Back in stock: Hip Hop/R&B

Review: The East Coast hip-hop scene has many giants and many seminal albums but Big Noyd's Episodes of a Hustla is one of the lesser known works to check out if you anen't already familiar. It is a gritty and raw portrayal of street life in Queensbridge, New York, released in 1996 and capturing the essence of the East Coast scene with its hard-hitting beats and vivid storytelling. Noyd's distinctive voice and uncompromising lyrics paint a vivid picture of survival and struggle in the urban jungle. With production from hip-hop luminaries like DJ Premier and Havoc, the album delivers a potent blend of boom-bap beats and menacing melodies as well as offering a glimpse into the harsh realities of inner-city life.

Review: Dresden label Cold Diggin has been a consistent outlet for the work of The Duke Ya Love To Hate, which is one of several different aliases that Stefan Senf choses to work under. Usually they serve up just one of his special 7" outings per year but in 2023 two are arriving in December. This one comes on a hand-numbered 7" in screen-printed sleeve and is limited to just 150 copies. A-side jam 'Cold Wire' is a lively mix of breaks, jazzy chord stabs and plunging bass, then 'Cold Strut' slows things down and builds on a familiar funk break and top line melody in alluring new ways.

Review: DJ Scientist aka John Raincoatman is the German record collector behind the Outer Edge label. This time he welcomes Ghia for a second outing following the sold out and hugely desirable first one. This one comes in the form of a full length album featuring some previously unissued songs and lots of the group's signature downtempo synth pop sounds. They are soothing, lush and soulful, with delicate female vocals over sweet and innocent 80s keys and drum sounds. Perfectly steamy and sexy for slow dancing or lazy afternoons.

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: Dan The Automator and Nathaniel Merriweather came together to magic and epic effect back in 2001 on this superbly named album, Music To Make Love To Your Old Lady By. It is a cult classic and much sought-after record that gets reissued here on turquoise vinyl and still sounds as fiercely original now as it did back then. The Lovage supergroup also features Mike Patton, Jennifer Charles and Kid Koala while guest contributors include an equally hefty mix of names such as Damon Albarn, Africa Bambaata and Maseo. Musically this is a seductive mix of hip hop and soul from across the ages, all with a seductive overtone.

Review: With a superhero like Spiderman being recognised the world over by those who've legitimately never even held a comic book, it makes sense that any film adaption should rely on the current sounds of the modern era to deliver an entertaining and reliably engaging soundtrack. Where 2002's game-changing Sam Raimi adaptation boasted a retrospectively cheesy bevvy of nu-metal adjacent radio rock with the film's lead single even being penned by Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger, the music selection on this latest experimental animated series of films; Across The Spider Verse, turns to the current realms of radio dominating pop-rap. Overseen by acclaimed trap producer Metro Boomin and enlisting a who's who of modern artists such as Don Toliver, Lil Uzi Vert, Future, Nas and A$AP Rocky to name just a small handful, the collection serves equally as an of the time and on the pulse soundtrack, but also as a banging collaborative compilation of some of the best hip-hop acts in the scene today.

Review: There are not many songs in the history of hip-hop that are more important than 'Hip-Hop Hooray'. The track single handedly helped catapult underground rap sounds into mainstream success. The song was a massive hit moving into the top ten on the Billboard and #1 on the hip-hop chart and with a memorable video directed by Spike Lee, it was in heavy rotation on every music and video platform. Naughty By Nature became household names and the single went on to sell platinum status. You could not escape this anthem of the streets. Now, the groundbreaking song is reissued on 7" for the first time in over 30 years.

Review: Listen up and pay attention all serious soul heads - Cleo Sol is back with an album which confirms her position at the forefront of UK soul. Sol has a career which reaches back to the late 00s guesting for the likes of Tinie Tempah, but it's within the wider Sault orbit she's forged a renewed presence in recent years. Locked into a productive run of albums which kicked off with Rose In The Dark back in 2020, her latest long player might just be her best as she gracefully glides from piano ballads to pastoral funk, low-slung neo soul bump and beyond. Everything is bound together by her flawless voice and a persistently warm, mellow production, making this sound like a future classic in waiting.

Review: Cleo Sol has emerged on Forever Living Originals alongside the avant-gospel sensation of Sault, and in an understated way she's quickly positioned herself as one of the most compelling, original voices in UK soul. Hot on the heels of Heaven comes her third LP Gold, and it's another masterclass in low-key but wholly intentional production framing some of the most arresting singing and songwriting you're likely to hear all the way through 2024. On Gold especially there's a tendency towards a cosy, in-the-room sound from the live kit and warm keys to the subtle undercurrent of soundsystem mixing attitude, and it makes for an album you'll want to live in for days on end.

Review: More explosive rap classics get pressed up to handy and battle-ready 7" here courtesy of the TNT label. This seventh volume in their on going series of old school dynamite joints kicks off with a banger from Blu Cantrell. 'Breathe' (feat Sean Paul) has the reggae man dropping his trademark bars in stylised vocal form with Cantrell''s own delivery offering a clean, icy counterpoint over nice low end bump and Cali-style synth lines. Paul again features on the flip, this time adding his words to Beyonce's huge pop hit 'Baby Boy'.

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.