KRUSH, DJ Jaku (Sony Japan) cd 16.98
A name you can trust. You can always count on the tracks woven by this Japanese sonic craftsman to be of the highest caliber. Every sound is expertly chiseled and meticulously assembled. With its haunting high melodies from a shakuhachi (or perhaps another flute-type instrument), stuttery tactile breakbeats, deeeeeeeeeeeeeeep bass, and turntable scritchin', Jaku is no exception. Full, rich and enveloping but without extraneous clutter. This is a totally fitting soundtrack for high-end cocktail lounges and haute couture boutiques. With each album, Krush's overall sound has grown increasingly serene and smooth grooving, but on Jaku special guests such as Mr. Lif, Aesop Rock, and Japanese turntablist Tatsuki spice things up a bit.
MPEG Stream: "Still Island"
MPEG Stream: "Decks-athron"

KRUSH, DJ Kakusei (Sony) cd 16.98
Rumor has it that, Krush had misappropriated his sizable recording budget and instead released "some of the grimiest sub-audio committed to tape... with no vocals either." Guesting on the album are Shawn J, Mista Sinsiter (X-Ecutioners), A.S.A., DJ Sak, Jun Sawada, etc...
though it seemed doubtful that any A&R rep for Sony US would dare touch this record, and as such remain an expensive Japanese import, it has finally been released domestically for a much more reasonable price.

KRUSH, DJ Kakusei (Sony Japan) 2lp 31.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Rumor has it that, Krush had misappropriated his sizable recording budget and instead released "some of the grimiest sub-audio committed to tape... with no vocals either." Guesting on the album are Shawn J, Mista Sinsiter (X-Ecutioners), A.S.A., DJ Sak, Jun Sawada, etc...
It's doubtful that any A&R rep for Sony US would dare touch this record, so it is probably only to be an expensive Japanese import.

KRUSH, DJ Meiso (MoWax/ffrr) cd 14.98
Japan's best DJ in his premiere American release.

KRUSH, DJ Zen (Red Ink) cd 17.98
Krush proudly boasts his jetsetting lifestyle in that he produced this album in four different cities (Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia - to be read like the bottom of Donna Karan ad). "Zen" is a downtempo hip-hop album designed as a soundtrack for drunk couples humping, with soulful guest vocal appearances from Black Thought, Zap Mama, Tunde Ayanyemi, Company Flow, Kazufumi Kodama, N'Dea Davenport, Boss The MC, Ahmir Thompson, Kukoo Da Baga Bonez, and Sunja Lee. And scratching on one track from DJ Disk. A rediscovery of that lush Mo' Wax blunted trip hop sound.

KUTMASTER KURT Masters of Illusion (Threshold) cd 16.98
Kutmasta Kurt has been responsible for the production work for a bunch of the Kool Keith records, who does appear on "Masters of Illusion" and is sounding more like one of the guys in Cypress Hill. Kurt's production work tends towards setting up his breakbeats and samples along unwavering loop structures. Fortunately DJ Revolution, DJ Rhettmatic, and DJ Babu scratch their way through the production work, which would very boring without it.

KWELI, TALIB Beautiful Struggle (Rawkus) cd 15.98
Talib Kweli, who formally worked with Mos Def in Black Star, releases his latest album to critical acclaim. Featuring Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans and Common, Beautiful Struggle is very cool until about half way through, at "Around My Way". Whoah -- is that a riff from The Police? Umm, yeah. Huh? Couldn't one of his friends have told him that's just not cool, man? Well anyway, "We Got The Beat", featuring Res, leads the album back into goodness. Post-bling acts like Kweli are on the rise right now. "People buy my music not because I'm socially conscious but because it's dope," he says. "There's a lot of people who put out conscious music that doesn't sound good, and it's not interesting. The music has to come first, before the message." This recording and its production are tantamount to how delicious it can sound without shouting about banging and ho's.
MPEG Stream: "Going Hard"
MPEG Stream: "Back Up Offa Me"

