GET ON DOWN Archives - Guerssen Records

Sex And Violence (Purple Splatter)

GuerssenAdmin — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 22:00:00 +0000

In the early 1990s gangsta rap was becoming more popular. KRS-One took to the mic and continued to write socially conscious raps resulting in the hard-hitting 1992 album Sex And Violence which would be the fifth and final studio album under the Boogie Down Productions name. Produced by KRS-One, Pal Joey, Kenny Parker, D-Square, and Prince Paul, the album explores the darkest sides of the American urban landscape and psyche, with KRS as narrator, detailing all sides of the matrix. While singles like the alarming drum-driven “Duck Down” and the funky-as-hell “We In There” got most of the attention in ’92, the deeper sequence reveals plenty of additional gems: the history lesson of the dark and dusty “Drug Dealer”; “Ruff Ruff”, with scowling MC favorite Freddie Foxxx (aka Bumpy Knuckles); the grooving “Questions and Answers,” and the frantic record industry track “How Not To Get Jerked.”
The album kicks off with an intro skit featuring KRS-One as a DJ in panic needing vinyl which at the time was a dying format while cassettes and CDs became the dominant format. Thirty-two years later vinyl DJs and Hip-Hop vinyl collectors no longer need to panic. Get On Down in partnership with Sony Music’s CERTIFIED is proud to bring back to vinyl this underrated gem in the BDP catalog. Featuring one of the dopest album covers byAmerican artist Robert Williams, Sex and Violence is pressed on colored vinyl and packaged in a gatefold jacket with full lyrics.

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Ghetto Music: The Blueprint Of Hip Hop(Blue/Clear)

GuerssenAdmin — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 23:00:00 +0000

Among hip-hop fans, Boogie Down Productions first two albums – Criminal Minded (1987) and By All Means Necessary (1988) – loom very large. And for good reason: they both captured one of the late 1980s most important and influential crews at their highest powers of lyricism and musical invention.
That said, too many people sleep on BDPs third LP, Ghetto Music. Released in 1989, when the hip-hop world was truly beginning to explode and reach new heights of sales and exposure around the world, the album is arguably as powerful as the group’s first two.
As on By All Means Necessary, in the wake of the tragic death of the founder, producer, and DJ Scott LaRock, KRS-One pushed along mightily on the production side, with help from his extended crew.Musically the sound created on albums 2 & 3 was funky, catchy, and continually innovative, giving him the perfect backdrop to build his Edutainment syllabus.
Lyrically there was never a question about KRS-One’s power, and on Ghetto Music he continues to impress, teach, and ask important questions. Clear cases in point are two of the album’s singles, “You Must Learn” and “Why Is That?” but he gets even deeper on tracks like the anti-police thought-piece “Who Protects Us From You” (still sadly relevant in 2024), “Ghetto Music” and “World Peace.”
Out of print on vinyl since 2017, Get On Down in partnership with Sony’s CERTIFIED is proud to present this ’89 classic fresh for 2024 you suckas! Pressed for the first time on double-colored vinyl and packaged in a gatefold jacket with a fold-out lyric sheet and two bonus remixes.

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The Pillage (Clear with Black Swirl)

GuerssenAdmin — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 23:00:00 +0000

Cappadonna is one of the original members of Wu-Tang Clan absent from their debut album Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) due to being locked up at the time of recording. Three years later he would get his chance to shine on Ghostface’s debut Ironman. In 1997 Cappadonna was prominently featured on Wu-Tang’s second album Wu-Tang Forever. The following year the spotlight was on Cappadonna for the release of his debut album The Pillage. With production overseen by the RZA and Wu producers True Mathematics, True Master and Goldfinghaz, The Pillage dropped on March 24th, 1998 and was certified Gold one month later. From the classic opening track “Slang Editorial” reporting on the streets to the closing track “Black Boy” where Cappadonna spits lyrics about being a free man and rejoining the Wu, The Pillage is another classic Wu solo debut.
To commemorate the 25th Anniversary of The Pillage, Get On Down is proud to present, for the first time on vinyl since it was originally released in 1998, a limited edition pressing on double clear with black swirl colored vinyl in printed inner sleeves with a 25th Anniversary commemorative OBI limited to 2000 numbered copies.

