Back catalogue: Hip Hop/R&B

Review: Conjunto Medialuna's latest album on Little Beat More is a direct trip to the heart of Bogota's rich cumbia scene. The record blends traditional rhythms with psychedelic influences driven by the Colombian accordion and ecstatic percussion that is so strongly associated with this style. These are two of the jams from it, but frankly you should also check out the full LP. It's a tribute to the guacharaca and the lively street parrandas where each song explores new interpretations of classic sounds. Featuring collaborations with N. Hardem, Mismo Perro, Son Rompe Pera, MC Hydro and Japanese-Latin percussionist Muupy, Noches de Medialuna, it transcends cultural boundaries and joins the dots between traditional and modern urban Latin music which is now so hugely popular around the world.

Review: Warren 'Hanna' Harris, the multi-talented producer and instrumentalist from Cleveland, returns to Vibes And Pepper with a five-track EP of sophisticated and soulful sounds. The A-side features two previously released gems, 'Omnipotence' and 'The Dark', both timeless examples of Harris's ability to craft intricate arrangements that meld future jazz, broken beat and deep house influences, while the B-side unveils three previously unreleased tracks, highlighting his deft hand in manipulating sound, creating a landscape of unconventional sounds and structures. 'His Eyes (Detroit Remix)' is a standout, its mesmerising groove and soulful melodies take us to the heart of Motor City, while 'Menace' takes a darker turn, its brooding bassline and haunting chords evoking a disquieting aura of suspense and mystery. 'Spirit Logical' closes the EP with a flourish, its uplifting melodies and intricate rhythms again highlighting Harris's masterful production skills.

Review: The Soundbombing II compilation was a pivotal release from the late 90s hip-hop era and the track 'B-Boy Document '99' by The High & Mighty, featuring Mos Def and Skillz, stood out not just for its inclusion on the Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 soundtrack but also for Mos Def's exceptional verse. His delivery, blending rapid-fire rhymes with intricate wordplay and a distinctive flow, solidified his status as a lyrical heavyweight. Even among a lineup of notable artists, Mos Def's performance on this track remains a standout moment in hip-hop history, showcasing his skill and artistry. Now, available on 7" complete with the instrumental on Side-2.

Review: Japanese nu-jazz doesn't get any more smouldering than this deep cut from Yusuke Hirado featuring Lil Summer on vocal duties. 'Fly Away' is a mellow melter thanks in no small part to the moody strings lingering behind Hirado's fluid funk production. It's a downtempo vibe which calls to mind the UK street soul sound, contrasted by B-side joint 'Dear Limmertz' which has a more jazz funk oriented flavour. Both joints won't let you down when you want to set the mood as smooth as possible - with a seasoned pro like Hirado at the controls, what else would you expect?

Review: Reissued, as it should, via the original label on which this ubiquitous single first made its mark on the world, House Of Pain's 'Jump Around' comes to our attention once more. A spiritual spin-off of Cypress Hill - the track's beatsmith DJ Muggs originally made the beat for the group, and it was only given to House Of Pain after being later rejected by Ice Cube - the song houses an undeniable demonstration of how samples themselves, when worked into the track in the right way, can work just as effectively as melodies in 'hooking' the listener. Notably, the high-pitched squeal, lifted from Chubby Checker's 'Popeye The Hitchhiker', occurs 66 times throughout.

Review: The mighty Dusty Donuts return to Queensbridge where they encounter a 'Lost Girl' featured on a legendary mixtape by one of QB's finest. This bouncy, choppy Marc Hype & Jim Dunloop Late Night Remix is sure to ignite any gathering. On the flipside, the vibes shift from Queensbridge to Staten Island and bring a special sound to work the crowd - this heavy soul classic arrives in true Shaolin style with choppy, dark soul chords and classic hip-hop beats. It's a track that commands attention with the drums but also locks in head and heart.

Review: Primetime smooth soul on the long-awaited 7" release of the fourth collaborative work between Lagheads and HIMI, 'Dance'. With impeccable production scooping out a thick copse of luscious basses, watery chorused electrics and glittering twinkles, the track is difficult to compare to any other; HIMI's vocals are fay as they are nimble, sounding sultrily pucklike over the sheer sonic city-soul fabric that is the instrumental piece. The B-side hears a remix by Hikaru Arata of WONK!A fame and fleshes out the latent weight of the track for a jazzier hip-hop version.