KWELI, TALIB Eardrum (Blacksmith) cd 13.98

KWELI, TALIB Quality (Rawkus) cd 15.98
Brooklynite rapper Talib Kweli's name literally means "seeker of truth" -- if his parents were that cool then you can imagine how conscious and smart he must be. After releasing highly regarded albums with Mos Def (Black Star) and Hi Tek, his newest album is a solo affair, although he certainly had plenty of help: Mos Def, DJ Quik, Pharoahe Monch, Black Thought, Cocoa Brovaz, RES, & more. And the record may feature a different producer on almost every track, but said producers prove themselves uniformly great, especially when they lend their smart ears to the choosing of sample material, all of which is unpredictable and not overused. There's driving rock guitar in the first song, emotional viola on several tracks, a killer Chi-lites sample on "Guerrilla Monsoon." Al Green, Black Sheep, Eddie Kendricks. "Get By" -- which might as well be considered a remix of one of Windy's favorite songs of all time, Nina Simone's epic version of "Sinnerman" -- makes excellent use of Simone's handclaps and the way she leaps all over the piano. Listen to that track for sure. Really nicely done and consistent. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Get By"
RealAudio clip: "Guerilla Monsoon"

KWELI, TALIB Right About Now (Koch) cd 16.98
No doubt one of the best mc's hip-hop has to offer. His first two albums stand right up their as two of the finest hip-hop records of this decade. While his last release seemed to be a bit of a slip and reached for more commercial success Right About Now finds Kweli back to basics and what he does best. While filler and unfunny skits seem to haunt so many hip hop albums, Kweli keeps keen focus throughout the entire record. With the help of friends like Mos Def and MF Doom he's put together a super solid mix of songs that will remind you of why you fell in love with him in the first place.
MPEG Stream: "Drugs, Basketball & Rap"
MPEG Stream: "Supreme Supreme"

KWELI, TALIB & HI-TEK Reflection Eternal (Rawkus) cd 16.98

KWELI, TALIB & HI-TEK Reflection Eternal (Rawkus) 2lp 16.98

KWELI, TALIB & MADLIB Liberation (Blacksmith Music) cd 17.98

LADY SAW Walk Out (VP) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "Hello Lady Saw"
MPEG Stream: "Big Up"
MPEG Stream: "Me And My Crew"

LADY SOVEREIGN Public Warning (Def Jam) cd 13.98

MPEG Stream: "Love Me Or Hate Me"
MPEG Stream: "Hoodie"
MPEG Stream: "9 To 5"

LADY SOVEREIGN Vertically Challenged (Chocolate Industries) cd 11.98
As we've mentioned before, we just can't get enough Grime. We absolutely dug Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Virus Syndicate, and even M.I.A. who had a bit of grime going on. But over in the UK, grime is the shit, happening on loads of 12"s, in clubs, and on underground radio stations, but very little of it has made it over here, unfortunately, outside of a few comps. It makes perfect sense that Lady Sovereign would be the one to follow Dizzee and M.I.A. from underground hype to next big thing. EVERY time we play this in the store at least one person buys it, and usually half the people in the store come up to see what we're listening to. It's that catchy and funky and fucked up, and totally unlike anything else you've heard -- okay, other than M.I.A. maybe, but Lady Sovereign sounds so much more raw and gritty and weird, maybe like M.I.A.'s snotty, sexy little sister. The grooves are grime for sure, super stuttery and repetitive, with thick swaths of fuzzy synth and huge rolling basslines, but the arrangements are really damaged and complex, with plenty of start and stops, twisty and tangled, the tonguetwisting vocals careening at breakneck speed all over the place, riding a huge synth line, skipping nimbly over a spastic drum break, like a musical version of a Jackie Chan action sequence. Lady Sovereign is ducking and dodging and spitting madly over funky beats and all manner of samples. But no matter how crazy the tunes are, it's all about Lady Sov's flow. The sticker on the front of the disc describes her as "Eminem if he was an 18 year old female from South London" which makes for good copy but isn't entirely accurate. She's got a really unique voice, sometimes squeaky and feminine, but more often a bit scruffy and growly, and it's amazing how many syllables she can spit per minute, dizzying! And she can easily slip into some strange melodic vocalization for a song's chorus before slipping back into her Cockney growly snotty delivery. And her lyrics are really funny, plenty of shit talking of course, but lots of self deprecating references to her slight stature (5'1", hence the title) and her baggy clothes, and lots of other really silly randomness. Although sometimes the delivery is so rapid fire it's hard to catch anything but a word here and there. Hardly matters though, you'll be too busy bouncing or dancing or whatever you do with these tunes blasting in the background.
Vertically Challenged may be an ep, but it's pretty long, eight tracks, 35 minutes, features a handful of remixes, one from the Beastie Boys' Adrock and one from Ghislain Poirier, and features guest vocal spots from UK grimies Shystie, Frost P., Zuz Rock.
And even though it's an ep it's definitely all killer and no filler, unlike most hip hop records, and it definitely lays the groundwork for Lady Sovereign to blow up M.I.A. big in the not too distant future. And we're definitely psyched for that. The more GRIME the better, and we'd sure as hell rather hear Lady Sovereign on the radio and on MTV than J-Lo or Madonna or Ashlee Simpson!
MPEG Stream: "Random"
MPEG Stream: "Ch Ching (Cheque 1-2 Remix)"

