THE NEW MASTERSOUNDS: Be Yourself (Vinyl LP + 45) Re-release

…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

DEF JEF: Just A Poet With Soul (2012) Expanded edition

Yo – Def Jef’s back. Well – re-released anyway. Just A Poet With Soul was the NYC born rapper’s debut at the tail end of the 80s and featured the kind of funky uptempo hip-hop dropped by Young MC and the UMCs. When he wasn’t trying to house you that was. Yeah – Jef was quite partial to a bit of hip-house backing for his mixture of party rhymes and socio-political comment. Now on the one hand of course, some hip-house was indistinguishable...READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

KOOL G RAP & DJ POLO: ‘Road To The Riches’ & ‘Wanted: Dead Or Alive’

Holy shitfire! Classic hip-hop doesn’t come much heavier than Kool G Rap and DJ Polo, and their output doesn’t come much heavier than ’89′s Road To The Riches or ’90′s Wanted: Dead Or Alive – it isn’t called the ‘golden era’ for nothing. Both of these are now dropping in expanded edition 2xcd sets to include all those hard to find alternate mixes ...READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

TONE LOC: Loc-ed After Dark (Expanded edition) (2012)

Let me see now – gravelly-so-laid-back-it’s-horizontal delivery? The immortal lyrics “So I gave some to my dog when he began to beg/ Then he licked his bowl and he looked at me and did the wild thing on my leg”? Must be legendary Sunshine State rapper Tone Loc. Yep, it’s another classic hip-hop cd release (amidst a slew of them this autumn) from Delicious Vinyl (there’s a certain irony there) and this time around it’s Loc’s too-frequently-dismissed-as-pop-rap classic from ’89 –...READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

THE PHARCYDE: Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde (Expanded Edition) (2012)

According to the PR this is Kanye West’s “favorite album of all time.” But don’t let hamster-cheeks’ seal of approval put you off, The Pharcyde’s Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde is actually one of the greatest west coast hip-hop albums of all time, if not one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time – hence this twentieth anniversary re-release.

But just why is it so great? Well – where do you want to start? Producer J Sw!ft’s fatback beats, and rich jazz and soul loops? The psychedelic loony-ness of the vocals that formed a counterpart to the west coast gangsta sound giving the Pharcyde a similar role to De La Soul on…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

BOCA 45: Lafayette Partytime (2011)

BOCA 45: Lafayette Partytime (2011)
Lafayette Partytime’ll be the seven inch (that’s a vinyl record kids, I’m not being rude) re-release from Bristolian beatmaker Boca 45 to mark the imminent digital re-release of his Pitch Sounds LP. Boca 45 a.k.a. Scott Hendy is responsible for the monkey’s favourite ever funk, soul, hip-hop club night, ‘Diggin In The Crates’ at Bristol’s tiny, underground (literally) Dojo Lounge. To fully get the picture of a Saturday night at the Dojo back in the day imagine trying to dance to Pharoahe Monch and Patti Drew in somewhere the size of an underlit public phone box that’s lined with red leather and drug dealers in the middle of a record breaking attempt to cram as many pissed people into said phone box. Or you could just try listening to this. Soul-sampling b-boy party breaks on both sides.
(Out 2 December on Freesoul 45)



(PRESS RELEASE)
Don't say Boca's back; he's never been away. Scott 'Boca 45' Hendy is the Bristol beatsmith who's been at the forefront of funky breakbeat music for well over a decade. With two solo artist albums in the bag, dancefloor devastating collabos with DJ Andy Smith as Dynamo Productions, and the brand new Beekeepers project with rising star Parker, now has never been a better time to catch Boca 45 fever.

To celebrate the digital re-release of Boca's first album Pitch Sounds we gonna release a 7" with Lafayette Partytime and Steady Rockin' for your turntable pleasures.
…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM