Hip-Hop Vinyl New Releases - News

Another excursion into Latin and Brazilian funk and jazz from the Raro Raro label, this time setting Bobby Valentin's classic "Use It Before You Lose It" dancefloor bomb against Mongo Santamaria's funky take on "Sunshine Of Your Love" for another killer 2 sider. Double rare!

Scott Monteith's 10th Deadbeat album, Walls & Dimensions,is now available through his own BLKRTZ label.

Comprising 8 tracks and featuring vocal contributions from a diverse range of Berlin based artists, as well as for the first time Deadbeat himself, this 10th outing sees Monteith elegantly showcasing his wide ranging musical interests with a striking new sense of gravity and cutting lyricism not seen in his previous works.

A wise old curmudgeon once said that all great art is born of great suffering, and if that sentiment holds true this album has had plenty of fuel for it's proverbial fire.' Says Monteith of the writing process . The last month of 2014 and first half of this year were not kind to me and my family to say the least. Thankfully I was able to turn to music and writing to work through those feelings over the last year, and found some absolutely lovely people to voice them when I wasn't 't up to the task of expressing them myself. '

Featuring guest vocal contributions from Fink, Delhia de France, and Elif Becir, as well as cello performances by Maarten Vos, Walls & Dimensions sees Monteith exploring all facets of his musical interest with deadly focus and passion, from pure ambient drones, to heart felt reggae blues, and dubbed out late night club bangers.
heart felt reggae blues, and dubbed out late night club bangers.

Devon Lyon, born Devon Bailey, moved to Kingston in the 70's to live in Trenchtown with his mum, his sister and his brother named Dennis. Dennis was working in the new Kingston area on a construction site. Dennis met a friend who worked at the construction site and that friend was the lead singer from the group The Chantells.
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Dennis told The Chantells lead singer that his brother was singing at home like he was singing everyday on construction work site. The Chantells lead singer told Dennis to bring his brother Devon. One day, Devon came with his brother Devon and they met the three members of the group The Chantells. They became friends. Devon started to verse with them in the evening and they really like him style.

With the help of The Chantells group, Devon recorded his first track « Shine Eye Girl » in 1978. One day, his cousin from london Phil Matthias came to Jamaica to see his family. Phil loved the song « Shine Eye Girl » because he heard it on the radio in London a few months before. Phil realized Devon was his cousin so he was searching for Devon to record a song.

« Shadow After Dark » was recorded in 1979 at famous Byron Lee studio « Dynamics » with In Crowd band. The In Crowd band were a christian group. They were going to church every sunday. Devon Lyon wrote this lyrics because he get stealt many times by someone in the night at his home but never really knew who it was. Everytime he wake up, he only saw a shadow from the window. So he realized someone was in his house. Everytime we wake up with his machette but he never see the thief. So he wrote « i will never, never will i ever, trust no shadow after dark ».

Phil Matthias produced the song but never paid his cousin. Everytime Devon was asking him for royalties, he told another story so after a while Devon started to move forward. Actually he didn't know what to do to get his royalties. He stopped the music and languish into obscurity for more than 30 years.

Few years ago, Devon Lyon met Enrico Vicari, an italian reggae lover living in Jamaica. Enrico is the man behind « Vinyl Club Jamaica ». One day, Devon brought him his two songs and ask Enrico to play them. Everyone liked it. Devon also took the microchophe to sing on the b-side more than 30 years after the release of his tune. Enrico get the idea to capture this moment (check youtube) so the world will know Devon Lyon is still alive and well.

Baby It's Me is a 1977 album released by American singer Diana Ross on the Motown label that peaked at #18 on the Billboard Top 200 and #7 on the R&B album chart. The album was produced by producer Richard Perry. The LP yielded one Top 40 hit, "Gettin' Ready for Love", reaching number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Other charting singles released from the album include "You Got It" and "Your Love is so Good for Me," the latter receiving a Grammy nomination. It flew up the charts. However, though it sold rapidly and deserved a longer shelf life, a Grammy nod and strong reviews....Important to note: the sentiment amongst fans and critics was that Richard Perry guided Diana to hit status with her first solo album away from the Motown machine. Her subsequent albums, save for compilations, were recorded away from Motown.
Adult Contemporary drove the success of this album, with both "Gettin' Ready for Love" (#8)(5) and "You Got It" (#9) being Top 10 hits, while the newly formed Billboard Dance charts ranked "Your Love is so Good For Me" Top 15. Although this album never made the UK charts it was certified Silver for UK sales in excess of 60,000 copies.
The album was embraced by her fans and eventually was certified Gold. Its success was driven by Adult Contemporary Airplay which traditionally is slower to impact commercial aspirations.
Ross would continue to work with Perry including on her pairing with international vocalist, Julio Iglesias on their duet, "All of You" several years later.

