11 - Buck 65 - Weirdo Magnet (1996)
Another one in the "if it happens everybody will freak out" category.
Classic Buck 65, incredible 2-tape albums that has been later reissued and remastered for a very different tracklist (half of the original tape tracks are not on the cd, some of the tracks on the cd reissue were unreleased.. wtf?). Ok, there's an existing vinyl EP with tracks off this album that was released by Hand Solo, but still, it's only 4 tracks off a 40 tracks double tape. We. Want. More.
Is it doable? Well it probably has a cost. Also: is Warner Canada still owning the rights of this? If so it'd be problematic. But at the same time it didn't stop Richard to release Vertex, another classic, on his own, without Warner in the equation (by the way, this Vertex record has... 30 minutes of music on each side. I'm impressed the pressing factory even allowed it). So if he did it once, why not twice?
12 - Orko - Eyemagedon (2002)
Look, Orko has an incredible backcatalogue with almost none of it on wax, that's such a shame.
Eyemagedon is my favorite of the lot, which really means I think it's the most consistent from start to finish. But really, he should do a 4LP anthology, Dereliks-style. So much dope material over his career, and unfortunately so little vinyl releases.
An important factor: it should be definitely remastered from the original DAT though, because even official cds sound quality are sometimes uneven. But this one is long overdue.
13- Riddlore - compilation, including "Iz Hip Hop Dead?"
I mean.. even only "Iz Hip Hop Dead" on a large 12'' at 45rpm is fine with me. This anthem MUST be issued at some point on vinyl, I can't believe how many wack albums have been reissued and this one iconic track is still only available on a cheap cd-r.
Beside that one, Riddlore has a deep catalogue of dope songs, from his classic "Everything You Need To Know..." album, to the more recent "West Wing" and anthems like "I Smell Smoke", or "Can U Love A Villain" -the Goodriddenz version, not the 1988 12inch version .
There's definitely room for a nice vinyl release filled with great tracks and no fillers. Plus Riddlore is still around releasing music, so I guess he wouldn't be against it?
14 - Nextraterrestrials - The Coda Quota (1999)
This project revolved around Ottawa producer Kelron Magnanimous who invited a big batch of other artists from the canadian underground (Supreme Being Unit, DJ Moves, Fritz Tha Cat from the infamous "In Search of Divine Styler Magazine", Paul The Apostle from Governor Bolts, etc etc.).
It's an understatement to say it was overlooked, although the tracks are pretty solid, in the same abstract/futuristic vein of S.B.U.. 18 tracks long and very few things to throw away, this would made a great reissue. The recent reissue by Chopped Herring of the Bomb Shelta Association 'Rebirth' album kind of give me hope that some of those obscure canadian releases may find a second life one day.
Typically, if the guy was from NYC it would have happen already..
15 - Komadose - Beta One (2002)
...Which makes me think of this album. The bostonian answer to Can Ox' The Cold Vein, sort of.
This is probably the closest thing you'll encounter as far as "El-P-type beat". But although the influence is heavy you can't deny they're really good beats, not pale imitations.
Interestingly this is also one of the first appearance of K-The-I??? on a record.
To be honest I thought this one would've happened a long time ago, but maybe it's too much of an obscure record, or maybe just that the Ozone/DefJux/late90esNYCdystopian/scifihiphop sound revival hasn't kicked yet.
16 - Bedouins - Vol.1 "The Missing Link" (1998)
I already shared that great forgotten tape from the San Jose scene, with the few details that I knew about it. Tapemasta Steph on production and twins MCs Mozam and K-Swift. Probably the only christian rap album I'll ever wish someone reissue.
The only concern would be for the sound, once again. Would need a decent remaster. I'm not so sure it'd sell too well but I know I'd buy two for sure.
17 - Inoe Oner - Master Relm (1998) / Da Governmentz Greatest Hitz (2002)
They're both great, underrated albums from the LA Project Blowed scene.
If you're not familiar, think Global Phlowtations collective, LA Project Blowed, Adlib/ Zagu Brown/ Sach. Minimal, dark, muddy, even though it's not thug rap or dystopian rap, it got a really distinct vibe to it, pretty far from your classic backpack hip hop.
Master Relm was supposed to be released on wax around 2005/6/7, something like that, by a friend of mine who eventually changed his mind and put his money on a common release, the Inoe/Thavius Beck split 7'' picture disc. That last one was a pretty bad commercial failure and my friend didn't put another dime into releasing a vinyl. To this day I'm still regretful about having him change his mind, because Master Relm really deserved a reissue. When Beetbak did a cassette reissue years later it brought the memories back, and the fact that a remaster already exists might help a possible vinyl reissue one day (?).
Da GG Hitz is another one that's very dope and would deserve a reissue. It features production by Adlib/Thavius Beck and the beats are incredible and really match Inoe's flow.
18 - Eyedlmode - Fogville (1995)
Ok so this one is supposed to be reissued by Key System Recordings eventually. They actually mentioned it like 2 years ago, and had me super excited, until they finally drop this other masterful "To Whom it may Concern" reissue.
Don't get me wrong, it was probably a better strategy to get any money back and fuel the label, but I'm still regularly checking out their twitter/fb to see if anything new is popping, just in case.
Remember when you thought The Nonce was like the westcoast answer to ATCQ and no one seems to really pay attention and then all of sudden a flurry of reissues happened (super deservingly btw)?
Well, Eyedlmode is like the Bay Area answer to The Nonce (or something like that).
If you didn't checked Fogville and their self titled EP, both only released on cassette, it's about time to enjoy the soothing vibes from these gems. Perfect albums to chill to. The world needs to know. My crates need this one badly.
19 - Moka Only - Carrotts & Eggs (2009)
Ok Moka has a trillion albums. Seriously, I've never seen such an incredible discography for an hip hop artist. The problem is, it's hard to have people following everything you put out when you release 4 albums a year. Even if you're dedicated, at some point, you kind of give up, drown under a pile of beats.
So Carrotts & Eggs for me is the most consistent of the lot but it was just overlooked by most people, because, well that was one of the 6 albums released by Moka in 2009 (and he had 3 in 2008, 2 in 2010, etc etc.).
Moka also has an interesting trajectory as a producer. Over the years he developed his identity as a beatmaker and made these kind of J Dilla-esque beats. It's pretty pregnant on this album and it's for the better. There's a whole funky vibe throughout Carrots & Eggs that will make you nod , sit back, relax, then start cooking some vegetables.
If there was one to pick among his 73 albums (that's the actual count), this is the one!
20 - Ka Auditron Ba - The Final Conflict (1998)
This album has an interesting backstory and has been brought to our attention by the homie Jibs' Thisisforthehustlers blog. This is the Kemetic Suns never released, testament LP.
Although it sounds like a compilation of demos with very heterogeneous audio quality, there's a lot of good/great tracks among the 21 tracks/ 93 minutes of music offered, easily enough to make a dope vinyl reissue. The main issue here would be to be able to master it so that it feels somewhat coherent soundwise, because the differences of volume between each of these demo is a bit bothering.
Again, I really hope someone will try to make it happen because although it's still a bunch of demos at various states of development, it sounds promising.
To be continued in part 3...
