- Continue Shopping
- Your Cart is Empty
Kev Brown - Homework
The DMV’s own, Kev Brown has announced his first solo rap album since 2005. Hailing from Palmer Park in Landover, Maryland specifically, after a 13 year hiatus, the producer/MC has finally prepared the sophomore sequel to 2005’s influential cult classic, I Do What I Do. Entitled, Homework, Brown and Redefinition Recs have partnered to release an LP the game has been missing for too long.
Pre-Order The Album
Backyard Boogie is a collaborative album from RVA's Fly Anakin and Ohbliv. Fly Anakin is a rising underground musician hailing from Richmond, VA and is one of the founding members of Mutant Academy. A pivotal component in the local rap circles, he's been frequently recording music since 2008 and has no plans of slowing down.
Pre-Order The LP
A-MINUS & CHANES - THERAPEUTIC
Not every album needs to be a turn up. Sometimes it’s best to sit back, light up,
and let the project run from start to finish. Therapeutic, the debut project by A-Minus and Chanes,
is definitely the latter. Released via DJ Soko’s Left of Center (LOC),
Therapeutic embodies the spirit of the smoke sesh in the best way.
OHBLIV - RETROSPECTIVE
Paxico Records is proud to bring you Retrospective, a survey of the silky, home-spun productions signature of Richmond legend Ohbliv. These are his greatest hits, pressed on vinyl for the first time. Presented on double LP with mesmerizing labels, the album is 28 tracks hand-picked by the artist and label head Chris Hund, marking his most expansive career anthology to date.
Pre-Order The Vinyl
OPEN MIKE EAGLE - RAPPERS WILL DIE OF NATURAL CAUSES
Reissue of the long unavailable second album by highly acclaimed rapper Open Mike Eagle, soon to be seen hosting the Comedy Central TV show The New Negroes.
Pre-Order The Vinyl
$29.99
10 year anniversary of Atmosphere’s Sad Clown Bad Dub releases #9-#12. Packaging contains 2xLP half black/half white vinyl, encased in uncoated gatefold “coloring book” jacket housing 6 custom-made Sad Clown crayons, an 8-page activity booklet, all new artwork and layout by original “Sad Clown” series artist, Adam Martin, and a free digital download card. The Sad Clown series first started as a string of cassette tapes and CD-R's for Atmosphere to sell on tour. Since its incarnation in 1999, the Sad Clown series has taken on a few forms, including rare 4-track demos, live shows, a DVD, a mixtape, and a pair of 7” singles. In the Summer of 2007, while simultaneously preparing for their thenupcoming album, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Sh*t Gold, Atmosphere launched the next phase of the series, releasing Sad Clown Bad Summer Number 9, the first of four EP's dedicated to the four seasons; Summer, Fall, Winter & Spring. These seasonal releases were the first in the Sad Clown series to receive full retail distribution, as well as being made available on both, vinyl and CD. Furthermore, these four EP's are packed with a wealth of great songs, showcasing both Slug and Ant at their collective best. These four Sad Clown seasons encompassed fan favorites such as “Don’t Forget”, ”The Rooster”, “Not Another Day”, “Happymess”, and most importantly, “Sunshine”, which is arguably Atmosphere’s biggest song to date. In celebration of the 10 year anniversary of these iconic EP's, we are releasing a special vinyl edition, packaging all four Sad Clown seasons together for the first time, complete with some added treats to make even the saddest clown smile. In addition to the 2xLP custom vinyl, this package includes an 8-page activity book full of custom coloring pages, connect-the-dots, a word find and a maze, and comes complete with 6 custom-made crayons. The entire package was designed by Adam Martin, who also did all the original artwork for Sad Clown volumes 1-7, as well as the Sad Clown Bad Fall EP. The Sad Clown Bad Year special vinyl edition, making your year better since 2018...
$19.99
Pressed on blue / black vinyl. Reissue of the long unavailable second album by highly acclaimed rapper Open Mike Eagle, soon to be seen hosting the Comedy Central TV show The New Negroes. Features several tracks that are amongst the most popular in his live set. In 2011 LA upstart rap label Hellfyre Club (Subsidiary of Alpha Pup) released Open Mike Eagle's "Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes". Widely considered an indie-rap watermark, the LA Times said of the album:"the Los Angeles-based Project Blowedian has carved out a singular niche. He's analytical, sardonic, political, and he manages not to take himself seriously despite taking everything seriously." From dark themes like morality and race relations, Mike managed to draw out some of his most imaginative and witty work. And with features like Rhymesayers Entertainment's P.O.S. and art rap godfather MC Paul Barman, it was the release that put Open Mike Eagle into the national rap conversation. Music from it has been featured on Marc Maron's WTF Podcast, Gilles Peterson's BBC Radio show, and NPR's WITS show.
