Hip-Hop

Artist Sage Francis
Title Personal Journals
Label Anticon

Artist Sage Francis
Title A Healthy Distrust
Label Epitaph

Artist Sage Francis
Title Li(f)e
Label Anti
Li(f)e is a marked evolution for Sage Francis. The celebrated agent-provocateur of Hip-Hop brings his signature wordplay, a dazzling mix of sardonic humor and biting social commentary, to a setting complimented by a talented band consisting of Brian Decker (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine) and cohorts Jim Becker and Tim Rutili of the acclaimed Chicago outfit Califone. Sage is pushing the envelope of a genre he helped create, with a confrontational tongue and wit to match Shepard Fairy’s iconic album artwork.

Artist SERENGETI
Title Family & Friends
Label Anticon
Serengeti’s first solo album for Anticon finds him upbeat, on point and full of swagger. The multifaceted Chicago emcee streamlines his approach for Family & Friends, taking a breather from the knotty, introspective raps of his recent past, and making one of the most enjoyable, clear-headed records of his career.

Artist Shape of Broad Minds
Title Craft of the Lost Art
Label Lex
Retro/futuristic debut album from hip hop super-group fronted by Jneiro Jarel, featuring MF Doom.From the label that brought you Danger Mouse & Jemini and Prince Po - Shape Of Broad Minds is a new Hip Hop supergroup based around rapper / producer Jneiro Jarel. Album features star guests MF Doom, Count Bass D, Lil’ Sci (aka John Robinson) and Stacy Epps (singer on Madvillain album). Summertime must-have album for fans of Lex, Jneiro Jarel, J Dilla, Madlib and A Tribe Called Quest.

Artist Spank Rock
Title YoYoYoYoYo
Label Big Dada

Artist Spank Rock / Various
Title FabricLive 33
Label Fabric
1 mix, about 7 million different records encompassing hip-hop, electro, grime, bass on this latest FabriclIve CD from Spank Rock. Surprisingly though, is the lack of Bmore on here - but you have got Yes, Mylo, Hot Chip, Mr Oizo, CSS, Tangerine Dream, SMD, Uffie and lots more thrown in.

Artist Speech Debelle
Title Speech Therapy
Label Big Dada

Artist Spoek Mathambo
Title Father Creeper
Label Sub Pop
‘Father Creeper’ makes the Afro-futurists look old school. Rock moments swerve electronic. The crisp, changing rhythms of Mathambo’s live drummer go cyborg with drum machine beats. Guitar lines snake and ripple across the album, ranging from summery highlife melodies to amped-up rock riffs.    
Lyrically, ‘Father Creeper’ flips the concerns of mainstream rap by embracing a deep sensitivity for a traumatized society (where the f*cked- upedness is real, the optimism stubborn and the booty ripe).
[2LP + download on Sub Pop DUE 27/07/12]

Artist Stagga
Title Warm Air Room
Label Rag & Bone