Juno Recommends Hip Hop / R&B: September 2022

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: Wally Puma and Jim Sharp popped up last year with their new label DRPN Gems, offering up much loved classics with a fresh re-rub on tidy 7"s. They're back with another pair of sure shots, as Puma gets busy with one of Mary J Blige's finest moments dropping into a funked up, hard-stepping version of 'Be Happy'. On the flip, Jim Sharp takes on Mario's 'Let Me Love You' and gives it smooth blend with some iconic breaks you might well recognise from one of Mary J's own hits. If you love on-point remixes of RnB classics, don't sleep on this one.

Review: Hip-hop heads love nothing more than classic Blue Note material getting a modern fix up. And that's what we have here as Kay Young and Venna and Marco Bernardis join forces to work their magic on Marlena Shaw's 'Feel Like Making Love' and Donald Byrd's 'Where Are We Going?' This limited 7" is a taster from the 16-track compilation Blue Note: Reimagined II. It's packed with the neo-soul, r&B and hip hop scenes finest contemporary talents adding new magic to the still standout original source material. Like volume one, it's an absolute must-have, as is this 45rpm.

Review: Grammy and Latin Grammy-nominated artist Kali Uchis was raised between Virginia and Colombia. She's a revered voice in the contemporary world of hip hop, neo soul and r&b. Her 2018 album Isolation truly proved that to the world while Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) marked a second album and first Spanish-language project from the great singer. It comes with plenty of re-sung but previously released tracks that explore dreamy latin grooves with mid tempo rhythms and sun kissed pads, as well as new cuts and a collaboration with PartyNextDoor, 'la luna enamorada'

Review: In a partnership of heavyweight talent Danger Mouse links up with The Roots' imperious mic man Black Thought for their first full-length collaboration. Black Thought previously popped up on the Danger Doom album The Mouse And The Mask, but now he goes in hard on DM's accomplished beats, setting a poignant, thought-provoking tone on lead single 'Aquamarine' featuring regular DM collaborator Michael Kiwanuka. Meanwhile 'Because' welcomes Joey Bada$$, Russ and Dylan Cartlidge into the mix, while Raekwon, A$AP Rocky and Run The Jewels also help cue up a marquee hip-hop album from two master craftsmen.

Review: Here's a chance to cop a pivotal piece of R&B history on vinyl. Aaliyah's second album was released in 1996, when she was just 17, and she was already one of the most commanding artists in modern R&B. Working closely with Missy Elliot and Timbaland on a number of the tracks, she made a significant step on from her debut with a revitalised and forward-leaning sound, and all while finishing drama school and preparing to star in Romeo Must Die. One In A Million is solid gold start to finish, and given how costly original pressings of it can be on the second hand market, this reissue is long overdue so grab it while you can.

Review: Chief stoners and innovative hip hop heads Cypress Hill remain a much-loved act with a distinctive sound of their own that leans on their unique flows, groundbreaking beats and weed-laced rhymes. One of the band's biggest early tunes was this one, 'Hand on the Pump'. Lyrically it muses on the dangerous mix of rap life and thug life in LA at the time they wrote it and of that time they have said before "It wasn't uncommon for us to go party out with like fifteen cars and everybody has got weapons in the cars." Either way, it remains a classic joint today with the bonus tune 'Hole In The Head' on the flip.

Review: 700 Bliss are DJ Haram and Moor Mother, and together they've come together to deliver a guttural take on noise rap. Packed to the brim with fuzz, like gravel clogging a phone line, Haram and Moor's vocal deliveries are clownish and playful, and hear back like mere fragments of thought, pushing against the notion of a sustained narrative. Lafawndah, Muqata'a, Alli Logout and M. Tellez all feature on various vocal and production appearances, while techno is even ticked off on a few Afro-diasporic dance music forays ('Anthology'). A postmodern revisionist history of dance music in LP form.

Review: Is there any need to give an album of this stature the hype treatment? The Beastie Boys bowled into the 90s with one of their most monumental deliveries of their career on this, their third studio album. The second that crunchy break kicks in on 'Jimmy James' and Mixmaster Mike starts flaring on the decks, you know you're getting the absolute real deal. From the low down rap cuts to the instrumental psych outs, weirdo interludes and all out bombs, the Beasties showed the world what they were truly capable of. Do yourself a favour, cop a classic, given a true heavyweight reissue treatment across four big ol' slabs of wax with all the trimmings this record deserves.

Review: A conceptual offering from Alicia keys see collaborators including Swae Lee, Lil Wayne, Khalid, Lucky Daye, Pusha T and Brandi Carlile. Separated by a piano interlude 'KEYS', the record comes in two parts. Part 1 features completely original tracks, while part 2 sees certain tracks 'unlocked; by Mike WiLL Made-it, seeing them sampled and transformed. From jazzy hip-hop in 'Harmonies' with Pusha T that opens up with a symphonic piano, to the haunting 'Nat King Cole' Alicia Keys is really pushing the boat out on this project - the experimentation extending to giving an entire second disc to a producer is genius and very rewarding on tracks like 'Skydive' and 'Billions' which are completely transformed in tone and delivery - the previously 'Nat King Cole' gets an additional Lil Wayne feature which works really well as introduction to Alicia's vocals. 'Keys' has a surprise at every turn, with some incredibly skilled piano playing as well as a host of high quality rap features.

Review: Richmond beatmaker DJ Harrison is back with his second full length, Tales from the Old Dominion. This album finds the multi-talented artist play every single instrument on it after three heard years of graft. It swallows up a myriad of influences from across the ages such as soul, funk, rock, R&B, hip-hop, all with his own unique collage yet cohesive style. There are forward looking disco cuts, rubbery basslines, heart meltingly smooth neo-soul sounds and spaced-out hip-hop joints for the late night hours. This is a fresh record desire its nod to classic black music.

Review: Ree-Vo is a powerhouse duo consisting of T. Relly and Andy Spaceland who have carried on the Brsotil trip hop legacy many ears after The Wild Bunch. All Welcome On Planet Ree Vo/Dial R For Ree-Vo is a new eight-track record of fine originals that also features remixes by The Bug, Dalek (Will Brooks), Surgeon and Rob Smith. These are glitchy sounds with paranoid modern production, fixing synths and hefty bass dollops beneath most cuts as well as observational bars and plenty of edgy energy.