LADY SOVEREIGN Vertically Challenged (Chocolate Industries) 2lp 13.98
FINALLY AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!
As we've mentioned before, we just can't get enough Grime. We absolutely dug Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Virus Syndicate, and even M.I.A. who had a bit of grime going on. But over in the UK, grime is the shit, happening on loads of 12"s, in clubs, and on underground radio stations, but very little of it has made it over here, unfortunately, outside of a few comps. It makes perfect sense that Lady Sovereign would be the one to follow Dizzee and M.I.A. from underground hype to next big thing. EVERY time we play this in the store at least one person buys it, and usually half the people in the store come up to see what we're listening to. It's that catchy and funky and fucked up, and totally unlike anything else you've heard -- okay, other than M.I.A. maybe, but Lady Sovereign sounds so much more raw and gritty and weird, maybe like M.I.A.'s snotty, sexy little sister. The grooves are grime for sure, super stuttery and repetitive, with thick swaths of fuzzy synth and huge rolling basslines, but the arrangements are really damaged and complex, with plenty of start and stops, twisty and tangled, the tonguetwisting vocals careening at breakneck speed all over the place, riding a huge synth line, skipping nimbly over a spastic drum break, like a musical version of a Jackie Chan action sequence. Lady Sovereign is ducking and dodging and spitting madly over funky beats and all manner of samples. But no matter how crazy the tunes are, it's all about Lady Sov's flow. The sticker on the front of the disc describes her as "Eminem if he was an 18 year old female from South London" which makes for good copy but isn't entirely accurate. She's got a really unique voice, sometimes squeaky and feminine, but more often a bit scruffy and growly, and it's amazing how many syllables she can spit per minute, dizzying! And she can easily slip into some strange melodic vocalization for a song's chorus before slipping back into her Cockney growly snotty delivery. And her lyrics are really funny, plenty of shit talking of course, but lots of self deprecating references to her slight stature (5'1", hence the title) and her baggy clothes, and lots of other really silly randomness. Although sometimes the delivery is so rapid fire it's hard to catch anything but a word here and there. Hardly matters though, you'll be too busy bouncing or dancing or whatever you do with these tunes blasting in the background.
Vertically Challenged may be an ep, but it's pretty long, eight tracks, 35 minutes, features a handful of remixes, one from the Beastie Boys' Adrock and one from Ghislain Poirier, and features guest vocal spots from UK grimies Shystie, Frost P., Zuz Rock.
And even though it's an ep it's definitely all killer and no filler, unlike most hip hop records, and it definitely lays the groundwork for Lady Sovereign to blow up M.I.A. big in the not too distant future. And we're definitely psyched for that. The more GRIME the better, and we'd sure as hell rather hear Lady Sovereign on the radio and on MTV than J-Lo or Madonna or Ashlee Simpson!
MPEG Stream: "Random"
MPEG Stream: "Ch Ching (Cheque 1-2 Remix)"

LAPSE / CHRIS LEO / OCTALAPSE Insound Tour Support No. 7 (Insound) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Three projects fronted by Chris Leo on one limited cd. His solo work features sonic guitars, bizarre samples, and loops. As The Lapse, Chris joins former Blonde Redhead member Toko, and closes this four track cd by hooking up with hip hop beatmeister Dalek as Octalapse.

