Back catalogue: Hip Hop/R&B

Review: This long player by US outfit Hip Horns Brass Collective is a vibrant celebration of brass-driven music that mixes up traditional New Orleans jazz with modern funk, soul and hip-hop influences. This dynamic ensemble delivers electrifying arrangements and infectious grooves from front to back, all of which transport listeners to the lively streets of a second-line parade. Each track on Krewe showcases the group's masterful musicianship with bold horn lines, tight rhythms and an undeniable sense of joy. Perfectly balancing tradition with innovation, the album is great showcase of the power of brass music to uplift and energise.

Review: Honour's debut album, Alaafia, is a journey through the depths of the African diaspora, connecting Lagos, London, and New York. This album blends the darker tones of blues, hip-hop, free jazz, ambient and gospel with elements of Christian mythology and Yoruba folklore. As cinematic as it is painterly, Alaafia is a meditation on life, death and love, drawing inspiration from casual conversations, field recordings, literature, and personal archives. The result is an impressionistic vision that blurs boundaries between everywhere and nowhere, history and the present, the individual and the universal. Dedicated to Honour's late grandmother, the title track Alaafia began after their last embrace, infused with her spirit. This tape-saturated composition transitions from Lagos to London's smoky cityscape, reflecting the artist's grief and PTSD. The dream-like quality is marked by stretched guitar drones and stuttering loops, with their grandmother's shared faith surfacing through the music. 'When Angels Speak of Love' borrows its title from Sun Ra and bell hooks, shaping praise music into disorienting spirals with syrupy DJ Screw-inspired breaks and melancholic guitar splinters. This track engages in a conceptual dialogue with the spirits of both late thinkers, incorporating them into Honour's pantheon of ancestral guides. 'Giz Aard ($uckets),' the album's ninth track, features regimented drums anchoring a sombre melody that swirls with heartache, hovering between death and eternal joy.

Review: Heels & Souls Recordings marks its tenth release with a reissue of Hot Slot Machine, the pioneering 1992 album by South African prodigy Makhosini Henry Xaba, also known as Joe Nina. Created when he was just 16, this six-track LP merges US and UK influencesihouse, hip-hop, soul and reggaeifiltered through a distinctly South African lens that set the stage for the emerging kwaito sound. Drawing inspiration from the bass-heavy rhythms of artists like Blackbox and Ten City, Hot Slot Machine goes beyond the bubblegum pop of the era, delivering a richer, synth-laden sonic landscape that resonated deeply with early 90s South African audiences. Tracks like 'Rhythm', 'Unchain My Heart' and 'Shake Ya Down' hit with chunky hip-house energy, while 'Lookin' Mix', 'I'll Be Ready' and 'Lovin' Mix' showcase a low-slung, infectious groove. The album, long lost to history, has been carefully remastered by Sean P and Justin Drake, who restored the tracks from surviving rips. Licensed from Gallo and featuring liner notes and unseen photos, Hot Slot Machine is a vital reissue that celebrates a crucial moment in South Africa's musical evolution.

Review: Celebrating the 30th anniversary of House of Pain's Same As It Ever Was, released in June 1994, a record which defied expectations by abandoning the formula that skyrocketed them to fame in favour of a grittier, more confrontational sound. When House of Painicomposed of Everlast (Erik Schrody), Danny Boy (Daniel O'Connor), and DJ Lethal (Leor Dimant)ifirst exploded onto the scene in 1992, their boisterous anthem 'Jump Around' and debut album House of Pain (Fine Malt Lyrics) garnered Platinum success. The group was known for embracing their Irish heritage and for their rough-and-tumble persona, being part of the larger Soul Assassins crew alongside Cypress Hill and Funkdoobiest. But for their second album, they chose a more unorthodox path. Instead of recycling their previous success, Same As It Ever Was presented a darker, moodier sonic palette, which can be heard in tracks like 'Who's the Man?'ia brooding reflection on criminal life that belied its placement in the soundtrack of a lighthearted comedy film. The track showed DJ Lethal's hollow, eerie production and Everlast's grim lyrics about the harsh realities of street life. The album opener, 'Back From the Dead', produced by Muggs and The Baka Boyz, immediately set the tone with gritty, aggressive production that made it clear House of Pain wasn't interested in rehashing their past. Everlast took the lead on the album, with his gruff delivery driving most of the tracks, and Danny Boy contributing sparingly. While the debut album leaned into their Irish pride, Same As It Ever Was abandoned much of that theme in favor of more introspective and hard-hitting lyricism. The album's first single, 'On Point', came closest to recapturing the energy of 'Jump Around', with its call-and-response hooks and funky horn samples, though it didn't reach the same level of mainstream appeal. Instead, tracks like 'Word Is Bond', which featured production from Diamond D, or the Muggs-produced 'Keep It Comin'' demonstrated the group's commitment to artistic integrity over commercial viability. Musically, Same As It Ever Was shared a similar haunting, dusty aesthetic with Cypress Hill's Black Sunday, thanks to Muggs' consistently gritty production. Songs like 'Running Up On Ya' and 'Over There Shit' emphasised resonant basslines and tough, breakneck rhythms, perfectly complementing Everlast's raw lyrical style. While the album didn't replicate the multi-Platinum success of their debut, it still went Gold, and has since gained recognition as an artistic triumph, celebrated for its bold departure from mainstream expectations.

Review: Brittany Howard's highly anticipated second studio album What Now is a bold exploration of identity, resilience and the human experience. The Alabama Shakes front-woman's sophomore effort delves deep into themes of self-discovery and social commentary to deliver a raw and visceral sounds that pairs her famously powerful vocals with instrumentation that draws on several different genre references such a soul, funk, rock and gospel. From the anthemic energy of 'Stay High' to the introspection of 'Tomorrow,' each track offers a glimpse into Howard's multifaceted artistry and they all show that Howard's evolution as an artist continues to make her one of today's most compelling voices.

Review: Shafiq Husayn has been a driving force on the Los Angeles music scene for decades. He is a producer, songwriter and vocalist who is part of the agenda setting trio Sa-Ra Creative Partners and has produced for greats like Erykah Badu, Robert Glasper, Ice-T, Bilal and Jurassic 5. The Grammy winner is also leader of the expansive The Dove Society collective with whom he links here for a new album So Gold. It's an eclectic, love-fulled fusion of jazz, cosmic soul, hip hop and r&b that is packed with lush musicianship, smooth vocal flows and timeless grooves.

Review: Jamil Honesty x HxlySmxkes launched their The Rufus Buck Project back in 2020 as a way of reflecting their frustrations and anger. It continued song messages to fight for freedom and the pair themselves call it riot music, with Baltimore's Hxlysmxkes cutting the beats while Jamil's MC work is pure truth and power. Now comes this deluxe edition that features the original tunes as well as three full extra jams featuring guests such as Midaz The Beast, Ke Turner and Rell and some mad scratches from DJ Grazzhoppa. An eight-page booklet is also included on this limited and essential long player.

Review: Memphis crew Three 6 Mafia are one of the most vital forces in Southern rap, still reigning supreme more than 30 years since they formed. Back in 2000 they helped define the sound orbiting the group and their label with the Hypnotise Camp Posse compilation, bringing in all their different collaborations and configurations and other MCs riding on beats from DJ Paul and Juicy J. Gangsta Boo especially shines on the likes of 'We Ain't Playin' while Lord Infamous tears it up on 'Don't Make Me Kill'. This is the real deal, from the razor-sharp beats to the deadly flows from the extended Three 6 family, now pressed up on a double 12" with an insert.