classic hip hop album, originally released in 2000

released in 1988, tougher than leather was the culmination of the rap/rock road that run-dmc travelled in since their earlier albums king of rock movlp675 and raising hell movlp633. its superb production, booming 808 beats combined with guitar samples, catchy choruses and smart rhymes made tougher than leather undoubtedly the best hip hop record that came out in 1988. great tracks include *mary, mary*, *runs house* and *i m not going out like that*. its equal appeal to hip hop as well as rock fans made the album a million seller, and underlined run-dmcs stature as living hip hop legends all over the world.
pressing on 180 gram audiophile vinyl.

from a small town called florence, alabama, gene the southern child has been quietly releasing music under the radar for years. florence is part of an area known as “the shoals,” which houses the legendary fame recording studios and is also the hometown of w.c. handy “the father of blues.” hailing from this rich musical history, gene’s unique style is smooth southern hip-hop, incorporating poetry, blues, and soul.

cyber punk, poshgod, poshdoggydog. metro-zu hip hop crew affiliate, hailing from the miami cyborg world and now newly affiliated to trax couture crew. not just a producer, but artist in his own right poshgod gives his beautifully twisted view on club music which may sound familiar but listen close for the twisted glitched moments of his cyber perspective...

straight out of egypt via berlin comes this excellent two-tracker from the little-known son of sun. according to the press release accompanying the whispers ep, both tracks were inspired by a week sailing a yacht around the black sea. true or not (we have our doubts), there s certainly a sun-kissed laziness - despite weighty kick-drums and hissing, detroit techno style cymbals - about the woozy, dubtribe soundsystem style deep house of a-side -moonchild-. while impressive, the real killer is -whispers-, which peppers a swinging, dance mania style hip-house groove with snaking saxophones and atmospheric, spoken word vocals. it feels like a late night adriatic anthem in the making.

2x180gr vinyl unmixed. majestic casual represents new electronic music chill-out, experimental, garage, house, pop, hip-hop, indie & many more. the majestic casual youtube channel now serves 1.7m subscribers and has amassed 366 million views to date

sage francis ... relocked and reloaded. after a 4-year hiatus, the indie rap icon is taking his signature style of hip-hop and performance art back on the road to support the june 2014 release of -copper gone- on strange famous records. it features beat production from long-time music affiliates buck 65, alias, cecil otter, reanimator, and more.

d3 recordings offshoot d3 elements is only three releases deep, but already their releases are reaching must-check status. following their recent release of a superb ep from us deep house veteran brian harden, the paris-based imprint offers up something a little different - an ep of gorgeously deep and melodic flavours that joins the dots between head-nodding instrumental hip-hop and floor-friendly 4/4 fare. there are plenty of surprises, too, including techno stalwart terrence parker delivering a flute-heavy downtempo head-nodder, some gorgeous beatdown from detroiter mike clark, and a thrillingly string-laden chunk of deep house bliss from the aforementioned harden.

jerome c, born and raised at haifa city port in israel, is a declared fan of vintage gear, always looking to explore the special analog sound. he creates music with a sumptuous mixture of house, disco, funk, and hip-hop. he first hit the house scene partnering with double hill for soul clap s imprint double standard releasing the amazing *i need love ep*. for his latest offering three new cuts pressed and published by the spanish label apersonal music.

a little over a year ago nunorthern soul brought you bj smith s gorgeous cover versions of two hip hop classics. last time out he tackled mos def, which gilles peterson proclaimed as -the sound of sunsets for years to come- and the pharcyde, this time he is bringing his unique touch to the recently-reunited outkast. andre 3000 and big boi are hitting the festival circuit during the summer, this celebration of their greatest work should tide you over until they get back into the studio. and would they approve of these two radical re-interpretations of their music? we like to think so, see what you think.

worx very cleverly tap up in-demand parisian dj and producer the mekanism for its first release here, squeezing out three of the artist s finest tracks to date. >bogoto< fuses a disco groove and 70s strings with some classic deep house piano, and creates a heavenly peak time roller, while >2 galactic< is pure 80s hip house fire, fusing cut-up vocals with a pounding late night groove. taking things down a notch, singing beasts goes deep and jazzy to close proceedings on whats another great addition to the producers discography, and a sterling first outing for worx.

