Sometimes a single is released that reaches such dizzying heights of success that it becomes a pinnacle of the decade they're indelibly tied to. "Groove Is In The Heart" by dance-house trio Deee-Lite is one such single. The infectiously quirky, and eminently danceable track is prominently based around samples of "Bring Down The Birds" by Herbie Hancock, and "Get Up" by Vernon Burch, among many others, (Courtesy of dual producers DJs Dmitry and Towa Tei) paired with top-tier guest contributions from JB's veterans Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley, background vocals from Parliament-Funkadelic's own Bootsy Collins, and even a guest rap from Q-Tip, not to mention frontwoman Lady Miss Kier's own siren-like vocals. All disparate and disconnected elements, but ones that would come together to form dancehall greatness, and chart-topping success worldwide for Deee-Lite. "Groove Is In The Heart" managed to reach #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but excelled at its best on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, where it reached to the #1 spot. On top of its success in America it was a smash internationally, climbing the heights of the charts in the UK, Canada, Australia, and a vareity of other countries. It remained in heavy rotation for much of 1990 on MTV as well.

As the decades went on, "Groove Is In The Heart" would be ranked among the greatest dance tracks of all time, as well as one of the greatest songs of the 1990s by VH1, Pitchfork, Buzzfeed, and many more. "Groove Is In The Heart" was a potent single for Deee-Lite to lead with, but the album bearing it was nothing to slouch at either. The group's debut record, 1990's World Clique was released to major commercial and critical success, owing just as much to its addictive hybrid of seductive retro aesthetics, modern dancefloor flair, and esoteric, socially conscious messaging, on the back of celebratory club staples like "Power Of Love", "Good Beat", "E.S.P.", and of course "Groove Is In The Heart." World Clique would reach top 20 charts in the US, UK, and Canada in sales, as well as earn rave reviews from NME, Chicago Sun-Times, Rolling Stone, and Slant Magazine, who called it an "essential pop album."

TRACK LISTING

A1. Good Beat
A2. Power Of Love
A3. Try Me On…I’m Very You
A4. Smile On A5. What Is Love?

B1. World Clique
B2. E.S.P.
B3. Groove Is In The Heart
B4. Who Was That?
B5. Deep Ending

In 1994, hip-hop was going through an at-times painful growth spurt. Since NWA’s and Ice-T’s ascent in the late 80s, the rap game was no longer owned by the East Coast. After the worldwide popularity of Dr. Dre’s ‘The Chronic’ in 1992, things were looking even worse for hip-hop’s hometown. The East Coast / West Coast feud that would later indirectly claim the lives of Biggie and 2Pac was still in its infancy, but New York needed a shot in the arm. The hype behind young Queensbridge native Nasir “Nas” Jones had been in full swing months before his smash debut album ‘Illmatic’, thanks to Columbia Records’ promo machine. From his earliest appearance on Main Source’s ‘Live At The BBQ’, to his own accomplished debut ‘Half Time’ (as Nasty Nas, in late 1992), it was clear that this kid was something special. In fact, the pressure on him must have been overwhelming at times. April 19, 1994 couldn’t have come soon enough. And as soon as the first lines of ‘NY State Of Mind’ kick in, bolstered by perhaps DJ Premier’s darkest beat of all time, the entire East Coast breathed a collective sigh of relief. God’s Son had arrived. Backed by an absolute all-star cast of New York’s top-shelf producers - Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor, Q-Tip and a youngster named LES - the album never lets up. Serious to a fault, and lyrically dense to an extent that has possibly never been matched, the 20-year old Nas stood on the shoulders of his predecessors and proudly proclaimed, “Don’t f*** with the East… we are BACK”. ‘Illmatic’ was actually a slow-burn, which might surprise fans that have come to its genius more recently. Despite an unheard-of “5 Mics” rating in The Source – breaking an unwritten rule of never awarding classic status to debuts - it didn’t go gold until early 1996, and didn’t hit platinum status until late 2001. But when you dive deeper that shouldn’t be a shock: like Black Moon and Wu-Tang’s debuts, it was a dark, hard record, made for heads in New York, not teeny-boppers in Des Moines. There were no dance beats, no crossover love songs. Just boom-bap and rhymes, skills and heart.

