Hip-Hop News

Keysound Recordings begin 2016 with a grimey addition to the family: an EP from grime don JT the Goon. Fresh from his critically acclaimed debut album on Oil Gang, he unleashes four versions of the 'Oil on Ice' riddim. How the tracks came very near to being forever 'lost dubs' is a tale of crossed wires and aural infections that thankfully has a happy ending. The track made its debut on the Keysound Rinse FM show in November 2013 when the then emerging producer Rabit, passed through the show to make his debut. Re-listening to the set over and over again, Blackdown made enquiries about signing 'Oil on Ice,' only to hear it might already have a home. Two years passed and periodically, often in far flung locations with epic vistas, Blackdown could not help but notice that this most infectious aural ear-worm, 'Oil on Ice', would wiggle its way into his mind's ear. Again and again its curvaceous melody would appear on the edge of his consciousness. Enquiries were made again and turns out, the dub had remained unreleased. Three VIP versions of the riddim were commissioned for the label, so that 'Oil...' could be played in the camps' rolling 130 bpm sets and a catalog number was duly assigned. JT the Goon was an early member of Slew Dem Crew (Chronik, Waifer, Rage etc). He co-produced 'Gunman Riddim', not only a classic grime instrumental but a track that popularised the Korg Triton's 'amsfeedbacklead' preset - the sound that has since become a grime staple, almost as recognisable as Wiley's eski click and Musical Mob's 'Pulse X' bass hits. His debut album 'King Triton' dropped autumn 2015 on Oil Gang.

Funk from the heart of the Paris: Pigalle Connection is an allstar group led by Hammond wizard Guillaume Metenier (Soul Sugar), featuring musical contributions by Shawn Lee, Dr. Lonnie Smith and members of the Mighty Mocambos. Inspired as much by b-girls and b-boys as crimesploitation scores, their debut 45 brings tough and street-savy funk breaks with a magnificient French touch. The title track 'Paris Breakdown' is a percussive tour-de-force with epic breakdance chorus. The flip side's 'Milano Drive' is a slick uptempo car chase soundtrack, 'Pigalle Theme' a sleazy mid-tempo blaxploitation funk with snapping drumbeat.

This is one of the most famous live recordings of all-time, nearly all teenagers from the post-war boom, from California to Maine and beyond had this one on the stereo at parties. From the classic MC introduction ("ARE YOU READY FOR STAR TIME") to the JB's final note, this is a soul and R&B album without equal. The Hardest Working Man In Show Business, Mr. Dynamite himself, the legendary James Brown is at the top of his game, a powerful performance that's been beloved for over 50 years and will be beloved for hundreds more.

Way ahead of its time and profoundly relevant in these dark days, Andy Bey's masterful Experience And Judgment is music to soothe the soul. From the striking cover art to the music contained within, this is as beautiful a record as you're likely to come across. Against a backdrop of heavenly cosmic soul and spiritual jazz-funk, Bey delivers eternal messages of universal love and peace that still possess great power. Greatly revered by the rare soul and funk community, this album is hugely in demand on vinyl. It has received one - poor quality - repress since its initial 1974 release so Be With Records do us all a favour by presenting a timely and official 180 gram edition.

One of the most criminally underrated singers in all music, Andy Bey's work with Horace Silver and Gary Bartz especially was nothing short of phenomenal. However, it's his only album from the 70s that is widely regarded as his masterpiece. A one of a kind poetic suite, his spellbinding voice - an operatic baritone - is in extraordinary shape and his delivery goes beyond anything he'd previously committed to tape. The lyrical content reveals an optimistic and spiritual side - brimming with fire and heart - that is wonderfully complimented by his uplifting jazz-funk ensemble.

Opener "Celestial Blues" instantly sets the spine-tingling tone that doesn't let up for the entirety of this mind-expanding journey. A more sober version than the one recorded with Bartz' NTU Troop, its delicate mix is certainly more engaging. You'd think it impossible to follow that, yet the 11 subsequent tracks all flirt with perfection. Combining propulsive gospel flavours with deep, mellow vibes that vary the pace and levels of funk throughout, this is one metaphysical, sensual ride that will expand your mind, lest it wither and die.

