Hip Hop / R&B Recommendations July 2012

Review: Dillatroit is the eagerly awaited 12 track vinyl only release of unreleased Dilla material - arriving courtesy of Moodymann's Mahogani label and Dilla's family foundations some six years after the legendary producer's premature demise at the age of 32. Anyone reading this should be fully aware of Dilla's legacy on hiphop and beyond so there's no need to set the scene with any biographical background. Dillatroit features rappers, DJs, singers and musicians from the Motor City (Andres is rumoured to be involved somewhere) across the 12 hip hop orientated tracks. It runs the gamut of the Dilla style palette, with dusty head nodders (''Birthright'' and ''Ride With It'') next to sweetly soulful jams '('Let's Pray Together'' & ''Detroit Madness'') and jazzier instro cuts like "Mind Yo Business" propped up against rowdy posse cuts such as "Say My Name. " A worthy posthumous addition to the Dilla canon!

Review: Some six years after the debut Visioneers LP Dirty Hip Hop, Marc Mac of 4hero fame returns to the evergreen BBE label for a new LP in the shape of Hipology. Following a rather sexy looking 5x7" boxset album that was originally released as part of Record Store Day, BBE now present the album in more traditional double LP format which digs deeper into the Dollis Hill don's various influences as a producer. Strictly no samples, this expanded 13 track set veers between the ingredients that form Mac's first true love - hip-hop. Expect a multiplicity of head nod beats, neck snapping breaks all drenched in heavy soul and jazz and lined at times with some excellent lyricism from the likes of TRAC & Baron, Notes to Self and John Robinson. Do check "Jungle Green Outlines" and "Funk Fanfare" for a producer at the top of his game son.