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Author: marcus

Pigeons sat on a railing, new project coming soon text displayed
Admin 

New project coming soon

26/08/202026/08/2020 marcus 0 Comments coming soon, project

We’ve been away for a while but we have been busy. I’m pleased to tease a new project coming really

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Quality Control – Jurassic 5

05/06/201804/06/2018 marcus 0 Comments Jurassic 5

This is one of my favourite albums. More complete than the J5LP, but with the same bounce and flavour as

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Mr Scarface is Back – Scarface

04/06/201801/06/2018 marcus 0 Comments Scarface

This artwork won’t win any awards for typography or accessibility (I mean, purple writing over a dark picture!!) but the

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Album art 

Tell Em Why U Madd – The Madd Rapper

03/06/201801/06/2018 marcus 0 Comments The Madd Rapper

Who is the Madd Rapper? When he first started appearing on albums in the mid-90s, no-one knew his real identity.

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Paid in Full – Eric B & Rakim

02/06/201801/06/2018 marcus 0 Comments Eric B, Eric B & Rakim, Rakim

Undoubtedly this album is a classic. It properly introduced the world to the talents of Rakim. The cover art depicts

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Album art 

Streams of Thought, Vol. 1 – Black Thought & 9th Wonder

01/06/201801/06/2018 marcus 0 Comments 9th Wonder, Black Thought

Okay, this one is a bit cheeky, because this EP was only released today (1 June 2018), so I can’t

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Reasonable Doubt – Jay-Z

27/05/2018 marcus 0 Comments Jay-Z

From the man who was picked up by Big Daddy Kane, guested on tracks by Big L, and spurned a

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Check Your Head – Beastie Boys

26/05/2018 marcus 0 Comments Beastie Boys

Of all of the Beastie’s album covers, this is probably my favourite. But I don’t know why. They do prefer

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Long Live the Kane – Big Daddy Kane

25/05/201822/05/2018 marcus 0 Comments Big Daddy Kane

For all of yesterday’s minimalism and female empowerment, today is all about the Big Daddy. Sat on a throne, resplendent

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Album art 

All Hail the Queen – Queen Latifah

24/05/201822/05/2018 marcus 1 Comment Queen Latifah

She’s just an absolute badass. This would get listed just for the logo in the corner, but then there is

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4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up – Gift of Gab

23/05/2018 marcus 0 Comments Gift of Gab

This solo album from Gift of Gab, of Blackalicious fame, is a little gem. Gab still brings the same amazing

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Breaking Atoms – Main Source

22/05/201820/05/2018 marcus 0 Comments Main Source

Love it. This 1991 debut album from the New York/Toronto group Main Source was the only ‘proper’ release. Large Professor

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Album art 

Business as Usual – EPMD

21/05/201820/05/2018 marcus 1 Comment EPMD

I love this artwork. Erick and Parrish surrounded by the 5-0. Helicopters, dogs and many guns pointed in their direction,

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Album art 

Woe to thee O land whose king is a child – Nephlim Modulation Systems

21/04/201831/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Nephlim Modulation Systems

At first look this album cover seems like a colourful mess, much like the first listen of the densely packed

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Something Wicked This Way Comes – The Herbaliser

20/04/201831/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments The Herbaliser

Another UK one, this time from the duo ‘The Herbaliser’. This album was released on Ninja Tunes (another great artwork

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Stakes Is High – De La Soul

19/04/201831/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments De La Soul

As in education as in society, the stakes are high. Nothing says this more emphatically than the blurred image of

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The Embodiment of Instrumentation – Scratch

18/04/201831/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Scratch

Scratch came to prominence with his work/quasi-membership of The Roots, where he served as their ‘DJ’ along with Rahzel. This

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The Diary – Scarface

17/04/201831/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Scarface

While the pencil shading may not be out of place in a school exercise book, the imagery is great. A

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Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version – Ol’ Dirty Bastard

16/04/201831/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments ODB, Ol' Dirty Bastard

I think ODB’s story makes for one of the greatest tragedies in hip hop. Much of Russell Jones’ downfall was

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Music for the Mature B-Boy – DJ Format

15/04/201831/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments DJ Format

Another UK entry, this time from DJ (and one time Jurassic 5 bus driver) Format. Format likes a bit of

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Mos Def & Talib Kweli are – Black Star

14/04/201831/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Black Star, Mos Def, Talib Kweli

I love this album. I mean, I really love this album. I cannot imagine a world where this album is