DELUXE REISSUE ON RED VINYL!!!!!
The Boss is a 1979 album released by Diana Ross on the Motown label.
This album was written and produced by longtime Ross collaborators Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson and marked her return to Top 40 radio based on the strength of the title track, which peaked #19 on the pop singles chart, and #12 on the US R&B Chart.(2) In addition all the LP tracks went to #1 on the dance charts,(3) and peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200. It was certified Gold by the RIAA in late 90's.
For its 20th Anniversary, the album was remastered and released on CD in 1999 with 12" versions of "The Boss" and "It's My House" as extra tracks. The 12" versions of "I Ain't Been Licked" and "No One Gets the Prize"/"The Boss" appear on Diana: Deluxe Edition, and a rare remixed single version of "No One Gets the Prize" on The Motown Anthology - Diana Ross. Ivo Del Prado remixed the bass-heavy "Once in the Morning" which is a very difficult promotional-only to find. 6 out of 8 of the songs are now club classics.
Ross also promoted the album on her first HBO special, "Standing Room Only". The special was culled from her successful "Tour '79", and the setlist included the title song, "The Boss", "It's My House", "No One Gets the Prize", "I Ain't Been Licked" and "All For One".

DJ Krush commemorates his 25th anniversary with Kiseki, a brand new collaborative album which reaffirms his status as Japan's original beat master. There's every-thing we've come to expect from the man, heavy breaks with fierce raps, serene soundscapes and seamless pro-duction. All tracks produced by DJ Krush. Disc One

A long awaited release of two iconic songs by Mr. Ed Motta properly edited by The Mighty Zaf and engineered by the mighty Phil Asher. Fully licensed by Warner Music Brazil. A sure banger for this summer!

An otherworldly mix of Cosmic Disco, Funk, Boogie and traditional Flamenco styles by Spanish cantaor' El Turronero!! Featuring the legendary Josep Llobell (Oliver's Planet, Enterprise...) at the controls. Including Las Penas' and more! Remastered sound from the master tapes, insert with photos and liner notes by Txarly Brown (Achilifunk)

DELUXE RE-ISSUE ON 180g !!!

Paid in Full is the debut album of American hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, released on July 7, 1987, by Island-subsidiary label 4th & B'way Records. The duo recorded the album at hip hop producer Marley Marl's home studio and Power Play Studios in New York City, following Rakim's response to Eric B.'s search for a rapper to complement his disc jockey work in 1985. The album peaked at number fifty-eight on the Billboard 200 chart and produced five singles, "Eric B. Is President", "I Ain't No Joke", "I Know You Got Soul", "Move the Crowd", and "Paid in Full".
Paid in Full is credited as a benchmark album of the golden age hip hop. Rakim's rapping, which pioneered the use of internal rhymes in hip hop, set a higher standard of lyricism in the genre and served as a template for future rappers. The album's heavy sampling by Eric B. became influential in hip hop production. The record has sold over a million copies and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it platinum in 1995. In 2003, the album was ranked number 228 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The 2017 European tour edition of this 7-inch, originally released in 1990 by New Rose. Backed with 'Makin' Love', this edition on BLACK VINYL is limited to 250 copies.

The 2017 European tour edition of this 7-inch, originally released in 1990 by New Rose. Backed with 'Makin' Love', this edition on PINK VINYL is limited to 250 copies.

Awarded a five star review by Rolling Stone magazine on it's original 1978 release, 'Africa Must Be Free By 1983' was met with great acclaim and has gone on to be one the most sought after of all classic roots reggae albums. Re-mastered for release in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Greensleeves label, the album is a fitting testament to two titans of reggae (artist and producer Augustus Pablo) that were taken from us far too soon.
Hugh Mundell was a protégé of Augustus Pablo and recorded for his Rockers International imprint. Together the two made these classic sides which still stand as genre defining forty years on.

The first official re-issue of rare, killer 12". Spiritual roots on a heavy digital rhythm. Finally available again on vinyl., originally out on Ras Affinityin 1986!
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Jamaiel Shabaka was born in the parish of St.Thomas, Jamaica. As far as he remember, he grew up like a child in the country side by farming vegetables under the sun with his family. At the age of five of seven years old, he moved with his family to Los Angeles, California. He discovered music with his mum playing piano and that's how he started singing.

