers with an Outernational twist!”

New label Last Records is a front for various musical cells around the world, awaiting a signal to unleash their own quirky brand of sound. First band of insurgents are the Sukebe Collective from Fukuoka, Japan.

Tape / Cassette
Tape Manchester & UK club institution Swing Ting cap a decade of productions and parties with super sweet debut album ‘100 Dances’ - titled after their admirable tally of raves around the city since 2009.
Fronted by hyper-connector Balraj Samrai and accomplice Ruben Platt, the Swing Ting family spans vocalists, producers, toasters and DJs, many of whom appear in some form on ‘100 Dances’.
Taking in early doors warm-up vibes, thru to peaktime steppers, all in the bright and neveraggy style they’ve made their own, the album speaks directly to the good times vibe that Swing Ting cultivated in every aspect of their output, always prizing positivity over nastiness (although their dances weren’t shy of rowdiness, now and then). It’s a dead sweet send off to one period in their rule, distilling the vibe to preserve it for future consumption.
Save for the blissed titular opener, it’s an entirely vocal-led affair, much like their dances.
Trusty host Fox graces the ‘90s R&B hustle of ‘Coming Through’ alongside Evabee and K S R , and Equiknoxx’s Shanique Marie lights up the head high bashment closer, ‘Give Thanks’, while Manchester legend Trigga voices the ruder bubble of ‘Swagger’, and Midlands don RTKal shares the mic with Poppy Roberts’ Lovescene on the romantic flex of ‘Feel It’. But perhaps our favourites are the low key burn of ‘Drama’ featuring near-ASMR levels of soulful chills from Thai-Chi Rose’s, or the exceedingly deft touch of ‘Like You Know’ with Dublin’s Gemma Dunleavy.
Since they started up in a sweaty basement in 2008, and nearly ended this writer’s days with a toppling speaker cab in a Chinese karaoke bar in 2009, Swing Ting have long held an admirable line between Manchester’s UK urban heritage and and up-to-the-second waves from Africa, the Caribbean, and the US in a way that’s entirely, humbly inclusive, not exclusive: a lesson that can be learned by too many new promoters who take, take, take and rarely give back as much as these guys.

Rare disco find from Singapore. Re-mastered by Alex O Smith