Hip-Hop

“John Yancey” is the second album Illa J will release on Jakarta Records, following the successful release of HOME last year. The project is the second collaboration with Los Angeles based producer Calvin Valentine, who once again contributed all of the production for the long player. While “Home” was largely inspired by Illa’s native city of Detroit, “John Yancey” now focuses on his time in California.“(This album is) Definitely more personal than all of my projects, nothing specific, but I basically talk about about the ups and downs of all my relationships over the past 10 years, still grieving about my bro, etc. This one is trippy because the first single comes out a day before my 32nd birthday and the original title was 32 because this is a special year to me because my brother died at that age so it had a lot of meaning. But it makes sense that it ended up being called John Yancey because for so long in my career I felt like I was tryna be me and my brother, and I'm finally at peace, like I'm not J Dilla's younger brother Illa J, I'm James younger brother John.” While the story of the album might have changed, there are certain continuities as well, built around the strong foundation of the combination of Illa’s voice and Calvin Valentine’s soulful sample based production. The previous album already saw Illa J incorporate more singing into his raps and he goes down this path even further: “I wanted to emphasize the singing but use more of my natural singing voice, as well as rap more than on HOME.” In regards to the music, Calvin wanted to make the project sound “a bit more polished where HOME was purposely rough around the edges.” Still, the production remains soulful and rich with layers to leave things interesting for the listener, the more spins you give the record.The cover was created by Robert Winter, a Cologne based photographer who was also behind the visual appearance of HOME.

Limited gatefold 2xLP 500 Copies

Led by Saxophonist Rob Mitchell, Abstract Orchestra have been a consistent presence on the u.k. music scene, touring constantly in promotion of their debut LP "Dilla" and follow up 45 "New Day feat. Illa J", steadily building a loyal and supportive fanbase.Inspired by the legendary live performances of The Roots with Jay-Z and the 40 piece orchestral arrangements by Miguel-Atwood Ferguson of the work of J Dilla, classic arranging techniques underpin modern loop-based structures, breathing new life into familiar material.The band itself is based on the classic jazz big band instrumentation of saxes, trumpets and trombones and features the cream of the north of England's jazz scene who collectively have played with Jamiroquai, Corinne Bailey Rae, Mark Ronson, Martha Reeves, John Legend & the Roots, Roots Manuva and Amy Winehouse."Madvillain Vol. 1" takes the template of their debut LP "Dilla" and applies the same approach to the collaboration ofMF DoomandMadlib, akaMADVILLAINand their albumsMADVILLAINYandMADVILLAIN 2. Sampling the likes of Sun Ra, Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard, George Duke, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder gave the albums a jazz oriented feel and ethos which in turn lend themselves perfectly to the deconstruction and re-imagining of Abstract Orchestra. As with their debut, all the tracks were recorded live in the studio with very few overdubs.Abstract Orchestra's MADVILLAIN Vol 1. explores the jazz, TV soundtrack and film score aspect of the original work, combining it with classic big band writing and a focus on improvisation. There is a strong influence ofQuincy Jones, Lalo SchifrinandDavid Shire(Composer of the soundtrack toThe Taking of Pelham 123) on the album, and the arranger Rob Mitchell crafts his own sound that inhabits the space between Madlib's production and Quincy Jones' writing. Bandleader and arranger Rob Mitchell says of the record: "'MADVILLAINY' is a jazz album as much as it is a hip-hop album and I wanted to explore this reciprocal territory there has always been between jazz and hip-hop. 70's cop show soundtracks have always captured my interest and imagination, and I discovered so much amazing music through TV themes, Quincy Jones and Lalo Schifrin in particular. They explored sounds that were menacing, angular, dissonant, frantic and yet captivating. They were also able to write music that was the flip side of all that dark chaos, and write lush and beautiful music. Arranging and scoring up MADVILLAIN Vol 1. Has allowed me to explore these sounds that I've always loved, yet keeping a strong hip-hop identity as the core of its sound."

