de la Soul are remembered as the premier Native Tongues posse, those rappers who got low-key, self-consciously thoughtful, and jazzy in the face of gangsta's hardcore threats. But A Tribe Called Quest may have been even stronger, especially on their excellent second album, the bass-thumping, heavily jazz-sampled the Low End Theory. According to the opening "Excursions," rapper Q-Tip's old man says the disc's jazz-rap "reminded him of bebop," and Q calls himself "prominent like Shakespeare." But if Charlie Parker had ever written poetic couplets and backed them with funky-drummer and Ron Carter-on-bass grooves this irresistible, he might have been as big as the Bard and Brother James combined. - David Cantwell.

The album Tribe Called Quest wanted to make from the very beginning. It's their most even, consistent album of the original trilogy that also includes People's Instinctive Travels... and the Low End Theory. But in spite of this, or maybe because of it, it's also their most uninteresting. With so many competent tracks, there's no chance for something to stand out above the pack, like "Scenario" did on Low End Theory or "Can I Kick It" did on People's Instinctive Travels. The celebration is there ("Stir It Up"), the jazz drums kick ("Oh My God"), and the stand-up bass dribbles, keeping perfect pace with Q-Tip's unmistakable mic-touch ("Electric Relaxation"). There's even a Native Tongues armistice/reunion with de la Soul ("Awards Tour"). Although it comes together like a seamless tutorial in jazz hip-hop style, it comes together so damn well that it's hard for any one track to excel, cursing the album with consistent quality.

Anderson .Paak's new album, Oxnard, is a nod to the Southern California city where Anderson grew up. It is the Grammy-nominated artist�s 3rd studio album and the first to be released on Dr. Dre�s label Aftermath Entertainment. Oxnard will include his latest single, �Tints� featuring Kendrick Lamar along with album features from J. Cole, Pusha T and many more. Earlier this year, Anderson .Paak shared with Rolling Stone that "� this is the album [he] dreamed of making in high school, when [he] was listening to [Jay-Z]'s The Blueprint, The Game's The Documentary, and [Kanye West's] The College Dropout."

Straight off the heavy buzz of his debut 12 inch Room With A View Brother Ali delivers his highly anticipated full length album Shadows On The Sun. An emcee, producer and overall party starter, Brother Ali is a student of Hip Hop's Golden age. Shadows on the Sun has been crafted with this foundation and Ali's ability to write creative songs with passion and personality. Produced entirely by ANT and features guest appearances by Slug.Tracklisting:Room With A ViewChampionStar QualityPrince CharmingWin Some Lose SomePay Them BackBlah Blah Blah feat. SlugShadows On The SunPreludeForest WhitikerBitchslap!Back Stage Pacin'When The Beat Comes InMissing Teeth feat. SlugDorianSoul WhisperPicket FenceVictory! (Come Forward)

Vinyl LP pressing. 2011 album from TV writer, actor, standup comedian and rapper Donald Glover AKA Childish Gambino. A unique blend of Hip Hop with multiple genres, combined with lyrical genius, Gambino has gone from a viral cult following to a mega sensation.

uknowhatimsayin� marks a buoyant new chapter in Danny's career, a transitional and celebratory moment. His profile has grown since Atrocity and now armed with a cable TV show and a co-sign from one of rap's icons, we will look to solidify his positioning as a ubiquitous entertainer, independent rap hero, and one of the essential cultural voices of this era, while still retaining the edgy, maverick style that makes him a fan-favorite. The album is executive produced by Q-Tip, and features production by Q-Tip, JPEGMAFIA, Flying Lotus, Paul White, Standing on the Corner and more.�

Vinyl LP pressing. Doris is the debut studio album by Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt; it was released on August 20, 2013. Doris follows his first mixtape Earl, which was released in 2010 when he was sixteen. After returning from a forced stay in a Samoan boarding school, he began working on his debut album and signed a deal with Columbia, rather than Odd Future's Odd Future Records. Doris features guest appearances from Odd Future members Domo Genesis, Frank Ocean, Tyler The Creator along with Casey Veggies, Vince Staples, RZA and Mac Miller. Production was primarily handled by Sweatshirt under the pseudonym randomblackdude and production duo Christian Rich. Additional production was provided by Matt Martians, The Neptunes, RZA, Samiyam, BadBadNotGood, Frank Ocean, and Tyler The Creator.