LAST POETS, THE The Last Poets/This Is Madness (Light In The Attic) 2cd 19.98
A double-cd release of The Last Poets' first two albums! Their 1970 self-titled debut broke out and made its own scene, forging a way for hip hop with politically charged, African-American enlightenments in syncopated rhythm. Fans of Sun Ra will notice similarities in vocal stylings, emotion and lyrical content, though in The Last Poets this treatment is much more fierce and raw than mystical and cool. 1971's This Is Madness got them a spot on President Nixon's Counter-Intelligence Programming lists. These street poets' use of graphic language (including the 'N' word used, oh, about five million times) pounds out their frustrations in the racial and social state of the country and at the time helped to extend their messages to a broader audience by way of its pure and utter rawness. Nicely packaged in the albums' original artwork, these albums are fierce documents of the group's seminal contribution to that time and still stir up some of the same emotions today.
MPEG Stream: "Wake Up, Niggers"
MPEG Stream: "New York, New York"

LATYRX The Album (Quannum Projects) cd 14.98
This amazing album was originally issued in 1997 but it sounds so incredibly fresh even today -- I readily admit that I didn't recognize its true brilliance until now. Most of the members of the now-famous Solesides crew pitched in on this self-titled debut statement from Latyrx (MCs Lateef and Lyrics Born), including DJ Shadow who produces four stunning tracks, Chief Xcel, and Blackalicious. The two MCs often let their rhymes flow forth right on top of each other, a cool textural effect is produced, as if the production efforts weren't interesting sounding enough -- overall you're hearing Mo'Wax-style groove, smart samples, and advanced apocalyptic scariness that today's El-P and Cannibal Ox have perfected. Recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Latyrx"
RealAudio clip: "Burnt Pride"

LIL JON & THE EAST SIDE BOYZ Crunk Juice (TVT) cd 17.98

LIL JON & THE EAST SIDE BOYZ Crunk Juice (TVT) 3cd 22.00

LIL MAMA VYP Voice Of the Young People (Zomba) cd 17.98
Last year just about all of us who heard the song "Lip Gloss" were immediately smitten with what had to be one of the most fun and catchy bubble-gum-hip-hop songs ever recorded. It snapped and popped like a young Missy Elliott on the greatest high school cheerleading squad EVER. If you haven't heard it you must check it out! So undeniably catchy and irresistible! So we were almost afraid to check out this full length when it finally came out as we didn't want to find out that Lil Mama would turn out to be just another in a long line of one-hit wonders. Of course the record's first song is "Lip Gloss" and it's followed by the cleverly titled "One Hit Wonder" which is a total slammer in its own right and the next several songs prove that Lil Mama has actually got plenty of hits up in her sleeve. She really has lots of the potential to become a new Missy Elliott for the next generation. She can sound so self assured, confident and full of vibrant color. There are a handful of really great and catchy songs on here for sure. It does lose steam towards the end with some misses and a should-have-never-been bonus track featuring Avril Lavigne. But we were happy to find out that Lil Mama is not just a one-hit wonder and we'll definitely be keeping our ears open for what she does in the future.
MPEG Stream: "Lip Gloss"
MPEG Stream: "What it Is (Strike a Pose) [Feat. T-Pain]"
MPEG Stream: "One Hit Wonder"

LIL WAYNE Lights Out (Cash Money / Universal) cd 16.98
Cash Money releases another winner and No Limit falls farther and farther behind. Cash Money, originally an embrassing No Limit knockoff, has been spitting out hit after hit, and this one's no exception. Lil Wayne's new one 'Lights Out', is his third (fourth? Who knows? It's as hard to keep track of CM as it used to be with No Limit) and catchy as fuck, with slamming beats, amazing production and crazy flow. 'Get Off the Corner' is the best Cash Money single since 'Bling Bling'. Maybe if Master P would spend as much time working on records as he does on the stock market, and his line of clothing, and his sports management, No Limit would start to matter again.

LIL' KIM The Naked Truth (Atlantic) cd 17.98

LIL' KIM The Notorious K.I.M. (Queen Bee) cd 16.98
Still nasty. And pretty good. Sisqo, Cee-Lo, Redman, Lil' Cease, Puff Daddy, Mary J. Blige and a host of others guest.

