The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel was not the first hip-hop hit but it was a landmark in the emergence of rap upon its release in 1981 – and the first hit to use scratching.

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Butcher Brown are a self-proclaimed “proud throwback to the progressive jazz-funk bands of the 1970s with a 21st century twist” – a phrase that would once have filled me with horror.

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Here’s a nice thing by two of the great names in hip hop – DJ Muggs and Kool Keith. It’s the title track from the soundtrack of a new sci-fi film called Divinity by regular David Lynch composer Dean Hurley.

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Here we are on the hottest day of the year and I’m reflecting on the hottest gigs I’ve ever attended. One of them, on a night like this, was by Nas at the 100 Club.

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The Corner is the standout track on Gold Panda’s latest album The Work – a smooth summer groove with a nice video shot in Berlin. Now it gets a new dimension in his remix featuring not one, not two but three rappers: Open Mike Eagle, Infinite Livez and McKinley Dixon.

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Here’s the mid-nineties classic by KRS-One that might well top the hip-hop hall of anti-cop fame were it not for a certain earlier song by NWA.

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I have not closely followed the career of foodie rapper Loyle Carner but I’ve got time for anyone who makes his stage name a spoonerism of his real name (Benjamin Coyle-Larner).

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Danger Mouse and Black Thought collaborate on the album Cheat Codes. This is one of its many standout tracks, featuring Michael Kiwanuka. (more…)

Antony Szmierek comes from Manchester: he’s a rapper with a relaxed, conversational delivery and an emotional flow. Unlike a lot of spoken word music – and there’s loads around now – this one makes me want to listen again and again.

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I was wondering what would be the perfect song to play on the hottest day we’ve ever had when I remembered this… a song that immediately conjures up a sweltering summer’s day in New York. (more…)