italian producer my dry wet mess, aka giovanni civitenga, is a name that has resonated in the world of left field/beats since its exciting fledgling years. though his father is the bass player for ennio morricones orchestra and a studio guitarist on numerous italian records, from a young age gio was drawn towards hip hop. at the age of 14 his father gave him a sampler and an atari, his beatmaking experiments grew boundless. having released albums on daedleus magical properties imprint and flying lotus brainfeeder, it is a great pleasure for fine grains to present his debut vinyl release – the *laptop lapdance ep*. it comes equipped with remixes from ikonika, dam mantle & auntie flo.

der sympathische hip hop-produzent, dj und labelinhaber aus columbus, ohio, veröffentlicht mit *the legacy* sein vorerst letztes solostudioalbum, bevor er sich auf produktionen für andere mcs, instrumental-projekte und sein label polar ent. konzentriet. dieses mal tritt er in erster linie und wie selten zuvor als mc in erscheinung und reimt über produktionen von befreundeten kollegen wie kev brown, rashad, lakim, bombeardo, dj o-sharp, mighty dr und rob riley. unterstützung erhält er von gästen wie illa j, oddisee, nottz, wordsworth, masta ace, john robinson, u.v.a.

great reissue of this early 80s boogie classic from sandy kerr. with production duties undertaken by sandys father, prolific soul writer/producer george kerr alongside sugarhill hip-hop/electro artist reggie griffin, and engineered by bob blank, this is a superb chugging uptempo boogie/rap cut based on a sample from uk band i-levels club hit *give me* which came out the same year. as well as filling floors across the us it was a big underground favourite in the uk for djs such as greg wilson. released on small south carolina label catawba, this 12 inch features the killer in-demand dub chimental version on the flip as well as sandys smooth rapping a-side. dont miss!

following on from releases by hector couro, ben mono and origins sound, comes the latest chapter in the definition:music imprint, as old-school house revivalist jus nowhere joins forces with the label for the gorgeous, stupendous sounds of the reignition ep.

simple, effective and downright deadly. mella dee serves up the perfect sountrack built for basements, dimmed lights and late nights. mella dees solo sound has evolved from a true passion for all things garage, a perpetual dedication to hip hop, combined with a love for house music which was heavily influenced by the darkness of uk funky and dubstep. together these influences have enabled mella dee to develop a unique approach to the fusion of these sounds, into one bumpy soundscape that is simultaneously house, garage and techno. omena omena is finnish for apple. its also a record label set up by tobias lidstrom aka tooli. dj & co-running local talk records & oneoffs.

luckyme are very proud to present the ‘rosario ep from s-type.s-types rise started in spring 2012. emerging, gleaming and show-stopping from rustie’s seminal bbc essential mix was a track called ‘billboard’ from a new producer that was part of the luckyme family as far back as his teenage years. the track had soundcloud and blog commentators looking around for the hugest most galactic superlatives for this ‘superhero’ music. as skyscraping as the biggest us hip hop instrumentals but born of the ferment of glasgow’s world-wowing club world, it made it into end of year ‘best of’ polls as well as the dj sets of rustie, tnght,and benji b. s-type aka 27 yo scot bobby perman started getting recognised down the shops glasgow. he was catapulted onto a 30 + date us tour and found himself in the studio with kindred spirits araabmuzik and baauer. there were rumours of national electronic goods adverts in south korea and s-type tracks in the running for inclusion on drakes nothing was the same album. on 19th sept 2013, the buzz started all over again as luckyme family member Éclair fifi dropped a new s-type tune ‘rosario’ on her bbc radio 1 in new djs we trust show. now luckyme can announce the wait is over. lm017 aka s-type’s ‘rosario’ ep is coming out on 16/6/2014. ‘rosario’ sets the scene with a 2 min intro called ‘outside (inside)’, featuring rustie and yc the cynic, a rapper from hunts pont, the bronx that xxl called ‘one of the most promising artists in recent years’, the complex wordplay sounding perfect over bobby’s wide screen arrangement. ‘franco’ is a fierce club banger with plenty of his signature chord work. ‘lost girls’ stunts and fizzes in the way only an s-type track can. for the outro ‘inside (outro)’, bobby’s sweeping instrumental sets the scene for long island mc (and one time flipmode squad member) roc marciano, who sharply describes the beat as ‘historic’. s-type addicts, he’s back. early dj support from hudmo, kode 9, baauer, joker, rl grime and jackmaster.

