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Hip Hop Be Bop

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Hip Hop Be Bop

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Mosaic Thump

De La Soul – A.O.I.: Mosaic Thump (2xLP/CD/Cassette) [Chrysalis] PRE-ORDER!

Please note, this is a pre-order. Official release date is 7th July

 

Album number 5 in the De La Soul reissue campaign is the classic, AOI: Mosaic Thump.

Among the guests on the album are, Redman, Tash and J-Ro of Tha Liks, Xzibit, Busta Rhymes, Mike D and Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys, Busy Bee, Freddie Foxxx and Chaka Khan. Mosaic Thump returned De La Soul to chart territory again thanks to the hit singles “Ooooh”, and “All Good?”.

“Oooh” was nominated for a Source Award and the album was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Performance By A Duo or Group.

 

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Fab 5 Freddy & Chris Stein - Down By Law / Subway Beat (Kenny Dope Edits) (7") [Mr. Bongo 2022]

Fab 5 Freddy & Chris Stein – Down By Law / Subway Beat (Kenny Dope Edits) (7″) [Mr. Bongo 2022]

As pieces of musical curation go, Kenny Dope’s reimagining and reediting of the Wild Style breakbeats is outstanding. While the music from the ‘Wild Style’ OST is truly seminal, the story behind it is even more fascinating.

Underneath the voices of important rappers from hip-hop’s first wave – Cold Crush BrothersDouble TroubleRammellzeeBusy Bee and more – were a selection of backing beats that have underpinned and influenced a whole lot of hip-hop ever since.

It would be easy to mistake them for genuine breakbeats dug out of crates, but they’re not. Overseen by hip-hop impresario Freddie Braithwaite – better known as Fab 5 Freddy – in collaboration with Blondie’s Chris Stein – the songs from the Wild Style soundtrack are all unique creations intended as a homage to the early breakbeats.

Drummer Lenny Ferrari – who had played for Aretha Franklin before emerging on the punk scene – and bassist David Harper played many of the iconic grooves, two somewhat forgotten participants in shaping a legendary sound. They – and Chris Stein – weren’t even in the same studio at the same time.

Kenny Dope, a long-time fan of the music, later acquired the original reel-to-reel tapes from Charlie Ahearn, the film’s director. Using the Wild Style breakbeats – many just a minute or so long – he transformed them into longer edits that give them more room to breathe. ‘Down by Law’ and ‘Subway Beat’ are two of the most famous, breakdance classics that summon up visions of graffiti’d trains speeding through the South Bronx.

 

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Various Artists – Wild Style (Special Edition) (Yellow vinyl LP) [Mr. Bongo 2022]

Various Artists – Wild Style (Special Edition) (Yellow vinyl LP) [Mr. Bongo 2022]

Animal Records – founded by Chris Stein of Blondie fame – only ever released two albums in its brief early-80s history. Wild Style remains the most seminal soundtrack in hip-hop history, a snapshot of the scene as it evolved from the streets to the recording studio. But it’s not just a vital document, it’s also a damn good listen.

The line-up is a who’s who of those who stood out from hip-hop’s nascent block party days. The Double Trouble pairing of Rodney Cee and KK Rockwell, The Chief Rocker himself, Busy Bee, the mighty line-ups of both The Cold Crush Brothers and The Fantastic Freaks. The music captures the free-form, roaming nature of the film – it’s rough at the edges, it’s occasionally amateurish, but it’s completely, utterly glorious.

The original Animal tracklisting, of which this is a reissue, is full of recurring sounds and motifs, all of them co-produced by Chris Stein and Fab Five Freddy, stepping away from breakbeats to produce a sound that reminds you of them, while being totally unique. The epic drums are courtesy of Lenny ‘Ferrari’ Ferraro, a Vietnam vet and punk drummer whose career spanned stints backing Aretha Franklin and Lou Reed.

