Record Store Day is a good excuse to support your local record store as well as your favorite artists. Saturday, Aprill 22nd is that day, so we've together some vinyl hip-hop (and hip-hop adjacent) recommendations, many of which have recently celebrated anniversaries. Some are widely available, while others are a little harder to track down, but if you're a rap fan with a vague interest in collecting music, you'll surely find something worthy of investigation.
Click through the galleries above to see the picks. Let us know which records you're searching for today in the comments below.
Tupac
Future - Pluto
Future - Pluto
Future's influential debut has been released for the first time on wax in celebration of its 5th anniversary. A half-decade after its release, the album stands as a blueprint for both the uncompromising street music coming out of Atlanta, as well as the city's most melodic experiments (which are not always mutually exclusive). You can now listen to immortal ballads like the Mike WiLL-helmed "Turn On The Lights" on blue, purple & white tie-dye vinyl, a match for the album's celestial cover. It's also available in black if colored vinyl's a little too gimmicky for you. The February vinyl release through Omerta came paired with the pressing of rising West Coast rapper G. Perico's excellent 2016 project Shit Don't Stop, which is also worthy of your purchase. You deserve it.
Available through Omerta.
Kendrick Lamar - Damn
Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.
Kendrick Lamar's new studio album DAMN. is already set up for the biggest sales week of 2017 so far, and it seems likely it'll continue to sell as a vinyl release. Earlier this week, TDE shared a pre-order link for the album, which is being pressed on double red vinyl and will be shipped out this July. Those who ordered the project on wax prior to April 20th will be getting hooked up with an autographed copy of the album. At the time being, copies have sold out, but chances are there'll be a re-stock soon enough. As for the signed copies, you may have to wait until they surface on Ebay.
Available through Kendrick Lamar's webstore.
2Pac - 2Pacalypse Now
2Pac - 2Pacalypse Now
2Pac's 1991 debut 2pacalypse Now has finally been pressed to vinyl in the U.S. for the first time. Celebrating its 25th anniversary last year, 2pac's first solo release has been given the packaging it deserves. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl with a double LP gatefold presentation, this is the best-looking copy of the beloved LP you're going to find. If cassettes are more your thing, the album has also been re-released by Respect The Classics as a tape, and includes the original booklet from the project.
Available through Respect The Classics.
Space Jam Soundtrack
Space Jam: Music From and Inspired By The Motion Picture
It's safe to say that many people have a great deal of nostalgia for the cinematic feat that is Space Jam. The same can be said for its soundtrack, but we'd be selling it short if we said that was the only thing the legendary OST has going for it. After celebrating its 20th anniversary last year, the Space Jam soundtrack, which contains classics like R. Kelly's immortal ballad "I Believe I Can Fly," Quad City DJs' Miami bass banger "Space Jam" and the Jay Z-penned Bugs Bunny rap "Buggin'," is getting a vinyl release. Especially for Record Store Day, the double LP will be available in stores across the country through Atlantic. Revisit our countdown of the Space Jam soundtrack's five best songs here.
Available at your local shop for 2017 Record Store Day.
Three 6 Mafia - Most Known Unknown/Mystic Stylez
Three 6 Mafia - Mystic Stylez
While Three 6 Mafia may have found nation-wide fame through later singles like "Stay Fly" and "Poppin' My Collar," their lo-fi debut Mystic Stylez remains the Memphis group's most influential work. Of course, much of the collective's early music was independently distributed through cassette tapes, but the project has since been pressed on red vinyl for its 20th anniversary. Whether you're a Three 6 stan or someone who's looking to explore the influences of your favorite new rappers, this LP could be a worthwhile investment.
Available through FatBeats.
Beastie Boys- Check Your Head
Beastie Boys - Check Your Head
Released on April 21, 1992, The Beastie Boys rap-rock opus Check Your Head celebrated its 25th anniversary this week. The album found the trio returning to the instruments of their punk rock past, 180-ing from the sample-heavy commercial flop Paul's Boutique (an album now regarded as a classic). Along with PB, Check Your Head finds the group at their creative peak, finding a tasteful middle ground between rap and rock that is still elusive for many artists to this day. The remastered version of the album is widely available in record stores. Don't hesitate to pick one up at your local indie shop this Saturday.
Available in a record store near you.
Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death
The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death
Biggie's second and final studio album Life After Death is 20 years old as of this year. Released as a double CD in 1997, it makes for a bulky vinyl package, but such a sprawling classic deserves nothing less. The 3 LP version of the album pressed on clear vinyl was released on clear vinyl in 2014, and you can still track down copies of that edition with a bit of searching. If you're used to listening to the album as two sides (disc 1 and disc 2), the new format should let you look at the masterful work in a new and refreshing way.
Available on Discogs.
Rihanna - Complete Discography
Rihanna - Complete Discography
Even before the release of 2016's excellent ANTI, Rihanna had established one of the great discographies in pop music history. That discography is now available in one extremely beautiful, stupidly expensive package. This may just be one to admire from afar. The 15xLP set, which includes 8 studio albums, is the first time Music Of The Sun (2005), Rated R (2009), Loud (2010), Talk That Talk (2011) and Unapologetic (2012) have been released on wax. If you have the cash, it would be an incredible gift for the Rih stan in your family (which, let's face it, is probably you). Before you let us know, we're aware that Rihanna isn't technically a 'hip hop' artist. However, she is someone who openly loves and embraces the genre, and that's good enough for us.
Available through udiscovermusic.us.
Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Before Kanye got hyper-minimal with his artwork, he went all the way in. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the most extravagant packaging given to a Kanye album (along wth Watch The Throne), and the vinyl release is even grander. The album comes complete with 3 vinyl records, 24" x 24" poster of the George Condo artwork, and a number of inserts so you can make your own version of the iconic cover. We know from weekly Twitter arguments that everyone's Kanye ranking is different, but if you're one of those who slots MBDTF at number one, this is an extravagant way to enjoy an extravagant album.
Available in records stores and on Amazon.
J Dilla - Donuts
J Dilla - Donuts
If you're a hip hop fan and a vinyl collector, chances are you already own a copy of J Dilla's seminal 2006 album Donuts. The expertly filtered samples and knocking drums sound great coming through an analog system, and even 11 years later, they're just as striking. Dilla's masterpiece is usually pretty easy to find at your local record store, so if you're out shopping today and are overwhelmed by the multicolored exclusives, Donuts will not disappoint.
Available at any record store worth shopping at.