Fans of deep soul in general and, in particular, artists such as Gil Scott-Heron, Roy Ayers, Bill Withers, Lonnie Liston Smith, Minnie Riperton and Billy Paul need to check this record.

After three years of waiting since her seminal Sister funk hit single "2 Kinds Of Men", Record Kicks finally presents "Stop Look Listen" the debut album from the new Oporto soul diva Marta Ren & The Groovelvets that will hit the streets 19 February 2016. Anticipated from the first single "I'm Not A Regular Woman", which is getting airwaves all over Europe (including BBC 6, Rai Radio 1, LeMouv / Radio France), produced and recorded on an Ampex eight-track tape machine by New Max from Portuguese funk combo Expensive Soul and mastered in NYC by Andy Vandette, "Stop Look Listen" is pure dynamite and follows the best tradition of the Soul Sisters of the 60s. Marta Ren, not surprisingly described as the new Marva Whitney, brilliantly supported by her super tight 8-piece rhythm & soul combo The Groovelvets, serves you 11 tracks of pure fire and takes-no-prisoners. From the floorshakin' opening track "Don't Look" to the mellow feel-good anthems "Smiling Faces", "So Long" and the afrotastic "Be Ma Fela", the Portuguese combo deliver a visceral deep funk album, proving that they're the new 'real deal'.

Marta Ren is not a newcomer as she has been around in the Portuguese scene since the mid 90s lending her deep and powerful voice, amongst others, to break-beat outfit The Bombazines, recording two albums and establishing her unique talent at clubs and festivals all around Portugal. But Marta's passion has always been for the deepest funk and rawest soul of the sixties, and now the time has come for her to show the world her immense talent. With a powerful voice that would make the founding soul sisters proud, Marta Ren is looking to rule the world and make herself a household name. Fans of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings get on it!

After three years of waiting since her seminal Sister funk hit single "2 Kinds Of Men", Record Kicks finally presents "Stop Look Listen" the debut album from the new Oporto soul diva Marta Ren & The Groovelvets that will hit the streets 19 February 2016. Anticipated from the first single "I'm Not A Regular Woman", which is getting airwaves all over Europe (including BBC 6, Rai Radio 1, LeMouv / Radio France), produced and recorded on an Ampex eight-track tape machine by New Max from Portuguese funk combo Expensive Soul and mastered in NYC by Andy Vandette, "Stop Look Listen" is pure dynamite and follows the best tradition of the Soul Sisters of the 60s. Marta Ren, not surprisingly described as the new Marva Whitney, brilliantly supported by her super tight 8-piece rhythm & soul combo The Groovelvets, serves you 11 tracks of pure fire and takes-no-prisoners. From the floorshakin' opening track "Don't Look" to the mellow feel-good anthems "Smiling Faces", "So Long" and the afrotastic "Be Ma Fela", the Portuguese combo deliver a visceral deep funk album, proving that they're the new 'real deal'.

Marta Ren is not a newcomer as she has been around in the Portuguese scene since the mid 90s lending her deep and powerful voice, amongst others, to break-beat outfit The Bombazines, recording two albums and establishing her unique talent at clubs and festivals all around Portugal. But Marta's passion has always been for the deepest funk and rawest soul of the sixties, and now the time has come for her to show the world her immense talent. With a powerful voice that would make the founding soul sisters proud, Marta Ren is looking to rule the world and make herself a household name. Fans of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings get on it!

Another personal mission was to reissue this legit so here we are STRICTLY 500 ONLY, NO REPRESS. Barbara Masons 'You Better Stop It' is a perfect peace of crossover perfection. Probably slightly disregarded on the Northern Soul Scene dancefloor wise recently although undoubtedly appreciated by many). The early 2000s Deepfunk scene and Euro Soul scene embraced this record tricky rhythm and rightly so Barbara Mason's vocal smashes it. When I used to do a regular Tuesday night in Edinburgh it was requested second only to Fredrick Hymes III. If you're not feeling this, quit

On the flip we got Barbara Mason's classic slowy 'Do I Love You' one for the heads or Lowrider team. First time on 7" for this huge LP spin, stone cold classic.

