Hip Hop Enterprise Belgium 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Newark's El Da Sensei first came up with Artifacts alongside Tame One in the mid 90s, but he soon struck out solo with a career that's yielded countless fresh LPs and EPs right up to today. Signature Funk first dropped in the US via Jim's Pool Room and F5 Records, and now it's available in Europe thanks to Belgian label Hip Hop Enterprise. It's a classic slice of boom bap hip-hop for the old-skool heads, and as well as the Capo-produced original you can enjoy DJ Crucial's 'SP 1200 Remix' on the B side for more of those crunchy-as-hell beats backing up Sensei's flow.

Review: There seems to be a wealth of excellent hip hop LPs landing this month and right up there with the best of them is this gritty, streetwise collection from Amityville, New York MC Rozewood. His involving narrations are hugely detailed and make for an album packed with tight story telling. There is some rich melody to lighten the mood in most tracks, with serene strings, dusty beats and jazzy chords all adding richness and realness to the confrontational rhymes. Somehow thew album harks back to the golden 90s era of rugged boom-bap while also bringing something new and utterly contemporary. Essential stuff.

Review: Four years after it was first released, Ruben Johnson's fifth solo album as Rozewood returns to record stores on rather fetching lilac vinyl. It remains a hugely alluring set, with the New York-raised MC delivering fluid, dexterous rhymes (with typically thoughtful lyrics, including some surprisingly heart-felt recollections about love and life) atop dusty, layered and largely laidback beats sourced from an impressive range of underground producers (think Manu Beats, Dirtydiggs, Tropes and Grubby Pawz). These tend towards the cinematic and smoky, with occasional nods towards a more club-friendly boom-bap style.