2012 album from the independent Rap icon. Cancer For Cure marks his first full length rap album since 2007's critically acclaimed I'll Sleep When Your Dead. The album takes another huge leap forward from the production work of his 2010 instrumental album. Weareallgoingtoburninhellmeggamixxx with a bombastic collision of synths, bottomless bass tones, live instrumentation, ear-worming melody, and tightly coiled drum patterns, setting the standard for hip hop production higher than ever. The obvious diversion from the previous album is the presence of EL-P's ever-developing vocal style, continuing to raise the bar on his already highly verbose flow that swiftly and muscularly navigates a rapid fire explosion of syllabic conundrums and quick-witted elocutions full of heart, purpose, style, and grit. Rounded out by feature appearances by a host of high profile guests including Killer Mike, Danny Brown, Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire, Paul Banks, and more this will easily be one of the year's most talked about albums.

This is a collaboration with indie hip-hop producer El-P and jazz musicians the Blue Series Continuum. The result is a forest of sounds that'll blow the mind.

Double vinyl LP pressing. Strictly Business is the debut album by golden age hip-hop duo EPMD. It was originally released on June 21, 1988, by Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records. It peaked at #80 on the Billboard 200 soon after release, yet it earned an RIAA gold album certification within four months of it's release. In addition, it has received much positive critical attention since it's release. In 2003, the album was ranked #459 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album is known for it's lighthearted party raps and funky sample-reliant production. Of it's four singles, three landed on the UK Singles Chart and two reached the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

2019 release, the second collaborative studio album by rapper Freddie Gibbs and record producer Madlib. Entirely produced by Madlib, it is the follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2014 album Pi�ata, and their sixth project as MadGibbs overall. The album features guest appearances from Pusha T, Killer Mike, Anderson.Paak, Yasiin Bey, and Black Thought.

Vinyl Pressing. 2014 album from the rapper and producer. Freddie Gibbs is the product of violent, drug-laden streets but unlike most rappers with similar resumes, he brings the block to the booth without inhibition or an exaggerated rap persona. PINATA, a 17 track collaboration with producer Madlib, is the best distillation yet of his transparent approach to making music, combining an at times stark honesty with electrifying talent as a lyricist and performer. PINATA is 'a gangster Blaxploitation film on wax,' says Gibbs, who came up on the streets of Gary, Indiana, the disregarded city previously best known for producing Michael Jackson. Here he is joined by Mac Miller, Earl Sweatshirt, Raekwon, Scarface, Domo Genesis, Ab-Soul and a host of others in setting his soliloquies of the streets alongside film snippets and dusted Funk, Soul and Progressive musical tapestries.

After quietly serving as a member of a Tribe Called Quest's production team and scoring hits for Busta Rhymes, de la Soul and Pharcyde, Detroit producer Jay Dee became known as a major hip hop prospect by the end of the 90s. The hip-hop community took notice of his no-frills, breakbeat-heavy hip-hop style as he helped craft albums for Common, Q Tip, and the debut for his own group Slum Village. Jay Dee went solo not long after changing his name to J Dilla, he joined the Stones Throw roster in 2003 formed jaylib wit hfellow producer Madlib and released the album CHAMPION SOUND. Althought J Dilla is repsected mainly for his instrumetnal work, he has never crafted an entired albums meatn to be released instrumetnal until now. DONUTS is accessible without being typical or easily defined: it's hip hop without MCs, eelctronic music that at times sounds like a 70s soul mixtape. It's J Dilla doing what he does best, crafting hip hop soul and electronic music into his own sound.

