Juno Recommends Hip Hop / R&B: November 2022

Review: Perhaps Fu-Schnickens aren't a household name in the annals of East Coast hip-hop, but for a brief moment in the early 90s they made their mark, even bothering the charts thanks to a feature from Shaquille O'Neal, no less. This 7" from Boom Bap Classics draws on each of the two albums the Brooklyn trio released, leading in with the opening cut from their sophomore effort Nervous Breakdown. On the flip it's the turn of 'True Fuschnick', one of the stand out joints from their 1992 debut F. U. 'Don't Take It Personal'. This is gold standard gear from hip-hop's purple patch, pressed up on a handy little disc for your spinning pleasure.

Review: Few labels are better at saving up big cut-and-paste tunes from the world of hip-hop, r&b, funk and breaks than Heat Rock. Here they come again with more of the goodness, firstly with Nick Nack. His 'And Ya Say' roll deep, with smooth bars flowing freely over the leggy drums. On the reverse, Chicago's Altered Tapes crew offer up their own unique take of hip hop classic 'Still Running' in the form of a shuffling Bossa B-boy flip which has Latin percussion and ass-wigging drums. Both of these are floor-friendly cuts that pack in plenty of heritage.

Review: Alloy Cuts make their first move by reaching out to Booty Haul to deliver a sweet and funky version of a stone cold classic from the mid 90s golden era of hip-hop. Big L wasn't exaggerating when he extolled himself as - the most valuable poet on the M. I. C. - and his flow comes through crystal clear over the mellow, flute-dusted groove Booty Haul lay down on this DIY 7". There's a full vocal version on the A side and the pure, head-nodding instrumental on the flip, so DJs make your choice and let the people on the floor pass judgement - with a track this dope, there's only one way the party's going.

Review: Presto (Names You Can Trust, Plug Research) highlights two tracks from his unreleased album 'Basement Beats', which was recorded in 2020 while he lived in New York and is designed to give listeners a view into his daily commute in pre-pandemic NYC from early 5am walks to Union Square to his daily E Train trip. . 'Official' boasts a gritty drum loop that acts as a bed for a sublimely melodic sample (the soulful synth melody on the chorus is vin fact played by his daughter). Flip it over for 'Floating', where Presto plays the wah-infused Rhodes piano along with Avatar on the bass guitar, giving a nod to their previous live fusion group Wayward Saints. A dose of the old school as it travels into the future.

Review: Jeru The Damaja doesn't always get namechecked as readily as the likes of Gang Starr, but he's just as vital a part of the East Coast rap legacy. 1996 album Wrath Of The Math is a totem of conscious hip-hop, with Premier on the beats and Jeru showing off exactly what he can do on the mic. Now 45 Kings are taking measures to remind people how good this record is by picking two of the album's finest cuts and giving them a trip out on 7". 'Ya Playing Yaself' is an impossibly funky Preemo groove underpinned by a righteously cheeky b-line, while 'Scientifical Madness' finds The Damaja breaking down societal ills with devastating dexterity.

Review: American rapper Pusha T dropped his fourth album It's Almost Dry earlier in 2022 on GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings - his last with those labels. It is a heavyweight ensemble who have helped make it with contributions and features from the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams, Kid Cudi, Lil Uzi Vert and Nigo amongst many more. The record got instant acclaim from fans and critics alike and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. Pusha is in a confident mood throughout as he plays out a gangster sex saga in vivid fashion, with larger-than-life storytelling which betters his last album in 2018.

Review: Bronx titans Camp Lo came out strong when they arrived in the late 90s on Profile Records. Of the many sure shots on their debut LP Uptown Saturday Night, 'Black Nostaljack' was a cool, funked up party jam to get every nodding their approval. It's a classic kind of hip-hop, like an East Coast version of People Under The Stairs, and it sounds super fresh on this 7" from Get On Down. As well as the original version on the A side, the flip features the jacked up 'Mix Tape Remix' from Kid Capri, which turns the heat up good and proper if you need to get the crowd freaking.

Review: This one takes us all the way back to 1989 when it was originally released. Superbly remastered for this reissue, none of the potency and grit has been lost along the way. It's a tribute to mic man Stezo's sad and far too soon passing on Record Store Day 2022. 'To The Max' has tough beats and spangled synths with coarse stabs all overlaid by the hard bars. There is more soul and a rolling rhythm to the boom-bap of flip side jam 'It's My Turn'.

Review: The Kiss Klassics label is offering up some wonderfully nostalgic doses of millennial RnB edits at present, and they're back at it with a re-working of Mya's 2000 slammer 'Case Of The Ex', which sounds as punchy and addictive as it did when it first hit the airwaves. On the flip we get a new twist on Mario's low down and nasty 'Boom', and you can be sure anyone who came of age during this golden era will be straight on the floor when one of these gems gets dropped.

