Vinyl Me Please Rap & Hip Hop

it seems like we got confirmation of what hype magazine was only teasing this month

www.legacyrecordings.com

Sony Music Entertainment’s Certified To Release ‘Raised By Rap: 50 Years Of Hip Hop’ Compilation On July 28th

Continuing an extensive celebration of Hip Hop’s 50TH birthday in 2023, Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and Certified proudly present a brand new commemorative double-LP vinyl entitled Raised By Rap: 50 Years of Hip Hop in stores on July 28, 2023. It collates 25 of rap’s most definitive...
www.legacyrecordings.com www.legacyrecordings.com
Vinyl Me Please’s Hip Hop subscribers can look forward to historic albums being featured such as Q-Tip’s Kamaal The Abstract (July), RUN DMC Tougher Than Leather (October), Boogie Down Productions By All Means Necessary (January 2024), and Wu-Tang The W (April 2024).
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4080 said:
So they're double dipping on Run DMC, picking a very safe BDP album and the third, and a distant third, best Wu Tang album? Cool I guess?
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There's still some bangers on that Wu album, and unless there's a non VMP release between now and then I'm definitely picking it up. I mean, they're definitely not going to be doing Forever as a ROTM anytime ever.
 
bdrummond said:
There's still some bangers on that Wu album, and unless there's a non VMP release between now and then I'm definitely picking it up. I mean, they're definitely not going to be doing Forever as a ROTM anytime ever.
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I already have a copy of The W and rarely listen to it so I don't see a need to double up, same goes for the BDP and Run DMC. Unless they add something to make it worthwhile I guess.

I remember liking that Wu album at the time it was just always hard for them to live up to that run of their first album and those first solo albums!
 
4080 said:
I already have a copy of The W and rarely listen to it so I don't see a need to double up, same goes for the BDP and Run DMC. Unless they add something to make it worthwhile I guess.

I remember liking that Wu album at the time it was just always hard for them to live up to that run of their first album and those first solo albums!
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I have Forever, bought it sealed from a used store last year for about $80CAD. Never have seen W anywhere in recent memory so definitely going to take the opportunity to pick it up.

I will go through periods where "I Can't Go to Sleep" is on repeat.
 
DevonJD said:
Legacy recordings website spilled the beans on a few upcoming releases

Vinyl Me Please’s Hip Hop subscribers can look forward to historic albums being featured such as Q-Tip’s Kamaal The Abstract (July), RUN DMC Tougher Than Leather (October), Boogie Down Productions By All Means Necessary (January 2024), and Wu-Tang The W (April 2024).
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Definitely in for Run-DMC (the album that put me on to hip-hop when i was 6) and probably BDP. Already have an OG The W so will most likely skip it.

The W is underrated imo. So many bangers on it.
 
A buddy and I finally got around to A/B comparing Shades of Blue as I have the VMP (and an old 75th anniversary) and he got the BN Classics. Sorry @Mather, we didn't have the MOV to compare. Anyway, I'm no Michael Fremer, but here were my takeaways:

In terms of mastering, we thought they were both very good, but gave the edge to the VMP as it had a little more bass present and a warmer sound, while the KG Classics still sounded great, it was a little more clean if that makes sense. Both had good separation. Slight Edge: VMP

Pressing wise, both were infinitely better than the 75th Anniversary. Obviously there are noticeable ticks and pops that Madlib purposefully put on the record, but we didn't hear any that didn't sound like they weren't there on purpose on either of our copies. Like no end of side GZ crackle or noticeable non-fill. In a wild GZ is going to GZ though, my Disc 1 was noticeably heavier (163g) than the Disc 2 (145g), so GZ continues to confound, even when it doesn't effect the sound.

In terms of packaging, the VMP is a Widespine with some embossing of the title and a listening booklet, while the BN Classics is a Gatefold. Idk, I like the Gatefold better, but if you really like the booklet maybe that would sway you? Edge: BN Classics

Price wise, if it's just an add-on VMP is $36 USD (~48 CAD) vs. $51 CAD on Amazon, so that's a wash.