Sometimes he came back to Jamaica and there he experienced Sound System for the first time. There he met a brethren named Ras Kiddus. Jamaiel wanted to meet Sugar Minott so he asked Ras Kiddus to help him. Ras Kiddus brought him to the Youth Promorion yard and organized a meeting. Sugar Minott took time to help Jamaiel to produce his song 'I Am That I Am' at Channel 1 studio on Maxfield avenue. The melody came to him with the inspiration of Jah Rastafari.

Originally released in 1979, Blood A Go Run' is a heavyweight roots reggae tune sung by obscure artist Leroy Brown and backed by famous Soul Syndicate band. This is a timeless roots rock reggae recorded and mixed at King Tubby's studio in Jamaica. Blood ago run when you play dis ya one !!!

DELUXE VINYL EDITION!!!
It was five months before his debut album Radio hit the shelves. Is was less than a year before he celebrated his 18th birthday. And it was possibly the first ever hip-hop performance in the state of Maine. A baby-faced LL Cool J visited Colby College in Maine in 1985 and introduced hip hop to a state that knew little of it. LL broke down all four aspects of hip hop culture to the sparse crowd in attendance: emceeing, DJing, breakdancing and graffiti. It was an epic performance that truly sends shivers down your spine at witnessing the birth of hip hop outside the inner city. A must have for any true fan of the origins of hip hop.

The Aristocrats were originally from Bridgeport, Connecticut, but came to Philadelphia in 1973 where they recorded five tracks with Bobbi Eli at Sigma Sound Studios. Only one single was released, the Philly classic Let's Get Together now' on Warner Brothers Records. Original pressings can fetch up to £150. The Expansion pressing here is extra special as the 'b' side Loving You Is Mellow' has never previously been released on 7' or vinyl. It is in fact the original version of a song later made famous by Major Harris but in it's own right an exceptional piece of Philly magic.

DELUXE VINYL EDITION!!!
Introducing "The Roots - Live au Festival Rock en Seine" recorded live in 2013. The Rock en Seine festival is a three-day rock music festival, held at Domaine National de Saint-Cloud, the Château de Saint-Cloud's park, west of Paris. The Roots is an American hip hop group, formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots are known for a jazzy and eclectic approach to hip-hop featuring live musical instruments. ranked the band #7 on its list of the 25 Best Hip-Hop Groups of All-Time, calling them "Hip-hop's first legitimate band."

Repress!

The Voices Of East Harlem were an ensemble of vocalists who for Just Sunshine Records recorded two albums under the direction of Leroy Hutson and Curtis Mayfield. Cashing In' is one of their most classic songs, a highly sought after track on original 7' fetches between £40 and £80 on the collectors market. First recorded and released in 1973 it has all the hallmarks of a Leroy Hutson composition and an established audience that crosses the boundaries of northern, crossover and modern soul. The song is coupled here with Take A Stand', another highly regarded and sought after modern soul room dance floor tracks, never previously released on 7' single until now

Gypsy rumba-funk & flamenco pop courtesy of Trigal, the grooviest & funkiest band from the Spanish '70s rumba scene. 13 tracks taken from their sought after LPs and 45s, originally released on the legendary Belter label, 1976-77. Heavy drums, percussion, deep bass, wah wah, electric guitar, horns, funk / blaxpoitation touches, gypsy female vocals...

Reissue from this 45, produced by Scientist - originally out on Writers Of Rastafari in 1981!

REPRESSED !!
Danny Krivit's name has been synonymous with quality, underground dance music for many decades now.
His roles as re-edit pioneer, legendary NYC disc jock and all around music obsessive have long been written about.
Danny is approaching 45 years as a DJ, almost half a century behind the decks across the world and he shows no sign in stopping anytime soon fortunately! Quite fitting then, that he has opened up his personal, private archive of re-edits for all of us Disco fiends to enjoy and play over and over with this limited, fully licensed 12" release.
Any self respecting Disco head should be familiar with the name Voyage. Releasing on Miami's legendary TK Disco imprint as well as numerous other well known labels, Voyage have a dedicated cult following for their percussion heavy euro Disco sounds. Here Mr.K takes on one of their most famous cuts on the A-side - "Lady America" and teases all of the best bits about this uptempo anthem out into the open and straight onto the dancefloor! Breaks are elongated, the right parts are looped in just the right way and the tracks momentum is pushed right through the roof, a Disco bomb indeed! On the B-side we have "Point Zero", a smorgasbord of Afro percussions, chants and rhythms that will literally tear the roof off any club! again DK has tweaked this monster track in all the right places adding his magical editing touch with love and respect, essential stuff and a total dancefloor weapon!
Both tracks contained on this 12" have been fully licensed and legitimately reissued in conjunction with Danny Krivit / TK Disco. These edits have been lovingly reworked by Danny with dancers and DJ's alike in mind. A very special release indeed and one that all Disco heads will undoubtedly be excited to see in the shops! Essential release.