the second release from dnaut is *sketches of a circuit* by craig sherrad. in the past, sherrad has worked on labels such as transmat. this ep kicks off with *we got extasy* - a solid 4/4 with stormy clouds over alien life forms. *hot pockets* is a clubby groove with fractured melodies and glassy lines. *energize* featuring riot baby, is a hip hop inspired, dusty beat with vocals. rough and sexy. *mercury electric* has bouncy beats, with a grubby bass line and layered synths. *sketches of a circuit* is a soupy bit of ambiance with sporadic gently tumbling drums, blissful chords and the slightest ripples of percussion.

for this first ep, its creators and label owners, sergio parrado and plä ziom, take samples of hip-hop, r&b, techno, funk and disco sounds perfectly geared and ready for the dance floor.

repress 2014 !!
new m1 sessions featuring the work of dj dez, aka dez andres, or to most known as simply andres - who has been on a roll this year with his hit record >new for u<. dez blurs genres like no other from hip hop to house and all the dirty funk in between!

der detroiter produzent apollo brown liefert mit -thirty eight- ein instrumentalalbum, dass geschickt die lücke zwischen 70er blaxploitation-soundtracks von größen wie curtis mayfield oder marvin gaye und den hip hop-platten, die von ihnen sampleten, überbrückt. der new yorker rapper roc marciano wird auf zwei stücken der bonus 7 inch gefeatured.

the last few years have seen chicago footwork rise to international success, and traxmans debut album - *the mind of traxman* on planet mu - played no small part in that. it showcased cornelius fergusons brilliant ability to synthesise the beat digging of classic hip hop with the high-speed abstraction of footworks house-derived beat science. the selection of tracks on this second chapter show a slightly different take on traxman s abilities. instead of bringing in concepts from other genres, he simply creates a wider variety of footwork, made with a minimal, reduced palette. often just one or two samples are selected and diced into brain-blurring cubist puzzles that bear little relation to their original sources, or anything else for that matter.
the double vinyl lp comes with download code.

the hyper-chromatic music of matt cutler marks him out as a true impressionist, as lone, he drizzles brightly coloured melody through his tracks with all the reflexive skill of a master painter daubing inks and pigment across paper. on cutlers fifth lone album, reality testing, released on r&s, he sends notes and chords rippling delicately into space before allowing them to disperse, each oozing beautifully away into the background fabric of the music. combined with rhythms that ebb and flow, shifting from propulsive club constructions to beatific coastal hip-hop, it is a sensuous, immersive, heady experience, and easily his most accomplished and selfcontained work to date.
the double vinyl comes with download code for the full album.

scottish born and currently berlin based dj/producer danny berman (aka red rack em/hot coins) has had a pretty hectic last few years and show no signs of slowing down. following the anthemic releases on wolf music & city fly red. he is now ready for his telefonplan debut.
*i got something* and *make your mind up* are both dark tracks with punchy basslines that hit deeeeep, pitched-down vocals and plenty of bounce to move any crowd. the surprise is *jan 11 hip hop*. get ready for carefully constructed next-level effective drum programming from mr berman, and a perfectly balanced third course!

die now geschichte umfasst viele jahrzehnte und genres. evelyn begann als b-boy der 1980er hip hop- und graffitszene, er fusionierte new yorker hip hop mit zu der zeit populären uk sounds und entwickelte sich so zum pionier des dubby trip-hop/downbeat. mit klassikeralben wie *smokers delight* und *carboot soul* sowie kooperationen mit de la soul und roots manuva wurde now zu einem der wichtigsten vertreter für hip hop, funk, dub & soul. die stärke seiner inspiration auch nach 25 jahren verdeutlichte jüngst das überraschend frische studioalbum *feelin good*. nun erscheint die greatest-hits-doppel-cd *n.o.w is the time* mit 28 tracks, die evelyn in einen chilligen *by day* und einen groovigen *by night* part aufteilt. parallel dazu erscheint das limitierte boxset *n.o.w is the time - deep down edition*, das neben der 2cd zwei vinyle mit unveröffentlichtem material, neuen und klassiker-remixen (u.a. ashley beedle, lfo, loco dice) sowie ein buch mit diverser memorabilia und interviews enthält.

