Juno Recommends Hip Hop / R&B:March 2024

Review: Jim Sharp presents his sophomore Mountain 45s release, following up the absolute banger of a debut, 'Westchester Eagle'. Coming full circle, we hear Sharp team back up with fellow producer Double A here; on the A we've got the latter's 'Iko (Never Felt This Way)', a fearless cross-section of big beat, Latin funk and sampled West African refrains, while Sharp helms up the B-side this time around, with a full-horseshoe'd rerub of an (ashamedly on our part) unknown funk delight.

Review: American superstar The Weeknd really went big with the guests on 'Popular', his dynamic r&b and pop hit from 2011, by enlisting none other than Madonna and Playboy Carti. As a breakout hit from his mixtape era, it showcases his seductive charm and magnetic presence, drawing listeners into his world of late-night escapades and hedonistic pleasures with infectious beats and smooth vocals that exude confidence and swagger and set the stage for his meteoric rise to fame and influence in the years to come. Flip it over and on the back of this Kiss Classics 7" you will find the equally effective 'Starboy' featuring Daft Punk.

Review: Mantronix declared themselves 'King of The Beats' back in 1988 and managed to live up to the title across a fine career. The tune is of course widely credited with being the first track to ever sample the amen break so many art forms owe it a real debt of gratitude. Its blend of old school hip-hop, electro and club music is topped off with rapper MC Tee in fine form. This reissue on Lil Static comes in limited quantities and is backed with 'Get Stupid Fresh' (part 1), another classic joint from back in the day.

Review: After his amazing performance on the mainstage at the Super Bowl, this 7" comes out exactly at the right time. Usher showed why he was one of the strongest male performers in pop music with his review of some of his biggest hits in his 25+ year career. A clear highlight was his top ten hit 'Yeah', featured here on 7" featuring Lil John, who also puts in an appearance on the B-side with another club destroyer in 'Get Low'. Not many other tracks represent the 2000s dance club much better than these do.

Review: More gold from the always in the know and on point 5 Boroughs label. Again here it digs into the vast annals of hip-hop history to come up with some still relevant gems in the form of Rakim and DJ Premier's staple 'It's Been a Long Time.' It is a classic boom-bap joint with lush strings and horns, some old-school scratching and cool bars. As walls, the label serves it up alongside the original sample source on the flip which is Cecil Holmes's languid soul slow burner 'Call Me, Come Back Home'. These plays shift in quick time so do not snooze if you want a slice.

Review: Heat Rock add yet another breaksy heater to their repertoire and, in so doing, welcome two wicked producers from across the pond into their roster; Altered Tapes from Chicago, and Double A from New Zealand. The former stalwart goes in on an infamous flute loop from The Beatnuts, working in phat kicks and sawn-off breakbeats for a pacier, dancier instrumental version. Double A backs this up on the B with, dedicating a prayer and an amen to the same Dirty South classic. A must-have DJ tool for the aspiring breaks-purveyor.

Review: This all-star collaboration features SlimKid3 from Pharcyde, Hamburg DJ and producer Schmiddlfinga as well as DMC Champion DJ Robert Smith. The uplifting party track 'One Question' is result of their talents. This jam gives off a classic 90s sound with the sampling, scratching and production. All three members work in harmony to create an amazing jam for the summer. If this gets in the right hands, expect it to blow up. Jim Sharp on the remix offers a great alternative version that hits just as hard. This 7" packs a punch for the hip-hop heads!

Review: The good work of the small but already mighty Boom Bap Classics label continues here as it introduces another iconic pair of 90s gem that are now available on 45 rom for the first time ever. And those gems are Mad Kap's 'Dopest Verse' and 'Da Whole Kit & Kaboodle' which are both taken from his 1992 debut album which itself remains a timeless classic. The A-side is a lovely one with several MCs at work at once next to some mad scratching, and the flip is more raw and funky. Limited to just 300 copies, this release is a must-have for collectors and fans old and new alike.

Review: EDdits master DJ Bacon returns for two of his boxiest yet on the usual 7". Bacon's production style betrays a kind of Buddhist mindfulness, or at least a minimalism, in its approach; all you need is a good beat, ever-so-slightly abstracted from its original context, to arouse the excitations of both mind and body. The fact of not knowing the sample's origin is part of the art; this condition of not knowing fetishises the breakbeat, by partially obfuscating knowledge of where the sample came from. Titles like 'Sardines Is The Word' and 'TF Megamix' are likely coded allusions to these original desiderata, but only the most hardened connoisseurs, a secret club in which Bacon and a select few others surely fraternise, would know exactly which sample sources these are. Thus we have the continued recreation of DJ Bacon as a purveyor of cool; one which enables us to enjoy the slick roundedness of these beats more than we would if the game was given away.

