music

When Curren$y, Smoke Dza and Harry Fraud got together at a Times Square recording studio one night in the summer of 2013, they didn't know that they would be recording The Stage EP in one session. e trio immediately knew they had something special and enlisted the services of French Montana and Big K.R.I.T. to round out their masterpiece.

Faze Action return with Zeke Manyika to present “Kubatana”, which aptly means “Together” in Zeke’s native Shona.

In 1977, the government of Nigeria had enough of Fela Kuti and decided to take evasive action on his walled-in residence that he called the Kalakuta Republic (Fela declared it a separate state). Over a thousand soldiers descended on the compound and savagely beat the residents. Fela himself escaped death (but not incarceration), but his activist mother was thrown through a window and broke her hip -- causing an injury that would take her life within that month. This prompted Fela to begin recording reactions to this event: Unkown Soldier, Sorrow, Tears, and Blood, and Coffin for Head of State were those reactions.

“Gentleman” can be interpreted literally or as metaphor concerning a wider issue. In this case, Fela’s topic is the colonialism-induced inferiority complex which led many in Africa’s new governing elites to reject African style, concepts of beauty and modes of behaviour in favour of European imports.

Knitting Factory Records is proud to reissue Fela Kuti's No Agreement on vinyl, previously only available as part of the Box Set series. No Agreement is sometimes overlooked among Fela’s 1977 releases, eclipsed by albums such as J.J.D. Johnny Just Drop and Sorrow Tears and Blood, yet it is among his best albums of the period.

One of the finest Fela LP's featuring 'Sandra' on vocals - ‘Upside Down’ – this LP and ‘Zombie’, both released in 1976, were made at the midpoint of an extraordinary three-year purple period during which Fela recorded 24 albums of new material. ‘Upside Down’ was written by Fela to portray a worldly travelled African who searches the dictionary and finds the definition of upside down – a perfect description of the African situation. The LP feature the original releases’ iconic artwork and include digital download card and liner notes. This is the first time these titles have been released individually on vinyl.

Flughand and and Smuv, 37 and 27 year old producers from Germany, collaborate on their debut EP "Fluo". They are both giants in the streaming game and known for their laid back, dreamy, lofi hip hop beats.

Bandana is the second collaborative studio album by American rapper Freddie Gibbs and record producer Madlib. It was released on June 28, 2019, by ESGN, Keep Cool Records, Madlib Invazion, and RCA Records. Entirely produced by Madlib, it is the follow up to their critically acclaimed 2014 album Piñata, and their sixth project as MadGibbs overall. The album features guest appearances from Pusha T, Killer Mike, Anderson Paak, Yasiin Bey, and Black Thought.

Madlib, the prolific producer and adept sampler with a record collection spanning all genres and eras and Freddie Gibbs, the gravel-voiced braggadocios rapper, a vocal athlete. As a pair, they exude a natural chemistry and craft an alchemical music.

To mark the tenth anniversary of the release of I'm New Here , the thirteenth - and last - studio album from the legendary US musician, poet and author Gil Scott-Heron, XL Recordings will release a unique reinterpretation of the album by acclaimed US jazz musician Makaya McCraven.