$18.99
Loser Edition on green/blue vinyl Knife Knights were born of the love of mystery. From the start of Shabazz Palaces – the groundbreaking project launched in 2009 by former-Digable Planets leader Ishmael Butler – confidentiality seemed essential: Butler wanted Shabazz Palaces to stand on its own strength, not his outsized reputation, so he adopted a nom de plume for himself. As the project’s network expanded, though, he needed new monikers for his partnerships. Knife Knights is the name he gave to his work with Seattle engineer, producer, songwriter, and film composer Erik Blood, a vital force in the Shabazz Palaces universe. Now, after more than a decade of collaboration and the development of a rich friendship, Butler and Blood have made a proper full-length record together as Knife Knights: 1 Time Mirage, an eleven-track odyssey that finds the pair and a cast of their friends weaving together a singular world of soul and shoegaze, hip-hop and lush noise, bass and bedlam. 1 Time Mirage represents a playground for Butler and Blood, a free space for unfettered exploration, and a radically adventurous start to something much more than a mere production duo or side project. Recorded in three fertile sessions interrupted by Shabazz Palaces tours and Blood’s recording projects, 1 Time Mirage is a profound fulfilment of the partnership, realized at the crossroads of Butler’s and Blood’s mutual enthusiasms. Their shared interests have been split into pieces and fused together with enviable imagination. In the decade since Butler launched Shabazz Palaces and first christened his partnership with Blood as Knife Knights, much of the external mystery has, of course, fallen away. And 1 Time Mirage is a very public step forward for the pair. The early sense of secrecy has given way to a spirit of friendship and creative candor, to the doors of experimentation being thrown open by old pals thrilled by the prospect of testing new ideas. Still, these eleven songs retain a core of intrigue and, indeed, mystery; each listen reveals yet another connection between infinite and interlocking pieces. To wit, Robert Beatty’s brilliant cover for 1 Time Mirage depicts a futuristic vehicle, being coolly steered with one hand into some great, mildly ominous unknown. That’s how these songs feel, too—confident conquests of the dark that unlock sounds and spaces you have yet to imagine.
$24.99
Double LP pressed on indie-exclusive orange vinyl is housed in a widespine LP jacket and includes two printed inner sleeves and a download card. Producer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, songwriter and vocalist Devonte Hynes returns with his fourth album as Blood Orange, Negro Swan. Raised in England, Hynes started out as a teenage punk in the UK band Test Icicles before releasing two orchestral acoustic pop records as Lightspeed Champion. In 2011, he released Coastal Grooves, the first of three solo albums under the moniker Blood Orange. His last album, Freetown Sound, was released to critical acclaim in 2016, and saw Hynes defined as one of the foremost musical voices of his time, receiving comparisons to the likes of Kendrick Lamar and D’Angelo for his own searing and soothing personal document of life as a black man in America. He has collaborated with Solange Knowles, FKA Twigs, and many other artists, and was recently one of four artists invited to the Kennedy Center to perform alongside Philip Glass. In addition to his production work, he scored the film Palo Alto, directed by Gia Coppola and starring James Franco.Hynes’ newest album, Negro Swan, was written and produced by Hynes. Says Hynes: “My newest album is an exploration into my own and many types of black depression, an honest look at the corners of black existence, and the ongoing anxieties of queer/people of color. A reach back into childhood and modern traumas, and the things we do to get through it all. The underlying thread through each piece on the album is the idea of HOPE, and the lights we can try to turn on within ourselves with a hopefully positive outcome of helping others out of their darkness.”
$8.99
Red vinyl 7", limited to 200 copies. Exclusive to FatBeats.com and official band webstore. Fresh off the success of their latest full-length album of Public Enemy reinterprations, Fear of A Brown Planet, Brownout hit back with a limited 7" featuring album highlight "Fight the Power", backed by a searing non-album cut "Brothers Gonna Work It Out".
$39.99
Mondo Music, in partnership with Marvel, are proud to present the soundtrack to the Netflix original series Marvel’s Luke Cage Season Two. The all new score by composers Adrian Younge (Venice dawn, Ghostface Killah) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A TRIBE CALLED QUEST) is an incredible follow up to one of the best scores of 2016. Set in the aftermath of first season, our hero has finally cleared his name but finds himself up against an all new opponent that threatens Harlem…the mysterious and powerful Bushmaster. Recorded in the Winter of 2018, in Los Angeles California, at Blakeslee Studios and Linear Labs Studios by composers Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, the score to Luke Cage Season Two is just as epic and powerful as the first. Exploring the vast sonic cultural landscape of Harlem, Adrian and Ali have introduced a dub-reggae motif for the character of Bushmaster, on top of the classic themes that made the original soundtrack so essential.
$24.99
Mac Miller has accomplished every goal he ever set for himself. At least that's what the magazines say about the Pittsburgh kid, and they're right enough. With his first album he became a grassroots rap megastar. With his second he bared his weird soul and was praised for it. His 11 mixtapes boast a couple bucket lists' worth of collaborators, from Bun B and Kendrick Lamar to Rick Ross and Juicy J. And in the same year that he toured the U.S. backed by a psychedelic soul band, he rapped all over Europe with Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz. He did indie. He's doing major. He even bought himself a ridiculous house in the Los Angeles hills and made a TV show about it. Hell, he made a jazz record.
$37.99
The 2013 release from the Canadian artist and producer is now available on colored vinyl with deluxe packaging. Kiss Land follows up his unanimously celebrated platinum-selling 2012 debut, Trilogy. Tapping into that same signature mystique, this second effort is an elegant pastiche of love, longing, and lust set to a futuristic soundtrack of shimmering keys, disruptive synths, and airy atmospherics. It's dark. It's dangerous. It's decidedly sexy. It's The Weeknd.
$7.99
"Rendezvous" is the second single from the forthcoming full-length collaboration between Will Sessions, Amp Fiddler, and Dames Brown, entitled The One. Will Sessions have created a sexy, uptempo track, packed with funky synthesizers and tight horn arrangements, accompanied by talkbox and the vocal stylings of Amp Fiddler (Parliament/ Funkadelic, Was Not Was, Mahogoni Music) and Dames Brown (a female vocal trio). The production techniques have roots that go deep into late 70's progressive funk and boogie. In addition to the vocal version, the B-side contains an instrumental edit only available in this format. Look out for the full length album, The One, available September 2018 on Sessions Sounds.