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Legacy of Blood – Jedi Mind Tricks

13/04/201831/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Jedi Mind Tricks

I’ll be honest: I don’t think I have ever heard this album, and my knowledge of JMT’s other stuff is

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Jazzmatazz – Guru

12/04/201831/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Guru

Gang Starr were pretty amazing; they helped define a whole era of hip hop. So when Guru decided to do

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J5 EP – Jurassic 5

11/04/201831/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Jurassic 5

J5’s debut EP was re-released with a few extra tracks and instrumentals as the J5 LP. Visually the cover art

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Hello Nasty – Beastie Boys

10/04/201831/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Beastie Boys

I’d say this is probably my least favourite Beastie’s album. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Intergalactic (and the video)

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Ghetto Blaster – Push Button Objects

09/04/201828/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Push Button Objects

I’ll be honest, up until this project, I’d not even heard of this album, and I barely knew of PBO

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Game Theory – The Roots

08/04/201828/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments The Roots

A hangman played out in the negative space of black soot, over the news. This is the Game Theory.

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Endtroducing… – DJ Shadow

07/04/201828/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments DJ Shadow

I’m guessing this picture represents about 60% of DJ Shadow’s creative process.

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Electric Circus – Common

06/04/201828/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Common

I do love an album cover with loads of faces – see Midnight Marauders. Common doesn’t disappoint. Plus the back

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De La Soul Is Dead – De La Soul

05/04/201828/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments De La Soul

Two years after announcing the dawn of the D.A.I.S.Y. Age, De La Soul killed it. And boy did they.

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Criminal Minded – Boogie Down Productions

04/04/201828/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Boogie Down Productions, KRS One

When people think Hip Hop, they often think of the West Coast gangsta style. However, KRS One and DJ Scott

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College Dropout – Kanye West

03/04/201828/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Kanye West

This album has a lot of resonance for me as it describes Kanye’s journey from dropping out of college, and

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Calm Down – Busta Rhymes ft. Eminem

02/04/201828/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Busta Rhymes, Eminem

I know, I know, technically this is a single, but come on. This is amazing. Plus Busta hasn’t looked that

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Bizarre Ride II – The Pharcyde

01/04/201828/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Pharcyde

This is no April Fool, this is an awesome cover. It pretty much sums up the group’s debut album… it

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Bigger and Deffer – LL Cool J

31/03/201828/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments LL Cool J

We all know the album is Bigger and Deffer, but to use the acronym BAD, then have a photo of

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Arrhythmia – Antipop Consortium

30/03/201828/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Antipop Consortium

Of all the foreground, midground, far(ground?) group shot album covers, this is my favourite. And the back cover is equally

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360 Degree Remixes – Push Button Objects

29/03/201828/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Push Button Objects

Revolving door, 360 degree remixes. Love it. Theres headphones and back packs. What more do you want?

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Run Come Save Me – Roots Manuva

28/03/201828/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Roots Manuva

I don’t know what it is I love about the album cover. The desolation, the jumping, the awkwardness… I just

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Sex Packets – Digital Underground

27/03/201828/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Digital Underground

I’m not sure why, but I really like this cover. It’s a typical group shot, but everyone is very much

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PTSD – Pharoahe Monch

26/03/201818/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Pharoahe Monch

Pharoahe, with what looks like a smart raincoat, gas mask, and military hat holds what can only be described as

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This or That – Sway & King Tech

25/03/201818/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Sway & King Tech

I’ve gone for something a little different with this one. This is a compilation album (including a track with Eminem

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Flesh of my Flesh, Blood of my Blood – DMX

24/03/201818/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments DMX

DMX, covered in blood. Hands out in front, half begging forgiveness, half looking at just what he had done. It’s

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The Great Adventures of Slick Rick

15/03/201818/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Slick Rick

To anyone who has heard any Slick Rick track will know he isn’t a New York native; he is clearly

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They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) – Pete Rock & CL Smooth

13/03/201818/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments CL Smooth, Pete Rock, Pete Rock & CL Smooth

Not an album, this is one my 12″ singles. Brilliant track, but also a great cover. I don’t think this

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Kill the Architect – Cage

07/03/201807/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Cage

Undergrads will write essays about this album cover.