TL: DR - About the same. Shades of Blue is a great record, but I'm still not sure why we needed to have two reissues within a month of each other. If you're already a VMP member and can get it as an add-on, grab it. But if you're not, the BN Classics is also really good. And if you have the MOV and are happy with it, stay with that.
 
TCell said:
A buddy and I finally got around to A/B comparing Shades of Blue as I have the VMP (and an old 75th anniversary) and he got the BN Classics. Sorry @Mather, we didn't have the MOV to compare. Anyway, I'm no Michael Fremer, but here were my takeaways:

In terms of mastering, we thought they were both very good, but gave the edge to the VMP as it had a little more bass present and a warmer sound, while the KG Classics still sounded great, it was a little more clean if that makes sense. Both had good separation. Slight Edge: VMP

Pressing wise, both were infinitely better than the 75th Anniversary. Obviously there are noticeable ticks and pops that Madlib purposefully put on the record, but we didn't hear any that didn't sound like they weren't there on purpose on either of our copies. Like no end of side GZ crackle or noticeable non-fill. In a wild GZ is going to GZ though, my Disc 1 was noticeably heavier (163g) than the Disc 2 (145g), so GZ continues to confound, even when it doesn't effect the sound.

In terms of packaging, the VMP is a Widespine with some embossing of the title and a listening booklet, while the BN Classics is a Gatefold. Idk, I like the Gatefold better, but if you really like the booklet maybe that would sway you? Edge: BN Classics

Price wise, if it's just an add-on VMP is $36 USD (~48 CAD) vs. $51 CAD on Amazon, so that's a wash.

TL: DR - About the same. Shades of Blue is a great record, but I'm still not sure why we needed to have two reissues within a month of each other. If you're already a VMP member and can get it as an add-on, grab it. But if you're not, the BN Classics is also really good. And if you have the MOV and are happy with it, stay with that.
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I have the MOV (Blue swirl) and now the VMP because shut up, anyhow they're both very good. I think the MOV may have a slight bit more detail but the VMP hits a bit harder and has a warmer sound. It's pretty much a wash really. The packaging on the VMP is slightly better but they're both wide spine single pocket. Pressing quality is even. I have heard the OG has better detail than the MOV but the VMP is supposedly from the OG files (or whatever, almost certain this wasn't tape) and it doesn't sound any more detailed so I'm skeptical of those claims.
I'm not really surprised that the KPG is a little less bassy and cleaner, he likely mastered it as if it was a jazz album, rather than a beats album. Anyhow, sounds like they're all pretty great so you can't really go wrong.
 
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Looking at the write up for Breaking Atoms I'm offended...offended I say...that there's no mention of Toronto in there. Outrageous.
 
Mather said:
I've had every issue under the sun but I've never, not even once, had a locked groove. In my experience MOST of the time they're system/setup related.
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I DID manage to have one on Sigur Ros 'Agaetis Byrjun' (older pressing, not the VMP), tried on multiple turntables. Sucks because that one sounded far and away better than the recent repress I replaced it with. That's the only time.

I remember a few people complained about a locked groove on VMP's 'Demon Days', but I had zero issues with that one on both turntables.
 
bdrummond said:
I DID manage to have one on Sigur Ros 'Agaetis Byrjun' (older pressing, not the VMP), tried on multiple turntables. Sucks because that one sounded far and away better than the recent repress I replaced it with. That's the only time.

I remember a few people complained about a locked groove on VMP's 'Demon Days', but I had zero issues with that one on both turntables.
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Yeah I also didn't have any issues with that Demon Days. I mean it certainly happens, but every time I've seen people talk about locked grooves on VMP pressings, those same pressings have never been an issue for me, so I tend to doubt this will be a widespread issue.

And the fact that I have now said this means that it will 100% be a widespread issue.
 
The was a pretty persistent one with the run in on Sturgill - Metamodern. My copy has it and I just drop the needle a little farther in.

I also randomly had one on Eric B and Rakim that I got replaced. Think that was just a one off though.
 
So Atmosphere sounds mostly good: there's an underlying super-light crackle going on at some moments, but it's definitely better than a lot of GZ pressed records, and is barely noticeable like 98% of the time. I may need to give it a good clean to know if it's the pressing or just dirty.
 
tougher_than_leather_rotm_600x.jpg
 
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