$24.99
Limited 2xLP pressed on Blue & Green-colored vinyl featuring two single-pocket LP jackets housed together in a custom die-cut slipcase. Sub Pop and Adult Swim are releasing a 24-track soundtrack from the critically-acclaimed series Rick and Morty featuring music from the show’s composer Ryan Elder, and songs from Chaos Chaos, Blonde Redhead, Mazzy Star, and Belly, plus two brand new tunes from Chad VanGaalen and Clipping inspired by the show. Rick and Morty follows a sociopathic genius scientist who drags his inherently timid grandson on insanely dangerous adventures across the universe. Rick Sanchez is living with his daughter Beth’s family and constantly bringing her, his son-in-law Jerry, granddaughter Summer, and grandson Morty into intergalactic escapades. Can the family survive Rick’s insanity and all the chaos the universe throws at them? Rick and Morty stars Justin Roiland, Sarah Chalke, Chris Parnell and Spencer Grammer. The series is created by Dan Harmon and Roiland who also serve as executive producers.
$27.99
Omerta Inc. will be bringing Valee and Chase the Money to vinyl for the first time ever. With a high quality limited vinyl release, available to pre-order exclusively through the Omerta store and Fat Beats. Omerta is back with the first new release in a few months and it couldn’t be a better title. Fast rising Chicago rapper Valee & St Louis producer, Chase the Money dropped their collaborative tape VTM, in May 2017. On a low key level it was one of the best tapes of the year. Clocking in at just over 25 minS, the tape feels deliberately understated, and that's its greatest strength. Valee’s laid back style fits perfectly over Chase’s dark dystopian beats, resulting in an “elegant trap” sound! Since the release of VTM, Valee has gone on to sign with G.O.O.D Music dropping his debut EP last year, executively produced by Kanye West; and Chase the Money is building a rep as one of the best new producers in the game working with - Z Money, Lil Wop, Lil Yachty, Chance the Rapper, BlockBoy JB and more.
$17.99
Tragedy Khadafi can be viewed as the originator of the modern QB sound. His resume is cemented with legendary albums and features. Trag’s teaching and guidance has helped QB stand atop the Hip Hop landscape as one of the most dominant forces in Hip Hop. BP has been crafting his sound and style for over 10 years. His ability to develop whole projects with a distinct sound, feel, and theme separate him from other beat makers and producers. Trag and BP have teamed up before on Black Market Militia’s “The Struggle”, BP’s remix for the HRSMN song “Historic”, and on Nature’s “Give It To ‘Em”. The two of them have an undeniable chemistry and have joined forces to create a joint album: Tragedy Khadafi & BP “Immortal Titans”. The album starts with a dark ominous energy and grows as Tragedy takes you through his various experiences and styles. From street bangers like “Immortal Titans”, to non-stop lyrical content on “Upper Echelon”, to concepts on the “Labels” inspired “Prime Time”, and the true story behind Trag’s role in the formation of the group Lords of the Underground. Features include fellow QB legend Nature on “F#*% How They Feel”, Apathy “Mastermind”, The Winners (SmooVth, Rozewood, and Hus Kingpin) “Renoir Repertoire”, and Ali Vegas “The World Is Mine”. DJ Stitches (Class A Felony) created epic scratches throughout the record to give the album an indisputable Hip Hop feel. Immortal Titans is the Tragedy & BP album that delivers on the promise of never having to hit skip. Sit back and take a journey with the Immortal Titans.
$25.99
Tangerine Reef is a full-length audiovisual album by Animal Collective (Avey Tare, Deakin and Geologist), in collaboration with Coral Morphologic, to commemorate the 2018 International Year of the Reef. Tangerine Reef is a visual tone poem consisting of time-lapse and slow pans across surreal aquascapes of naturally fluorescent coral and cameos by alien-like reef creatures (note: no CGI or artificial enhancement was used in this film). Tangerine Reef is the sight and sound of a literal underwater collective of animals. Coral Morphologic is an art-science duo formed by marine biologist Colin Foord and musician J.D. McKay in 2007 in Miami. Pioneers of avant-garde coral macrovideography, their work has been featured on the National Geographic Channel, the BBC, as well as the cover of Vice Magazine corresponding to their 2015 documentary ‘Coral City’. They are currently working under a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant to study a population of unusually resilient ‘super corals’ that Coral Morphologic discovered colonizing the submerged urban edge of the highway connecting Miami to Miami Beach. Coral Morphologic first met Animal Collective after a Miami screening of the band’s first visual album Oddsac in 2010 by giving Deakin a DVD-R of their first coral film demos. After hitting it off over a mutual love for underwater exploration, subsequent collaborations include Geologist’s soundtracking of Coral Morphologic’s short film ‘Man O War’ in 2011, and has continued through two dive trips; one doomed by Hurricane Irene in the Turks and Caicos and the second to the United States’ northernmost coral reef, the Flower Garden Banks. In 2017, the Borscht Film Festival commissioned Coral Orgy, a collaborative site-specific performance by Animal Collective and Coral Morphologic ‘celebrating the cosmic synchronicity of sex on the reef’ in the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center on Miami Beach. The success of this performance ultimately led to this studio recording of Tangerine Reef. Animal Collective also performed this material live at David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption earlier this spring at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, NY.