LIL' WAYNE Tha Carter III (Cash Money) cd 15.98

LIVE HUMAN Elefish Jellyphant (Matador) cd 13.98
San Francisco's fantastic live improv hiphop/jazz/turntablism trio, featuring the skills of DJ Quest of the Space Travellers/Bullet Proof Scratch Hamsters, as well drum kit and double bass. Everybody loved their FatCat/Hip Hop Slam record "Monostereosis", and this is more of the same. Kinda like a more advanced version of the instrumental tracks on the last few Beastie Boys records, actually. Good stuff.

LIVE HUMAN Elefish Jellyphant (Matador) 2lp 16.98
San Francisco's fantastic live improv hiphop/jazz/turntablism trio, featuring the skills of DJ Quest of the Space Travellers/Bullet Proof Scratch Hamsters, as well drum kit and double bass. Everybody loved their FatCat/Hip Hop Slam record "Monostereosis", and this is more of the same. Kinda like a more advanced version of the instrumental tracks on the last few Beastie Boys records, actually. Good stuff.

LIVE HUMAN Live (C.O.D.) cd 11.98
Live Human's previous albums never really did it for me, so this great album is a revelation. Here the groundbreaking trio of standup bass, drums, and turntables is *live*, recorded right here in their hometown of San Francisco at the Great American Music Hall in July 2001 (this after playing a sold out show at the Montreux Jazz Festival!) While they have been called "punk jazz" by some XLR8R reviewer on the back of this cd, you should know that there is nothing punk about the trio's sound -- although their deft improvisations have certainly been informed by the jazz tradition.
Live Human mixes warmly organic bass lines that are funky but not overly so, with percussion that is as breakbeat "funky drummer" style as it is carefully shuffling, staccato and delicate. The third equal element is hiphop DJ Quest's visionary turntablist style. While he does his fair share of athletic, textural scratching here (he even plays with the tense sound of a skipping cd, of all things), it isn't overdone, nor boring, nor predictable. He brings in just enough outside elements like women's voices, snippets of old hip hop classics, James Brown's "heuh!", etc., to prevent the "jazz" from imploding self-indulgently into itself, yet not so much that it becomes a sample-heavy smorgasbord. It is incredible how perfect Quest's instincts are for what is too much and/or not enough. I have to say that the turntablist skills demonstrated here are so seamlessly integrated with the bass and the drums that I can't help but think this is one of THE FINEST examples of turntablism I have ever heard -- he knows that the way to us listeners' hearts is not to showboat his virtuosic skills, but instead to bow to the demands of the music itself.
This is an awesome record that is completely worth your money. As if that wasn't enough, it is purposely being sold directly from the label to retailers for the express purpose of keeping the price down and, according to the liner notes, "cutting out many of the redundant music-industry middle-men that traditionally add nothing to the art but are happy to pocket more than their fair share of the profit (biiiiaaaatch!)."
RealAudio clip: "Fr-Fre-Fre-Fresshhhhhhh!"
RealAudio clip: "Breakbeat"
RealAudio clip: "Human til Inifinity"

LIVE HUMAN Monostereosis: The New Victrola Method (Hip Hop Slam) cd 14.98
These popular local artists' album was previously only available as an import, now finally it's available as a domestic release! What we had to say about the import still applies: San Franciscans Kushin, Mathias, and Quest (DJ that is) come up with a kick ass 'new jazz'/turntablism/hip hop hybrid for their debut album. A couple of the tracks from their previous singles on Fat Cat pop up on the album which is loaded with wykked scratching, sikk beats, and phhat bass. Excellent!

LIVE HUMAN Monostereosis: The New Victrola Method (Fat Cat) 2lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
San Franciscans Kushin, Mathias, and Quest (DJ that is) come up with a kick ass 'new jazz'/turntablism/hip hop hybrid for their debut album. A couple of the tracks from their previous singles on Fat Cat pop up on the album which is loaded with wykked scratching, sikk beats, and phhat bass. Excellent!

