Juno Recommends Hip Hop / R&B March 2020

Review: The "West Coast Classics" series has a simple premise. It offers up light-touch re-edits of essential West Coast hip-hop hits from the style's glory years in the 1990s. The latest salvo boasts two must-have cuts. On the A-side you'll find Dr Dre's "Deep Cover", the cut that introduced the world to future star (and now iconic artist) Snoop Dogg. His flows work perfectly over Dre's low-slung beat, which makes great use of smoky instrumental samples from what sounds like the soundtrack of a 1970s spy thriller. Over on the flip you'll find Too Short's lesser-celebrated "Bad Ways", which first surfaced on the long-serving Los Angeles mic man's 1996 album "Gettin' It (Album Number Ten)" and makes use of elements from Parliament/Funkadelic classic "Flashlight".

Review: Jim Sharp slows things down a little with a pair of edits from the American South. Early West Coast gangsta hit "Dopeman" is the subject of side a with original drums but extended breaks designed to get the floor pumping. On the flip is a dirty south classic with prickling 808 kicks and hi hats that hit hard. It's super sweet soul music with raw grooves that can get any party started topped with vocals from Willie Hutch finishing things off in real style.

Review: When it comes to classic hip-hop cuts, the Old Chillin' series of seven-inch singles has you covered. The mysterious crew behind the series has previously offered up gems by Big Daddy Kane, Nas and Cyprus Hill. Here they turn their attention to the bulging back catalogue of New York twosome the Beatnuts. Both tracks are taken from the pair's fine 1994 debut album. A-side "Straight Jacket" is a bona fide NYC hip-hop club classic, with the duo adding tight raps to a drowsy but dancefloor-friendly "Golden era" beat. Flipside "Get Funky" is a little more densely layered and laidback in tone, though it's still lively enough to suggest that it's worthy of regular club spins again.

Review: When it comes to mash-ups and unofficial reworks, sometimes the simplest ideas are the ones that make for the most effective versions. That's certainly the case here, as Soul Mates main man Amerigo Gazaway crafts a fresh slab of funk/hip-hop fusion out of three key elements: a legendary Biggie Smalls acapella, sections lifted from James Brown classic "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and his own head-nodding hip-hop beats. There's not much more to it than that, but the resultant cut, "Big Poppa's Got a Brand New Bag", sounds like a guaranteed dancefloor winner. The A-side version is the full vocal take, while the flipside is a Biggie-free instrumental mix.

Review: They make you wait 15 months for a new release, then put out two in the same few weeks. Dusty Donuts, now five years into their mission to serve up the biggest party breaks and funkiest funk, this time offer the low riding Cali g-funk of "I Get Juiced (Doc Flex & NMX Mix)" which will be familiar to anyone who has heard "I Get Lifted" by Gwen McCrae. The flip is even more smooth and seductive, with the boom-bap grooves and early r&b flow of "How We Do The Show (Westside Mix)" making it a superbly sweet set.

Review: Galaxy Sound give this 1997 hip hop classic a new twist with some slick jazz stylings. Lil Kim's "Crush On You", is known by all but here it becomes something completely different: a forgotten jazz funk gem, colourful trumpet leads awash with lush drums and timeless soul. The flipside houses a re-edit of Jeff Lorber's "Rain Dance", which is in fact the original source of the samples on Lil Kim's track, and one that has been used on more than 20 other big time tunes. Here it's subtly tweaked but still remains a classic bit of jazz-flecked hip hop with some proper rude vocals.

Review: The self-explanatory "Pimpala West Coast Classics" series does exactly what it says on the label, delivering tidy seven-inch singles featuring subtle new edits of much-loved 1990s West Coast hip-hop gems by DJ/[producer Ronnie Frazzle. This time round he turns his attention to Snoop's Dr Dre-produced mega-hit "Gin & Juice", a delightfully laidback 1993 number that's often cited as one of the finest moments of hip-hop's "golden era". Over on the flip it's all about DJ Quik's 1992 Profile Records single "Just Lyke Compton", an even more laidback and groovy affair that pays tribute to the notorious LA neighbourhood that became the focal point of the enormous "gangsta" hip-hop scene of the 1990s.