dedicated to one of the biggest names in the history of hip hop - tupac shakur.

brooklyn-based producer, composer, pianist, dj and live musician taylor mcferrin is set to release his first full length lp, early riser, in june 2014 on flying lotus brainfeeder record label. taylors musical style is equally influenced by the legends of 60s/70s soul, the kings of the modern beat generation, golden era hip hop, free form jazz and electronic music. by playing all of the instruments on his productions, while also relying heavily on sampling and chopping up his live takes, he has found a sound that seamlessly bridges myriad musical worlds and draws the listener into a constantly shifting audio soundscape. the vinyl lp comes with digital download code.

two remixes of mental overdrives monster and ritual tracks. full pupps daniel blackbelt andersen and optimos jd twitch respectively - blackbelt with a signature eyes-on-the-(mirror)ball techno shuffle, utilizing the rave-stabs from the original monster tune to full effect, while jd twitch opens his drawer full of old hip-hop breaks and adds a razor-sharp bass synth for a truly gut-punching and sub-heavy take on ritual. exciting and adventurous stuff!!

janko bartelink better known as hadamard and for his works at transient force, bunker records, mighty robot recordings or last known trajectory brings us his dope mixture of experimental hip-hop sound, robotic electro funk and bumpin bass music. hadamards - ass in bass ep is the 3rd part on solaronemusics elektronische werke series, after dynarec and q-chip. dont sleep on this uncompromising badass ep, limited to 250 copies!!!

since richie hawtin played this track in his boiler room set on ibiza, many people have been asking about this joyce muniz collab. the track features fresh vocals by bam (formerly known as mc baby bam) from the legendary 90ies hip-hop group the jungle bothers (native tongues/zulu nation). the beat is based around a sample from kraftwerk s it s more fun to compute, and for this version we ve actually got full approval from kraftwerk (yes - guess what). so we re happy to release it now. hope you dig it too

the ep finds jeremy mining the depths of bass music, synth pop, ambient hip-hop, and everything in between.

graham luckhurst, aka greymatter is one of the core producers of wolf music alongside medlar and krl. with a love for deep cuts, booming sonics and an amalgamation of influences that incorporates everything from jazz and world, garage to hip hop, luckhurst has developed progressive production and dj-ing styles that are uniquely his own. with a list of collaborative remixes the length of your arm, his experience as a producer is not to be overlooked and describing his output as prolific would be an understatement. greymatters sound is fine-tuned for cutting edge sound-systems and modern clubbing ears.

anchored between the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s, when industrial music courted funk, when electro(nica) made a shy appearance and house was visceral and plaintive, also inspired by current r&b productions and futuristic hip-hop, tropics of love is a slow tempo record that shines like a steel sun and rings diabolically romantic.
the double 12 inch lp comes in gatefold sleeve with cd-copy of the full album included.

nelistening back, ‘interlude’ will feel like the perfect opening to ‘skylax’. a jazzy encore crawls in, morphing into a skippy hip-hop instrumental with jason’s signature flourishes all over it. aptly named as it is, this is the breathing space between whatever came before in your day, and the eleven deep house gems that are to follow. speaking of, ‘the love’ will have you gripped from the first bar. it glides the listener in, then subtly drops that signature, tightly-tuned bassline of jason’s and continues onto soulful vocals from there. ‘old dayz’ touches on a bit of a nostalgic note. the spoken vox cuts harken back to 90s hip-hop joints, playing over a looped latin sample-led beat. from there, ‘rawkicks 2’ shows jason’s rough and ready sampling style in action. a seemingly simple track, but one which has that special something which guarantees to keep people on the floor moving for its duration. ‘cut b’ contrasts this nicely, being a much cleaner production with tight drum programming and synth work. that said, it still has the classic jg atmosphere we love. closing out the first half of the album, ‘definition’ slows the pace ever so slightly, with its eternal pad structure that builds up the track’s momentum into something very mellow and deep.bringing in the second half of ‘skylax’, ‘john blue’ takes things back a notch further. a deeper tune, yet one that shows off an uncharacteristically punchy bass hit from jason. ‘last night’ is a track more reminiscent of jason’s first lost cuts ep on wax classic, sounding as if it had been freshly taken off an old tape with its sample-led beat and background hiss. the last four tracks of the album see a return to the ‘mastercuts’ and ‘lovedits’ series which fans will recognize from the ‘lost cuts’ records, with ‘lovedits 7’ and ‘mastercut 5’ respectively. the former is a laid back female vocal edit with the entire suite of signature jg touches while the latter is a garage house hit more crafted for the club. ‘bb’ brings the album to a close, twisting a disco/funksample over a pallet of drums and effects for the near six-minute duration of the track.all in all, this is the perfect follow up to jason’s debut album ‘313.4.ever’, with tracks for both the club and home listening. if you happened to miss the first album back in 2012, don’t forget that now you have the chance to grab it in a special double pack with ‘skylax’ on cd!so, needless to say, this timeless record is a must purchase for all collectors and djs out there