LIVE HUMAN Monostereosis: The New Victrola Method (Hip Hop Slam) 2lp 17.98
And it's here on vinyl, too...These popular local artists' album was previously only available as an import, now finally it's available as a domestic release! What we had to say about the import still applies: San Franciscans Kushin, Mathias, and Quest (DJ that is) come up with a kick ass 'new jazz'/turntablism/hip hop hybrid for their debut album. A couple of the tracks from their previous singles on Fat Cat pop up on the album which is loaded with wykked scratching, sikk beats, and phhat bass. Excellent!

LIVE HUMAN Orange Buch Monkey Flower (Fat Cat) 12" 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The second single on Fat Cat from Live Human, a San Francisco trio with turntablist DJ Quest scratching over a mellow funk of skittering jazzy percussion and stand up bass. A really good American version of Red Snapper!

LL COOL J Phenomenon (Columbia) cd 17.98
More major-label price gouging. But, not a bad LL record.

LL COOL J Todd Smith (Def Jam) cd 15.98

LOON Wizard Of Harlem (Siccness) cd 16.98
You might wonder why we're listing this, already the second album of 2006 from Harlem rapper Loon (who first broke through in '02 with a cameo on P. Diddy's "I Need A Girl", and went on to be one of Mase's Harlem World MCs, a project which apparently didn't work out too well, judging by the Mase dis track found on this disc...). Well, we happened to hear it, and it rules! Unlike a lot of hiphop albums, this isn't just one or two good tracks and then a bunch of skits and filler. Ok, there are a couple skits. But enough, um, "bomb tracks" to make it tough to chose when it came time to make sound samples. We feel like we're hearing some hits here, or should-be-hits. Like "You Told Me", with its Dr. Dre-like funk beats and Outkast-ish vocals, and (for some guys) easy-to-relate-to relationship lyrics. Or the adrenalized thrills of gangsta tale "Blap Blap". Plus you've gotta love a good dis track, and the condescendingly caustic, knife-twisting "Jimmy" here sure fits the bill. And that ain't even the one about Mase.
The lyrics aren't all the usual stale stuff, not just about bling n' things, and we totally dig Loon's low-key, laid-back flow (he sounds maybe a bit like Cam'ron) and the spare production. For some of our customers the likes of Loon might be old news, but for others, Loon is a lot MORE obscure than the latest limited to 50 copies Finnish heavy drone psych folk new weird cd-r in the highlights section... which means you might want to check it out!!
MPEG Stream: "Blap Blap ft. I-Rocc/Smigg Dirtee"
MPEG Stream: "Jimmy (Jim Jones DISS)"

LORNA DOOM The Diabolical EP (Corleone) cd ep 10.98
Ahh, the Body. One of our favorite crushing sludge behemoths. Purveyors of pulverizing brutality. Khanate, Moss, Corrupted, all sonic brethren of the mighty metallic monsters known as the Body.
So what might you think if you heard that two of the guys from The body had a side project called Lorna Doom? Well, you'd probably be thinking the same thing we were. Fuck yeah! The Body, Lorna DOOM. How could we not be psyched?! Okay, well what if we told you Lorna Doom was in fact The Body's HIP-HOP side project? Then what? Run screaming? Or would you still be intrigued? Maybe more than intrigued, maybe kind of excited? Well we were, and we still are, cuz this is pretty fucking dope.
Woven together from simple drum machine beats, weird post rock guitar lines, jazzy horns, bizarre samples, and AWESOME loops (the first track is made from a loop of Rob Base's ("it Takes Two"!) and of course some bad ass white boy rapping. At first we were sort of thrown for a loop. But the more we listened to this, the more we dug it. Not hard to see these guys rocking the mic and holding their own alongside the big boys. Funky and funny, but not joke-y at all. This disc had us reimagining Eminem's movie 8 Mile, but recast with these two bearded indie rock metal dudes in the part of Rabbit (or Rabbits I guess), how fucking awesome would that be?
Anyway, not necessarily for fans of the Body, although we are and we dig this a lot. Regardless, some seriously solid, funky, outsider, homemade hip hop. Cool stuff for sure.
MPEG Stream: "Doom Is In The Room"
MPEG Stream: "Clash Of The Titans"

LOVE DOC SKI EXPERIENCE At The Top Of The World (self-released) cd-r 9.98
Three veteran SF DJs B-Love, Doc Fu and Romanowski deliver one solid mix a piece. Doesn't Doc Fu's description pique yer interest and yer appetite!? "A Lumpia, Menudo, Irish stew megamix throwndown" Yo, check it!