STAFF COMMENTS

David says: This album pretty much single handedly reignited the flame of East Coast hip hop. Produced by DJ Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock AND Q Tip!! It's an authentic, masterpiece of minimal beats and street poetry that is universally recognised as one of the greatest rap albums of all time.

TRACK LISTING

40 Side North:
The Genesis
NY State Of Mind
Life's A Bitch
The World Is Yours
Halftime

41st Side South
Memory Lane (Sitt'in In Da Park)
One Love
One Time 4 Your Mind
Represent
It Ain't Hard To Tell

The 5th studio album by the Infamous duo of Prodigy and Havoc was originally released 20 years ago on December 11, 2001. The album features Mobb Deep Queensbidge affiliates Infamous Mobb and Big Noyd and was certified Gold. To commemorate the 20 Year Anniversary Get On Down is proud to present this reissue for Mobb Deep fans worldwide. RIP Prodigy.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Pray For Me Feat Lil Mo
A2 Get Away
A3 Bounce
A4 Clap
B1 Kill That Nigga (Kill That)
B2 My Gats Spitting
B3 Handcuffs
B4 Hey Luv (Anything)
C1 The Learning (Burn)
C2 Live Foul
C3 Hurt Niggas (Hurt)
C4 Get At Me
D1 I Won't Fall
D2 Crawlin'
D3 Nothing Like Home
D4 There I Go Again

Well before Shuggie Otis cut his debut album, musicianship and performance had long been a part of his life. The son of rhythm and blues legend Johnny Otis, Shuggie learned to play guitar as early as the age of two, and performed professionally with his father's band at eleven. Throughout his long and illustrious career he'd performed on records for the likes of Frank Zappa, Al Kooper, Etta James, and George Duke, to name a few. In spite of all this,widespread mainstream success eluded Shuggie for much of his career.

His most famous release to date is his 1974 album Inspiration/Information, which would experience new resurgent life in the 2000s. Those willing to dig a little deeper however, would discover hidden gold in his earlier releases, especially in the album directly before Inspiration/Information, his sophomore 1971 release Freedom Flight. As with his debut, Freedom Flight was produced by Shuggie's father Johnny Otis, and built upon the distinct sounds of his debut album: lush, baroque, string section arrangements, paired with hard funk rhythms, and funky blues melodies, with the majority of the instruments once again performed by Shuggie himself. The album also features backing from premium session greats like George Duke and Aynsley Dunbar, and the track "Strawberry Letter 23" which became a monster hit for The Brothers Johnson 3 years later. Freedom Flight is a treasure of deft, technical skill, and virtuosic composition.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Ice Cold Daydream
A2. Strawberry Letter 23
A3. Sweet Thang
A4. Me And My Woman
A5. Someone's Always Singing
B1. Purple
B2. Freedom Flight

Ghostface Killah released his debut solo album 25 years ago on October 29, 1996. Produced by fellow Wu-Tang Clan member RZA, Ironman found inspiration in sources ranging from blaxploitation films to classic soul and charted a whole new direction for hip-hop in the process. The album features classic bangers like Daytona 500 featuring Raekwon and Cappadonna to soulful emotionally moving cuts like All That I Got Is You with Mary J Blige

TRACK LISTING

A1. Iron Maiden
A2. Wildflower
A3. The Faster Blade
A4. 260

B1. Assassination Day
B2. Poisonous Darts
B3. Winter Warz
B4. Box In Hand

C1. Fish
C2. Camay
C3. Daytona 500
C4. Motherless Child

D1. Black Jesus
D2. After The Smoke Is Clear
D3. All That I Got Is You
D4. The Soul Controller. 

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2022 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

For 2003's "Vaudeville Villain" MF DOOM took on yet another pseudonym. Where MF DOOM drew from Doctor Doom, Viktor Vaughn drew from the Doctor's government name, Victor von Doom. The influence of superheros and supervillians however goes much deeper than the nom de plume, the silver age sci-fi vibe is present, musically, throughout Vaudeville Villain. Long out of print on vinyl, Get On Down presents this landmark of MF DOOM's career as a double gatefold LP for RSD 2022.

