Juno Recommends Hip Hop / R&B Best of 2020

Review: First released way back in 1999, Raphael Saadiq's Q-Tip-sporting "Get Involved" is a warm and woozy, retro-futurist chunk of soul/hip-hop fusion that harked back to an earlier musical age. It remains an arguably underappreciated dancefloor bomb and here gets the reissue treatment courtesy of the freshly lauched 45 Jams imprint. It comes backed by another stone cold classic from Q-Tip, "Vivrant Thing" - a cut first featured on the flipside of the Tribe Called Quest member's much more celebrated "Breathe Don't Stop" single. It's a little more stripped back than the A-side, with Q-Tip delivering his distinctive flows over a crunchy and fuzzy, Jay Dee produced backing track crafted from samples from an old funk record.

Review: The 5 Borough Breaks series has long been a good way of acquiring killer cuts that have some way played a part in the ongoing evolution of hip-hop culture in New York City. The hush-hush label's latest release boasts the full version of Betty Wright's head-nodding soul classic "Clean Up Woman", which boasts a breakbeat that has been sampled on scores of killer rap jams. On the A-side you'll find something a little less well-known: "Zulu War Chant", a 1992 cut by the Afrika Bambaataa and Rusty Egan-helmed Time Zone crew. It samples the familiar groove from "Clean Up Woman", adding a swathe of well known rapped and sung vocal samples and a hard-spun hip-hop beat.

Review: One of the baddest to ever do it, American Big Daddy Kane has an arsenal of gems in his back cat. This one came in 1987 and is one of his many classic tracks, now available on Prism Records. It's a perfect old school sound complete with mad DJ scratches, squealing horn sounds and dusty breaks for the b-boys. The rap work is impassioned, with articulate delivery hitting hard. Flip it over and you will be treated to a never before released instrumental that is also well worth adding to the collection.

Review: The "West Coast Classics" series has a simple premise. It offers up light-touch re-edits of essential West Coast hip-hop hits from the style's glory years in the 1990s. The latest salvo boasts two must-have cuts. On the A-side you'll find Dr Dre's "Deep Cover", the cut that introduced the world to future star (and now iconic artist) Snoop Dogg. His flows work perfectly over Dre's low-slung beat, which makes great use of smoky instrumental samples from what sounds like the soundtrack of a 1970s spy thriller. Over on the flip you'll find Too Short's lesser-celebrated "Bad Ways", which first surfaced on the long-serving Los Angeles mic man's 1996 album "Gettin' It (Album Number Ten)" and makes use of elements from Parliament/Funkadelic classic "Flashlight".

Review: Crooklyn Dodgers have had three different incarnations with members including Mos Def, Memphis Bleek, Masta Ace, Buckshot and Jeru the Damaja, making them something of a hip hop supergroup. They recorded soundtracks for Spike Lee films in 1994 and 1995 and always muse on topical subjects from urban life in New York City to there state of social and political affairs. Buckshot, Masta Ace and Special Ed was the line-up when they laid down their first single "Crooklyn", a sweet rolling bit of classic boom-bap with fluid vocal flow, then Chubb Rock, Jeru the Damaja and O.C came together for next single "Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers" which makes the b-side here. It's a piano laced late night jam with soul to spare and slick DJ Premier production.

Review: Jim Sharp slows things down a little with a pair of edits from the American South. Early West Coast gangsta hit "Dopeman" is the subject of side a with original drums but extended breaks designed to get the floor pumping. On the flip is a dirty south classic with prickling 808 kicks and hi hats that hit hard. It's super sweet soul music with raw grooves that can get any party started topped with vocals from Willie Hutch finishing things off in real style.

Review: Given that Gang Starr recently reformed and jazz is now all the rage, it seems fitting that Mr Bongo has decided to reissue the rare 7" version of the group's 1990 masterpiece "Jazz Thing". It's a wholehearted tribute to the greats of jazz - and the role jazz records have in hip-hop's sample culture - that comes in two distinctively different mixes. On the A-side you'll find the "Video Mix", a bouncy and suitably jazzy DJ Premier production that layers Guru's fine rap flows above loose-limbed drums, smoky horn samples and his own super-tight scratches. Turn to side B for the "Movie Mix" - so-called because it was created for a Spike Lee flick - where Guru's vocal rides improvised horns and an entirely different beat crafted from Kool & The Gang samples.