Already Platinum. Impeccable design. Although this is one of the more talked about records of his career, there's no doubt that this is a testament to JAY Z's diligence, entrepreneurship, and artistic vision. Picking up where Watch The Throne left off, Magna Carta Holy Grail is JAY Z's twelfth studio album, and a portrait of an emcee embracing fatherhood, marriage, and striking a balance between a past spent coming up and a future shuffling around the top. The LP also includes a limited edition flexi-disc postcard of exclusive non-album track ''Open Letter'' hidden under the artwork on the back cover. Production is helmed largely by J-Roc, Timbaland, Pharrell Williams, Hit-Boy and others, while featuring performances by Beyonc�, Rick Ross, Justin Timberlake, Frank Ocean, Nas, and more. With MCHG, JAY Z understands that hip hop is starting to enjoy the same clout as fine art and, even better, hip hop is alive, a part of the world, evolving, and not cordoned off in a museum. Play it forward and grab a copy now.

In 2003, J Dilla was better known as Jay Dee, a Detroit producer who shunned publicity but was widely respected in hip-hop; Madlib was an up-and-coming L.A. producer making a name for himself with his wild diversity, from rap (Quasimoto) to electronic jazz (Yesterdays New Quintet) to remixes (Shades of Blue, Blue Note-2003). At the time of Champion Sound's original release in late 2003, J Dilla and Madlib had never been photographed together or appeared as a group in public. In the years that followed, this changed drastically - after Dilla's move to Los Angeles, the two worked together, communicated through hip-hop beat tapes, and toured together as Jaylib. Madlib's profile rose with his MF DOOM-collab Madvillain (soundscan 93k). J Dilla, though dealing with a serious illness, continued crafting material for artists such as Common and Busta Rhymes while working on a wealth of solo material. Dilla's final albums - Donuts (Stones Throw-2006), The Shining (BBE-2006) - along with the re-issue of Ruff Draft (Stones Throw-2007) have introduced his name and music to countless new fans while publications from The Source to Rolling Stone paid respect to his musical genius.

Special edition double vinyl LP. The week this debut album came out, Kanye's name was all over the Top 20s for his hit singles "Through the Wire," "Jesus Walks," "All Falls Down" and "Slow Jamz." What's even more remarkable is that this breakthrough came during his recovery from a car wreck that nearly took his life-the song "Through the Wire" is about the accident, and was recorded two weeks after he was in the hospital, with his jaw still wired shut. He's hailed the event as both the worst thing that could've happened to him, and the best. The record sold 441,000 copies in it's very first week and has been named both by "Time" and "Rolling Stone" as one of the greatest albums of all time. Guest appearances here include Jay-Z, John Legend, Ervin "EP" Pope, Miri Ben-Ari, Syleena Johnson and Jamie Foxx.

Late Registration is the second studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released on August 30, 2005, by Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions for the album took place over the course of a year at Record Plant Studios, Chalice Recording Studios, and Grandmaster Recording Studios in Hollywood, and at Sony Music Studios in New York City. West collaborated with American record producer and composer Jon Brion to produce Late Registration, and the album features guest contributions from artists such as Jay-Z, Common, Lupe Fiasco, Jamie Foxx, Nas, Brandy, and Adam Levine, among others. Upon it's release, Late Registration received rave reviews from music critics and earned West several accolades, including a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 2006 Grammy Awards and an Album of the Year nomination. It appeared at the top of several publications year-end lists of top albums. Rolling Stone named it the best album of 2005, and included it at number 118 on it's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2012.

DAMN. [Explicit] by Kendrick Lamar - Damn (stylized as DAMN.) is the fourth studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on April 14, 2017, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album features production from a variety of record producers, including executive producer from the Top Dawg Entertainment label-head Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, Sounwave, DJ Dahi, Mike Will Made It and Ricci Riera; as well as production contributions from James Blake, Steve Lacy, BadBadNotGood, Greg Kurstin, The Alchemist and 9th Wonder, among others. Kendrick Lamar ?- DAMN.

Double vinyl LP pressing. Kendrick Lamar's highly anticipated 2015 album, To Pimp a Butterfly: "honest, fearful and unapologetic". The album is the follow-up to the rapper's critically-acclaimed 2012 Effort Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. The album was recorded in studios throughout the United States, with executive production from Dr. Dre and Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Boi-1da, Flying Lotus, Terrace Martin, Pharrell Williams, Knxwledge, Sounwave, Thundercat and several other hip hop producers also contributed. It's music was influenced by aspects of funk, jazz and spoken word. To Pimp A Butterfly debuted atop the Billboard 200 and received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised it's musical scope and the social relevance of Lamar's lyrics.