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Resurrection: 30th Anniversary (Colored Swirl)

GuerssenAdmin — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 23:00:00 +0000

Get On Down in partnership with Sony’s CERTIFIED is proud to present a recut deluxe 30th anniversary colored vinyl pressing of Resurrection that includes the original album plus 3 “Resurrection” remixes with liner notes by Check The Technique author Brian Coleman and featuring track-by-track commentary from Common and No I.D. all in a beautiful gatefold jacket with a commemorative wrap-around OBI.
Resurrection was released on Oct, 4, 1994. While the mainstream originally neglected the album, it has since received a great deal of critical acclaim and is now on The Source’s 100 Best Rap Albums. In comparison to his debut album, Common’s musical style evolved lyrically by expressing himself rather than just describing street life. With its Jazz and Hip Hop flavors, Resurrection furthered the growth of both genres. Overall, the album is commonly perceived as an underrated Hip-Hop classic.
Resurrection was produced almost entirely by No I.D., who has gone on to work withheavyweights like Usher, Alicia Keys, and Killer Mike on his Grammy Winning album Michael.

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Cypress Hill (Red)

GuerssenAdmin — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 23:00:00 +0000

Somewhere in between the rock-star mischief of the Beastie Boys and the slow-creeping funk of Dr. Dre, Cypress Hill introduced their hazy-eyed sound to the world on their self-titled 1991 debut and things have never quite been the same since. The original Cypress Hill album captures the group at their risk-taking best, mixing gangster posturing, LA street politics, Latin flavor and warped humor together under a thick cloud of weed smoke and innovative beats. Nasal-voiced rapper B-Real and his partner Sen Dog, backed by the adventurous production styles of DJ Muggs, produce classics records like “How I Could Just Kill a Man,””Pigs,” “Stoned is the Way of the Walk” and “Hand on the Pump.”
Since its release, the album has won acclaim as one of Rolling Stone’s “Essential Recordings of the 90s” and “Top 100 Best Rap Albums” by The Source magazine. Get On Down is proud to present one of the most influential and important hip-hop albums ever, Cypress Hill, in thisspecial red vinyl release, featuring audio remastered from the original source tapes.

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Guerillas In tha Mist (Orange Green Splatter)

GuerssenAdmin — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 23:00:00 +0000

Possessing lyrics heavily focused on political and social justice, inspired heavily by West Coast gang culture and Islam, Da Lench Mob madewaves throughout the hip-hop scene when they first appeared on the track “Rolling With Da Lench Mob”, off Ice Cube’s famed 1990 solo recordAmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted. Initially, the titular “Lench Mob” of the track namesake referred to Ice Cube as well as the other participating rappers,but J-Dee, Shorty, and T-Bone would adopt the name for their own in time. Their standout appearance on the Ice Cube track would earn the trio critical interest, (as well as shout-outs on Ice Cube’s 1991 follow-up Death Certificate) and generate palpable anticipation for a studio album oftheir own.
Guerillas In Tha Mist, their 1992 debut record, was recorded in the wake of the Rodney King riots, taking its name from infamous comments made during the riots. The record was uncompromising and confrontational in its depictions of urban decay and an unjust system wreaking havoc on an economically disadvantaged Black population. It was starkly realistic (bordering on abrasive) in the content of tracks like the armed revolution-advocating “Freedom Got An A.K.”, the kill-your-idols style of “You And Your Heroes”, and the anti-pusher anthem “All On My Nut Sac.” These harsh manifestos were made all the more smooth via Ice Cube’s jazzy G-funk and Bomb Squad-influenced production, which sampled heavily from classic songs by Parliament, Kool & The Gang, The Incredible Bongo Band, and even Vangelis. Cube himself would make guest appearances throughout the record, as well as an appearance by B-Real of Cypress Hill on the track “Ain’t Got No Class.”
Guerillas In Tha Mist was a Billboard success upon its release, reaching #24 on the Billboard 200, and rendering rap radio hits out of its title track and “Freedom Got An A.K.”, but Da Lench Mob would fall into obscurity over the years, eventually going their separate ways after creative differences, financial rifts, and the life conviction of rapper J-Dee for suspected murder in 1993. Despite their loss of commercial fortunes,Guerillas In Tha Mist would develop a strong reputation as an unheralded gem among hip-hop heads, and would be considered one of the greatlesser-known releases of the era among critics (in 2018 Complex would declare the title track as one of the 100 Best L.A. Rap Songs). Decadesafter its initial release, and in tribute to the memory of Da Lench Mob member Shorty, who passed in 2019, Get On Down now presents an exclusive LP reissue of Guerillas In Tha Mist, which previously was only released officially on wax in Europe. The LP is pressed on a deluxe Greenand Orange Splatter-colored vinyl, and features remastered audio and a painstakingly recreated full color jacket.