Review: Juno exclusive green vinyl version of the best known Cypress Hill classic hip hop monster produced by DJ Muggs. Limited to 300 only copies

Review: To our ears, there are few greater golden era dancefloor hip-hop workouts than Main Source's "Looking At The Front Door", a stone-cold classic that remains a much-played anthem decades after it was originally released. Here the 1990 jam gets the reissue treatment. It's available in both vocal and instrumental versions, with both sides doing a great job in showcasing the duo's killer beat - a fine mixture of crunchy drums, woozy electric piano chords, scratched-in samples and toasty bass. Naturally it's the vocal version that we'd reach for more often than not - the trio's flows are particularly good on 'Looking At The Front Door' - but the instrumental is nevertheless a useful tool to have at your disposal.

Review: Currently in the throes of a serious reissue mission, bringing many of his old funklets back to life on wax, Jalapeno mainstay Danny Soopasoul lets these very cheeky takes on Mr Illmatic out into the ether. Side-A is pure laid back west coast vibery while the B lays Nas's famous bars down over a Bill Conti-style horn arrangement where the feel of a montage and a triumphant stair-run is imminent. Limited to 300 copies, it ain't hard to tell you how quickly this will fly.

Review: There is nothing subtle about these mash ups. They are big tunes to blast mud from any sealer you can get your hands on. Block party starting rip snorters, each one draws on a wealth of hip hop standards from Slick Rick to Notorious BIG. Audacious, shabby hitting and full flavour, they are restless and energetic edits designed for nothing other than dance floor destruction. "Love Be Faithful" kicks off with big beats and flutes, iconic vocals and more, while "How We Rumpshake" is a slicker rap jam turned low riding bumper.

Review: In his career to date, Jim Sharp has proved to be one of the bootleg remix and mash-up scene's smartest and most successful producers - a man capable of brilliantly breathing new life into a string of familiar favourites. He's at it again here, offering up fresh reconstructions of N.W.A's gangster rap classic "F*ck Tha Police". The killer flip is his A-side "Main Mix", in which he places the L.A crew's iconic acapella over a jumpy, party starting hip-hop beat rich in sampled short funk guitar riffs, snare and kick-heavy drums, James Brown style yelps and tight scratches. It's a great beat - so good, in fact, that the flipside instrumental mix is equally as essential as the club-rocking vocal version.

Review: A new album from Gang Starr is no joke, 16 years on from the last after Guru's passing in 2010. With DJ Premier on the beats, you need not question the quality spilling out of the speakers throughout this powerful return from one of hip-hop's holy grails. The spots showing some of the late Guru's skills act as a bittersweet reminder of his lyrical gift and that voice, but the space he left behind is amply filled out by a hit list of guest spots on the mic. MOP, Q-Tip, Jeru The Damaja, Talib Kweli - as if any of these legends would pass up the chance to lend their bars to this late entry from hip-hop royalty.

Review: Canadian Kaytranda's second album from late 2019 was defined by its exceptional collaborations and high class sound. Iman Omari, Mick Jenkins, Estelle and many more contribute to what is a gloriously fun, accessible album that is all about making you dance. Snapping beats ride over bumping bass on "Taste", "10%" with Kali Uchis has three different betas going on and a cameo from Estelle on "Oh No" is first class. The whole record is sequinned lie a Dj set, with appropriate ups and downs, thrill and spills, all keeping you locked. party starting yet meaningful, Bubba is coherent record full of charm.

Review: Hot Pink is the second studio album from rapper and singer Doja Cat. Previous singles such as "Juicy," "Rules" and "Say So" will already be familiar to fans, while guests over the course of the 12 tracks include big names like Smino, Gucci Mane and Tyga. The artist allegedly quit smoking weed before making this album and the result sure is a versatile record that has plenty of punchy lines - both vocal and bass - and offers a rich array of r&b goodness that is utterly contemporary. This album very much asserts the fact that Doja Cat is a big new presence in the game and isn't going anywhere soon.

Review: Freddie Gibbs and Madlib's hard hitting sophomore album Bandana has proven a real hit over the last five months. Now though, many fans get what they have been waiting for; an instrumental version that pairs things back to the essential beats. It makes for a record that covers plenty of grind - from sunny day and feel good instrumentals to much rawer, harder hitting beast that arm with attitude even without the explicit vocal deliveries. Plenty of the soulful samples remain in situ to help colour things and make this such a characterful record.

Review: Since first emerging a few years ago, Jamie 3:26 has carved a career out of offering up seriously sweaty scalpel jobs. Here he continues that trend with a new batch of edits of classic Chicago cuts. He begins by brilliantly chopping up BSTC's samba-fired disco-era heater "Venus & Mars", before adding his Midas touch to the squelchy Afro-Cosmic throb of Mighty Science's "The Lesson". His sparse but percussive tweak of Jungle Wonz's "Jungle" and drum machine-heavy revision of Quest's "Mind Games" are both essential, as is his stomping, high-octane, Ron Hardy style take on Braxton Holmes' "Stomps N Shouts". The revision of Chip-E's early house gem "It's House" is suitably sweaty, while the edit of Calendar's disco slammer "Comin' On Strong" is arguably the best of the lot.

