1)   Blu No York! (New World Colour/Greenstreets)

This long lost experimental album from Blu finally gets an official
release.  The album No York! was originally supposed to be released by Warner Bros Records, but a change of staff got it lost in the woodwork and the project was eventually shelved.  The album has been floating around as a bootleg for some time now, but this is an official fully mastered version of it that’s sure to satisfy Blu fans worldwide. Features production from Exile, Flying Lotus, Samiyam, Daedelus, Dibia$e and more.  Get it!




2)        Eric Lau Makin’ Sound (Octave)

Album Picks:

 

Wavves - Afraid Of Heights

CD $13.98

LP $22.98

Wavves’ latest album album mostly ditches the “King of the Beach” surf-punk notions of previous releases for a big, warm, alt-rock embrace that does wonders to highlight the quality of Nathan Williams’ songwriting. “Sail to the Sun” starts out with sparkling synths and moves into a thumping, surging rocker. “Demon to Lean On” is built for rock radio, with a catchy, two-note riff leading into its soaring chorus. It’s reminiscent of mid-’90s radio gems from the likes of Weezer and their brethren, but it’s also smartly built, with watery guitars and castanets seeping beneath the surface of its Pixies-inspired, quiet-to-loud dynamics and Nathan Williams’ paranoid lyrics. After starting out boldly, the album takes dark turns that should please fans of Wavves previous work, including the lo-fi attack of “Mystic,” which buries Williams under stacks of distorted sound before engaging with a singular synth riff. But he always brings it back to some of his hookiest songs yet, like the soaring title track, which makes use of backup vocals by Jenny Lewis and delivers another instantly recognizable, could-be radio hit from 1996. If only all pop-punk, surf-alt or what have you was this catchy, smartly written and unafraid of hooks! Afraid of Heights succeeds as Williams’ clearest bid yet for crossover success, yet it doesn’t sacrifice his essential slackery appeal. File it next to your Dookie, Blue Album and Doolittle records and embrace the fuzzy pop of Afraid of Heights.

1) J. Cole Cole World: The Sideline Story (Roc Nation)

2) Evidence Cats & Dogs (Rhymesayers Ent.)

3) 9th Wonder The Wonder Years (It's A Wonderful World Music Group)

4) Madlib No.12-Raw Medicine-Madlib Remixes (Stones Throw)

5) Blu Open (Nature Sounds)

Thanks for this week's Amoeba Hollywood hip-hop chart go to hip-hop recording artist & recent dad Ray Ricky Rivera (aka RRR) who really looks quite well rested (as you can see in above video) despite his sleep patterns been drastically altered of late -ever since he and his wife Lily had their young son Diego born a little over two months ago. Again congrats man! As RRR mentions the number one album at Amoeba, which is also the number one top selling album (of all genres) in the country this week, is the brand new J. Cole album Cole World: The Sideline Story on Roc Nation. In close second is supertalented LA hip-hop artist Evidence who came to fame as part of Dilated Peoples and is now down with the revered Rhymesayers crew with whom he was touring recently and who just released his recommended new album Cats And Dogs which also comes in a vinyl format. Another LA hip-hop treasure, Madlib, is among the other entrants in this week's Top Five (with Medicine Show #12) which is rounded out by releases from both 9th Wonder (The Wonder Years) and Blu (Open).

1) Madlib No.12-Raw Medicine-Madlib Remixes (Stones Throw)

2) J. Cole Cole World: The Sideline Story (Roc Nation)

3) Das Racist Relax (Greedhead Music)

4) Evidence Cats & Dogs (Rhymesayers)

5) Blu Open (Nature Sounds)

6) Lil Wayne  The Carter IV (Cash Money/Universal)

Thanks to Luis at the Amoeba Music San Francisco store for the latest Top 5 Hip-Hop chart which features tons of nice brand new stuff including the latest from Madlib No.12-Raw Medicine-Madlib Remixes. Below is an audio snippet from the Stones Throw release featuring both Doom and Dilla. Also below is an album snippet sampler of J-Cole's new Cole World album plus an audio track from the unstoppable Blu's latest release Open; the track "Part Time Suckers" with Chop and Fresh Daily. Also featured below are videos from Das Racist's Relax and also from another new Amoeba chart entrant Evidence - the DJ Premier produced track "You" off his recommended new Rhymesayers release Cats & Dogs.


New album from J.Cole on Roc Nation featuring snippets of all tracks including: 1) Intro 2) Dollar and a Dream III 3) Can't Get Enough ft. Trey Songz 4) Lights Please 5) Interlude 6) Sideline Story 7) Mr. Nice Watch ft. Jay-Z 8) Cold World 9) In The Morning ft. Drake 10) Lost Ones 11) Nobody's Perfect ft. Missy Elliott 12) Never Told 13) Rise and Shine 14) God's Gift 15) Breakdown 16) Work Out

1) Tyler the Creator Goblin (XL Recordings)

2) Beastie Boys Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (Capitol)

3) Bambu …Exact Change…Reloaded (Beatrock Music)

4) Blu Her Favorite Colo(u)r (Nature Sounds)

5) Del Tha Funky Homosapien Golden Era CD (Council)

Thanks to Luis at Amoeba San Francisco for this week's top five, which finds in the number one position the ever outspoken, no holds barred 20 year old Tyler The Creator of LA's much hyped collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (aka OFWFKTA) with the major label follow up to his attention grabbing debut two years ago. As this website so accurately writes of this new release: "He goes all in for riveting rap polemics—misogyny, tomfoolery, psychiatric ranting, and general anti-PC entropy—but his one constant is simply thought provocation. The spitter of alt hip-hop act OFWGKTA dropped his basement recording Bastard in late 2009 like lyrical shrapnel, a shrink chair diatribe that endeared itself to lovers of cerebral rap. That one went boom. His major label debut Goblin magnifies in intensity and raw verbiage, and if you don’t believe it, check out the video of the single "Yonkers" and prepare to have your cage rattled." The video for "Yonkers" -- currently at almost 10 million YouTube views is immediately below.