RAP / HIP-HOP

Although Beyond Belief was completed in only a handful of all-night sessions, 38 Spesh and Harry Fraud took their time crafting this high level Hip-Hop music. Harry didn't simply send Spesh a folder of beats to rap to, Spesh made the trip to Harry's lab, and all the beats and lyrics were created on...

AMG (whom The Source called "more foul mouthed than a late 70s Richard Pryor concert film"), was a part of Courtney Branch and Tracy Kendrick's Total Trak Production crew which developed DJ Quik, 2nd II None, Sylk Smoov, Hi-C and Boss. He made his first appearances on DJ Quik's debut album Quik is...

The underground hip-hop collective Griselda has long established itself as a go-to source for the classic hardcore sound of 90s hip-hop artists like Mobb Deep and Raekwon, and unrelentingly gritty boom-bap production, and Benny The Butcher is one of the group's most proficient contributors. Now...

L.A. rapper Blu burst onto the scene in the late 00s with the widely acclaimed Exile collaboration Below The Heavens, igniting a West Coast hip-hop renaissance in the process. With his cool Cali demeanor and undeniable lyrical talent, Blu drew praise from fans and tastemakers alike, launching a...

An independent hip-hop fixture for more than 15 years, famed Los Angeles emcee Blu has mastered the lost art of the album, imbuing each new project with unique themes and often recruiting a single producer to craft a cohesive sonic experience. This has lead to full-length collaborations with the...

From weaving thought-provoking poetics to channeling the spirit of vintage West Coast gangsta rap, acclaimed Los Angeles emcee Blu is a dynamic musical presence, forever evolving and defying expectations. Supremely talented producer and musician Shafiq Husayn has a similarly diverse skill set, with...

Keeping the pressure on, Che Noir follows up her seminal album Food For Thought with another must-have LP titled The Last Remnants. This 9-track offering features the likes of Benny The Butcher, Ransom, Elcamino, Klass Murda, and Jynx716. Production is handled by 38 Spesh, Trox, Chup, TrickyTrippz,...

FINALLY, the wait is over! Curren$y and Harry Fraud's new joint effort is here. The rapper-producer duo unloaded The Marina EP, an eight-track project featuring guest appearances from Wiz Khalifa, French Montana, Action Bronson, Smoke DZA and Street Wiz as a digital release at the end of May, and...

This vinyl contains the full set of Cypress Hill live at Woodstock in 1994, the gig that officially made percussionist Eric Bobo a member of the group and the year critics and readers of Rolling Stone Magazine named them Best Rap Group. The pioneering hip-hop sensation left an indelible mark on the...

In music, timing is everything.When soon-to-be-renowned Boston hip-hop duo 7L & Esoteric collaborated with the Wu-Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck on the title track to 7LES's debut EP Speaking Real Words in 1999, the timing was perfect. The upstart duo was building a serious buzz on the East Coast and...

Pressed on CLEAR TEAL WAVE colored vinyl. Limited to 500 Hand-Numbered copies Worldwide!APT 6E by Dave East x Mike & Keys is now available on vinyl! The 15-track album was produced entirely by frequent East collaborators Mike & Keys and features Shaggy, Buddy, Kurupt, and Stacy Barthe. East...

Known for weaving together complex rhymes with style, Elzhi has been rapping circles around the competition for more than two decades. After years as a member of iconic group Slum Village, Elzhi's impressivesolo career has included projects produced by acclaimed artists like Black Milk, Georgia...

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...

When Ruff Draft saw its initial release in 2003, J Dilla possessed production skills on par with anyone in hip-hop - technically and creatively. "At the top of his game," says longtime friend and collaborator, Karriem Riggins. After years of building while modestly deferring to others of both...

A leading light in the thriving Chicago hip-hop scene, Mick Jenkins has solidified his reputation over the past decade, blending atmospheric vibes, thematic depth, and captivating lyricism. The talented emcee's remarkable career has included four celebrated studio albums, widespread critical...

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...

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...