LUDACRIS Back For The First Time (Def Jam) cd 17.98
Actually stumbled on upon this one by happy accident. We were trying desperately to figure out who did this one song that we kept hearing on the radio, but they never said who it was, since it was always in the middle of some sort of megamix. Finally figured it out, only to realize, that the same guy also did an even more amazing song that we had practically given up on finding. So, the guy is Ludacris, the sound is southern-fried gangster rap ala No Limit, but with way better / commercial radio production. and the song in question (that you've probably heard) is 'What's Your Fantasy', a nasty boy vs. girl duet with a catchy (and funny) stick in your head chorus: ' I wanna lick lick lick lick lick you from your head to your toes...'

LUDACRIS Chicken N Beer (Def Jam) cd 15.98

LUDACRIS Release Therapy (Disturbing Tha Peace) cd 15.98

LUDACRIS The Red Light District (Def Jam) cd 15.98

LUDACRIS Word Of Mouf (Island / Def Jam) cd 16.98
Still more hip hop bubbles up from the dirty south, from the underground, and spills out all over MTV and hiphop radio. Ludacris has been kicking around for a while, mix tapes etc... But last years's 'Fantasy' track blew up BIG and made Ludacris a household word. Now, it's a year later, and there's a new record, even better than the last one, a new completely hilarious 'big-headed' video, and Ludacris is even a goddamn MTV host!! But it was bound to happen. As MTV started dipping their toes in 'underground hip hop' (Cash Money, No Limit, Nelly, St. Lunatics, etc.) and embraced the dirty south sound, the underground pretty much stopped being underground at all. Videos, clothing lines, commercials all became de rigeur. And thankfully shit like Mase and Puff Daddy finally have some competition. Plus folks like Nelly and Ludacris, while still 'gangsta', manage to be cute and goofy at the same time and therefore pretty appealing to the teenyboppers and hip hop lightweights. Ludacris takes the sparse, bouncy southern sound of No Limit and Cash Money, and mixes in some big beats, a little skittery jungle, and some Miami bass. But as always, it's about the vocals. And Ludacris manages to mix his forceful, gruff delivery, with some silly falsetto bits, some goofy lines, and a really stuttered syncopated unique flow, that borrows from No Limit but ultimately is all Ludacris. The sound is sort of 'gangsta' but at the same time it's so over the top it's almost like he's showing us he knows how ridiculous that shit is, but he thinks it's fun and 'it ain't hurtin nobody'. Like Ice Cube he still peppers the record with 'bitch's and 'dick's and 'nigga's and 'ho's (especially the latter) but again, it's so completely goofy, you can't really take it too seriously. In fact, he kinda takes the 'ho' thing far enough that it *really* seems like maybe he's making fun of it, the same way the skit on here wherein "random white people" try to rap Ludacris' greatest hits kinda makes fun of Ludacris' lyrics as much as it does the white folks' dopey "off-beat-as-fuck" delivery. But if lots of dick/shit/bitch/ho stuff weirds you out then steer clear, he's not named LEWDacris for nothin'. But if you're cruising around in a lowered El Camino with dubs, tinted windows and a booming sytem, or if you're like me and just wish that you were, this is the shit for you.
RealAudio clip: "Rollout"
RealAudio clip: "Coming To America"
RealAudio clip: "Cold Outside"

LYRICS BORN Later That Day... (Quannum Projects) cd 16.98

MPEG Stream: "Bad Dreams"
MPEG Stream: "Rise And Shine"

LYRICS BORN Same !@#$ Different Day (Quannum) cd 13.98
This is some slick sunbathed California-style hip hop, folks. From start to finish, inclusive of its warm illustrative artwork, this album never loses its composure. Seven of the 15 songs are brilliantly remade/remixed from previously released tracks. They fit in like perfect pieces to a remarkably pleasant puzzle. Awesome!
MPEG Stream: "I'm Just Raw"
MPEG Stream: "Do That There [The Young Einstein Hoo-Hoo Mix]"

