Def Jam Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Big Sean's Finally Famous mixtape is 10 years old and so Def Jam are presenting this new remixed and remastered new version. Out has never made it onto a double vinyl album before and comes with a wide spine jacket. This version includes a new track, 'Freshman 10 (Freestyle)' amongst plenty of other originals such as 'Marvin & Chardonnay', 'Dance (A$$) Ft. Nicki Minaj' and 'My Last (Ft. Chris Brown)'. It's a classic album that explores a wide array of hip hop sounds from the pre-trap era when rappers sang about things other than their addiction to prescription meds.

Review: Public Enemy are often unsung when it comes to the golden era of hip-hop, with the obvious names getting all of the press. Despite their huge success with 'It takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back', you don't hear Public Enemy acknowledged in the canon nearly as much as you should and it's a shame. The braggadocious bars, the heavy beats and the now-outdated concept of a hypeman all culminate in one of the greatest acts of the generation, who really were speaking to black youth in ways hip-hop wouldn't again until A Tribe Called Quest and Lauryn Hill came to town. 'Yo! Bum Rush the Show' was where it all started, an extreme talent in lyricism and delivery from Chuck D is elevated to the stratosphere with hype-man Flava Flav, undoubtedly the greatest to ever do it, and the Bomb Squad's wall of samples production. Tracks like 'Timebomb' and 'Sophisticated Bitch' are instant classics, and this indie-exclusive colour pressing is an amazing way to celebrate hip-hops 50th birthday.

Review: It may have been released digitally six months ago, but Kanye West's "Jesus Is King" album - his 12th solo set in total - has finally made it on to vinyl. By now, most will have already heard it, but for the uninitiated "Jesus Is King" sees West meditating on Christianity, offering up a tight 27-minute set of tracks that draw influence from (or explicitly sample) gospel music in all its forms. It's still a hip-hop album of course, it's just that the beats, musical choices (gospel choirs, loops from killer records by gospel soul act The Whole Truth etc) and lyrics are closer to the black American gospel tradition than anything West has released before.