 |
|
|
Artist:
Eminem
Any lingering doubts as to the depth of Eminem's skills or his potential for raw yet compelling honesty are dispelled on The Eminem Show's first track. Armed with a quicksilver flow and a thundering rhythm track (the record was exec produced by longtime mentor and partner Dr. Dre), "White America" finds Eminem ferociously mauling the hand that feeds him, lambasting his critics, the industry, and the racism that, in many ways, helped make Marshall Mathers more than just another rapper. "Let's do the math," Em sneers, "If I was black I would have sold half/ I could be one of your kids/ Little Eric looks just like this." After the bombast of The Marshall Mathers LP and Eminem's well-noted use of sexual epithets, this kind of material is made more controversial because it actually rings true. From a brutal retort to his long-estranged and equally troubled mother ("Cleaning Out My Closets") to a surprisingly tender ode to his child ("Hailie's Song"), Eminem examines his life, loves, arrests, addictions, failures, and successes with surprising insight, making this a funk-drenched hip-hop confessional well worth the hype. --Amy Linden
List Price: $13.98 |
Our Price: $6.14 |
|
|
|
|
|
Artist:
DJ Nesty
List Price: $14.98 |
Our Price: $7.84 |
|
|
|
|
|
Artist:
Jill Scott
European pressing of the neo-soul singer/songwriter's 2004 album includes one bonus track 'Bedda at Home' (Acoustic). 17 tracks in total. Epic.
List Price: $13.98 |
Our Price: $4.49 |
|
|
|
|
|
Artist:
Fugees (Refugee Camp)
Their remake of "Killing Me Softly" was the hit, but that's only the beginning of the story. A hip-hop trio whose talents reach out into the world of the pop song (Wyclef Jean is a fine guitar player, and Lauryn Hill's a heck of a singer), the Fugees are also all distinctive, inventive rappers--you find yourself waiting for each of them to take the next verse in turn. The beats are the familiar crossed-armed boom-bip, but the group's understated grooves and subtle effects lie low in the mix. Aside from two kicky covers of classics (the other is Marley's "No Woman, No Cry"), The Score's focus is on the stars' rhyming with the free-form grace of performance poets and showing that they've thought deeply about the issues they raise. --Douglas Wolk
List Price: $11.98 |
Our Price: $3.98 |
|
|
|
|
|
Artist:
Original Soundtrack
List Price: $18.98 |
Our Price: $8.02 |
|
|
|
|
|
Soundtrack album for summer 2008 movie, Tropic Thunder. The mother of all summer comedies. This blockbuster stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr in a genius spoof Vietnam era war films (Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Etc). Featuring new exclusive re-recordings and remixes of classic and iconic 60s pop hits from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Buffalo Springfield, The Temptations and more.
List Price: $18.98 |
Our Price: $12.99 |
|
|
|
|
|
Artist:
T-Pain
Deluxe explicity two disc edition contains a bonus DVD. 2008 release from the Hip Hop artist, producer and songwriter. It's evident T-Pain has another hit on his hands with the album's first single, 'Can't Believe It,' featuring Lil Wayne which is a about "getting a girl to ride with you," says T-Pain. Other tracks on the album include 'Freeze', featuring Chris Brown, an up-tempo jam that is destined to be the dancefloor hit of the year, 'Chopped & Screwed', a lyrically clever urban anthem featuring Ludacris, 'Karaoke', a personal and controversial declaration to the industry featuring DJ Khaled and 'Therapy', a collaboration with Kanye West.
List Price: $19.98 |
Our Price: $11.60 |
|
|
|
|
|
Artist:
Nas
Nasir Jones made this debut album at the age of 20, already armed with the calm perceptiveness and been-there-done-that attitude of a much older ghetto vet, though sometimes his inner callow youth shows itself. Illmatic is a look back at a life spent in the culture of the projects, acknowledging joy as much as pain and taking note of violence as a fact of his environment rather than a focus of his life. It's enlivened by Nas's kicky, deep-threaded multiple rhymes--you can tell he grew up listening to Mr. Magic's rap show and internalizing the secrets of everybody's flow--and by tracks from a bunch of all-stars, including the Large Professor, DJ Premier, and, most memorably, Q-Tip ("One Love"). --Douglas Wolk
List Price: $11.98 |
Our Price: $5.54 |
|
|
|
|
|
Artist:
OutKast
At a time when experimentation is taboo in most overground rap, that’s all Outkast seem intent on executing. Firstly, this double CD has no cohesive link, other than the fact that it sounds like a pair of solo albums stitched together to demo exactly how Andre’s yin works to augment Big Boi’s yang. Andre 3000’s Love Below disc rates as the more eclectic of the two, given that he’s turned in his emcee credentials to become a full-on funk-soul-jazz vocalist who mostly sings about items of love ("Happy Valentine's Day"), carnal lust ("Spread"), and female adoration ("Prototype"). Minus the big band schmaltz of "Love Hater" and cheesy cover jobs ("My Favorite Things"), Andre’s disc is sick (meaning great). As is to be expected, the Big Boi disc is less arty, more gangsta and worldly, and features the less-progressive guest raps of ATL crunk purveyors Lil’ Jon and The Eastside Boyz ("Last Call") and Jay-Z who rhymes the hook on "Flip Flop Rock". Unlike Big Boi, Andre keeps his collabos to a minimum, once crooning alongside Norah Jones on the cool yet sappy "Take Off Your Cool", and once with Kelis. Boi fulfills his Dungeon Family duty with flying colors by flipping ...
List Price: $21.98 |
Our Price: $9.17 |
|
|
|
|
|
Artist:
Group 1 Crew
Dove Award winning artist Group 1 Crew's, new release, Ordinary Dreamers, showcases their signature style and sound in 14 catchy dance-like tracks.
List Price: $13.98 |
Our Price: $7.29 |
|
|
|
|
|