Moka Only has released an instrumental version of his latest LP, Concert For One, via URBNET. Concert For One Instrumentals was released digitally on July 6th 2018 and as a limited edition vinyl on August 17th 2018. The self-produced record is packed with stand-alone characteristic beats, proving that the beats themselves have just as much story as the vocals. “In this stage of my life there is much more reflection and contemplation, and I really feel that I was very open and unguarded on this album. As much as I love all the completed songs with the vocals, the beats on here hold enough detail to speak on their own.”

“California Love (featuring Cory Henry) [7” EDIT]” / “Shiznit” is the 7” single from multi-instrumentalist Sly5thAve’s ‘The Invisible Man: An Orchestral Tribute To Dr. Dre’ LP. In this instalment, a rework of Dre’s notorious “California Love” is paired with Snoop Dogg’s timeless “Shiznit”.The album resulted from a concert called “Cali-Love”, assembled for the non-profit music charity, Playing For Change – and was dedicated to building a music school in Compton. Attended by Dr. Dre–who took to the stage to congratulate Sly5thAve’s arrangements, he said, “I’m here to show some support and give the same amount of love that this incredible band has given to me. You sound amazing.” – DR. DRE (The Cali-Love concert)Off the back of an incredible reaction to 'The Invisible Man: An Orchestral Tribute To Dr. Dre' and to mark the start of Sly5thAve’s first tour, we present this limited 7” pressing of two of the album’s standout cuts. Now on its third pressing, the album continues to pick up fans and plaudits alike. As you may have noticed, the 7” label is based on the famous Ruthless records design.- Taken from Sly5thAve’s “The Invisible Man: An Orchestral Tribute To Dr. Dre” which is already on its third pressing.- Sly5thAve’s UK tour kicks off on October 11th 2018. Including great venues such as London’s Jazz Café, Trinity in Bristol and Club Academy, Manchester- Label artwork inspired by Dr. Dre’s famous Ruthless Records designs used on releases by artists such as Easy E, Ice Cube, Brownside, NWA and many more.- Previous support from tastemakers such as Lauren Laverne, Gilles Peterson (BBC 6Music) & Jarobi White (A Tribe Called Quest), to Noisey, NPR, and The Fader.

The DMV’s own, Kev Brown has announced his frst solo rap album since 2005. Hailing from Palmer Park in Landover, Maryland specifcally, after a 13 year hiatus, the producer/MC has fnally prepared the sophomore sequel to 2005’s in?uential cult classic, I Do What I Do. Entitled, Homework, Brown and Redefnition Recs have partnered to release an LP the game has been missing for too long.Now 13 years is a long wait, but don’t think Kev has been idle in obscurity. He has been involved with several collaborative projects, garnered tons of production credits and released over a half dozen beat tapes during that time frame. It is also important to note that he was in no rush to drop another rap album and preferred to compose Homework organically and at his own pace, in the comforts of his own home, hence the title. Though Brown is known as one of hip-hop’s elite producers from heavyweights like Diamond D, Pete Rock, Busta Rhymes, Peter Rosenberg, 9th Wonder and Jazzy Jeff, he is a man of many hats.Kev Brown’s debut album was groundbreaking in so many areas that the recording itself and Kev is cemented as legendary. It would be no surprise that hip-hop would ask for the next installment and he’s nowhere near done leaving his mark. Homework is a seamless nonstop exhibition of KB’s range. Kev raps confdently and wisely throughout the album’s 27 tracks. Lyrically it’s personal, introspective, comedic, observatory and witty delivered in Kev’s smooth baritone style. Vocals are equally complimented by instrumentals all produced by the man himself and ?uidly morph into instrumental compositions too good to be considered interludes. The album was composed using several different samplers and recording technologies, but the vibe is never compromised.Homework is the perfect game plan for today’s climate and for those who haven’t, do your homework on this man. You won’t be disappointed