The fifth full-length release for the Pittsburgh rapper features guest appearances from Dām-Funk, Dicaprio, Dev Hynes, Snoop Dogg, Syd, and Thundercat.

Double vinyl LP pressing. It's a crate digger's fantasy: free access to the archives of legendary Blue Note records, plus an open pass to sample and remix nuggets from their collection of classics. Left Coast space cadet Madlib lived out this dream, and the result is a true hip-hop oddity. Falling somewhere between mix CD, remix project, oral history and tribute album, Shades of Blue is, in essence, a love letter from Otis Jackson, Jr.. to jazz. Interrupted by shout-outs from his jazz idols and snippets of Blue Note history, the album combines straight-up remixes, skewed cover versions by Madlib (under numerous guises) and one new composition. Of these, it's the remixes that fare best, as Madlib brings his off-kilter, ear-rattling beats to bear on jazz-funk tracks by Donald Byrd and others. There's a slightly outdated acid-jazz vibe surrounding the project, but at his best, Madlib's mix of California dreaminess and underground grit transforms the well-known source material into something that sounds utterly contemporary.

Madvillain: Madlib, MF Doom. Additional personnel includes: Lord Quas, M. E. D. , Wildchild, Viktor Vaughn, Stacy Epps. Two years in the making, and combining two of the best underground hip-hop artists of the early 2000s, this collaboration between MF Doom and Madlib has been appropriately dubbed MADVILLAINY. With both men known for their stunning soundscapes, rhyming skills, and schizophrenic personalities, the duo decided to have Madlib concentrate on the beats and let Doom handle the lyrics. In mixing their comic-book-like personas, Madlib and Doom play to their nearly superhuman strengths; while some other collaborations of this caliber seems forced and lop-sided, there is absolutely no filler here-just undiluted beats and rhymes, best exemplified by the singles "America's Most Blunted" and "All Caps. " Lib's inventive production leans towards the jazzy side of his repertoire, and Doom unleashes outrageous lyrics on par with his solo efforts (and even his work as Zevlove X in his stint with K. M. D. ). Never flashy or glamorous, MADVILLAINY is served straight up, the way hip-hop was meant to be.

2018 release. On 2007's "Nostalgia," a memorable track off Marco Polo's album, Port Authority, chemistry between Polo and guest MC Masta Ace is easily heard and felt. What was a quick one-off collab was not only a reminder of Masta Ace's timelessness, but it was also the impetus for a larger, more fleshed out concept between the Toronto beatsmith Polo and the legendary MC. The pair since formed a duo and the result is a powerfully evenhanded project, A Breukelen Story. It's 2018 we find hip-hop's storied journeyman, Masta Ace, at the helm of another sharp, tightly wrought project. He's traversed hip-hop's ever-changing landscape for nearly three decades, navigating different eras while expanding his already extensive catalogue. From his formative work with the legendary Juice Crew, to a bombastically renowned stint with Delicious Vinyl, it's hard to find a more humble master of ceremony than Ace-even harder is finding another figure whose work is equally embraced on both coasts, East and West, as well as abroad. Despite amassing 7 solo albums, 5 collaborative projects and countless additional one-offs, Ace is still trying to show and prove, still moving the needle forward for himself, his fans, and his career. Says Ace: "My goal on A Breukelen Story was to do more lyrical stuff. I've done a lot of concept songs, and a lot of topical records, but I made a point to put a couple straight rhyming joints on here to remind dudes I can still do this." "I met Masta Ace for the first time while interning at Cutting Room studios in Manhattan," says Marco Polo, longtime Canadian producer whose exploration of samples and boom-bap aesthetics certainly suite his moniker. "Ace came in for a session in the studio years and I introduced myself and gave him a beat CD." While Polo was a young intern on the RISE, he quickly worked the situation to his advantage, eventually producing for giants he grew up admiring- Kool G Rap, Large Professor, Scarface, Sean Price, Black Thought, Talib Kweli, to name a few.