surfacing from the back streets of greater mancunia, mystery artist belly arrives with the first record on their new belly dance label. with little more information to go on, let s focus on the music with the two original tracks from belly making for interesting listening. lead cut *dark autumn* is a slow beat sleaze production dominated by the vocals, big kicks and heavy synths that would go down well late into the night at horse meat disco. *farewell* is equally hard to pin down, taking on a more overtly hip hop style and is packed thick with textural and sampled detail. on the flip rob insinna turns in two new beat style remixes of *dark autumn* that will appeal to the more adventurous selectors.

announcing he stops vinyl, hellfish frightened some... like us. so we offered him anoth - last one -. to check wtf ! yueah ! hardcore plate with that ragga hardcore, hip hop hardcore and jungle hardcore ! limited 300 copies

royer, a talented young french producer and designer based in copenhagen, provides the fifth tasteful nudes release – the tough questions ep. its four tracks reveal a stunning depth to this newcomers aesthetic, at turns delicately gorgeous and boisterous fun placed inside punchy, hip-hop informed house grooves. its also the first tasteful nudes release to arrive its own full artwork jacket, designed by royer himself.

after several months of -silence-, downbeat is here again. the 3 chairs member, marcellus pittman is the man responsible for -do you like music ep-. -our time is now- and -extra credit-, are two detroit-flavoured house tracks with sequences coming from mars and melancholic keys with the unmistakable marcellus pittman mood. the release is closed by -happy to be here-, a gloomy downbeat-hip hop track made with mpc.

chris mcwaynes productions tie in his hip hop & jazz themes then pushed to the outer realms much like his friend afrikan sciences. includes the title track, and the gorgeous winding islands of dust. afrikan sciences chimes in with a remix for islands of dust.

der erfrischende psychedelic-pop des gleichnamigen django django debütalbums wurde 2012 direkt für den mercury prize nominiert und in den weltweiten jahresbestenlisten abgefeiert (musikexpress #1, nme top 10, us-rolling stone top 30). nun stellt die band ihre persönliche afterhours-session zusammen, in der sie zeitlose perlen aus den plattensammlungen ihrer eltern (roy davis jr, nilsson, james last) mit hip hop und modernen bass-sounds von heute (ramadanman, tnght aka hudson mohawke & lunice, outkast) mischen, ohne dabei ihre einflüsse von sonnengetränktem sixties-pop (beach boys, seals & crofts) zu vergessen. als exklusives bonbon steuern django django zudem eine eigene coverversion des *porpoise song* von the monkees bei. und wie üblich beendet eine exklusive gutenacht-geschichte jedes set, diesmal erzählt von topdarsteller benedict cumberbatch, bekannt aus filmhighlights wie *12 years a slave*, *star trek* oder *the hobbit*

