WAX POETICS News

*2025 RE-PRINT - Originally issued in 2013 ** ** No advertisements **

Wax Poetics takes you on a voyage through the music cosmos — from disco’s heyday to the underground scenes that gave birth to house, techno, and hip-hop.

We explore the rise, fall, and rebirth of disco, the backlash that tried to bury it, and the resilient Black and queer communities who kept the scene alive. From Nile Rodgers and Gino Soccio to De La Soul, Slum Village, J Dilla, and Teddy Riley’s genre-blurring New Jack Swing — this issue maps the interstellar lineage of dance music.

118 pages * no ads * Pure Prince Content! - new High Quality paper version. (Originally printed in 2018)

Wax Poetics Issue 67 contains interviews and write-ups on a slew of Prince's albums, including 1978's For You, 1986's Parade, 1987's Sign "O" the Times, 1988's Lovesexy, 1991's Diamonds and Pearls, and 1995's The Gold Experience—with interviews from engineer Chris Moon, manager Owen Husney, engineer Susan Rogers, producer/engineer David Z, poet Ingrid Chavez, tour manager Alan Leeds, dancer Cat Glover, saxophonist Eric Leeds, guitarist and bandleader Levi Seacer Jr., engineer Michael Koppelman, trombonist Michael B. Nelson, and keyboardist Tommy Barbarella.

Issue 67 also includes standalone interviews with Jill Jones, Andre Cymone, and members of the Revolution: Doctor Fink, Bobby Z., Brown Mark, and Wendy & Lisa.

148 pages - Heavyweight paper

Exploring the great Louis Vega's legacy and re-visiting the raw impact and enduring influence of Mobb Deep, tracing their blueprint on East Coast hip-hop and beyond.

Wax Poetics is back with Volume 3, Issue 1. We've been away for a minute with fresh words but this Summer we return and return hard.

Our spiritual home is New York and in this issue the city is a character and the mag is a movie. With our cover star Louie Vega we explore his legacy - from Bronx discos to the highs of house via Latin, hip-hop, freestyle and New York club culture. This is a trademark Wax Poetics deep-dive, with classic photos provided by the man himself. Then we flip from the dancefloor to the street with our second cover stars of Mobb Deep. We go hard on their career, their role in defining that 90's gritty, loopy, heavy heavy heavy hip-hop sound. With unique photos and ephemera lifting the story, there has never been a piece like this about the duo.

Wider articles include: Ace Records, Arthur Baker, Chris Clark, Dante's HiFi, Daupe!, Jazzy Joyce, Lotti Golden, Re:Discoveries, Record Rundowns and Tony Wilson... You know the score, the best god damn music journalism around.

*2025 RE-PRINT - originally issued in 2009 ** No advertisements **

The landmark Jazz Issue features on the front the classic Blue Train photo of John Coltrane, uncropped, and on the back, trumpet star Freddie Hubbard from his CTI heyday. Behind both of these legends was jazz producer Creed Taylor, who left his mark on Impulse and Verve before starting his untouchable CTI Records. We feature a major oral history of Creed's career, as well as stories on Horace Tapscott, Richard Evans, Joel Dorn, and Melvin Sparks.

*2025 RE-PRINT - originally issued in 2008 ** No advertisements **

The Philly Issue commemorates some of the most influential and industrious musicians from the City of Brotherly Love. Issue 33 dives into Gamble and Huff, Teddy Pendergrass, and the Stylistics, among many others from the soul, jazz, and hip-hop communities that have long flourished in this cultural mecca.

You’ll find rare insights from legends like Thom Bell, Bunny Sigler, and The Delfonics, plus behind-the-scenes stories from the studios where TSOP - The Sound of Philadelphia - was born. We connect the dots from doo-wop to disco, soul to hip-hop—uncovering how Philly carved out a sound both timeless and revolutionary.

Contents Include:

Gamble & Huff, Teddy Pendergrass, Questlove, The Stylistics, Odean Pope, Vince Montana, Howard Tate, First Choice, Sonny Hopson, Jneiro Jarel and more.

*140+ Pages, Full Colour, Heavyweight Print *

DJ Koco on the cover. A growing superstar DJ, but with an old soul. He brings a classic beat digger’s approach to his impeccable 7-inch selections but peppers them with new-school DJ tricks and is now making waves that reverberate worldwide. Beyond this the issue will be chocked full with articles covering Brit-Funk, Taj Mahal, 23 Skidoo, DJ Parrot, the Monterrey dance scene in the 90's, Don Blackman, Hermeto Pascoal, Larry McDonald and much much more.

*140+ Pages, Full Colour, Heavyweight Print *
Another packed trademark journal from Wax Poetics.

. This issue features articles on the history of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, the 90's hip-hop of Bahamadia and a deep dive into Dazz Band with their strutting funk jams. Plus, we cover the London Latin Jazz scene, Brian Auger, Lenny White and old school Parisian record stores, along with much much more. Don't sleep, very limited numbers.

** warehouse find price ... nice!

The iconic digger's journal Wax Poetics returns in a beautiful, heavyweight format. Each issue features 148-pages of deep music insight, unique stories, lush photo spreads, and inspiration for your record collecting. The first issue in the relaunch features Motown stars Marvin Gaye on the front cover, and Tammi Terrell on the back cover. You'll also find articles on hip-hop ground zero Harlem World, Sergio Mendes, Herb Alpert, Cymande, Toots Hibbert, and much more within.

Also included with each purchase is three months of digital access to Wax Poetics. Expect weekly stories, music, insight, members-only offers, and more!

FULL CONTENTS

Re:Discovery: Timothy Leary & Ash Ra Tempel

Re:Discovery: Light of the World

Re:Discovery: Leon Huff

Re:Discovery: Superb DJ K-Nyce ft. Supreme Nyborn

Feature: High Art - Lee Quiñones

Feature: The Hip-Hop Shangri-La - Harlem World

Feature: Patta Cover Story - Steven Julien

Feature: See Me - Tammi Terrell

Feature: The Fire From Within - Marvin Gaye

Feature: The Maestro - Sergio Mendes

Feature: Beyond Boundaries - Herb Alpert

Feature: Native Sons - Redbone

Feature: Mighty Heavy Load - Cymande

Feature: Perpetual Glory - Toots Hibbert

To celebrate 50 years of hip-hop this issue will be dedicated to the genre with a stunning cover featuring the Notorious B.I.G.

The cover image image was taken by renowned photographer B+ who captures Biggie at unique time and the cover article is written by Michael A. Gonzales.

The issue features articles and insight from Notorious B.I.G., Super Cat, Blackalicious, Yo-Yo, Rap Zines, Grand Master Flowers, B+, Sue Kwon, Lady B, Schoolly D, MIKE, T. Eric Monroe and much more…

148 Pages, Full Colour, Heavyweight Print

Issue 5, Volume 2. Along with the cover stars of Pharoah Sanders and Anri, the issue features Ron Trent, Dexter Wansel, Carolyn Crawford, Hyldon, Linda Lewis, Lance Ferguson, Psychic Mirrors, Liv.e, Bernard Wright plus Re:Discoveries, Record Rundowns and more...