Even in 2016 there still exist songs which are (so far) unknown in the soul and funk 45 collectors world. Feather's sole 45rpm single release "Be Real" b/w "Trips" is certainly one of those. Thanks to some folks whose names we have to keep secret, two wonderful songs finally get the attention they deserve so badly. Originally released in 1977, the band put it out with no distribution deal and also almost zero promotion. That's most likely the reason why it is so damn hard to find these days and why everybody out there should be more than pleased with this legitimate re-issue.

In the 70's one of the most Unique Texas band Emerged on the Scene, 'Tortilla Factory ' whilst primarily in the Texas Chicano scene they produced a couple of funk bangers dispersed amongst their many eclectic LPs, the band was renowned for their high calibre is Musicianship and whilst the might now be not typical of their sound they still bring it to the table better than some straight funk bands. Big shout out to Alfredo Guerrero for making this happen. I no longer have to drag around the LPs.

The focus is on the quality of new music from independent and unsigned soul artists from across the UK, Europe, USA, Canada and Australia. Expansion encourage you to listen to this music and discover more from these artists. Benefit from the great value too with three CD's of amazing music from the price of one and enjoy revival music too from artists including Kashif, the special live guest at January 2016's Luxury Soul Weekender. This release includes tracks and remixes exclusive to this CD

While working on this release, we've just found out about the passing of legendary R&B and Soul man Camille "Little" Bob. This piece of vinyl which reunites two hits from his rare 45s is dedicated to his family.

Known as Little Bob, Camille Bob was born in 1937 in Arnaudville, rural Lousiana. As a drummer and/or singer he recorded one album and numerous singles for record labels such as Goldband, Jin and La Louisianne. It was with the latter that the two tracks were recorded, now reissued on Rocafort. On the "A" side we have "Stop" recorded in 1969, first done by Howard Tate. For us, it's a rare case of the cover version surpassing the original. The "B" side features his most well-known track, "I Got Loaded", an R'n'B hit recorded in 1965 and later made popular by Los Lobos. A few days before Camille Bob's death on 6th July 2015, his son Ronald told us where the inspiration for the hit came from:

The inspiration for "I Got Loaded" was actually from Bob's mother. The band would meet up at his mother's house to catch the band's bus for gigs that night. She would sit on her porch people watching along with my grandfather in her rocking chair, smoking a pipe and drinking wine until she started feeling alright. She spoke Creole and after a few drinks of wine, looking sleepy eyed she would often ask her husband: "Cozo Ou ma pipe His response would be:"Damit woman, your pipe is in your mouth!"

'Without Your Love' is a heady, mid-tempo Detroit funky' soul mover from vocalist Diane Lewis (erstwhile member of the group the Adorables, alongside her sister Pat Lewis). Recorded in 1968, this was one of a spate of releases on Wand featuring some seriously full bodied production from Detroit native Herman Griffin, in what appears to have been an attempt at emulating the sound and success of Motown. And while such rewards may have evaded 'Without Your Love' on its original release it has found a natural and enduring home on the Northern scene.

When Bobby Sharp wrote Unchain My Heart in 1961 he did not know that he had created a future classic. Ray Charles was the first one who recorded it, but many more artists would try their hands on it. Johnny B & The Music Makers' version is definitely one of the best ones out there, period.

Lynn Williams may not be someone you have heard of but her pedigree is strong. Her father was Hank Ballard (of King and James Brown Fame) and her mother was 60s Miami Radio Personality and dance group leader Vanilla ''Miss Boom Boom'' Williams. Lynn cut 5 Excellent 7"s for various Henry Stone owned Miami labels in the 70s here we present her two most collectable. The first 'It Takes Two' is a smokey deepfunk killer that would cost you £1000 any day of the week for good reason. On the flip "Don't be Surprised" is one of Miami's best ever deep soul records period, a dark serious ballad pulled off with amazing emotion considering her young years at the time of recording.