$26.99
'Another Life' is the debut album from Amnesia Scanner, the Berlin-based music duo, performing arts group, experience design studio and production house, created by Finnish-born Ville Haimala and Martti Kalliala. Founded in 2014, Amnesia Scanner's approach is informed by a unique perspective on technology and the way it mediates contemporary experience. System vulnerabilities, information overload and sensory excess inform their work, which has found a home in both clubs and galleries. Building on their mixtape 'AS Live [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]' (2014), Amnesia Scanner's critically acclaimed audio play 'Angels Rig Hook' (2015) laced a potpourri of dancefloor tactics with a machinic narrator. Their dual EPs for Young Turks, 'AS' and 'AS Truth' (2016), distilled this immersive environment into an abrasive collection of cryptorave tools. The most striking detail of 'Another Life' is Amnesia Scanner's use of both human and inhuman voices. The latter is provided by the latest addition to the production unit, a disembodied voice called Oracle, which represents the sentience that has emerged from Amnesia Scanner. Oracle's vocal performance ranges from exuberant mania to anxious dread and beyond. Coupled with the pop song structures that Amnesia Scanner employs for the first time, the avant-EDM productions of 'Another Life' evocatively explore a schizophrenic present marked by narratives of a slow apocalypse or salvation via technology. Indeed, the lullaby of 'AS Another Life' swings between trill hope and casual threat, lending a precarious gait to the song's staggering rhythm. The album's first single, 'AS Chaos', is its most powerfully direct track, with Pan Daijing's English and Mandarin vocals taking over for Oracle. At its peak intensity, as in 'AS Faceless', Amnesia Scanner's doombahton overheats into nu-metal-gabba. Amnesia Scanner has presented work at art institutions such as ICA London, HKW Berlin, and the Serpentine Gallery Marathon in London. They collaborate with PWR Studio for their design and visual direction. The AS live experience is co-created with Stockholm-based Canadian designer Vincent De Belleval. When unplugged from the Amnesia Scanner stream, Haimala works as a composer and producer with a wide range of musical and visual artists, and Kalliala co-directs the think tank Nemesis. The album is mastered by Jeremy Cox, featuring photography by Satoshi Fujiwara, and visual direction from PWR Studio.
$17.99
Order your copy and receive the third in a series of tarot character cards designed by David Rudnick. Oneohtrix Point Never (OPN / Daniel Lopatin) returns hot on the heels of his latest album Age Of with an EP featuring album single "We'll Take It" and three new OPN songs. An album favourite, "We'll Take It" is given new context here as the lead track and video. A dark, facetious song that fuses industrial sounds, ecstatic and reckless synths, and something OPN described as "sideways ragtime" piano played by James Blake.
$19.99
MIKE announces his follow up to Black Soap. 12-tracker Renaissance Man. Renaissance Man is executive produced by Darryl Johnson, and features RedLee, Fleece Files, Adé Hakim, and more. The new album was recorded in London and New York, the two cities that MIKE grew up between.
$94.99 $99.96
Grab all four of Eric B. & Rakim's classic albums, available together officially on 2xLP for the first time since 1992, bundled together at a discounted price while supplies last. Eric B. & Rakim - Paid in Full (2xLP)Paid in Full is the debut album of American hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, originally 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." Eric B. & Rakim - Follow The Leader (2xLP)Follow the Leader is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, originally released on July 26, 1988. Following their debut album Paid in Full (1987), Eric B. & Rakim left 4th & B'way Records and signed with Uni Records, a subsidiary label of major label MCA Records. Follow the Leader peaked at number 22 on the U.S. Billboard Top Pop Albums and at number seven on Billboard's Top Black Albums chart. It achieved higher charting than Eric B. & Rakim's debut album and serves as their best-charting album in the United States. The album produced four singles, "Follow the Leader," "Microphone Fiend," "The R," and "Lyrics of Fury." Eric B. & Rakim - Let the Rhythm Hit ’Em (2xLP)Let the Rhythm Hit ’Em is the third album by rap duo Eric B. & Rakim, originally released on May 22, 1990. Eric B. & Rakim - Don't Sweat The Technique (2xLP)Don't Sweat the Technique is the fourth & final studio album by American hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, originally released on June 23, 1992, by MCA Records. It was recorded and produced by Eric B. & Rakim at The Hit Factory in New York City. The album builds on the sounds of 1990's Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em, with Rakim sounding more aggressive on Eric B.'s jazzy, soulful production. The album debuted at #22 on the Billboard 200 chart in the week of July 11, 1992. It also charted at number nine on Top R&B Albums. The title track was a minor radio hit. "Casualties of War" was also released as a single and contains some of Rakim's most political lyrics. The single "What's on Your Mind" originally appeared on the soundtrack to the 1991 film House Party 2, while "Know the Ledge" first appeared in the film Juice under the title "Juice (Know the Ledge)."
$36.99
Capital Punishment, Big Pun’s breakthrough debut album comes back to vinyl for its 20th anniversary as a limited edition double picture disc featuring the classic album art.As the first solo Latin hip-hop album to go platinum and one of The Bronx’s most gifted MCs, Pun’s loquacious rhymes and breathless flow brought hip-hop fans to their feet in 1998 thanks to hits like “I’m Not a Player” and its remix “Still Not a Player,” both featured on this album along with guest appearances by Fat Joe, Terror Squad, Wyclef Jean, Busta Rhymes, Prodigy and more.
$14.99
Limited to 150 Units / First Time on 45The Classic Crooklyn Dodgers Singles Compiled Together for the First Time on One 7" Single. Private Pressing, Not for Resale.The Crooklyn Dodgers Are a Hip-Hop Supergroup Based in Brooklyn, New York City, Consisting of Rotating Members. The First Two Incarnations Recorded for the Soundtracks for Spike Lee Films, Crooklyn and Clockers, Respectively. The Theme Connecting the Crooklyn Dodgers Songs, Aside From the Spike Lee Films for Which They Were Made, Is Their Topical Concerns, Which Comment on the State of Affairs in and Around Urban New York City, as Well as Other Issues Affecting Everyday Life.The First Group Was Composed of Buckshot, Masta Ace and Special Ed. Their First and Only Record Was "Crooklyn", Produced by Q-Tip of a Tribe Called Quest, and Was Featured in the 1994 Film Crooklyn. The Music Video Featured Appearances by Brooklyn-Born Athletes Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson.The Second Group Was Composed of Chubb Rock, Jeru the Damaja and o.c. Their First and Only Record Was "Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers", Produced by Dj Premier, and Was Featured in the 1995 Film Clockers.