Limited double 180 gram vinyl LP pressing. The Infamous is the second studio album by the American hip hop duo Mobb Deep, released in 1995. The album features guest appearances from Nas and Wu-Tang Clan members Reakwon and Ghostface Killah. It marked Mobb Deep's transition from a relatively unknown rap duo to an influential and commercially successful one. One of the cornerstones of the New York hardcore movement, The Infamous is Mobb Deep's masterpiece, a relentlessly bleak song cycle that's been hailed by hardcore rap fans as one of the most realistic gangsta albums ever recorded. This is hard, underground hip hop that demands to be met on it's own terms, with few melodic hooks to draw the listener in. Similarly, there's little pleasure or relief offered in the picture of the streets Mobb Deep paint here. They inhabit a war zone where crime and paranoia hang constantly in the air. The product of an uncommon artistic vision, The Infamous stands as an all-time gangsta/hardcore classic.

Import only budget vinyl pressing of this classic 1994 release. Debut release from Nas (Nasir Jones) that features DJ Premier and Q-Tip from a Tribe Called Quest.

Four times a year the seasons change and carry a shift in atmosphere. The spring roars in on the wings of fertility. Summer consumes US with play before the heat fades, leaves change, and the first hints of autumn envelope US in a bold crisp chill. And then it all lays still, like a steady drum beating a silence that envelopes US in calm through the end of our annual cycle - winter. Washington DC producer & emcee Oddisee palpably captures each season's feel and offers it up in a lively collection of beats, bass lines, vocal layers, and rhymes. Odd Seasons is the culmination of four separate seasonal EPs created over the course of a year featuring some of the brightest names in Hiphop today. Widely followed by legions of fans as the project was being created, now, for the first time, all four seasons have been mixed, mastered, refined and polished in this deluxe edition of Odd Seasons.

Stankonia is the fourth studio album by American hip hop duo OutKast, released October 31, 2000 on La Face Records. The group's previous release, Aquemini (1998), played a significant role in introducing Southern hip-hop to other areas of the United States. In the spring of 1999, OutKast began working on Stankonia in the duo's recently purchased Atlanta recording facility, Stankonia Studios. The band's ownership of the studio allowed for fewer time constraints and subsequently, more musical experimentation. Stankonia features appearances from many local Atlanta musicians whom the group discovered while visiting clubs in the city. On Stankonia, the duo hoped to create a chaotic musical aesthetic, and incorporated a diverse array of musical genres, including drum and bass, gospel, rock, salsa, funk, and psychedelia. Recording sessions became difficult as André 3000 wished to abandon his rapping vocal style in favor of a more melodic technique, an approach to which Big Boi and other producers were unaccustomed. In order to maintain musical cohesion with Big Boi and continue his musical evolution, André 3000 incorporated both techniques on Stankonia. Lyrically, the duo touches upon topics such as politics, misogyny, and personal introspection in an irreverent manner. The album debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling over 530, 000 copies the first week. Stankonia received universal acclaim from music critics and holds an aggregate score of 95 out of 100 at Metacritic. The album produced three singles, "B.O.B", "Ms. Jackson", and "So Fresh, So Clean"; "Ms. Jackson" became the group's first single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. At the 2002 Grammy Awards, OutKast won Best Rap Album for Stankonia and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Ms. Jackson". In 2003, the album was ranked number 359 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

2018 album from US rapper & producer with guests including Rick Ross & Kanye West. Features 'What Would Meek Do?'.

The Roots, known for their innovative album concepts, return after a two year break to release their new album, Game Theory, filled with 14 hard hitting tracks that express their views on the state of the world. Game Theory is the Roots' most thought-provoking, incitive album since their 1999 breakthrough Things Fall Apart and will be the group's debut for Def Jam Recordings, home to the world's premiere Hip-Hop artists. This is the explicit LP version.

Vinyl LP pressing. 2011 release. Despite being rap veterans at the time, The Roots maintained a sense of artistic urgency, crafting this conceptual album with a loose narrative that follows Undun's imaginary protagonist, Redford Stevens, through a journey of imbalance, self-reflection, and triumph. Couched in an impoverished setting, it is an existential concept album entirely produced by Roots' drummer Questlove featuring stellar guest features from Big K.R.I.T, Bilal, Phonte, and more, and vocals from the group's formidable MC, Black Thought.