Review: ]Nathan Haines, the renowned New Zealand musician, unveils his 11th studio album, marking his first solo venture since 2014. Known for his talents of saxophone, flute, and composition across jazz, electronic and dance genres, Haines melds his signature jazz sound with vibrant electronic and disco influences on Notes. This labor of love began years ago in collaboration with the late UK producer Phil Asher, whose influence permeates the album despite his passing during its creation. Featuring guest vocalists like UK soul-diva Vanessa Freeman and emerging talents Ajuna Oakes, Ruby Cesan, La Coco, and EO, Notes showcases a diverse range of voices intertwined with Haines's own instrumental strength. With contributions from bassist Jkriv and electronic jazz innovator Mark de Clive-Lowe, alongside beats by Marc Mac and acoustic bass by his father Kevin, the album is full of spirit and musical evolution. Frank Booker's production on three tracks adds depth, while the acoustic rendition of Rare Silk's 'Storm,' featuring vocalist Rachel Clarke, stands out as a poignant artistic highlight.

Review: The spirit of ghetto tech looms large over this full length offering from duo Hi Tech, surfacing on Omar S' FXHE label. That said, the usual straight forward pumped up booty bouncing beats that the genre flaunts are left well behind by an eclectic and well constructed trip across the rhythmic spectrum. 'Milf Milo' is one of the more regular sounding jams, riding a relatively conventional house/garage production, but elsewhere elements of trap, hip-hop, techno, footwork and electro all influence the genuinely innovative and original frameworks. Even better, the cleverness of the arrangements doesn't lessen the alarmingly thuggish timestretched and over-autotuned vocals, giving us the best of both worlds.

Review: This is a new CD version including bonus tracks of Hi Tech's self-titled album which comes here on Diners Club International but first landed on Omar S's FXHE. It is a full ghetto tech workout with pumped-up booty-bouncing beats that traverse a wide range of tempos. The high energy highlights come thick and fast with the likes of 'Big Prism' riding on juke beats, 'Milf Milo' bringing some lithe synth chords and raw claps and 'I Swear It's A Bop' (feat KAYY & ALLGIRLSALLOWED) featuring broken drum patterns, glistening synth stabs and r&b vocals full of soul.

Review: After its initial release on vinyl on Omar S's FXHE last summer, Diners Club International have put together a new CD version of Hi Tech's Dttwat album featuring some new bonus cuts. It's a stylish blend of Motor City beats, ghetto energy and r&b vocals that all get cut up and chopped and spliced into short, quickfire but potent tunes that make a lasting impact. A wide range of guest vocals come from Cheapskate Skutta, Dastardly Kids, Nlghind and many more so these beats brim with colour and character. With the added bonus cuts this is a must-cop CD direct from the D.

Review: Australian collective Hiatus Kaiyote's trademark sound has long been rotted in jazz-funk, but as fourth album Love Heart Cheat Code proves, there's always been much more to it than that. Produced by Brazilian maestro Mario Caldato Jr - best known for his work with the Beastie Boys, Seu Jorge and Jack Johnson - the album delivers a forward-thinking and undeniably attractive take on future soul variously informed by jazz-funk, broken beat, modern r&b, neo-soul and sun-soaked downtempo grooves. The results are uniformly impressive, with our picks of a very strong bunch including the sparkling and up-lifting 'Everything's Beautiful', the spaced-out Fugees flex of 'Love Heart Cheat Code' and the squally guitars and blue-eyed soul insanity of 'Cinnamon Temple'.

Review: Hiatus Kaiyote are amazing - plain and simple. The Melbourne-based group have risen to well-deserved stardom with their expertly crafted, multi-layered slow jams backing the sensational vocal stylings of lead singer Nai Palm. Since their 2013 debut 'Tawk Tomahawk', the group has been sampled by The Carters, Drake and Anderson .Paak, undoubtedly for their smooth genre-bending and soulful sound reminiscent of Erykah Badu - who has since become a big fan. The two singles, 'Make Friends' and 'Everything's Beautiful' are rich in depth and have some of Palm's best vocal performances to date - they belt out some crazy riffs on the latter track, a cut oozing in groove. Pressed on indie exclusive marbled disc, so support independent vinyl companies and get a beautiful pressing in return.

Review: Hiero Oldies is a collection of early works from the Hieroglyphics crew. It takes in a crack team of beat makers such as Del The Funkyhomosapien, Casual, Pep Love, and Souls of Mischief and marks the first time the timeless tune 'Step To My Girl' has ever been on wax. Oakland-based Hieroglyphics crew might not have the headlines of some of their peers but they sure have made a valued contribution to underground rap over the years as this collection proves with its freestyle rhymes, battle verses and often psyched-out beats.

Review: Hometown Heroes are the slick supergroup made up of audiovisual evangelist DJ Yoda, soundsystem shocker Brad Baloo of The Nextmen, and legendary rhyme supplier Edo G hailing from Boston. With the former two names hailing from London, UK, this latest collab makes for yet another heady, across-the-pond communication in sound. The eponymous record, following up April's 'Talk About It' pre-release single, amounts to a nostalgic, scratch-heavy foray into chill boom-bap with Britcore production overtones, making for a niche but skill-flaunting sound, with much wisdom, advice and love poured in.

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.