$24.99
The Internet follow-up their breakthrough Grammy-nominated third album, Ego Death (2015) with Hive Mind. After a lengthy world tour, the band members encouraged each other to explore their identities as solo artists; incredible albums from all 5 members emerged to rapturous response throughout 2017. Feeling the unity of coming back together, however, created the foundation for what became Hive Mind. Syd (vocalist/songwriter), Matt Martians (producer), Steve Lacy (guitarist/vocalist/songwriter), Patrick Paige II (songwriter/bassist), and Christopher Smith (songwriter/drummer) present kaleidoscopic, neo-soul, future sounds here that reveal the growth in their creative chemistry. It's light years beyond their previous output, and even in its slower moments, the LP is both intricate and minimal, giving each member's contributions the space to shine. The result is one of the greatest records in the band's already phenomenal catalog and a standout of 2018.
$31.99
Includes 16 page lyric book + 7" vinyl, containing five tracks. Includes production by ?uestlove, DOOM, Prince Paul, Mark Ronson, Memory Man and Kenny Segal. "If you work with words, like I do, there are a few achievements that we secretly fantasize about. Winning a Nobel Prize in literature. Having a #1 best-seller. College professors teaching our writing in their courses. But one achievement that most of us don’t even fantasize about is having an “original citation” in the Oxford English Dictionary. The unabridged OED is the compendium of the history of English. Every time a word in common parlance was used for the first time, or in a new way, that usage and its author are recorded in the OED’s endless pages. Shakespeare’s got a bunch. Milton, too. These days, getting an original citation is like hearing the voice of God. It doesn’t happen much. But Paul Barman has one. This is relevant to (((Echo Chamber))) only because it indicates the level that MC Paul Barman writes at. His rhymes are original in the sense of “no one has ever used that word like that before… but we will now.” Bring your brains. You’re gonna need them. Not that (((Echo Chamber))) is hard work. It is perfectly pleasurable to bop your head along to great tracks laid down by ?uestlove and DOOM and Prince Paul, while MCPB says, “Meat keeps an enemy as a bone-deep identity. It’s the hardened shell that starts to smell. At one time, it might have guarded you well. But maladaptive strengths turn to captive feints and you become your own warden in hell.” And then in the next breath, “Would it blasphemy to ask you to shake that assphemy?” If your ears are open, MCPB is gonna plug your brain in at voltages to which you are unaccustomed. He’s a social critic with a searing conscience that makes (“my”) comfortable bourgeois house of lies tremble with each jagged line on the PB Richter scale. Comfortable notions of being a “good” white person, blow up in the first two tracks, (((Echo Chamber))) and “YOUNGMAN Speaks on (((Race)))”. It takes MCPB just shy of three minutes to make this semi-observant Jew feel skeptical about the Ten Commandments. In ((((((Antennas)))))) he says, “we feel conflicting agendas rise and fall / what we call our identity tries to synthesize them all.” But he offers a solution, too. You’ll have to listen to the song to hear it. And at the end of the anthemic “Age War,” you’re ready to stand up, cheer, and then go join children in battle against the calcified bankrupt status quo. After all, it’s “already dead. Mentally a baby step from a deli spread.” But, like any great poet (and MCPB is), he gets personal, too. I am certainly “a self in sheep’s clothing, a wealth of cheap loathing…” Aren’t you? MC Paul Barman tells us, “Rest assured I’m the crested bird of nested words,” and that is no empty boast. In poetry, to rhyme both at the end of line and internally, in the middle of a line, is showing off. Which makes MCPB a crested bird indeed. There are songs, like (((Believe That))), where your eyes just go wide and you can’t believe the number of rhymes in a row that tell the truth. That much truth all placed in a row—you don’t see that anywhere. And it rhymes, on three levels at once. MC Paul Barman is the most ambitious type of rapper. He is rhyming art. Why bother? It seems hard, and indeed the long hiatus between his albums tells us that it is. Well, MCPB has a reason: “art is the answer, the be end all... art, art and only art give solace to all this chaos and lonely hearts.” So take some solace. (((Echo Chamber))) by MC Paul Barman is here. It’ll make your brain spin. And make you check your guts." --- Adam Gidwitz, New York Times Bestselling & Newbery Award Winning Author
$24.99
The early 90s hip hop masterpiece from Diamond D! Along with Showbiz and AG's first EP, and Lord Finesse's first couple releases, this record helped introduce the world to one of the most solid crews in hip hop, DITC – who reigned supreme for years, making top quality records one after another. The classic and oft-imitated Diamond beats laid the blueprint for so much hip hop to follow – and the titles include "Sally Got A One Track Mind," "Best Kept Secret," "I'm Outta Here," "Check One, Two", "Freestyle (Yo That's The Sh..)" and more! Loads of great guest stars, like Lakim Shabazz, Big L, Fat Joe, and Brand Nubian.
$23.99
DJ Spinna’s third beat tape, Unpicked Treats Volume Two, on Redefinition is here and just may be his best yet. Returning with another batch of outstanding instrumentals in the trademark style he’s known for, fans of volume one will be entertained without interruption. Volume two is full of sample packed boom bap perfection, but this time, there’s a twist in the plot. Known for mostly for his production on hardware based samplers since his career beginnings in the early 90’s, the double threat producer tapped into his DJ skillset to compose all the tracks on this album exclusively using Serato’s “Serato Sample” software. The software was imagined as a live performance tool for DJ’s, but in the hands of a genius like DJ Spinna, brace yourself for wonderous creativity as he ventured to be the first artist to use Serato Sample for a whole project. To date, his previous vinyl pressings sell relatively fast so prepare to grab a copy while they’re in stock. Spinna has done it again!