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No Need For Alarm (Yellow & Tangerine swirl)

GuerssenAdmin — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 23:00:00 +0000

After breaking out of the Bay Area underground scene in the early 90s with I Wish My Brother George Was Here, Del The Funky Homosapien made a radical turn with his sophomore release, 93’s No Need For Alarm. Casting aside the familiar G-funk vibe of his debut, perhaps as No Need was produced without the involvement of his cousin Ice Cube and The Boogiemen, he moved into a jazzier – some would say more East Coast direction with production by the Hieroglyphics crew of Domino, A-Plus, Casual and Del himself with contributions from the SD50s. The verbal content on No Need shifted as well, moving away from comic interludes and towards a focus on battle raps.
No Need For Alarm is one of the three Hiero Golden Age releases (along with Souls of Mischief’s 93 til Infinity and Casual’s Fear Itself). Though some critics are harsh on No Need For Alarm and claim it’s not as strong an effort as Del’s debut, many disagree and see this release as being the first where Del really stood out. Regardless of which side of the fence one falls on that topic, it’s without doubt that No Need For Alarm has stood the test of time and remains a challenging and uncompromising follow up from one of the most talented and eccentrically gifted artists to to ever emerge from the world of West Coast hip hop.
To commemorate the 30th Anniversary Get On Down is proud to present a limited edition double colored vinyl pressing with a stamped numbered OBI and fold out poster.

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Ironman: 25th Anniversary Edition

GuerssenAdmin — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 22:00:00 +0000

Ghostface Killah released his debut solo album 25 years ago on October 29, 1996. Produced by fellow Wu-Tang Clan member RZA, Ironman found inspiration in sources ranging from blaxploitation films to classic soul and charted a whole new direction for hip-hop in the process. The album features classic bangers like Daytona 500 featuring Raekwon and Cappadonna to soulful emotionally moving cuts like All That I Got Is You with Mary J Blige.
To commemorate the 25 year anniversary Get On Down is proud to present Ironman in a 2xLP set available on both ‘Blue & Cream’ and ‘Chicken & Broccoli’ half-n-half colored vinyl, each version housed in a deluxe gatefold jacket, packed inside a ‘shoebox’-style 2nd outer jacket embossed with the year 1996.

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Done By The Forces Of Nature

GuerssenAdmin — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 23:00:00 +0000

The Jungle Brothers 1988 debut, Straight Out The Jungle, is important for many reasons. It is lo-fi and goofy, but had moments of real focus and social consciousness. It is a true kitchen sink record, that caught a rap fanbase enraptured by Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy, and Boogie Down Productions a bit off-guard. Also of note, beyond the excellence of the album itself, the Jungle Brothers were the fulcrum for what would become the Native Tongues movement – they came first, De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest followed, under their guidance.
By 1989, the group had even more confidence, plus a Warner Bros. contract and advance in their back pocket. They used it to great advantage on the self-produced and criminally underrated Done By The Forces Of Nature,expanding their sonic palette and continuing their Afrocentric approach to music and life. Singles like “What U Waitin 4” and “Doin Our Own Dang”(with De La Soul and Q-Tip, alongside Monie Love) show the group’s fun side. But things weren’t all fun and games, as deeper, more pensive album tracks like “Black Woman”, “Beeds On A String”, and “Acknowledge Your Own History” show. It was another accomplished mix of fun, frolic, and knowledge-of-self, proving that you could be serious in the rap game but still let off steam and fill the dancefloor.
Done By The Forces Of Nature stands as one of the most cherished hip-hop documents of the late 80s among true-school heads. Get On Down is proud to present a new limited-edition pressing on Tri-Colored vinyl in agatefold jacket with full lyrics and numbered OBI limited to 1000 copies.

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Quality Control

GuerssenAdmin — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 23:00:00 +0000

Jurassic 5 flexed serious old-to-the-new muscles in the ’90s, beginning with their independently released single “Unified Rebelution” in 1994, and book-ending with their stellar debut full-length: 2000’s Quality Control. They walked a tightrope between underground and mainstream hip-hop, and toured alongside rap peers as well as punk rockers on the Vans Warped Tour.
With double the pleasure of your average hip-hop group – two DJs and producers (Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark); and four MCs (Chali 2na, Akil, Marc 7 and Zaakir aka Soup) – they brought the late 1970s “unison MC” style of pioneering groups like the Fantastic 5 and the Force MCs to a new generation. Even more surprisingl y, they did so out of Los Angeles, whose hip-hop flavors generally leaned towards Gangsta, G-Funk or Electro lines. Musically inventive and lyrically forward-thinking, each song on Quality Control is a new adventure, exploring engaging territory, delivered via one of the best live hip-hop shows fans had seen in years.
From singles like the strutting groove of the title track to the throwback doo-wop samples on “The Influence” and the catchy, keyboard groove-driven “World of Entertainment (WOE Is Me),” to deeper album tracks like the lyrical gymnastics of “Jurass Finish First” and the thought-provoking “Lausd,” Jurassic 5 consistently stepped to the plate and their fans responded in kind, nearly pushing the album to Gold status. Add the innovative DJ-and-sample workout which closes out the album, “Swing Set,” and you have one of the 2000s’ most unique and solid full-length platters.

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