Staying true to their M.O. The Soul Surfers present another heavy 45 soul treat featuring Myron & E on the lead-off single from their much anticipated full-length album. Make some more room in your 45 collection as the boys from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia have created another highly collectable 7in single, adding to their seemingly ever-expanding canon of sure-fire, raw soul and funk. This time around they brought along their good friends and fellow heavyweights Myron & E to lend their vocal talents. Inspired by classic 45's from the People catalog amongst many others, the tune is split into a part 1 and 2 because one side simply isn't enough to contain this much heat! Look for the debut full-length Soul Surfers album to drop later in 2015 with a possible tour in the US.

Moscow producer (Futureboogie, Manmade, Sonar Kollectiv, Kerri Chandler's MadTech) w/4 tracks of nasty modern funk-meets-house; some driving boogie-fueled business, low slung pulsing funk, shimmering disco vibes, + a bit of a melancholy strut.

The Bank Announce the Release of Their 2nd Album "Europa Center" a Testament to the Band's Raw Funk Roots

The Bank are becoming more and more known for their eclectic mix of funk and Afro disco with a raw live edge. The band's second album "Europa Center" has recently been released clearly influenced by the spirit of their live show and funk background. Dirty and raw, "Europa Center" has The Bank's fans old and new alike saying it may just be their best work yet.

Raw sounds of honest funk, African-influenced bass and drums that could make just about anyone have to get up and dance, and zombies. Yes, zombies. That's what The Bank have offered the world with their second studio album "Europa Center" and this interesting eclectic mix makes perfect sense for music lovers who love to have a good time. Just ask their growing legion of fans.

Two stormers from Mukatsuku Records as we present two absolute & rare classics on one 45. Sharon Revoal -Reaching For Our Star - big tune with Gilles Peterson,Sam Floating Points and 4 Tet is a sultry soulful yet funky slo mo disco tinged masterpiece that originally surfaced for Forte Records around 1980. On the flipside surely one of the funkiest gospel 45's to come out of the early 70's from The Swan Silvertones that originally came out on the US label HOB.


Sharon Revoal

Swan Silvertones

Sidney "Sid" Wallace was born south of Memphis, Tennessee in 1937. He would perform at talent shows and parties with various local artists. Turning his attention to the excitement in Memphis he became a contributing writer at Stax Records with the not-yet-famous Isaac Hayes and David Porter song writing team. He performed at many of the clubs in Memphis to supplement his income while attending junior college. Moving to St. Louis to continue his education he took his passion for music with him working as a disc-jockey and making several recordings in his spare time. His most sought after funk recording is "The Grinder" was originally released as the b-side of "Green Power".

Key-selling points:

- strictly limited to 500 copies

- original label artworki

Veteran recording engineer & producer Miguelito Superstar of Nación Funk Studios and Los Fulanos stuck around behind the boards after recording Fundación Tony Morero's "Superficial" LP to assemble a selection of outta sight disco dub versions exclusively for Names You Can Trust The results are in the tradition of Imagination's Night Dubbing and in line with the dance-floor sensibilities of Francois K's early 80s B-sides, a selector's choice of extended boogie bangers connecting the dots between New York City, Barcelona & the Balearic Islands.

Stone cold classic, although Pastime Paradise has been reissued a couple of time on compilations every single reissue has used the rocky LP version which is not nearly as good as the original 7" cut. As we at Athens of the North like to do things right we went back to the Sony Tape vault and had the 7" version transferred for the first time since the O.G 45 was cut. This 45 sounds fantastic, much stronger then the O.G 45 cut so it's a no brainer. On the flip we took one of our favourite track from the LP and introduced it to 7" for the first time, Mambotango is a dreamy sountracky latin disco number I used to spin on warm up duty, very new York.

French boogie collector's catnip, here we have the uber-rare Billy Bruner penned T'Spoon from his obscure Oil Capital Records. The originals are impossible to find even for hardened collectors, trust us when they do turn up they are always beat. Billy released two 45s on this label both great so here is out first one which takes a track from each, solid stuff.