We are officially under exclusive rights reissuing a very special privetly pressed 45, "Silver Satin" by Axis. Originally released back in 1984, Axis was a short-lived band formed in California by guitar player/vocalist Byron Bordeaux. Back in 80s, record was never officially distributed, with only a couple of hundred 45s made, and sold exclusively at their shows.

Byron recorded a good deal of demo tracks, which for the next 30 years would go unreleased, all stuck on a pile of 8-track and cassette tapes. You can find one of these tracks on the flipside of this 7" - "Runaway Love" was completely recorded and performed by Byron circa 1986.

Following the band's dissolution, Byron continued performing, eventually ending up playing alongside the likes of Bobby Womack, Buddy Miles and The Gap Band.

Fast forward three decades later, "Silver Satin" is a sought after record on the collectors market that when found, goes for triple figures on eBay, Discogs and the like. Heavy support from Jeremy Underground as played Live at Dimensions 2016.

There is so much good music out there that you've never heard of. Bedroom musicians putting together records that never come out, or finally see the light of day after many years. Such is the case with Fru Assah Atanga aka Colonel Faat. He was born in Camaroon, but made the trek to Nigeria at 21 to learn how to play an instrument. That instrument would be the saxophone. Learning his craft he would then transition to play with several groups in a live capacity around Nigeria in various hotels and night clubs. Moving from Nigeria to Ghana he would would partake in a few recordings as well as recording four records in his own living room. None have ever been released. The first single he has released on Agogo Records is fantastic. "Balantinje" is a light, airy and funky track that is perfect for the summer dance floors and a total vibe out record. Great horns permeate throughout. Think Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela meet updated vibes for 2017. The spirit of the music is definitely there and right in front. There is also a remix of the track by Mankoora that is a little more down tempo but none the less funky. Now we are just waiting with baited breath for the rest of his music to surface.

Markey Funk returns to Delights with a new exclusive 7inch. It's two sides of drum-heavy fuzz funk, largely inspired by the early 70's European psychsploitation records. Mean and sharp Meters-meet-Goblin groove on the A-side, followed by mind-melting sound orgy on the flip, makes this release an ideal floor-filler for your next LSD party.

Recommended for fans of Jean-Pierre Massiera, Drumetrics, The Natural Yogurt Band/The Sign of Four, Calibro 35 and other groovy oddities.

Singer Nicole Willis and Worlds premiere Funk band The Soul Investigators released their debut album Keep Reachin Up on 17th of November 2005. The album was released by Helsinki based Timmion Records.

The albums lead single "If This Ain t Love (Don t Know What Is)" was nominated by Gilles Peterson of BBC as one of the best songs of the year 2005. An up-tempo, inspired and deceivingly simple track, "If This Ain't Love" brings to mind releases by legendary soul labels such as Motown and current music by the likes of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. Peaking at number 4 on the national Finnish charts, "If This Ain't Love" has been lauded by the Rare Groove connoisseurs as Northern Soul for the new millennium.

Keep Reachin Up is sure-shot album that is not to be missed.

Nicole Willis, known for her collaborations with The Soul Investigators & Jimi Tenor produces an album including some of the tracks she composed with the former as well as originals specifically for a fresh collaboration with UMO Jazz Orchestra. Jimi Tenor, who is a multi-faceted artist, has penned all arrangements for the big band and their talented rhythm section. Pete Toikkanen who is a mega-talent guitarist from The Soul Investigators, along with the two, composed those original tracks that highlight their alternative influences. Indie god & personal hero of Ms Willis, Ian Svenonius introduces Ms Willis on the first track and wraps up the LP with a final plea.

Thelma Houstons' unreleased Soulful AOR tracks from 1980

After Thelma ended her contract with Motown, she went to work with Terry Woodford to record a set of tracks for her next album. Unfortunately it didn't happened and the tracks was shelved for 36 years. Until now.

Smooth breezy soulful AOR with the Wishbone inc signature sound, (Byrne and Barnes, Robert Byrnem Mac McAnally and others) remastered and released on vinyl for the first time.