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Let’s Get Free – dead prez

06/03/201806/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments dead prez

Kids, guns, “Let’s get free”. It paints a picture. You know what you’re getting with this album, and boy do

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The Grey Album – DJ Danger Mouse

05/03/201820/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments DJ Danger Mouse, Jay-Z

So Danger Mouse single-handed created the best Jay-Z album, and the best Beatles album in one go… Danger Mouse mixed

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Will Rap For Food – Cunninlynguists

04/03/201802/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Cunninlynguists

Two of the four pillars, minimum

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Hip Hop For Respect EP – Various

03/03/201802/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Mos Def, Rawkus, Talib Kweli, Various

Eight tracks, three of them are ‘One Four Love’, this EP was put together by Mos Def and Talib Kweli

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Black Trash: The Autobiography of Kirk Jones – Sticky Fingaz

02/03/201802/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments Sticky Fingaz

Not the best album, nor the best rapper, but great artwork.

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Album art 

and the Anonymous Nobody – De La Soul

01/03/201828/02/2018 marcus 0 Comments Album Art, De La Soul

The alternative version doesn’t include the MC either. All the singles’ artwork derives from this one, with various characters reproduced.

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Album art 

Midnight Marauders – A Tribe Called Quest

28/02/201810/03/2018 marcus 0 Comments A Tribe Called Quest, Album Art

The RBG figure, continuing from Low End Theory, is cool enough, but the inclusion of ATCQ’s contemporaries, heroes and up-and-coming

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Biz’s Baddest Beats – Biz Markie

27/02/201828/02/2018 marcus 0 Comments Album Art, Biz Markie

He is such a child. Which is why we love the Biz.

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Like Water For Chocolate – Common

26/02/201828/02/2018 marcus 0 Comments Album Art, Common

So. Many. Things.

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Blood, Sweat & No Tears – Stetsasonic

25/02/201828/02/2018 marcus 0 Comments Album Art, Stetsasonic

The worst advert for baby shampoo ever

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The Roots Come Alive – The Roots

24/02/201828/02/2018 marcus 0 Comments Album Art, The Roots

Says everything

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Latest podcast episodes

Hostile Recon - Series 1
Hostile Recon - Series 1
#1 - Ranking the Wu
00:00 / 1:17:42
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  • #1 - Ranking the Wu

    #1 - Ranking the Wu

    Nov 5, 2020 • 1:17:42

    From the release of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in 1993, the Wu-Tang Clan have been one of the most

  • #2 - Posse cuts

    #2 - Posse cuts

    Dec 19, 2020 • 1:14:47

    Who doesn’t love a posse cut? If you’re not sure what they are, they’re when a group of MCs come

  • #3 - Women rappers

    #3 - Women rappers

    Jan 23, 2021 • 1:05:31

    It’s fair to say that women rappers haven’t had the opportunities that male rappers have, and given the misogynistic nature

  • #4 - Aliens

    #4 - Aliens

    Mar 2, 2021 • 1:15:41

    On this episode we are joined by a special guest, Andy, who posed us a tough question: If you met

  • #5 - Great beats, bad rhymes

    #5 - Great beats, bad rhymes

    Mar 26, 2021 • 1:10:24

    Hip-hop is littered with basslines and melodies that shakes you out of your seat or have you nodding until your

  • #6 - Best Guest verses

    #6 - Best Guest verses

    Apr 21, 2021 • 1:21:33

    We’ve all been there, listening along to a track, when BOOM, on comes a guest artist and blows the track

  • #7 - Most consistent hip-hop artist

    #7 - Most consistent hip-hop artist

    May 18, 2021 • 1:15:10

    Who is the best MC? Who has the best bars? Best tracks? As fans of hip-hop, these are often the

  • #8 - Underrated artists

    #8 - Underrated artists

    Jun 16, 2021 • 1:27:24

    So what does it mean to be underrated in hip-hop? Is it a lack of commercial success, widespread notoriety, or

  • #9: Starting blocks

    #9: Starting blocks

    Jul 7, 2021 • 1:29:32

    Open the wrapping, insert the disc into your CD player, and press play. This episode looks at albums that hit hard from Track 1.

  • #10: LGA - Mos Def and Talib Kweli are... Black Star

    #10: LGA - Mos Def and Talib Kweli are... Black Star

    Aug 19, 2021 • 1:49:09

    After a discussion about the Fugees' The Score as a classic album, we started to consider what other albums released afterwards could be deemed as classics. So this is the first in a mini-series we are calling 'the last great hip hop album'. When Mos Def and Talib Kweli first…

Recent Episodes

  • #18 – Wow moments
  • #17 – Hip hop sporting elevens
  • #16: Let’s Get Free – Last Great Album?
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  • #14: Small town rap

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