Today is 2019 Record Store Day (RSD), the twelfth annual music holiday celebrating independent record stores all over including the three Amoeba locations (Berkeley, SF, LA) with all genres represented including, of course, hip-hop; a genre proudly born out of vinyl manipulation and sampling of records. This Amoeblog focuses on the best hip-hop vinyl picks for RSD 2019 including a top ten chart of this year’s exclusive RSD releases available at Amoeba. Note that while all are available on a first come, first served in-store purchase today, that many leftover titles will be available for sale online tomorrow (Sunday April 14th) from 5am local Pacific time. The Top 10 chart includes links to each of these but not that there is no guarantee that all of them will still be available tomorrow morning. Also note that all RSD sales, whether today instore or tomorrow online, are limited to one copy per title per customer.

While traditionally many RSD releases are reissues of long out of print on vinyl titles, special colored vinyl LP & 12" reissues, plus first time 7" pressings of previously released tracks there are also many brand new releases unveiled on Record Store Day or else released the day before (April 12) with an alternate version for RSD. This year these include such titles as the tight Vinnie  Paz  x Tragedy Khadafi Camouflage Regime LP via Jedi Mind Tricks and the Enemy Soil label plus the collaborative album from rapper Diabolic and producer Vanderslice and their anticipated album Collusion. Pictured right this is a must-get for any fan of roots hip-hop; IE golden era and nineties hip-hop layered with clever lyricism and soulful head-nodding production. Released via the always dependable hip-hop label Coalmine the vinyl for this new album comes in two different colors including two ‘pot luck’ color variants; Diabolic’s “Deviled Egg (white/orange color-in-color) and Vanderslice’s Hawaiian Shirt (white w/ blue and yellow splatter) with artwork designed by FRKO (Action Bronson), equipped with a dual-sided insert, as detailed by the RSD curators

So beloved was Nipsey Hussle, who was shot and killed outside his Los Angeles clothing store on March 31st, that tickets for this morning’s “Celebration Of Life” honoring the slain 33 year old artist and activist born Ermias Asghedom at LA’s Staples Center reportedly got snapped up within 20 minutes of being made available online on Tuesday. Luckily for those unable to get tickets for the 21,000 capacity venue’s event as well as those outside the area the event, that will run from 10am until noon local Pacific time, will be live streamed and broadcast via BET with such local LA TV stations as Fox 11, NBC 4, ABC 7 and KTLA all planning on streaming the ceremony live with KTLA streaming the ceremony on its website as well as on Facebook. Immediately following the memorial there will reportedly be a 25 mile procession.

#1  People Under The Stairs  Sincerely, The P (avail on CD, cassette, and 2LP pre-order) (Piecelock 70)

While most hip-hop acts 20 years into their career might have have lost their edge and/or passion for an art form that won them over back in their youth, People Under The Stairs have remained consistently fresh and relevant with each anticipated release by the SoCal act. Further it seemed like PUTS would be recording and performing forever.  Hence when consistently independent duo, comprised of Thes One and Double K, announced that their new 2019 release Sincerely, The P would be their final/farewell album their dedicated fanbase were understandably sad. On a positive note however the new 56 minute album is one of their strongest full-lengths in an illustrious twelve album career spanning two decades. Released physically this past Friday via  Piecelock 70 on both CD and cassette, with colored double vinyl to follow next month (2LP pre-order one per customer) Sincerely, The P continues the pure underground hip-hop vibe that PUTS fans have grown to love since the hip-hop pair first arrived on the LA scene back in the late nineties.

#1 Miles Davis The Best of Miles Davis  3LP red vinyl that (Not Now Music)

#2  Miles Davis Ascenseur pour l'échafaud [OST] [Deluxe Edition] (3LP 10" vinyl set) (Verve)

#3 Miles Davis Kind Of Blue blue-colored vinyl/LP  (Sony)

#4 Miles Davis Miles Davis Greatest Hits LP/vinyl  (Sony)

#5 Miles Davis The Original Quintet (First Recording) vinyl/LP (Doxy)

#6 Miles Davis & John Coltrane The Final Tour: Copenhagen, March 24, 1960 vinyl/LP  (Sony Legacy)

#7 Miles Davis & Jimmy Forrest Live At The Barrel LP/vinyl (Down At Dawn)

Recently hospitalized legendary experimental musician, multi-media artist and occultist Genesis Breyer P-Orridge reached out to friends and fans for help this week in what is reportedly a life-or-death scenario for the industrial music pioneer who first came to wide acclaim as the founding member of Throbbing Gristle. Via an Instagram post by the aritst followed by a more detailed mass email sent via e-flux by friend and associate Jason Louv it was noted, following a year long battle with leukemia, that over this past weekend Genesis had been rushed into a NYC area hospital. “She was unable to breathe without oxygen” after her lungs became “blocked with fluid, which her doctors had previously attempted to remove with a suction needle,” wrote Louv in the plea for help to fans and friends of Genesis P-Orridge whose most recent arrival at Amoeba was last November's reissue of the 1999 critically acclaimed collaborative album A Perfect Pain (also on vinyl LP) with Merzbow.