In the late 90s, Wu-Tang Clan superstar RZA developed a new persona. Based on his birth name and the fact that he was branching out into more digital production, Bobby Diggs became Bobby Digital. As RZA himself put it, “My birth name is Bobby Diggs. So at the time, creatively, I felt like I was in a digital frame…As Bobby Digital, I could use a character to describe some of the earlier days of my own life. Partying, bullshitting, going crazy, chasing women, taking drugs. It was a mixture of fiction and reality together to make a character I thought would be entertaining. RZA released “Bobby Digital In Stereo” in 1998 and it was certified Gold in a matter of months. Its follow-up “Digital Bullet” dropped in August of 2001 continuing the conceptual story arch from “…In Stereo” but with Bobby Digital growing more enlightened and becoming disillusioned with the hedonism that previously served as his fuel. Audiences reacted by driving the release up to number 24 on the Top 200 and a Top 10 position on the R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart

TRACK LISTING

Tracks:

A Side

1. Show U Love
2. Can't Loose (feat. Beretta 9)
3. Glocko Pop (feat Wu-Tang Clan)
4. Must Be Bobby
5. Brooklyn Babies (feat. Masta Killa).

B Side

1. Domestic Violence Pt.2 (feat. Big.Gipp)
2. Do U (feat. GZA & Prodigal Sunn)
3. Fools (feat. Killa Sin)
4. La Rhumba (feat. Beretta 9, Killa Sin & Method Man)
5. Black Widow Pt.2 (feat. Ol' Dirty Bastard).

C Side

1. Shady (feat. Intrigue)
2. Break Bread (feat. Jamie Sommers)
3. Bong Bong (feat. Beretta 9 & Madam Scheez)
4. Throw Your Flag Up (feat. Black Knights).

D Side

1. Be A Man
2. Righteous Way (feat. Junior Reid)
3. Build Strong (feat. Tekitha)
4. Sickness 

AVAILABLE ONLINE ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 27TH FROM 8AM.

LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

"RZA’s “Digital Bullet” Available On LP For The First Time Since The Mid-2000s In A Colored Vinyl Pressing Exclusive To RSD Black Friday. 5000 pressed worldwide. First released in 2001 on CD and LP. Vinyl out of print since mid-2000s.

In the late 90s, Wu-Tang Clan superstar RZA developed a new persona. Based on his birth name and the fact that he was branching out into more digital production, Bobby Diggs became Bobby Digital. As RZA himself put it, “My birth name is Bobby Diggs. So at the time, creatively, I felt like I was in a digital frame…As Bobby Digital, I could use a character to describe some of the earlier days of my own life. Partying, bullshitting, going crazy, chasing women, taking drugs. It was a mixture of fiction and reality together to make a character I thought would be entertaining. RZA released “Bobby Digital In Stereo” in 1998 and it was certified Gold in a matter of months. Its follow-up “Digital Bullet” dropped in August of 2001 continuing the conceptual story arch from “…In Stereo” but with Bobby Digital growing more enlightened and becoming disillusioned with the hedonism that previously served as his fuel. Audiences reacted by driving the release up to number 24 on the Top 200 and a Top 10 position on the R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. 

TRACK LISTING

Show U Love
Can't Loose (feat. Beretta 9)
Glocko Pop (feat Wu-tang Clan)
Must Be Bobby
Brooklyn Babies (feat. Masta Killa)
Domestic Violence Pt.2 (feat. Big.gipp)
Do U (feat. Gza & Prodigal Sunn)
Fools (feat. Killa Sin)
La Rhumba (feat. Beretta 9, Killa Sin & Method Man)
Black Widow Pt.2 (feat. Ol' Dirty Bastard)
Shady (feat. Intrigue)
Break Bread (feat. Jamie Sommers)
Bong Bong (feat. Beretta 9 & Madam Scheez)
Throw Your Flag Up (feat. Black Knights)
Be A Man
Righteous Way (feat. Junior Reid)
Build Strong (feat. Tekitha)
Sickness

