Today I was completely out of my element; a rock and roll kid at a hip hop record swap. Friends of friends have recently acquired several thousand Hip Hop, Rap, and soul vinyl. Mostly 12", with several hundred albums, this lot made me uncomfortable. How can there be YET another group of artists that I know nothing about that I LIKE? I just got over the hump of learning the idiosyncrasies of jazz labels.
I stuck to what I knew - Late 90's hip hop isn't great, early 90's is, and 80's is tough to find. I mainly got some late 90's titles, despite all fair warnings. Men in Black and Wild West Soundtracks on Mint Double LP's for 2 bucks each is a decent deal as far as I'm concerned. I'm also holding The Pillage by Wu Tangs Cappadonna, as well as early Public Enemy and Redman 12's. Okay, now it's getting a little better.
I'm also spinning a great KRS-ONE comp, 6 cuts from their early career. It's strange how many reissues KRS has gone through, which shows that consistent need for early hip hop.
I find it odd how inaccessible early Hip Hop LP's are. I tend to hit up most shows, and hip hop is like a mirage amongst scratched Beatles reussiues. My main question is why is hip hop so 'outside'? I know that subcultures live on the outskirts, but you can find Jazz in hip hop shops, but often not the other way around. It might the be shop emulating the attitudes from the lyrics. I know that metal is tough to find on LP. I've bought LP's in every province, and Montreal is the only city in Canada where I could guarantee to find several large metal sections on LP. I hope I don't get a load of responses telling me about Play D - I know of it's existence. I've bought LP's there before - but where's the hip hop in the average shop? Hell, I bet it's based on making the most cash and shops opt out. All I know, I loved my digging today and more stores should get some hip hop.
I also bought every 45 they had that was pressed in Jamaica. I rarely hit up 45's ( I have a few hundred), but at a sale like this I assumed many of the tracks would be 'sample' worthy. I was right! I got early Impressions on Curtom Records, as well as Al Green, Sam and Dave, and Stevie Wonder cuts from the 60's. I knew most of the tracks, but I'm stuck on these. Help a brother out:
Sanchez - Baby It's Time/
Hugh Roy - Make Love Not War/Freedom Train(on Jogib Records)
Admiral Tibet - Dem Come
Fragga Ranks - No Powder Nothing
Barrington Ley - Something in my Heart
Galaxy - Woman Get Wicked
Josie Whale - Let Go Mi Hand (on Volcano Records)
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