Review: Sean Price & Lil Fame join forces on "Price of Fame" - an 11-track project produced entirely by the latter, containing a load of unreleased Sean Price verses and some big guest spots from M.O.P., Teflon, Conway The Machine & Guilty Simpson. The verses come on hard, the proaction ranges from big, splashing and crashing percussive joints to deep cut rollers. It's a subtle update on a classic hardcore rap sound brimming with character.

Review: Beats House Records welcome back main man Djar One for a fine brace of beats. On the first track he links up with UK MC, DJ and producer Chrome for a tribute to the best of the best beatmakers. "4 The Beat" is pure old school, with rolling breaks and big synth stabs. Flip over for Micall Parknsun hook-up "Draw For The 45" - a darker, deeper hip hop with smooth rolling grooves that sink you into the loose claps as warm chords add heat.

Review: KingUnderground and Lewis Parker came together late last year for a splendid five x 7" 45rpm box set. Each of the 10 unreleased songs work as playable and standalone tunes so it makes sense they packaged it in this way, and makes just as much sense that each one is also released on its own terms. The beats hit hard from front to back, with "Fakin' Jax Remix (Instrumental)" digging deep on psyched out riffs and with some magic flute leads. "Shaky Dog (Instrumental)" on the reverse is just as dramatic, with big chords, rolling beats and impassioned vocals.

Review: Soul man Raphael Saadiq has released a lot of superb music over the years, but he still finds it hard to top his debut album, 2002's "Instant Vintage". The album remains one of the finest examples of early noughties neo-soul/R&B/hip-hop soul fusion. Highlights come thick and fast throughout, from the bluesy hip-hop soul bump of "Charlie Ray" and the string-laden R&B brilliance of D'Angelo collaboration "Be Here", to the uplifting "Faithful", softly spun "Blind Man" and the anthem-like "Skyy, Can You Feel Me", a spiraling single that remains one of Saadiq's most celebrated songs. In fact, it may well be his crowning achievement (though the whole album is undeniably brilliant).

Review: It's been 20 years since loose-knit NYC hip-hop crew D.I.T.C released "The Official Version", a vastly different version of their self-titled, Tommy Boy released debut album. As this reissue proves, it was arguably a superior set, with more inventive beats, more varied instrumentation and a couple of killer tracks that for one reason or another had been omitted from the Tommy Boy release. An all-star affair, the LP boasted beats from Diamond D, DJ Premier, Show, Lord Finesse and many more NYC hip-hop heavy hitters. It's perhaps for this reason that the set has lasted the test of time so well, as this essential anniversary reissue proves. If it's not in your collection already you should really cop a copy.

Review: If JPEGMafia is a great artist name, "All My Heroes Are Cornballs" is an even better title for an album. It's the third from this experimental American rapper and another fascinating insight into his elastic, protean mind. Musically, it's tense, with rock licks and distorted guitars next to sinewy electronics and organic hand claps. The whole record brims with pop references to anime chapters, internet personalities and characters from the DC Universe, pushing and pulling you in many different directions on a whim. It makes for a loose collage, a living and breathing musical sketchbook, and an alluring listen.

Review: Returning to his inimitable solo work after a spate of collaborations and more, Le Motel reappears on new platform Maloca with "Transiro" to capture the heady mix of global influences he distils into club-ready and contemporary forms. The six tracks across the EP is a futuristic fusion of worldly rhythms, broad palette of sound sources and glistening synth work that reflects Le Motel's research in juke, hip hop, techno, and more otherworldly strains from clubs around the globe. The grooves swing down low before soaring up to the heavens, definitely a dynamic, edgy listen you will want to repeat over and over.