It's safe to say that hip-hop has never seen an album like Ol’ Dirty Bastard's 1995 solo debut 'Return to the 36 Chambers'. The brief glimpses of ODB's unhinged genius provided by Wu-Tang Clan's landmark Enter the Wu-Tang album two years earlier were begging to be expanded on to a larger canvas, and, with RZA guiding production, the album promised to give Dirty the creative license to make one of the most bizarre, entertaining and original LPs in hip-hop history. With his raspy, drunken flow and dark sense of humor, Dirty fearlessly attacks from all angles, throwing himself fearlessly into punchy rhyme attacks (“Damage,” with GZA), drugged-out party jams (the monster singles “Brooklyn Zoo” and “Shimmy Shimmy Ya”) and bizarre, grimly hilarious fantasies of sex and violence (“Don't U Know” and the R&B-tinged “Sweet Sugar Pie”). Backed by RZA's appropriately gritty, dissonant beats and appearances from the Clan, Return became an instant hit, selling over 1 million copies and earning a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album in 1996. The album stands as a high water mark in the Wu-Tang Clan's collective creative output and was selected as one of the Best 100 Rap Albums by The Source magazine in 1998.

TRACK LISTING

1. Intro
2. Shimmy Shimmy Ya
3. Baby C'mon
4. Brooklyn Zoo
5. Hippa To Da Hoppa
6. Raw Hide
7. Damage
8. Don't U Know
9. The Stomp
10. Goin' Down
11. Drunk Game (Sweet Sugar Pie)
12. Snakes
13. Brooklyn Zoo II (Tiger Crane)
14. Proteck Ya Neck II The Zoo
15. Cuttin' Headz

The second of two electric-blues albums released on Chess Records and Cadet Concept imprint in the late 60s, Muddy Waters' After the Rain has achieved cult-like status amongst blues fans in the years since his death in 1983. After taking a backlash from critics with first attempt at adopting psychedelic influences on Electric Mud, Muddy made adjustments for the follow-up, despite keeping a majority of the same session players. This time, he toned down the psychedelic elements and put them in balance with his classic Chicago blues sound, and the results yield some vintage tracks that glow with fuzzy guitars and bass: “I Am the Blues,” “Ramblin' Mind,” “Bottom of the Sea,” and “Blues Trouble.” After being out of print for years, Get On Down is proud to present this rare classic from Muddy Waters pulled from the original masters.

TRACK LISTING

A1. I Am The Blues
A2. Ramblin’ Mind
A3. Rollin’ And Tumblin’
A4. Bottom Of The Sea

B1. Honey Bee
B2. Blues And Trouble
B3. Hurtin’ Soul
B4. Screamin’ And Cryin’.

Get On Down is all too eager to reissue this unique record for Record Store Day Black Friday, which has not been repressed on vinyl in over 40 years. In keeping with the album's hallucinogenic sound, it is presented on trippy splatter colored vinyl, and housed in a deluxe gatefold jacket

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2019 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

First issued in 1976. Available on CD and digital but vinyl has been out of print since the mid-80s. 2000 only worldwide. By the 1970s Reggae had spread from Jamaica and become an international phenomena. Enter Dillinger, who rose up with the El Paso Sound System as part of the second generation of Jamaican toasters. His name came from American gangster John Dillinger at the suggestion of none other than Lee Perry (who produced his first album). A deal with Island Records followed, with sessions happening at Channel One Studios with Joseph ""Jo Jo"" Hoo Kim producing. Recording at Channel One in mid-70s meant Dillinger and Jo Jo were tapping into an immense talent pool in the form of The Revolutionaries, the studio’s in-house band. CB 200 features contributions from Earl “Chinna” Smith, Aston “Family Man” Barrett, Ansel Collins, Sly Dunbar, and Tommy McCook among others. The release also brought forth the career defining cut “Cokane In My Brain”, a hit record on an international basis. Despite the success of CB 200 and “Cokane In My Brain” the release has remained out of print in all formats since the mid-1980s. Get On Down is about to change that, with their Record Store Day 2019 reissue of this too often overlooked Reggae masterpiece. Tracks : 1. CB 200 2. No Chuck It 3. Cokane In My Brain 4. The General 5. Power Bank 6. Plantation Heights 7. Race Day 8. Natty Kick Like Lightning 9. Buckingham Palace 10. Crankface

