1) Blu & Exile Below The Heavens Re-Issue (Sound In Color)

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

3) Tyler the Creator Goblin (XL Recordings)

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

5) Neek The Exotic Still On The Hustle (Fatbeats)

Two of the top five on this week's hip-hop chart are from LA emcee / producer Blu and both new chart entries are actually reissues from the artist, who is now signed to Warner Brothers and busy working on his major label debut, due out later this year. The 30 minute remastered Her Favorite Colo(u)r, care of Brooklyn's Nature Sounds, was formerly a free mixtape, and is now being released officially for the first time. The other is a reissue of the long out of print acclaimed collaboration of Blu with Exile, Below The Heavens. This 2007 release was the artist's first full length album and was widely acclaimed by many as one of the best hip-hop albums not just of its year but of the decade. In fact, so in demand was the album that since it went out-of-print, much sought after copies sold on eBay for $100 to $200 a pop. Obviously, the new reissue is considerably cheaper, but be forewarned, it is a limited edition pressing, so get yours now before it's too late.  

The following Top 30 Hip-Hop Singles chart from February/March 1993, which was originally compiled and published by long defunct East Coast hip-hop zine One Nut Network, was put together based on rap singles' airplay on both college hip-hop radio shows and commercial radio mix shows at the time. The time was early 1993, considered by most as the tail end of hip-hop's much celebrated and oft lamented so-called "golden age" or "golden era," when, it seemed, every new hip-hop release was a noteworthy (and worth owning) release. And while that belief may not be 100% correct, it is, as the following chart indicates, pretty darn close to the truth.

By just eye-balling the 30 singles on the Feb/March 1993 chart below, many of which, including Black Moon, Dr Dre, Young Black Teenagers, and Ice Cube, got released towards the end of 1992 but still had airplay into the first quarter of 1993, you can tell a lot about the status of hip-hop at the time and where it stood in its historical development. For example, many of the acts most associated with the aforementioned "golden age" of hip-hop were represented here, including Kool G Rap ("Ill Street Blues"), Gang Starr ["Gotta Get Over (Taking Loot)"], Brand Nubian ("Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down"), Diamond D ("Sally Got A One Track Mind"), Naughty By Nature ("Hip Hop Hooray"), and Lords of the Underground ("Funky Child") -- each of which happened to be East Coast (NY or NJ) acts.