Over time, those sounds – the Charlie Chase and Grand Wizard Theodore scratches, the indelible lyrics – have become hip-hop touchstones, endlessly sampled and referenced, the bedrock of so much music to follow. That’s because the soundtrack perfectly encapsulated the essence of the film, the scene and hip-hop’s emergence from The Bronx to the attention of the wider world. Presented in this reissue with the original artwork, it remains the blueprint.

This reissue is pressed on yellow vinyl. The album is also available on CD but I haven’t stocked it because the 25th anniversary edition is still available here.

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Fab 5 Freddy & Chris Stein - Down By Law / Subway Beat (Kenny Dope Edits) (7") [Mr. Bongo 2022]

Kev Luckhurst – Wild Style Lesson (7″) [Mr. Bongo 2022]

The original Wild Style soundtrack is such a landmark that it has spread its DNA throughout hip-hop ever since. So many artists found inspiration in it, so many producers fished for samples among its choppy waves. If you haven’t played it for a while, it still has the power to surprise – hook after hook that fed into hip-hop history. That countdown from Public Enemy’s ‘Louder than a Bomb’? The chorus from Cypress Hill’s ‘A to the K’, vocal samples that underpin MF Doom classics and A Tribe Called Quest gems? All here.

Kev Luckhurst teases out some of those notable moments in his superb cut-up from the 2007 reissue. He subjects the Wild Style OST to a classic ‘Lesson-style’ cut and paste, teasing out some of the most classic moments, taking you on a whirlwind tour of the finest beats and most indelible rhymes. Here you’ll find ‘Stoop Rap’ interwoven with ‘Basketball Throwdown’ and ‘Fantastic Freaks at the Dixie’.

The temptation to overcomplicate matters is wisely resisted – Kev lets the guitar of Chris Stein, the drums of Lenny Ferrari and the lyrics of legends such as Grand Master CazBusy Bee and Rammellzee shine in their own right.

Available for the first time on 7”, this is an outstanding tribute to one of the key records in hip-hop history.

 

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B-Boy Document

B-Boy Document Magazine

B-Boy Document is the UK’s premier hip hop magazine produced by Andy Cee and crew.

The exclusive pictures and interviews read like a who’s who of hip hop: Rahiem of The Furious Five, Coke La Rock, Grandmaster Caz, Charlie Chase, Busy Bee, LA Sunshine, MC Sha-Rock, DJ Hollywood, Grand Wizzard Theodore, Mr.Wave, Master Gee, Crash Crew, Captain Rock, Man Parrish, DJ Red Alert, Disco Daddy, Kool Lady Blu, Chuck D, Ice-T, Schoolly D, Coolio, Too Short, Kool G Rap, MC Serch, Masta Ace, Sadat X, Erick Sermon, Rakim, Pete Rock, Wise Intelligent, Chill Rob G, Ced Gee, Kool Keith, Jazzy Jay, K-Rino, Bushwick Bill, Al Skratch, Kenny Parker, Capone, Ras Kass, Planet Asia, Kurious, Sol Messiah, Action Bronson, RA The Rugged Man, Evidence, Akil, Phesto, Ski Beats, Skyzoo, Phill Most Chill, Benny The Butcher, DJ Cash Money, Young Guru, Rasta Roots, Rocky Bucano, Reggie Peters, Paradise of X-Clan, Prime Minister Pete Nice, Elai, Nana Ashhurst, Martha Diaz, Mykill Miers, DJ Specifik, Whirlwind D, Torae and many more.

Many titles are now out of print so grab one of these before they’re gone for good

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Various Artists – Boombox 2 (3xLP/2xCD) [Soul Jazz Records 2017]

 

Early Independent Hip Hop, Electro and Disco Rap 1979-83

 

Soul Jazz Records’ new ‘Boombox’ features some of the many innovative underground first-wave of rap records made in New York in the period 1979-82, all released on small, independent, often family-concern record companies, at a time when hip-hop music still remained under the radar.

This collection celebrates these first old-school rap records, bringing together rare, classic and obscure tracks released in the early days of rap.

 

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