Review: This third album from Post Malone was his second to top the Billboard 200 Chart. Once again it was defined by his melancholic style but was also filled with plenty of charm thanks to his versatile voice. His choruses once again shine through whether he's snarling and angry or more vulnerable and falsetto. Fans call it his best yet and the blend of genres he explores here certainly make that a fair shout. Add in the fact that Ozzy, La flame and SZA all feature and he might well have outdone himself.

Review: Hip-hop super group Run The Jewels aka Brooklyn-based rapper-producer El-P and Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike return with their fourth in their self-titled album series. Once again the American heavyweights call on a big roster of collaborators with DJ Premier, 2-Chainz, Pharrell Williams and Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme all appearing. The tracks remain hard-edged and direct, with cacophonous synths and oversized hits making each track an attention grab. The rhymes are of course on point throughout, with standouts including the machine gun bars of 'Walking The Shadow.'

Review: It's taken a while, but finally Knxwledge has delivered the follow-up to his "official" debut album, 2015's "Hud Dreems". A concept album of sorts - the tall tale behind it being that the beats were created in 1988 by an infant version of our musical hero after he climbed inside an SP-12 sampler and mastered the machine - the set sees Knxwledge sprint through a beat-tape style assortment of short, sweet and often sublime instrumentals that make use of a variety of period samples. Given his track record, it's an impressive album, regardless whether the beats were genuinely made when he was in "Nike diapers" (as the press release amusingly claims) or not.

Review: When he released third album "Me Against The World" in 1995, Tupac Shakur was arguably the biggest name in hip-hop. As we now know, it wouldn't last, with the LA rapper losing his life in a drive-by shooting 12 months later. As tragic as his demise was, his music still resonates and this album - here reissued to celebrate its 25th anniversary - is arguably the best of the lot. Produced by an all-star cast of beat-makers (Brian G, Easy Mo Bee, Tony Pizarro and Moe ZMD included), the set offered a glossy and polished take on the then dominant gangster rap style while including numerous nods to R&B, swing and G-funk. If you don't already own a copy, grab one of these pronto.

Review: It's taken a while, but finally Knxwledge has delivered the follow-up to his "official" debut album, 2015's "Hud Dreems". A concept album of sorts - the tall tale behind it being that the beats were created in 1988 by an infant version of our musical hero after he climbed inside an SP-12 sampler and mastered the machine - the set sees Knxwledge sprint through a beat-tape style assortment of short, sweet and often sublime instrumentals that make use of a variety of period samples. Given his track record, it's an impressive album, regardless whether the beats were genuinely made when he was in "Nike diapers" (as the press release amusingly claims) or not.

Review: These are buoyant times for leftfield hip hop rooted in experimentation and lo-fi sonics, and here comes Denzel Curry returning with a serious lesson for all newcomers. Hailing from Carol City, Florida, Curry has been dropping pure fire for more than 10 years, but his current form is pushing him even further into the global rap conscious. Kenny Beats is taking no prisoners on the production, while Curry's righteous anger gets processed, re-pitched and mashed up and still it lands every blow. Moving through skits, mad samples and heavyweight tracks, this is everything a visionary hip hop LP should be.

Review: Fresh from the release of his tribute to hip-hop culture's dancefloor roots, the essential "Disco Rap" single, DJ Moar returns to familiar territory with a guest-packed album of boom-bap beats, blink-and-you-miss-them skits, and deliciously deep rap songs. Moar's backing tracks ripple with warm and woozy instrumental flourishes and jazzy samples, while the accompanying raps, from MCs including Napoelon Da Legend, Dirt Platoon, Sadat X and LS Brigandes, are on-point and entertaining. Such is the all-round quality, in fact, that it sounds like a long-lost set from hip-hop's golden age.

Review: The brilliant DJ Bacon is back with another of his hard hitting mega mixes, two years after his much loved 2018 opus "Back In Hell". This one serves up two 10 minute-plus sides of thrilling new remixes of Beastie Boys and Pink Floyd. Some of the restive groups biggest and most well known material is pulled apart then reworked into new forms before being put into mega mixes that bang together rock and rap in electric fashion. This is another bold and ambitious project with cues and borrowings from both iconic bands in equal measure.