This is the first release from Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge as Nxworries. The EP includes the new single 'Link Up,' 'Suede' and 'Droogs,' a Knxwledge remake of the Anderson .Paak single, along with instrumental bonus beats.

The legendary DJ Muro presents Elegant Funk 2

DJ Muro is back with the 10th edition on Tropicooool Boogie - Centered on the Caribbean tropical groove of everlasting summer

DJ Muro Presents A Deeper Shade Of Brown focusing on The Godfather Of Soul's deeper cuts

DJ Muro with his second Super Funky Latin Breaks Mix

the ever amazing DJ XXXL presents Elegant Funk Boogie Edition 2

8 tracks of raw Arabic funk music, none of these have ever been reissued before. So far Fadoul (or Fadaul, or Faddoul, the transcribtion of his name to latin letters differs)& his music had not been rediscovered, as a matter of fact most of those songs still left no trace whatsoever in the world wide web. It took us 2 years and countless trips to Morocco to find the artists family to license the release from them. Vinyl and CD edition come with liner notes, unseen live photos and lyrics translations. From the press release: "There was one record in particular that caught my attention. It was by a band called "Fadaul et les Privileges" and mentioned James Brown in the writing credits of the song "Sid Redad" on the a-side. Needless to say my expectations were high. The first time I heard the record I was blown away. A cover of James Brown's "Papa got a brand new bag" sung in arabic and backed by a rawly recorded three piece band. It's hard to describe the music without having listened to it, but as time went by I somehow ended up summarizing it as Arabic funk played with a punk attitude. A description, that I feel, comes fairly close. Soon I became obsessed by the record but nobody seemed to know anything about the vinyl or the artists, even google didn't help. A true gem forgotten about through the passages of time. I kept on traveling to Morocco trying to find infos about the artists, which did not end up being fruitful during the first couple of trips. What kept me going was the fact that over the course of the next years I kept on finding different records by Fadoul, in the end a total of four. They all had the raw sound aesthetic of "Sid Redad". Energetic performances, a mighty voice and a very lively atmosphere that was preserved in the recordings." "Sid Redad" has gotten plays on BBC, Radio Nova and more, our Habibi Funk mixes habe been featured by The Guardian, Radio Nova, Waxpoetics, okayplayer.com, konbini.fr and many more. "Is that Arabic Very FUXXXING COOL!!" DJ Nu-Mark (Jurassic 5)

Kay Dennis has been an international singer and actor for 24 years. She began singing in nightclubs in Kansas City, known as a jazz center since the 1920s. She soon starred in three television specials and she released her first record album "Kay Dennis" which sold out in the Midwest within 8 months. The a-side features a fantastic rendition of the all-time classic Sunny while most people will be delighted to find a proper drum break in the middle of Walk On By. That's what people call a damn good two-sider, right

"Fans of boogie will approve." (Echoes magazine UK)

With his new album "Good Feeling" Jay W. McGee, one of the most distinctive voices of the boogie era during the Eighties, returned to the scene in the summer of 2015.

Produced by upfront Hamburg disco and funk crew The Unbelievable Two "Good Feeling" featured a collection of original and authentic tunes, while Cool Million took the title track to the next dimension on the first single release.

For the second single "Let's Fall In Love" has now been re-worked by the ultra-hip Austin Boogie Crew, while Mzuzu of The Unbelievable Two boosted "Whole Lotta Talk" up for the disco floor.