Coverart by Yoko Honda

Limited to 500 worldwide

Anothe fantastic label runned by the Mastermind Peter Brown from New York City. We're honoured to present you in future some pearls of Disco & Funk on black gold! Starting with the essential and hard to find "Cloud One - Doin' It All Night/ Dust To Dust" from 1979, written and produced Peter Brown & Patrick Adams!

Well how do you follow up Young and Companys smash hits on Brunswick records. Pretty hard I hear you say. After the best seller "I like what you are doing to me" the group carried on talks with the heads at Brunswick. There was a stale mate on contract details and buddy hankerson decided to shelve the few demos he had recorded with his new group Buddy Hank and The Shine Band. We grabbed the reels from his brothers place on the East Coast and thought we couldn't miss the opportunity to get them transferred and hear what was on them....We wasn't disappointed!

- Album premiere on The FADER & press includes Afropop, Sounds & Colours, Time Out, Remezcla, Univision, WFMU
- First edition vinyl limited to 500 copies worldwide
- Band members also part of M.A.K.U Soundsystem, Bulla en el Barrio & Names You Can Trust releases
- Artwork & videos by Colombian artists Goske Rojo & Hugo Oro
- Numerous shows & residencies around NYC
- No Regreso' mixed by Beyoncé engineer Stuart White

Rooted in Colombia and based in New York, Combo Chimbita lives in the future. Powerhouse vocalist Carolina Oliveros, synth and bassist Prince of Queens, guitarist Niño Lento, and drummer Dilemastronauta began experimenting with different traditional musical styles during late-night residencies at Barbès in Brooklyn. Exploring Afro-Caribbean styles through improvisational long-form trips, Combo Chimbita came together as a four-piece band after they started encouraging more vocals byOliveros, who tightens the rhythm with her guacharaca. Her voice is so powerful that it leads us in that direction,' says Prince of Queens.
The band draws on traditional music from everywhere: Panama,
Caribbean, Colombia, tamboritos, '70s funaná from Cape Verde,
kompa from Haiti, cumbia, dub and reggae from Jamaica. We try to incorporate it in a way that if feels ours, so you hear these influences there but they come from our background, and our background is heavy rock, psychedelic funk and soul,' says guitarist Niño Lento. As Prince of Queens puts it: Combo Chimbita is like a comeback to that raw punk energy, back to where it all started for me. But then obviously with the elements that we've grown to love and appreciate: the African diaspora
and Caribbean and South America.'

E.R.I.C (Extra Rich In Class) is the performing alter-ego of Mr Eric Oliver Harris a former New York banker, who turned his back on Wall Street and the world of commerce during 2008 to follow his dream of being a full time musician and boy! He hasn't looked back since. It was E.R.I.C's 2008 self penned, 'Drama' project which initially brought him to the attention of UK Indie Soul fans followed by his 2011 Groove' project from which several of his tracks were licensed by the then UK based Soul Unsigned Label for a compilation album. E.R.I.C's involvement with Soul Junction came about through the licensing of his 2012 outing Backstage' a track that really tore the airwaves of internet radio up and as such was a must for inclusion on the Soul Junction Extra Rich In Soul' (SJCD5007) compilation, the album title being a play on Extra Rich In Class' to E.R.I.C's delight.

Back then, many people asked us to release Backstage in a 45 format but for whatever reason this never materialised. Moving forward E.R.I.C continued to perform unabated with his one man show performing primarily as a Luther Vandross Tribute act but always included his own material as part of the overall stage show.

During the summer of 2016 E.R.I.C returned to the UK airwave's with yet another vanity project The Night Life' EP, a five track set that featured the excellent songs life's A Mess' and Playboy To Playboy'. But it was the title track Nightlife' that ignited the radio jocks interest and for that matter Soul Junction's too. So a plan was hatched to release for the first time on a vinyl format two of E.R.I.C's most popular songs. So before you, you now have the soulfully haunting ballad Backstage' backed with the joyously uplifting feel good dance track Nightlife' which I defy even the most stoic amongst you not to start tapping your toes along too.

Little is known about this south pacific recluse. Far from his australian hometown, he now evolves close to trees, birds and spirits of Meganesia's remote Coral Sea. Abstract, Electronica, Dub, Lo-Fi, Ambient, Downtempo, Ethnic field Musics or experimental hip-hop... qualify the analog music of this
australian musician is a difficult exercise. Oceania, his last album under the alias of Tropical Hi-Fi, will be soon available on vinyl on UK imprint Emotional.
Cover painting by Tokio aoyama