Back catalogue:

Review: Telefax Productions - mysterious musical masterminds formed by veteran producers with roots in the late 80s - finally drop a vinyl release of their 2024 breakout club anthem, 'Break This House Down'. It is an unashamedly revivalist hip-house banger backed by proper DJs like Honey Dijon and Luke Solomon and features fiery verses from rising Buffalo MC DeeVoeNay. Alongside the flame-hot original is a live band version with HR Nightmare, plus a rough and ready bruk remix from London's EVM128 and last but not least, a visceral acid house rework. This is a perfect example of how you balance nostalgia and freshness and do it right. The package is finished in style with fine artwork by KLF legend Jimmy Cauty.

Review: TNT Rap Classics are a ghostly rap reissues outfit, operating in the shadows, but they've churned out a truly solid ream of stadium/megastar rap reissues on 7" for several years now. After lookbacks on Nelly and Beyonce they now pay due deference to Eminem, placing special attention on the rapper's early-noughts Slim Shady era. 'Without Me' was the whimsical, cheekily intoned lead single from The Eminem Show, finding Eminem lampooning pop culture, the media, and his critics. 'The Real Slim Shady', meanwhile, came before, with biting critique of the pop cultural fascination with authenticity: "Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?"

Review: In 1985, rapper Tricky Tee (Edward Yates) pinned an unlikely staple to the great door of hip electro, decreeing that all those to follow him would take a bow whenever he sashayed into the room. 'Johnny The Fox' was his first release for Sleeping Bag Records, who now release it in fullest restored glory - this was the label founded by none other than indie cello superstar Arthur Russell and music mogul William Socolov, crossing between disco, stylistically crossing between avant-garde songwriting and paradise-garage house - and served to indent his name on the map in highly visible, permanent ink. Containing samples of The Kay-Gees and Thin Lizzy, Tee's voice is steeped in a short delay, a timeless technique lending the human voice a smeared-out, mechanoid feel.

Review: Mid-90s East Coast hip-hop classic 'CREAM' is one of the best Wu-Tang Clan tunes if you ask us, but we never thought it might get mashed up with a Beatles tune. That's what we have here on the Tea Breaks label, which flips it into a lush, soul-drenched hip-hop sound with low-slung drums and Raekwon & Inspector Deck delivering the bars. On the flipside is an instrumental that strips them away and allows the introspective melodies and laid-back, golden-era beats to shine. Two heady tunes for sure.

Review: This new live release from Californian hip-hop veterans Cypress Hill captures their full-scale collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra, recorded in July 2024 and reworking their landmark Black Sunday album alongside key tracks from across their catalogue. Conducted by Troy Miller, the performance adds sweeping arrangements and new sonic dimensions to classics like 'Insane in the Brain', 'I Ain't Goin' Out Like That' and 'Hits From the Bong', while tracks like 'How I Could Just Kill a Man' and '(Rock) Superstar' are reimagined with widescreen drama. The orchestra doesn't dilute the impact i instead, it sharpens it, with strings and brass accentuating the menace and clarity of DJ Muggs' original production. 'Dr. Greenthumb' and 'Illusions' sit particularly well in this new context, showing how elastic the group's material can be without losing its edge. It's a new release that avoids the usual crossover pitfalls i the arrangements are built with detail and respect for the original tracks, and B-Real's delivery stays sharp throughout. A rare example of a classical-meets-rap performance that feels earned, not novelty i and a reminder of just how deep this group's catalogue runs.

Review: Tha Alkaholiks, often stylized as Tha Liks, are a West Coast hip-hop group known for their party-igniting lyrics, witty wordplay, and funky, jazz-infused beats. Formed in early-90s LA, E-Swift, J-Ro, and Tash would prove a gregarious group, making short work of charming scene and industry folk alike through various collabs, with such friends as fellow West Coast MC and mentor King Tee. 'Daaam!' stood out on the gang's second record Coast II Coast as one of its core hits, with vibey production by E-Swift contrasting twin moods of wellness and hardship. Now a full studio album takes the same name, while reimagining some 'Daaam!' alongside other classics such as 'Make Room', as well as securing several new songs. Hard-hitting, fun-loving.

Review: R&b duo They - songwriter Drew Love and producer Dante Jones - re-radicalise their sound with a passionate new album-length tribute to Black love and culture, following up nearly a decade chopping and reconstituting 90s r&b, new jack swing, and hip-hop to produce an essential but style fusional core. Gone are the big-name features and major-label pressures; Love.Jones reshapes itself with defiance, channelling the golden era of neo-soul with a pure, low-key but high-energy intimacy. Inspired by the 1997 romantic drama Love Jones, directed by Theodore Witcher, the themes across the record are similar: interpersonal poetics, navigation of trust issues, and candid portrayals of intimacy in urban settings.

Review: South African rapper TUMI teams up with French trio Chinese Man for a genre-defying collaboration here that reimagines hip-hop through a global lens. Drawing from dusty crates and forgotten corners of music history, such as banjo riffs, 1930s swing and Andean flutes, the production is a crate-digger's dream that boldly ventures far beyond traditional hip-hop terrain. The result is a rich, textured sound that's both nostalgic and refreshingly new as TUMI's lyrics weave between irony and poignancy and are grounded in sonic experimentation with sharp social commentary. This is a bold, borderless journey and proof that when cultures and styles collide, magic happens.

Review: He might pretty much be cancelled these days but there is no denying the impact Kanye West has had on hip-hop. As recently as last year with Ty Dolla $ign he cooked up 'Vultures 1' which now comes as a special Carnival Edition and is a provocative, genre-blending affair that showcases both artists' strengths and controversies. The production is sonically rich with contributions from top-tier talents like Timbaland and James Blake, and guest appearances from venerated verse men such as Playboi Carti and Travis Scott. Tracks like 'Carnival' stand out with their infectious drum patterns and energetic deliveries even if the lyrical content is not up there with their usual best work. Despite the controversies surrounding West, this album achieved commercial success and topped the US Billboard 200 chart.

Review: Kanye West may be widely criticised and sidelined these days, but he will forever be known as a vital hip-hop pioneer whose influence is undeniable. Back in 2024, he teamed up with Ty Dolla $ign to release Vultures 1 - an album that is bold and genre-defying and reflects the duo's musical prowess and polarising personas. Production is layered and lush, with contributions from heavyweights like Timbaland and James Blake, and standout features from equally big names like Playboi Carti and Travis Scott. Tracks here all shine with lively rhythms and high-energy flows, even if the lyrics don't always hit the mark. Nonetheless, the project topped the Billboard 200 all the same.