Review: Prom Nite is the latest new album from deck wizard ad beat maker DJ Yoda. He announced it and teased the sounds to expect with Feel Like Home - a new single featuring the incredible House Gospel Choir. It's a single that gets you up off the floor after sad news and was recorded in the depths of lockdown. Says Yoda, "It felt great to collaborate with the House Gospel Choir, as they're about as positive, energetic, creative and fun a bunch of people as you'll find anywhere. I'm always looking for the next thing to try out, and to dip my toes into the world of soulful gospel music was a heart-warming process."

Review: Get On Down take another trip back into the history of hip-hop once more to give you two crucial cuts on a tidy little silver 7". This time around we're sliding to 1997 as Wu-Tang Clan made their collective return with second album Wu-Tang Forever. After the seismic impact of 36 Chambers, the Staten Island stronghold went off to explore their own independent avenues and returned to the group dynamic with more skill than ever. These two choice joints from Wu-Tang Forever are stone cold classics, within and beyond the Wu-Tang canon. 'Triumph' was a hit single, but 'Heaterz' remains a true fan favourite thanks to True Master's tough beat and a knockout verse from Inspectah Deck.

Review: Get On Down's mission to bring you the finest hip-hop pressed up on 7" continues apace with this slice of vintage Cypress Hill lifted from their breakout debut album. 'The Funky Cypress Hill Shit' is every inch the party joint, with a raucous break that sounds like it could derail at any moment, but of course Muggs keeps it on lock and B-Real and Sen Dog get busy on the mic all over the track. It's a guaranteed slice of good time business that will never let you down when you need to juice up the crowd good and proper.

Review: Steve Lacy is an LA-based songwriter best known as guitarist for The Internet as well as producing for Kendrick Lamar amongst others. After releasing his debut solo album Apollo XXI in 2019, he returns with a sophomore effort which expands on his broad-reaching vision of psychedelic soul. Like a modern day Shuggie Otis he knows how to bridge the gap between disparate musical camps, displaying a powerful pop instinct while keeping things kinked and quirky throughout. Lead single 'Bad Habit' is a sweet, sentimental anthem that should appeal to all and sundry, and it's a perfect gateway into an album brimming with future classics.

Review: Top shelf lyricists Aesop Rock and Homeboy Sandman come together here to show off all their skills. They are revered for pushing the envelope with a wide range of topics, moods and grooves covered, always in-depth and with real coherence. They came together initially through mutual appreciation for each other's styles and then built a strong musical connection. It shows here across a bunch of super tight joints, killer rhymes and sweet beats.

Review: Two of U.S. hip-hop's most prominent emcees have brought us twin EPs available on a name-your-price basis, as well as a limited vinyl edition. The rappers' mutual admiration of each other's crafts emerged as a fan-led acknowledgement of their similar styles, which led to Sandman joining Rock on tour back in 2015. Now Lice Two: Still Buggin, the second of their collabs, gets a proper reissue via Rhymesayers.

Review: Two of U.S. hip-hop's most prominent emcees have brought us twin EPs available on a name-your-price basis, as well as a limited vinyl edition. The rappers' mutual admiration of each other's crafts emerged as a fan-led acknowledgement of their similar styles, which led to Sandman joining Rock on tour back in 2015. Now Triple Fat Lice, the third of their collabs, gets a proper reissue via Rhymesayers.

Review: In the liner notes for Jazzamatazz, Guru explained, "jazz's mellow tracks, along with the haerd rap beat, go hand-in-glove with my voice." Truer words were never said, and in 1993 the Gang Starr legend proved the point by releasing one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. The link between hip-hop and jazz was already in the air, but Guru crystalised it in no uncertain terms, pulling in a heavyweight list of singers and players like N'Dea Davenport, Donald Byrd, Courtney Pine, Lonnie Liston Smith and more besides to realise his vision. Guru's sultry tone sits in the bed of warm musicianship like butter on toast, and this reissue means you can pick it up in pristine condition and hear it pouring out of those grooves. If ever an album was made for vinyl, this would be it.

Review: American hip-hop group Digable Planets dropped their revered second studio album Blowout Comb in October 1994 on Pendulum/EMI Records. It bare all the hallmarks of the classic boom-bap era with hints of flower power positivity, plenty of dusty beats, great samples (of Roy Ayers amongst others) and, rather rarely, female bars in amongst the men. There is more than a whiff of A Tribe Called Quest to these beats, which also have lyrical themes such as inner city life and black nationalism. Guest appearances from icons of the time like Guru of Gang Starr, Jeru the Damaja, and DJ Jazzy Joyce all feature. Top tackle.

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Review: Japanese import 7" from DJ Kando & Tek of Smif-N-Wessun