M.I.A. Kala (Interscope) cd 13.98
Holy shit this record is amazing!!! What a charged and dynamic follow up to one of the hottest debuts of the decade. It doesn't surprise us though, as we knew from the first time we heard M.I.A. that she had some special power inside of her. She is that rare world voice in music that we desperately need so much right now. It's incredible how she crosses lines and borders like very few other artists seem able to.
Kala is one of the few records that we sell to every kind of person and taste. Metalheads, indie rockers, pop kids, dance-heads, hip-hop aficionados, experimental music lovers.... they're all going crazy for the new M.I.A. and for great reason. It's one of the most kick ass, colorful and fully realized albums to come out in a long time.
She was denied entry to the States repeated times when making this record, so her initial plans to record the record with Timbaland were thrown out the window. But this countries' insane border policies ended up being a blessing in disguise, as it forced M.I.A. to look elsewhere for producers, so she traveled throughout Africa and India where she did lots of raw field recordings which all come to life in such exciting ways on Kala. In fact Kala is kind of like what we imagine might happen if Konono No.1 were transported to Bollywood. While we've recently been swept up by the mystical power and strength of some fierce women of the past like Selda and Betty Davis, we can't think of anyone in the modern day who better conjures up that kind of unique energy and spirit than M.I.A.
This is a record meant to be blasted LOUD. So next time you have folks over, no matter what sort of music they dig, don't worry it won't be awkward just throw on M.I.A. and every single one of them will dig it like crazy. Guaranteed.
Without a doubt a contender for record of the year!
MPEG Stream: "Bird Flu"
MPEG Stream: "World Town"
MPEG Stream: "Paper Planes"

M.I.A. Paper Planes: Homeland Security Remixes (Interscope / XL) 12" 6.98
If you are anything like some of us, you probably still haven't stopped playing M.I.A's latest album Kala. One of those records that we have listened to hundreds of times by now and it still gives us that charge of strength, splash of color and push towards fun like almost no other record can. While we love every song on the record there is no denying that Paper Planes became a runaway hit with its infectious rifle shots and perfect sampling of "Straight to Hell" by The Clash. So it makes sense that lots of folks wanted to try their hand at remixing that song, and these Homeland Security Remixes finds five very capable and varied hands doing the original justice and breathing even more life into that great song. DFA turn it into a vintage sounding disco jam, Adrock uses little kids with glorious results and Scottie B. cranks up the adrenaline even more for a B'more slammer. Diplo and Blaqstarr also turn in super good remixes of their own making this one a keeper and instant party starter!
MPEG Stream: "Paper Planes (Remix for the children by Adrock)"
MPEG Stream: "Paper Planes (Scottie B. Remix)"

MACROMANTICS Four Facets / Conspiracy Remix (Quaketrap) 7" 4.98
We dig Macromantics! She's one supa cool hiphop gal from Australia. Trouble is, there's seemingly never enough of her music to go around! She's got a scant two self-released cds out thus far (the more recent of the two being Hyperbolic Logic from late 2004), and they're not the easiest things to get a hold of. Fortunately though, we get at least a quick fix by way of those fine Quaketrap Collective folks from down the block who've offered up this short'n'sweet 7". One side has the lady bustin' out with her beat conspirator Shaggy Manatee (formerly of Pancake Circus) on her new track "Four Facets" while the flipside has a sharply chiselled remix of the Hyperbolic Logic album track "Conspiracy" by their pal Yoko Solo. Ah, leave 'em wantin' more! Pressed on white vinyl.
MPEG Stream: "Four Facets"
MPEG Stream: "Conspiracy Remix"

MACROMANTICS Hyperbolic Logic (self-released) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Macromantics is a lone lady ass-kickin' hip hop machine from Down Under. While we were admittedly charmed initially by her accent that pokes through when she utters certain words, her music had proven to have an impact of its own. There's no hyperbole involved when we say that Ms Romy Hoffman not only crafts rad atmospheric hip hop tracks but has quite a way with words too -- expounding on the power of love, truth, beauty and chaos. This is her second self-released album and it simply confirms that she's just getting better and better. Here's hoping she doesn't continue to be such a well-kept Aussie secret.
MPEG Stream: "Conspiracy"
MPEG Stream: "Where Is Yr God?"