from the two individually revered artists seuil and le loup, comes the debut lp under their collaborative dj/producing alias hold youth. a collection of dance-orientated tracks, designed to make the body move, de la club explores the origins of hold youth’s fundamental influences to their modern day stance.a lp in two parts, the first vinyl is almost a retrospective of primarily state-side club sounds, but also of the pair’s early musical staples. paying homage to old skool production, the inspiration drawn from the detroit greats like moodymann and andres is clear on the funked-out, jazzy vibes of street my baby or the smooth flowing les enfants du soleil. hold youths love affair with head-bobbing hip hop also makes an appearance on the intro and outro, sampling the one and only j dilla, perfectly combined with their own personal beat-boxing. not forgetting their french 90s roots, kool & the boug oozes that warmth defined so well by pepe bradock and trankilou… a club track which has the power of subtlety to submerge the dancefloor that one level deeper. part two looks to the example of german minimal and micro house and brings us up to date with the sounds fresh from hold youth’s record bag today. be it the weird and murky territory of dodge this, or the eerie, glitchy world of black dog, their modern vision of de la club is darker and sturdier in its stature. but it is the ability to weave seamlessly between the lps two halves, two ideals, which truly characterises the hold youth ethos and their signature djing style.

both listening hip hop and electronic, raphael henard and maxime denuc started to make music together in 1999. interested at the same time by mainstream tunes and extreme audio researches they try to propose their own interpretation of club music and released a first ep on the french-japanese label sonore in 2011. they have been invited by prestigious festivals and promoters around the world such as sonar (sp), villette sonique (fr), club metro (jp), todaysart (be), dans dakar (sw), les siestes e&#769,lectroniques (fr), universidad de coimbra (pt), nouveau casino (fr), le lieu unique (fr)... succession :struck by the vertigo from pancrace royer while watching the bertand dumont film «l’humanite&#769,» plapla pinky started to include that track in their dj set. after some research in the field of baroque musique they decided to make a mixtape of their favorite tunes of the genre, paying homage to the modernity and emotional power of that era.

chesslo junior comes to kelpes drut recordings for his first ever vinyl release – a 6 track ep of house tempo jams and avant garde beat sculptures: long hum. with previous releases on wotnot as well as numerous self released hip hop bootlegs, chesslo becomes the first artist other than kelpe to release on his fledgeling label

as one half of seminal hip hop duo organized konfusion, prince po helped elevate lyricism and shape the art form for years to come. after joining forces with danger mouse for his classic solo debut, po is now back with animal serum, entirely produced by west coast beatsmith oh no. oh no has made a name for himself in recent years with a series of acclaimed solo albums, group work as one half of gangrene (alongside alchemist), plus production work on everything from the latest mos def album to grand theft auto v. with two innovative artists joining forces for the first time, animal serum is a dark, psychedelic experience that even includes a long-awaited reunion organized konfusion reunion on the pharoahe monch-assisted smash

since his debut in 2009, loops haunt has continued to confound and excite with an output as mercurial as it is rare. toying with jungle and hip hop on zenith and outright sound design on ark, the wilderness-bound beat alchemist uses his isolation to explore and even create his otherworldly sound palate. lurking behind immaculate drums are the windswept sounds of the desolate north and mechanized textures plucked from his father s own workshop. here we embark on loops most complete work to date. exits is designed to be listened to as one continuous track, opening with ambient mood and emotion, layering outboard synths and found-sounds on the title track and trap door. an unexpected calm beginning is shattered in the second act with the pounding rhythms and industrial heart beats of howl and iiva. exits is an insight into a uniquely unpredictable talent and rare chance to be immersed in his sound.

ann arbors trees drops this wicked ep, six slices of lush, each on their own planet but part of the same galaxy, where techno, hip-hop and house rub up against jazz, kraut-rock and african percussion.

gatefold + innersleeve + album sticker!taken under the wing of kyambo hip hop joshua. after releasing revolution rising mixtape in with just blaze and collaborating with crystal castle on a split lp, first album is finally out on owsla (skrillex label) for the us and kitsune for the rest of the world. album written, composed and produced by heartsrevolution. mixed by chris zane(passion pit, friendly fire…) but also rock mafia hit makers (no doubt, green day…)

from the often indistinct morass of modern hip-hop comes something so singular as to merit special attention wrote the guardian about: brownstudys tell me more about bubble album, released on third ear in 2005. a most soulfully cerebral volume of no-pose wisdom. mojo wrote, musically: brownstudy evokes the clammy, distressed soul of sly stones riot, and the lush visions of 4 hero. life well lived is brownstudys new album. 11 songs (9 lyrical flows and 2 intrumentals).