.New and Reissued Vinyl

Hip-Hop

Life imitates art: Last month, the Oxford English Dictionary added “bling bling” to its latest edition. B.G., the New Orleans MC who coined the phrase, was quoted as saying, “I just wish that I’d trademarked it, so I’d never have to work again.”

Bay Area cats are keeping it moving as always. Local DJ and producer J Boogie has a very smooth 12-inch out now on OM Records. “Try Me” features Capitol A and Goapele, and comes with remixes from People Under the Stairs and King Kooba. The B-side “Get the Party Started” is a collaboration with Gina Rene of Soulstice and Rashaan from Crown City Rockers. Look for Boogie’s debut full-length J Boogie’s Dubtronic Science coming soon. From the Hieroglyphics camp, Tajai has a new single out, “The Dum Dum”/”Who Got It.” Rasco has rereleased his early double-sided classic “Unassisted”/”Hip-Hop Essentials” on his own Pockets Linted label. Longtime player Murs has been enjoying success with his album The End of the Beginning (Def Jux), and just dropped the second single “Risky Business,” featuring Digital Underground heroes Shock G and Humpty Hump.

Though best known for their kind literature, High Times has recently gotten into the music business with a fast-growing discography, heavy on the hip-hop. Their catalogue includes the extra-dope full-length Dwight Spitz from Count Bass D, as well as new singles from Defari, Problemz, and the Wu-Tang’s Mathematics.

UK label Big Dada is about to release the highly anticipated King Geedorah Take Me to Your Leader LP. Geedorah is another alias for the notorious supervillain MF Doom; the album features collaborations with members of the Monsta Island Czars, Scienz of Life, and Kurious, among others.

With 50 Cent‘s status as the hottest artist in mainstream hip-hop, it was only a matter of time before someone re-pressed his older tracks. His controversial/comedic first single, 1999’s “How to Rob,” is circulating on white label wax, and if you missed it the first time, it’s definitely worth picking up. In it, the then-unknown MC fantasizes about jacking an assortment of famous rappers, which prompted disses from Ghostface, Big Pun, and even Jay-Z, who’s set to tour with 50 this summer.

On the news tip … in case you haven’t heard, Ol’ Dirty Bastard is out of the mental hospital and signed to Roc-a-Fella. He changed his name to Dirt McGirt, and has a new album and clothing line in the works. VH1 is also rumored to be developing a reality show around him. It’s about time

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