$19.99
Produced by The Starr Company (a pseudonym for Prince), Ice Cream Castle is the platinum album from the funk/R&B band The Time. Includes the hit singles Jungle Love and The Bird, which were both featured in the film Purple Rain. Presented on a 2LP, Neapolitan Vinyl (Pink/White/Brown).
$21.99
The debut album by West Coast emcee Tone-Loc, Loc’d After Dark features two collaborations with a pre-fame Young MC that would rocket the artist top the top of the pop charts: “Wild Thing,” the first Top 10 Pop hit for a black rapper, and the follow-up smash, “Funky Cold Medina.” The former reached #1 on the Billboard chart, while the latter topped out at #3. The net result was a #1 album, making it only the second rap album to top the charts at the time (the Beastie Boys’ License to Ill was the first). RIAA certified double platinum, Tone-Loc’s debut remains a hallmark of West Coast party rock, mixed with a healthy dose of streetwise swagger. This reissue features vinyl cut under the supervision of Dave Cooley (J Dilla, Madlib) at Elysian Masters and pressed at Memphis Record Pressing.
$24.99
This is the first reissue of Tim Hecker’s classic 2001 debut full length release. The original recordings were remixed by Tim Hecker and mastered by Matt Colton at Alchemy Mastering.
$24.99
Limited to 1000 units! Special limited edition 12" picture disc to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Trojan Records. Features the best of Trojan Records including Desmond Dekker & The Aces, The Pioneers, Ken Boothe, The Upsetters, John Holt, Susan Cadogan & more!
$19.99
Seattle-based production duo ODESZA (Harrison Mills, Clayton Knight) began their meteoric journey in 2012 with ‘Summer’s Gone’. The following spring, they released the five-song EP ‘My Friends Never Die’ - a harder-hitting complement to the lush sounds of their debut - and began to build their reputation as a ground-breaking live act. In 2014, they signed to Ninja Tune imprint Counter Records to release ‘In Return’, featuring two gold-certified singles “Say My Name” and “Sun Models”, and 2017’s ‘A Moment Apart’, which would go on to garner two GRAMMY nominations. The popularity of ODESZA’s most recent albums has brought with it a new audience that is just now discovering ‘Summer’s Gone’ and ‘My Friends Never Die’. Old and new fans keep these albums in heavy rotation on digital streaming platforms, and songs like “How Did I Get Here” (‘Summer’s Gone’) and “My Friends Never Die” continue to outpace newer album cuts. Six years in, ODESZA has graduated from small clubs to main stage performances at Coachella and Lollapalooza, sold-out shows at Staples Center (LA) and Barclays Center (NYC), and sold out multi-night runs at Red Rocks, Wamu Theater in Seattle and The Greek Theatre in Berkeley, among many others. Mills and Knight have also proved themselves as tastemakers with the launch of Foreign Family Collective, an outlet for musicians and visual artists now in its third year.
$12.99
Digipak CD with 8-panel poster fold out For more than twenty-two years, the name Jedi Mind Tricks has become synonymous with raw, gritty independent hip-hop. From their debut album, The Psycho-social, in 1996 to their seminal sophomore release, Violent By Design, to their musical expansion on Servants and Heaven, Kings in Hell, JMT has made an indelible impression on the independent music scene while arguably forging its own subgenre of rap. Led by the fiery vocals of controversial frontman, Vinnie Paz (who has also built an auspicious solo career over the last decade), and the enigmatic producer, Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind, the group has sustained a successful career as a result of its consistently, uncompromising rap music. On June 22nd, the duo drops their ninth studio album, The Bridge and The Abyss, featuring the singles/videos for “San La Muerte” and “Marciano’s Reign.” Speaking on the new album, Vinnie Paz, says, “Each time out we face a challenge of not wanting to make the same record, but at the same time doing what we do, which is make hardbody rap. I try to balance my ignorant raps with songs that are a little more conceptual and personal. I think we found a nice balance on this album.” JMT’s success can’t be measured in chart positions or platinum plaque counts. Their success is most accurately measured in the passion and respect of their growing legions of hardcore fans who have packed JMT shows around the world from Boston to Bogota to Bucharest. Paz says, “When you see someone with a tattoo of your logo or your album art on their body, that’s a level of dedication that a sales chart can’t possibly capture. We’re blessed to have some of the most dedicated fans in music. We’ve always sort of been music industry pariahs and I think our fans like that we don’t cower to the politics of the business.” JMT’s music embodies the spirit of DIY defiance and their longevity is a testament to their blue-collar work ethic coursing through the bloodlines of their hometown of Philadelphia. Jedi Mind Tricks “The Bridge and The Abyss” out June 22, 2018.
$10.99
Features production by Lord Finesse, Alchemist, Diamond D, Ahmed, Ray West and MORE! Guest vocals by Diamond D, A Bless, Thirstin Howl The 3rd and MORE! 5 BONUS TRACKS. A.G. returns with all-start cast, featuring the likes of Diamond D, Lord Finesse, Alchemist and more. For this album, he’s on his a-game, from beginning to end. Touching on topics from the hip hop biz, street tales and political hypocrisy. The Taste Of AMBrosia is a full meal serving for mature rap devotees who’ve grown tired of contemporary rhymesayer laziness. Joined by guests including Diamond D, A-Bless and Thirstin Howl III, A.G. backs up his claim that he is ill enough to paint his own portrait, and illustrates and vision of rap immortality that hardcore heads and fellow legacy MCs alike can worship eternally.