12 track Album from Ernest Ranglin released by Dub Store Records

Micro Spiral return with a slice of electronic soul music which sounds like a unique fusion between Massive Attack and Spacek. 'Area' is originally a piece of funk-soul-world-reggae courtesy of Funkshy and Andre Espeut. Tansay Omar is the mastermind behind Funkshy who deliver soulful tracks which incorporate influences across a host of genres. The original of 'Area' will feature on the forthcoming Funkshy album. Andre Espeut is a gifted singer who supplies the ultra-soulful vocal for this single. Andre has recorded with Simbad, Yam Who, Copyright, Faze Action, Spiritual South and Rob Mello. The electronic soul remix of 'Area' is supplied by the enigmatic Scaramanga Silk, whose recent releases have received support from Don Letts, John Kennedy, Gideon Coe and Cerys Matthews. For this record, Scaramanga Silk has transformed 'Area' into a piece of advanced cyber-soul. By adding elements of jungle and techno to the original pianos, brass, flutes, guitar and vocal, the remix steps into dancefloor territory. The fragmented, heavy drum beats are the result of time-stretched drum & bass breakbeats which have been slowed down to a hip-hop tempo. Added to this are warped low-end basslines and futuristic synth chords which give the vital ingredients to take this track into the realm of electronic soul (Scaramanga Silk has coined the phrase 'Slow Jungle' for this style of music). The end result is a track that will appeal to fans of Harmonic 313, Vikter Duplaix, Steve Spacek, Jazzanova, Juan Atkins, Recloose and Kevin Saunderson. The cover artwork is supplied by Imran Oozeerally and is exclusive to this release. The 10' vinyl is laser-etched and is limited to 200 copies worldwide.

James Hunter has been on the scene for enough years to acquire plenty of feathers in his cap. Appearing on 'Later with Jools Holland' , Billboard charts, Grammy nominations, and Van Morrison collaborations aside, he has earned an international reputation as a Rhythm and Blues troubadour for his command of the microphone both on stage and in studio. This album, however, is something far deeper than just another notch in his belt. It is truly an artist's vision come to fruition.

This may be James Hunter's fourth album, but it is his first Daptone record. Produced by Daptone's own Bosco Mann (Gabriel Roth) at Penrose Recorders (Daptone West) near his home in Riverside, California, 'Hold On!' is a perfect portrait of an artist at the top of his game.

Though tunes like "(Baby) Hold On," "If That Don't Tell You," and "Stranded" carry the buoyant energy, crackerjack arrangements, and tough soulful pulse for which the band has become renowned, the true treasures of this LP may lie in the deeper grooves. Rumbas, boleros, bossanovas, and easy rockers, each one swinging more than the last: "This Is Where We Came In", "Something's Calling", "A Truer Heart", 'Light of My Life', 'In The Dark' — no clichéd throwback nods to a-time-gone-by here.

These are forever songs crafted with immaculate care and ingenuity, sung with an effortless balance of tenderness and grit. Many will be tempted to describe it as 'authentic,' but the word really has no place here. Hunter's words are truly his own and though at moments his voice may "evoke" Ray Charles or Sam Cooke, there lies an inherent naturalness in these songs that bucks any comparison past or present.

The A side 'Soul On Top', is produced by Boca 45 and features New Zealander Louis Baker on vocals, an immediate slice of hip hop soul which will work as well on the dance floor as it will on the radio. The B side features 'Diegos Theme', lifted from Boca's 2nd LP Vertigo Sounds and is a sampledelic slice of b-boy heaven.

Here we are, finally ! After numerous months of hard work,
today is the release day of " Good Vibes "
from SoulChef on Délicieuse Records !


This is definitely a 2.0 project : a beatmaker based in New-Zealand, a french label, some french scratches, some english, north american, swedish emcees, etc. it's a countless number of emails that allowed us to release this beautiful project that you can listen today.


We're so f****g happy to finally be here ! This album sounds old-school, but it's message and conception are definitely modern. Enjoy, Love is the Message !


Soulchef revives with Good Vibes the original spirit of Hip Hop.


The New Zealand beatmaker gives new life to this still living memory that we're honouring on Delicieuse Musique since our inception. Taking us back to our classics, Soulchef shines a new and personal light on hip hop : the result is positive, groovy and true to its initial roots.


Good Vibes is the result of an exchange of more than 18 months between the producer, the label and various rappers. The album is a mapping of a league that helds the oldschool hip-hop standard : there can be found a whole bunch of more or less notorious MCs on it from Declaime to Croosh, a young talent spotted on Soundcloud.


Gathered around the unifying aura of Soulchef, Delicieuse Records decided to step out of its usual field, offering to its public its first Hip Hop release.