Review: Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth are a big part of the history in hip-hop during the early 90s. Hailing from Mount Vernon, New York they released two classic albums and a handful of singles to great success. A regular selection on the very influential MTV Yo-Raps show they quickly gained notoriety for Pete Rock's use of obscure soul and jazz records. Here we have the reissue of the 2017 release that brings their most popular track to the masses once again. 'They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)' blew them up big and was their highest charting record. This 7" features the Altered Tapes remix along with the instrumental on the second side. You would be hard pressed to find another track that is the epitome of the New York hip-hop sound in 1992 then this mega-hit.

Review: A full quarter of a century ago now, Rawls made musical magic with the legends that are Mos Def aka Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli, hip hop dons in their own right but also known collectively as Black Star. That was on the top tune 'Brown Skin Lady' and now 25 years on Rawls has gone back to revisit the original session sounds. He has sampled them and given them a fresh breath of air as well as reworking the beats, this time very much for the dance floor, and with plenty of Brazilian flavour. On the flip, you also get a flame-hot instrumental 'Braziliiance Bonus Beats'.

Review: Lil Static reissues two classic Jay-Z tracks on one 7". Many consider Jay-Z one of the best rappers of all time. Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, Jay-Z paid his dues starting in the late 80s through the early 90s on various industry tracks and seen in many hip-hop videos. 'Empire State Of Mind' and '99 Problems' both went beyond platinum to establish Jay-Z as one of the top rap stars in the world. To have both of these tracks on one 7" is like carrying a matchbook in one hand and some matchsticks in the other...you are bound to start a fire!

Review: Elusive former Odd Future wordsmith Earl Sweatshirt celebrated the ten year anniversary of his seminal 2013 major label debut Doris back in August to a sold out crowd down the road from our offices in KOKO. Directly after the show had finished, the mass would march down to the Jazz Cafe for an exclusive club night where teasers were unveiled of the long-gestating collaborative album with esteemed, multi-generational hip-hop producer The Alchemist. Already streaming while vinyl currently sits on the presses, Voir Dire offers a reliably hazy, laid back yet subtly esoteric collection of forward thinking, muted bangers; breathing with the same sonic ambivalence of a project such as Madvillainy, while the mainstay features from Sweatshirt alumni MIKE and Vince Staples aid in grounding the work within the ever-expanding tapestry of Earl's output.

Review: There was a big fuss made when Aaliyah's music finally made it to streaming services late last year, which shows just how in demand it remains over a quarter of a century after it first hit record stores. Her self titled long player was an early and frankly just about unbeatable blueprint for r&b that has more than stood the test of time. With guests posts from Static From Playa and Timbaland she opened up on all manner of subjects from rejection to love, personal anxiety to better times. The slick production still sounds fresh, as does the timeless vocal work.

Review: Once known as the technical wunderkind of alt hip-hop collective Odd Future, the ascension of Earl Sweatshirt to incomparable outlier status as a wordsmith very much in his own lane, has been a muted spectacle to behold. Celebrating the tenth birthday of Doris (his acclaimed major label debut released in 2013) earlier this year in front of a sold out KOKO just a stone's throw (no pun intended) from our offices, the anniversary show was immediately followed by a mass exodus down to Camden's Jazz Cafe where a limited club experience teased material from the much-pondered collaborative project with legendary producer and long-time Earl affiliate The Alchemist. Currently available to stream while vinyl continues to be pressed, Voir Dire exudes a lackadaisical, dare we say positive demeanour across its brief half-hour runtime, with Earl unpacking his fading twenties, preparing for his encroaching thirties and delving into the shift in perspective that comes with fatherhood. Brimming with both artist's trademark flourishes of drugged out, apathetic delivery and chopped, screwed and warped jazz and soul samples, the subtle coalescing of styles results in a work that's equal parts enlightening yet understated, while long-time collaborators/friends Vince Staples and MIKE both offer standout appearances.

Review: Originally slated for release in 1995 before a flood destroyed over 100 beats The RZA had stored in his basement, the once indefinitely postponed debut album from Wu-Tang Clan member Inspecktah Deck would finally see official release in 1999 and is still the MC's highest selling solo endeavour to date. Dedicated to Deck's late father Frank Hunter and sporting features from fellow Wu-Tang monks U-God and Masta Killa, as well as lesser-known affiliates such as Street Life, Killa Sin, and LA The Darkman; Uncontrolled Substance offers over an hour of classic east coast hip-hop at its incomparable peak.

Review: Slum Village's brilliant Fantastic Volume II: Instrumentals is a direct trip into the heart of Detroit's underground hip-hop scene. Originally released in 2000, this instrumental version of their acclaimed album strips away the vocals, allowing the soulful beats to shine in their purest form. Produced by the legendary J Dilla alongside contributions from Baatin and T3, the album's production is a masterclass in sample-based hip-hop, blending jazz, soul and funk influences with innovative drum programming. Each track is a sonic tapestry, filled with lush melodies, gritty textures, and hypnotic rhythms that showcase Slum Village's pioneering sound and Dilla's unparalleled production prowess.