Dan The Automator’s and Kool Keith’s famed collaboration from the mid-‘90s is celebrated with a 28-track set housed in a custom, octagonal box, with 5 unreleased songs (originals + remixes); original Pushead cover artwork; and 40 page liner notes booklet. By the mid-1990s, the rap game had been through a lot in its two decades of existence: Early-days scraping to get by and be heard; The advent of sampling; The rise of groups ranging from Run-DMC to the Wu-Tang Clan and the sprawl of Dr. Dre’s shadow from the West across the globe; and solo juggernauts ranging from MC Hammer to the Notorious B.I.G. Thankfully, though, with everything that the genre had been through, there was still a lot of room to grow. And in early 1996, a new indie duo appeared that won over a whole new international audience, from hard rocks to skate punks. That pair was Dr. Octagon: Dan “The Automator” Nakamura and Kool Keith [Thornton]. In some ways, the Dr. Octagon album is a solo release.

But Keith wasn’t the only hand on deck. He brought along a young, New York-based MC with him: Sir Menelik. Menelik was featured on four album tracks, starting with “Dr. Octagon,” and proved to be an excellent super-scientifical, fast-rhyming foil to Keith. And there was one final featured contributor who helped add to the album’s next-level sound: San Francisco’s DJ Q*Bert, who cuts on half of the album’s songs. The album originally came out on The Automator’s Bulk Recordings label in early 1996, with cover art by metal and punk cult hero visual artist Pushead. Pressing numbers weren’t huge, but as the year went on, the buzz grew, and a slightly expanded version of the album was released on James Lavelle’s London-based Mo Wax label.

Then Dan took an offer from newly-formed major label DreamWorks, to re-release the album with extra tracks in mid-1997. The new domestic pressing allowed for a bigger press push, as well as the group’s first and only video, for “Blue Flowers.” Beyond “Blue Flowers,” the album is chock-full of mind-bending tracks, like “Earth People”; the wacked-out but sincere love ballad “Girl Let Me Touch You”; the metal-tinged “I’m Destructive”; Q-Bert’s turntable workout “Bear Witness”; and, of course, freaky Keith skits like “Elective Surgery” and “General Hospital”. Dr. Octagonecologyst is one of the most unique rap records the genre has ever seen, and this is the perfect way to celebrate it – whether it’s the first time you have heard this mind-expanding record, or the three thousandth. 

TRACK LISTING

A1. Intro 
A2. 3000 
A3. I Got To Tell You
A4. Earth People 
A5. No Awareness
B1. Real Raw 
B2. General Hospital
B3. Blue Flowers 
B4. Technical Difficulties
B5. Visit To The Gynecologyst
C1. Bear Witness 
C2. Dr. Octagon
C3. Girl Let Me Touch You 
C4. I'm Destructive
C5. Wild And Crazy
D1. Elective Surgery 
D2. Halfsharkhalfalligatorhalfman
D3. Blue Flowers (Revisited)
D4. Waiting List (DJ Shadow Remix) 
D5. 1977
E1. Blue Flowers (Prince Paul's So Beautiful Remix)
E2. 3000 (Automator 1 & 2 Remix)
E3. Bear Witness (2 Turntables And A Razorblade Edit)
F1. Astro Embalming Fluid 
F2. Redeye F3. I'll Be There For You
F4. Wild And Crazy (2016 Remix)
F5. I'm Destructive (2016 Remix)