$21.99
OVER 3 HOURS WORTH OF MUSIC ACROSS 3 CDS Kamasi Washington’s sophomore album Heaven and Earth not only fulfills its overarching ambition, but illustrates the dialectic between seen and unseen, real and imagined, citizen and culture, self and self, as well as self and other, and does so through the lens of a mature but never jaded revolutionary consciousness. The artist’s own words best convey the inspiration behind this monolith of an album. “The world that my mind lives in, lives in my mind. This idea inspired me to make this album Heaven and Earth. The reality we experience is a mere creation of our consciousness, but our consciousness creates this reality based on those very same experiences. We are simultaneously the creators of our personal universe and creations of our personal universe. The Earth side of this album represents the world as I see it outwardly, the world that I am a part of. The Heaven side of this album represents the world as I see it inwardly, the world that is a part of me. Who I am and the choices I make lie somewhere in between.”
$20.99
Deluxe version including seven bonus alternate takes of some of the tracks from the standard edition. 2018 archive release. Unknown until 2004 and unheard until now, these recordings by the John Coltrane Quartet are, as Sonny Rollins says in the liner notes, like finding a new room in the Great Pyramid. Featuring the Classic Quartet - John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones - and recorded at the end of a two-week run at Birdland, the music on this album represents one of the most influential groups in music history both performing in a musical style it had perfected and reaching in new, exploratory directions that were to affect the trajectory of jazz from that point forward.
$22.99
The Appetite For Destruction: Deluxe Edition features 2CDs of highlights from the box and Super Deluxe Edition with the album newly remastered for the first time ever, selections of B-sides and EP tracks, and 7 unreleased recordings. Guns N' Roses' 1987 debut album Appetite for Destruction changed history. Unlike anything else of its time, the music was primal and gritty, defined by a solid, hard, bluesy base and dark, sleazy, dirty, and honest themes. While Slash and Izzy Stradlin ferociously spit out dueling guitar riffs, Axl Rose screeched out tales of sex, drugs, and apathy in the big city. Meanwhile, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler formed a limber rhythm section who kept the music loose and powerful. The rest is history, with every track on the 30-million-plus-selling album, including "Sweet Child O' Mine," "Welcome To The Jungle," "Nightrain," "Paradise City," and "Mr. Brownstone," committed to memory by countless listeners around the world.The Appetite For Destruction: Deluxe Edition features 2CDs of highlights from the box and Super Deluxe Edition with the album newly remastered for the first time ever, selections of B-sides and EP tracks, and 7 unreleased recordings from the 1986 Sound City Session, “Move To The City (1988 Acoustic Version)” from the GN’R Lies session and “Shadow Of Your Love” from the November 1986 first ever recording session with the album’s producer Mike Clink. Limited Edition Foil Art Slipcase CD 1: First Ever Album Remaster from Original Analog Tapes CD 2: 18 highlights from Super Deluxe CDs with 7 unreleased recordings including “Shadow Of Your Love,” 1986 Sound City Session tracks and “Move To The City (1988 Acoustic Version)” Expanded Album Art with Unreleased Photos from Axl’s Personal Archive and Memorabilia
$11.99
We are presently in the post-Marcberg era of rap. After Roc Marciano released his solo opus in spring 2010, a new continuum began which gathered tremendous momentum in 2012 following the release of his Metal Clergy compatriot Ka’s Grief Pedigree and Roc’s amazingly concise sophomore effort Reloaded. Subsequently, a divergent path opened in modern rap heavily influenced by the sonics, tone, and aesthetic of those three projects. Since then, Roc Marciano has released a critically acclaimed producer album Marci Beaucoup, bookended by the release of his project The Pimpire Strikes Back in multiple formats. In the years since this string of releases, a new crop of emcees and producers emerged heavily inspired and influenced by Roc’s oeuvre while many others’ careers have been left doing the running man in their wave. With multiple modern rap classics already under his Ferragamo belt, last year Roc Marciano liberated the first half of his two part project titled Rosebudd’s Revenge. If the initial offering showcased Marc reestablishing himself as the innovator of the present rap wave then RR2 - the Bitter Dose will cement Roc Marciano’s status as its linchpin. From the opening bars of “Respected” to when “Power” finally fades out he fashions another top to bottom high end sonic experience that will be both envied and emulated for years to come while he administers a double dose of pimpin’. Production on RR2: The Bitter Dose is handled by Roc Marciano in addition to Animoss (Arch Druids) (on “Bohemian Grove” & “Happy Endings”), Don Cee (Arch Druids) (on “C.V.S” & “Major League”) and Element) (on “Respected” & “67 Lobby”). Knowledge The Pirate appears on both “Bohemian Grove” and “Major League” while Action Bronson contributes a verse to “Corniche.” Whether it comes to hard bars, slick talk or hustler wisdom, Roc Marciano is unmatched. The Bitter Dose is nothing more than an American master lecturing a captive audience. It’s a guidebook on how to manipulate the English language and convey ideas and concepts and visuals that will evoke a wide range of emotions in listeners. The wait is over. Thank God for Roc Marci.
$21.99
Soul Jazz Records’ new Boombox 3 continues their story of the first rap records to be put onto vinyl. It is a jam-packed collection of original independent ‘old-school’ hip-hop, created with just one thing in mind – to get this party jumping! After the explosion of hip hop in the parks and clubs of The Bronx in the mid-1970s, it was in Harlem where the first rap records emerged at the end of 1979 - an avalanche of superb rap tracks released on small independent labels all trying to capitalise on the success of ‘Rappers Delight.’ Like hip hop culture itself, these first rap singles are the product of their own unique set of aesthetics – exciting and innovative rap performed with Bronx block party B-Boy funk breaks, disco jams and Jamaican sound system culture. The extensive sleevenotes discuss hip-hop’s trajectory from the first wave of Bronx creativity – the legendary DJs Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa – through to its arrival in Harlem via the entrepreneurism of old-school African-American rhythm and blues producers and émigré Jamaican producers all living in New York. Along the way the notes discuss everything from the New York power blackout of 1977, the Italian mafia involvement in the music industry, the links between rap and Jamaican dancehall and more besides! Boombox 3 features a line-up of stunning, near unknown New York rap artists, classic disco breaks (including Chic’s omnipotent Good Times, MFSB’s Love Is the Message, Queen’s Another One Bites The Dust etc.), proto-electro and more. And by the early 1980s the first rap records outside New York began to emerge – Los Angeles, Houston, Milwaukee, Phoenix – and the first of these are also featured here in this new collection. This Soul Jazz Records album is released on heavyweight triple vinyl (+ download code) with full notes.