Augustus Pablo (Horace Swaby) was born just outside of Kingston. “I am a Kingstonian,” he told the NME in 1986, “but my heart is for the hills.” This mystical connection to “the hills” is at the heart of Pablo's unique and immediately identifiable sound. By the late '60s, Swaby and his brother Dougie had founded a small sound system they called Rockers. The brothers spent a lot of time in record shops, including Aquarius, where owner Herman Chin-Loy heard Swaby experimenting on his melodica and was struck by the inspiration to record. The resulting tune was credited to Augustus Pablo, a name that Chin-Loy invented, as the story goes, to give an air of mystery to the release. Pablo recorded two more singles soon after with “Java” becoming a major hit and being voted Instrumental Song Of The Year by Jamaica's Swing Magazine. This success led to the Randy's label moving to create a full-length album from Pablo. Recording in the Randy's studio upstairs from the record shop “we weren't watching the clock...we had the studio,” Clive Chin recalled. The band included a cast of the greatest reggae musicians of all time: future Wailer Tyrone Downie on keyboards, Aston “Family Man” Barrett, “Fully” Fullwood and Lloyd Parks on the bass, Carlton Barrett, “Santa” Davis and Lloyd “Tin Leg” Adams were on drums and Earl “Chinna” Smith played guitar. In addition to these future Hall of Famers, the mixing board was helmed by Errol Thompson. Thompson and Chin would together pioneer a tough, new reggae sound that, Chin referred to as “Rockers” after the Swaby brothers' Rockers Hi-Fi sound system. 'This Is Augustus Pablo' is considered among the greatest collections of Jamaican instrumental music and is an essential part of reggae history. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Dub Organizer
2. Please Sunrise
3. Point Blank
4. Arabian Rock
5. Pretty Baby
6. Pablo In Dub
7. Skateland Rock
8. Dread Eye
9. Too Late
10. Assignment No. 1
11. Jah Rock
12. Lover’s Mood

Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force “Planet Rock” 12-inch re-issue on glow-in-the-dark vinyl (Limited edition of 1982 copies) B-Boy anthem from 1982 lights up any dancefloor…literally! First time ever on glow-in-the-dark vinyl! Fresh off Bambaataa’s historic donation of his vinyl collection to the Cornell University Hip-Hop Collection and the Fall 2014 “Renegades of Rhythm” tour by DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist celebrating his unparalleled contribution to hip-hop, Get On Down celebrates the song for which the Godfather of Hip-Hop is best known: 1982’s “Planet Rock,” a Kraftwerk-meets-Bronx-B-Boy anthem. Renowned the world over as a never-fail floor-filler, this new 12-inch pressing of the single is pressed on glow-in-the-dark vinyl for the first time ever. Although Bambaataa may have gotten top-billing on the release, it was a team effort, with crucial contributions by a team including DJ Jazzy Jay, Afrika Islam, Arthur Baker, John Robie, a Roland TR-808 drum machine (aka Planet Patrol) and of course MCs Mr. Biggs, G.L.O.B.E. and Pow Wow. This edition is housed in a clear, custom-embossed Get On Down poly-bag to let the glow show through.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2014 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

Available from Get on Down, we are proud to bring back this rare 7”, the UK Picture sleeve release of Eric B & Rakim’s Paid in Full (Mini Madness – The Coldcut Remix). When Eric B & Rakim debuted with Paid in Full in the summer of ‘87 the album was an immediate classic. By the time the cut "Paid in Full" was released as the album's fifth and final single, it became a hit in clubs, radio and MTV largely due to the songs remix. Enter Coldcut, a new DJ/Remix team from the U.K who at the time just made a big splash with a record of their own, the cut & paste classic “Say Kids What Time Is It”. It made such a huge buzz that Julian Palmer from Island Records urged them to do a remix of “Paid in Full”. The result was the “Mini Madness” mix which turned Rakim's one verse song into a magnum opus that that crossed cultures and influences into one seamless remix. Today it still holds as one of the most groundbreaking remixes ever, Rakim himself is even quoted as saying it was the “best remix” he has ever heard. What made this remix so special was how Coldcut incorporated several new elements in producing their remix, mainly the use of vocal samples. The most prominent in these samples was the addition of Israeli singer Ofra Haza, whose voice when lowered in pitch, synced perfectly with the Paid in Full breakbeat. Another notable element of the Coldcut remix is its opening vocal sample, "This is a journey into sound” which even today it is recognizable as the start of this Remix. "Now wait a minute, you better talk to my mother" comes from Humphrey Bogart and lines like "Pump up the volume" and "Dance to the record" are sampled from Eric B. & Rakim's own song "I Know You Got Soul". While there are many more vocal bits and breaks that go into what makes this remix so special, it’s better to let the music speak for itself.

TRACK LISTING

Side A: Paid In Full (Mini Madness: The Coldcut Remix)
Side B: Eric B. On The Cut