$16.99
New album from Royce, his most personal album to date.
$15.99
Oneohtrix Point Never presents "Good Time...Raw," the original unedited score for the sleeper hit film Good Time. OPN's score for the Robert Pattinson starring film has won universal praise, taking home the Cannes Best Soundtrack award and already in talks for as an awards season contender. This version of the score captures exactly how the music appears in the film, as a driving force of the narrative.
$9.99
Tales of sordid street escapades, drugs and fast women have been long running themes for Tucson, AZ’s Zackey Force Funk. Though these are themes that have been explored to excess in music over the years, his psychedelic, acid-trip style has been what places him in another realm. Three quarters singing and one quarter rapping, the Force Funk sound has been well-established in the world of underground electronic music over the last decade. With the arrival of his MoFunk debut album, Bodyrock Shotgun, ZFF is set to advance yet another level with melodic modern funk production that challenges him to expand his one-of-a-kind vocal style to new territory. Highlights include the XL Middleton-produced title cut, a slow-rolling, vocoder-laced tune that haunts as much as it thumps. Brian Ellis brings his signature brand of moody electro funk on “Glass Dick Lovin’,” a dark tale of love lost to drug addiction. “Money Weighs A Ton,” imported from the recent Boy Dude LP on Hobo Camp, slides seamlessly into the playlist with pulsating synths framing an unapologetic hustler’s manifesto. “El Mero Mero” (prod. by XL Middleton) stands as another declaration of street corner superiority, while “Get The Gun” serves as a self-explanatory footnote on how to keep said position, over Moog-y production from Adam Chini that is equal parts Blaxploitation and retro science fiction. Further productions from Throwback Zack, Proh Mic, Trailer Limon, DJ Spy-D, and Elegant Borzoi form a veritable who’s who in the land of modern funk, and show Zackey’s superb ear for beat curation.
$9.99
Blessing you with 75 minutes of sinless soul on limited edition cassette tape (100 copies). All mixed, edited and engineered by DJ Big Jacks.
$8.99
5 new songs from LA's Nicky Benedek in ready of his March 2018 Asia Tour. Lo-Fi 90s-Style House & Rave & Trance & New Age World Beat & Digital Dub.
$7.99
Princess Nokia – aka New York rapper Destiny Frasqueri – has been releasing music via Youtube and Soundcloud since she was in High School and catapulted herself to the next level with last year’s critically acclaimed rap opus 1992 Deluxe -- selling out venues across the globe and steadily gaining tens of millions of streams. Now, this shapeshifting emcee returns with a brand new collection of songs titled A Girl Cried Red, a self-described “emo mixtape” which will undoubtedly cement her place in the Alternative underground as well as the Hip-Hop world. “Black people created punk — the band Death was way before The Ramones,” she stated in a recent interview, “If you think about it, the wool has been pulled over our eyes. This is our shit. Very naturally, that’s why we return to it.” Drawing on influences as varied as the introverted acoustic sounds of Elliott Smith to the bombastic pop-punk energy of Paramore – A Girl Cried Red showcases another fully formed side of Destiny that still taps into the uncompromising feminist ideology of Princess Nokia. A Girl Cried Red will be released via Rough Trade Records on limited vinyl/cassette June 22.
$9.99
Jazz atmospherics from Los Angeles-based sax-bass duo of Sam Gendel (Inga, Fabiano do Nascimento, Moses Sumney) and Sam Wilkes (Knower). Avant-garde inflections and friendly rhythms, sincere melodies with elbow room. Un-/treated saxophone and electric bass, a rhythm box and two voices.
$9.99
All Composed by Daedelusexcept:Quest I('m) On additional piano by Echo Go Away A Metallick Taste trombone by Jonah Levine Collective Pull Through bass and slap bass by Goodnight Cody Carousel vocal and lyric by Sara Z By A Thread keyboards, synths, mellotron, and composition by Niels Broos with additional trombone by Jonah Levine Collective
$12.99
The producer’s own mixes – recently rediscovered – of his seminal EP, expanded with bonus tracks now available in a collectible cassette edition. 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 greater and lesser notoriety, Dilla finally completed the first solo endeavor on his own label, entirely on his own terms. The significance of such an autonomous success often gets overlooked, and partly accounts for why Ruff Draft is one of the lesser-referenced entries in Dilla’s oeuvre. “It’s a mysterious little project,” says his mother, Maureen Yancey. “But out of his entire career, that was the happiest time.” Prior to recording the EP, Dilla found himself at a crossroads. Estranged from his label, MCA, and separated from the mother of his youngest daughter, frustration abounded both personally and professionally. Dilla spent parts of 2002 and 2003 working on an album for MCA that featured his rapping over contributions from other producers with whom he had connected and whose music he respected. At the time, he was known primarily for his beats, yet reviled for his MCing by most anyone not from his hometown of Detroit. The project was to be an intentional freak of the industry. The project would go on to spur his collaborative album with Madlib, Jaylib, and would first showcase the template that he would take to his greatest heights with 2006’s Donuts. The Stones Throw reissue of Ruff Draft from 2008 featured remixes of the songs from the album, done without Dilla’s involvement. This version of the album takes Dilla’s recently discovered mixes of the album and restores his vision for the project. “Straight from the mothafuckin’ cassette,” as he phrased the sound he was going for on the EP’s intro.
